Photo Credit: www.livefortheoutdoors.com

By Gear Patrol Reader Austin Church

The rocky outcroppings and snow-filled couloirs of the Teton range look like the knuckles of a clenched fist. The mountains stay white late into the summer months, and no Stairmaster or gym membership can prepare one’s legs for kicking steps up to their saddles and peaks. I know this from personal experience, and blew out a hiking boot in Denver. So I put on a pair of Scarpa Mantas instead.

After an eight-hour round trip hike to Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes, I had no blisters—a pleasant surprise for my wide feet. A fourteen-hour trek up to the Lower Saddle below Grand Teton and back certainly had my dogs barking, but other than some soreness from the mileage, I came away no worse for the wear.

Scarpa had functionality in mind when they designed the Manta (pictured right). The boots have plenty of stiffness for kicking up nasty ice-encrusted inclines, and the rough-out leather uppers are easy on the shins. Though each boot weighed in at over two pounds, they didn’t feel clunky. Perhaps that’s because in the realm of serious outdoor gear, function is beauty.

Speaking of function, the new GSb model is compatible with semi-automatic, strap-on (Editor’s note: get your head out of the gutter folks), and GSb crampons. That said, in spite of being feature rich, the boots still look good. Unlike many other mountaineering boots, especially some of the plastic varieties, these boots don’t belong on the set of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Scarpa chose a tasteful indigo for the Manta, rather than the garish oranges, yellows, and greens so common these days. In other words, these boots say “It’s business time,” not “80s dance party.”

Despite lacking the sticky rubber and flex that add traction and build one’s confidence on multi-pitch scrambles, the Manta boot still offers enough grip to get the job done. My only serious complaint was that after we slogged through the snow for several hours, the snow melted around the laces and tongue. To be fair, my feet never got cold, and I could have changed into an extra pair of socks, but I just thought you should know. Hell, if Glenn Exum could summit the Grand in a borrowed pair of too-big football cleats in 1931, then wet socks are a small complaint. However if the notion does bother you, Scarpa does offers the Escape, which weds the Manta’s classic styling with a Gore-Tex® lining.

Either is an excellent option for mountain men wanting to bag some peaks without sacrificing style. The Scarpa Manta is currently on sale for $189.99 at Moosejaw.com. The lighter GSb model retails at $279 (links below for purchase). Scarpa.com supplies all those delicious specs gear heads crave, and the site’s dealer locator will help adventurous souls find a place to try on a pair. The bottom line is these burly boots will get you where you need to go.

Cost: The Manta: $278, The Manta GSb: $279, The Escape: $269.

About the Author:

Austin L. Church is a freelance writer living in Knoxville, Tennessee. An avid flyfisherman, outdoorsman, and traveler, he divides his time between helping his marketing and advertising clients sell stuff and his own creative projects, most of which recount a harebrained adventure or verbal blunder. His work can be found at Whatsleftout.wordpress.com and Austinlchurch.wordpress.com.

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