Scarpa Manta Mountain Boot > Reviews (1)

It was a sad day in Scotland's Southern Uplands when my trusty Scarpa Fitzroys decided that 15 years and countless adventures were enough. My boots and I had pitted themselves against short and (very, very) long mountain walks, endured winter mountaineering and tackled some quite tricky rock climbing, but here on the benignly snowy slopes of White Coomb was the first time that they'd been the weak link rather than me. As I cautiously picked my way down to Loch Skeen, trying not to swish any further standing water through the enormous hole granting free access to my right foot, I was acutely aware of an imminent holiday in Ireland involving a lot of mountains; replacements needed urgent consideration.

‘Trek across the space…’

Since I last needed to buy any boots the market has sprawled outward somewhat, as outdoor footwear became more specialised and new players (often manufacturers of more conventional sports shoes) entered the fray. Despite this, a bit of research allied to my natural conservatism (when I'm buying something in a niche market, I tend to prefer companies that cater largely for that market alone rather than anyone who's trying to keep too many digits in an excess of pies) led me back to Scarpa. The Fitzroy, alas, was no longer available (or I'd have just bought another pair) and the closest match was the Manta. This model had been available back in 1995 too, but at the time I'd gone for the Fitzroy's greater abilities on rock. In an ideal world I'd have preferred similar performance this time round, but having confirmed the Manta possessed the Fitzroy's M4 sole design (which made it amazingly good on technical rock climbs considering it was a 'big mountain boot') I was hopeful that it would pass similar muster on more vertical terrain.

It takes a brave person to shell out 200 quid for footwear without actually trying it on, and given the importance of comfort and fit when wearing mountain boots it's sensible to use the internet to find the cheapest outlet and then to attend it in person. So one evening after work found me trotting off to Field & Trek in the fabled mountaineering Mecca of Chelmford. The sales assistant seemed slightly aghast at someone wandering over and asking to try on a specific boot in a specific size (and who'd bought his own mountain socks along, just to be sure), but 15 minutes later he was doubtless congratulating himself upon his retail genius when I left with them. The Mantas had been as impressive as they could be in the shop environment: easy to put on and lace up and with no obvious rubbing points (unlike the Fitzroys, it pains me to admit), stout-but-not-paralysing in terms of ankle support, cambered to encourage a good flowing walking gait and both surprisingly light (1750g for a pair of size 42s, although mine are slightly bigger) and reassuringly sturdy.

After a day of odd looks as I wore them under my suit trousers in the office (a desperate attempt to at least slightly break them in a bit) it was time for the Irish trip.

I wasn't crippled by donning them for the flight (the usual attempt to squeeze maximum traction from my Ryanair baggage allowance by wearing the heavy stuff) and I could even drive (of a fashion) while shod in them. And when I finally got on proper mountains...they were very good. Decent distances (between 8 and 15 miles per day) were covered with minimal foot discomfort, the boots felt tight and supportive both up and downhill without being crippling and they were as waterproof as one would hope new boots would be. (That said, what with the mountains being Irish, they're still incapable of holding back the floodwaters single-handedly if you tread in one of the legions of lovely knee-deep bogs). And best of all, I always arrived back at my rental car with all my toenails still part of my toes...more than I could say for my Fitzroys in their later dotage.

Criticisms? With the caveats that I may have become rubbish at rock climbing in my old age and that I was weak and ill at the time...they aren't as good on the more technical ground as the Fitzroys were. A later trip to the Mourne Mountains involved a fair amount of rock scrambling, and the Mantas just don't feel as positive on small edges; not ideal in those vertical situations when you need to put all your weight on your feet and be sure those feet are going to stick. But 15 years with my old pair meant an instinctive understanding of how they'd behave in those conditions, and it may take a while to reach the same level with the new ones.

So while I may not be quite as enamoured of the Mantas as I was of the Fitzroys, they're obviously an excellent boot for the serious mountain walker...judgement is reserved as to exactly how good they are for more serious outings.

(Postscript from a year’s further use: the jury’s still out on that as I haven’t yet done anything suitably technical enough in them. But they did perform sterling service on the heinously slippery sandstone constituting the razor’s edge of the Beenkeragh Arete on a day when an Ark would have been more obvious kit than boots…which was nice.)

‘To be a pilgrim…’

The manufacturers suggest the Manta be used for hill, mountain and glacier walking: I can vouch for all but the latter. I do look forward to testing the claim that they excel for winter walking (so, can we have a proper winter? Please?) when crampons need to be used for extended periods; they're rated for B2 crampons and mine were indeed easy to attach. The usual commonsense approach to 'expensive leather footwear' should be followed: clean it up if it gets muddy and use an appropriate waterproofing treatment (I use Scarpa HS12 cream as I'm a sucker for following manufacturers' recommendations). But in addition to cleaning them in a faintly obsessive manner, I’m confidently looking forward to many years of schlepping and stepping out, safe in the knowledge that it’ll probably be my knees that eventually give in, rather than my feet.


(Previously on DooYoo).