Just scored a pair of vintage koflach mountaineering boots (picrel) at an estate sale. Would these still be considered viable gear today? Supposedly the previous owner only used them for one expedition so they are basically new.
>>2851331
>>2851331it's just a shoe, who cares
>>2851331At worst you lose some toes to frostbiteNo big deal
>>2851333its cursedyou become green boots and when you try to climb a mountain you slip and fall but ur stuck in a crevasse too deep to rescue you out of, but close enough that people can see your boots hanging out as they walk past
>>2851344and his little frozen boner
>>2851344>Crevasse mentioned
>>2851355*wispers* WhipSaaake!
>>2851344that's a fuck ugly shade of yellow, not green
>>2851369It's signal yellow
>>2851344He actually sought shelter under a small overhang on the trail so everyone that took that route had to pass within feet of him.He was "missing" for a few years and people thought he had been dislodged and slid down the mountain side but he "returned" and its believed he was just covered with ice/snow. (At that point of the ascent nobody is foolish enough to stop and waste time and energy digging around in the snow)
>>2851331To actually answer, yes its probably just fine. All a boot really needs to be a mountaineering boot is a sole with metal or something else to make it very stiff, to be waterproof, and have as much insulation needed to keep your feets warm. Looks fine.
>>2851331Wake up anon, mountains have changed a lot in the last couple of decades. What might have worked for gramps isn't gonna cut it on today's high-performance peaks. Put away your tryhard retro hipster larp and grow up.
>>2851331god they look uncomfortable as fuck. id rather climb barefoot
>>2851369its green after a decade under the sun
>>2851331I found a pair of those at Goodwill bins and passed them up for $1.29/lb because although the outside looked perfect, the liner was disintegrating. It's like felt with some hard plastic bits glued to the bottom, and the hard plastic is what was falling apart.
>>2851375>>2851409The duality on man>>2851421According to many sources they are reportedly quite uncomfortable to many. Supposedly they hold up well though.>>2851345He's Indian so dying in a completely avoidable accident with a small boner on display completely tracks Captcha: G0T0Ylel
>>2851331Bro.Plastic deteriorates even if you keep in in a cool dark place. After 10+ years it's starting to fall apart.Its supposed to stop you from falling of a mountain.Pic related, a random example of many such photos of old ski boots on the internet
>>2851331No one mountaineers anymore. Unless you count rich yuppies. You wont snag any suckers, unless you specifically seek out well-off people.
>>2851374Imagine knowing this lmao
There's nothing wrong with plastic mountaineering boots. I help teach and guide a beginner mountaineering course in the PNW - we tell people just starting out to get whatever they can afford, as long as its crampon compatible, and I see a lot of used plastic boots come through. Probably because they're indestructible and, yea, a lot of people use them once for some guided climb or course, so there's a healthy secondary market. I think I've seen the same pair of boots come through the course on different students at least once.They tend to be warmer and more waterproof, but they're heavier and some would say less comfortable. Some "old timers" swear by them. But they are definitely "old school". I think the only company which still makes a full plastic climbing boots is Koflatch (and I think Scarpa still makes the Inverno, but threatens to discontinue it every year). They tend to be a bit overkill, unless you're climbing Denali or in the Himalaya or something. They used to get used a lot as "rentals" by guiding companies (again, comparatively cheap, durable, will probably keep your client's feet from freezing off)Don't worry too much about the "plastic going bad" or whatever. Most reputable brands are made out of Pebax or similar cold-malleable plastic. But, if you have the money, I would recommend a light weight "super-gaiter" style boot for cold weather climbing. I have the Aku Aurai DFS (picrel) and love them - they're almost as light as my regular boots and they're comfortable enough for long approaches. I even use them when snowshoeing, and sometimes for just shoveling snow off the driveway.
>>2851331idk, /out/ told me you only need trailrunnes these days
>>2851331They're fine. Like >>2851778 says most people don't use plastic boots anymore.There's a general gear maxim that says "a pound on the feet is worth five pounds on the back", or something like that. This is why the ultralight thru hikers all wear fucking trail runners. Obviously you can't take trail runners up most 6000m peaks. But if you aren't climbing 6000m peaks, they're overkill.
>>2852001>Obviously you can't take trail runners up most 6000m peaks.Funnily enough, last mountaineering trip I wore my trail runners up to 5100m. Only changed to boots for the final day when my microspikes were no longer cutting the mustard.
>>2851331>Supposedly the previous owner only used them for one expedition so they are basically newone expedition, yes. but they were stored outside for a while
>>2851778Koflatch actually went out of business, so the only full plastic boot still being made today is the Scarpa Inverno.>>2852002Yeah but then you basically carried boots up with you as dead weight for half the climb. I prefer a pair of modern light mountaineering boots which don't suck to hike in and I can wear the whole trip. Carrying an extra pair of shoes just seems silly to me. I get that, traditionally, climbing boots suck to hike the approach in, and I've certainly seen a fair number of "60lb expedition packs with another 7lbs of boot tied on", while the bearer scrambles up in sneakers, but it's just not my style. Seems like an injury waiting to happen, but I also have bitch ankles.
>>2852002you can use strap on crampons with some trail runners
>>2852127>>2852258The thing is, if it gets steep on snow/ice you want mountaineering boots that suck to hike in. The rigidness goes from being painful to being the only thing keeping your lower legs alive when you're front pointing for hours. (Even less technical climbing is painful in non-shanked shoes) With how light other gear is these days I think it's easily worth it.
>>2851331>vintageWhat vintage exactly? Plastic gets old and brittle. Also, do you actually need mountaineering boots? Because they suck for winter hiking.
