La Sportiva Glacier EVO-Light Mountaineering Boot
The La Sportiva Glacier EVO. Integrated into the padded snow collar is the Reactive Spoiler System which strikes a nice balance between ankle flexibility and support.
OK, back to boots. Made in a little Italian town at the base of the Dolomites, La Sportiva has been making serious mountain boots for 80 years. I have been with guides that wore them but previous to this, I had not had any personal experience with any boots from this company. I identified the Glacier EVO a few months ago and am pleased to have the opportunity to evaluate them for you now.
Note: Starting with this one, in addition to my subjective opinions and comments, I am implementing a standardized element to the evaluations so it is easier to compare one pair of boots to another. Here is the objective information on the Glacier EVOs and I will go back and add the same information to the previous boots that I have evaluated.
Class-light mountaineering, made for heavy loads and rough terrain
Height-high, 8 inches, 9 eyelets/cleats
Materials-Idro Perwanger Silicone treated roughout leather, heavy rubber, synthetics
Insulation-none but the skin is thick and there is very good padding around the ankle
Waterproofing-Dri Lex waterproof breathable liner, moisture transport system
Cushion-foot beds are thin, midsole is firm and the outsole is flat and stiff
Flexibility-very good at the ankle and fore foot but has a half steel shank
Tread-Vibram Ice-New rubber, feels flat and hard but sticky, moderately aggressive
Volume-medium, has removable and adjustable tongues
Width Availability-regular widths only
Weight-my 45s (11.5) weigh 2 lbs 5 ounces per boot
Crampon Compatibility-yes for most, has built in welts
Quality-very high, made in Italy
Break In-not much required, they were comfortable out of the box
Laces are easy to use and adjust. Good pinch cleats at the flex point allows fine tunning. Oversized front toe cap gives very good protection but could be hard on some users toes. Full length gusset folds nicely along with the tongue when laced down. These boots open up nice and wide for easy donning and doffing.
The interior liner is very smooth and heavily padded. There are no seems or wrinkles to rub, pressure or irritate. I liked the way the boot wraps my ankle and heel.
If the Kenetrek Hardscrabble Hikers are like riding in a truck or an SUV where you sit up, the La Sportiva Glacier EVO is like slipping down into a foreign sports car, an Italian sports car in fact. The boot comes up around the bulk of your feet and you feel like you are low to the ground. These boots are pretty good walkers but to me they lean more towards the mountaineering side of the spectrum because of the rigid, flat outsole.
Now, I only have 14 miles on these boots so far but I can tell you that these particular boots don't have enough volume up front for my feet. My toes began to hit the sides of the toe cap pretty hard at the end of my 6 mile mountain loop reguardless of how they are laced. I also feel pressure across the tops of my toes at the second set of eyelets but it did not cause any hot spots. On extended trips, these two issues would be a problem for me. However, I was so impressed with the quality and design of these boots that I went back to La Sportiva looking for something with more flexibility and volume. What I found was a heavy hiker called the Trango Trek GTX and I will be talking about it next.
These are very nice boots for the right feet and again.
Thanks.
Wade Nelson
Editor
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