I have recently bought some scarpa sl m3 boots I got them at a reduced price as they are the older style. The fit seems perfect, I have had no blisters or soreness at all. The problem is that after only a mile my feet start to ache and after 3-4 miles it becomes almost unbearable. My previous boots were much more flexible so I guess this could be the problem, has anyone else experienced this and does it improve with time?
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 what were your old boots? the scarpa's are quite stiff in the sole. i use noene insoles in mine.
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 I've never experienced that with my SL's. Perhaps like you say because they are stiff and the insole isnt very soft they can cause your feet to ache. Have you considered superfeet green?
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Yeah got some superfeet green on order, hope they will do the trick! The standard scarpa insoles seem very hard and basic.
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My old boots were Merrell Chameleons, and were much more flexible.
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bought a pair of the new style one year ago-wish i,d never bothered,fit was ok-(wide fit),but had minimul heel lift causing blisters,every time. tried everything ,volume reducers,heel lifts,sock combinations,lacing techniques,superfeet-none of them cured the problem,so i bit the bullet and they are now for sale...one of the other problems was the midsole was that hard ,after 3-4 miles,excruciating pains on the soles of the feet-tried superfeet greens-didnt work,even after 3 months .i later read that scarpa had altered the heel box area for the new 360 flex model to suit european sizing,dont know if thats true,but 2 late now......................conclusion,tremendous boots,.build quality fab.,high up on the tops they are brilliant, but in the valleys,particularly mettaled surfaces they are very hard underfoot, unfortunatley for me they didnt suit my feet,pity cos i loved them
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 I bought the girly version a few weeks ago. Initially my feet ached quite a bit after maybe 2 - 3 miles, which I put down to the harder and stiffer sole than I'm used to. But it's taking longer now if it hasn't gone entirely, I can do 6 miles comfortably and easily. 10 I'm tiring a bit, but then I'm not that fit. On the rough stuff they are brilliant but road walking is hard going. Beth
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a bit of a change from very soft merrells to stiff scarpas. i initially had aching feet quite quickly due to the footbed being quite hard. the noene solved that by providing some shock absorption. they're very comfortable now i've got used to them. i find the forward foot roll position on the scarpas to be excellent. superfeet will provide some foot support but won't do much for cushioning. if youhaven't worn superfeet before you may find it rather painful just before your heel, again until your foot gets used to them. i couldn't get on with them at all. due to that experience i shy away from anything that "may cause discomfort" until "you get used to them" as i'm convinced that this isn't good for your feet.
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 SLs seem to have got stiffer and stiffer over the years. They're great for crampon work and kicking steps in snow, but the lack of flex - in my experience anyway - doesn't generally make for a comfortable walking experience. I think its unfortunate that a lot of reviews talk about 'four-season' and 'mountain boots' rather than crampon and non-crampon boots. Personally I wouldn't wear a rigid-soled boot unless I were going above the snowline and that includes rocky mountain trails. Traditionally it's been a British thing to suggest that uneven ground somehow requires stiff-soled boots, ditto carrying big loads. Anyone who's watched porters in Nepal or the Andes will know that's simply not true - a well-designed lightweight boot with good heel fit and decent torsional rigidity will be lighter, more comfortable and more precise than a clumpy winter boot designed primarily to work well with crampons. Ooops, that was a bit of a rant, but no-one's satisfactorarily explained to me how a rocky path at low level differs from one at 3000 feet and consequently why I should be fine with lightweight boots on one, yet need a 'proper mountain boot' on the other... The Superfeet may help, btw, depends on the reason your feet are aching.
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I changed from merrells to scarpas because I moved from the West Country to Yorkshire so now most of my walking is in the peak district instead of the Mendip hills. I might have gone a bit over the top with the scarpa sl's but at the time I reasoned it was better to get these than to find later on that my choice were not up to the job.
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I got some of the old style sl's at a good price (finding boots for size 13 is a nightmare). wore the boots for first time a couple of weeks ago and after 12 miles in the lakes my feet felt fine no ache,s or pains, other than what i would expect after 12 miles. I was hoping for snow as that was the reason i bought them but it was not to be.
I was very impressed with the boots.
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I have the SL's as an all year round boot as I cant afford a winter and a summer boot, so needed something that could handle anything I'm likely to experience here in the UK. Im very pleased with them too
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 I've owned my SLs for over two years now and I like them. I've used them year round (summer heat to full winter conditions) in the Lake District, Scotland, Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District they've done 23 munros with me this year.
Initially they gave me quite bad blisters, probably as I didn't wear them often enough to break them in. For the past year-and-a-bit I've been walking every other fortnight and have found them to get more comfortable. I used superfeet greens in them for a bit as I used them every day anyway but have since given up as I believe superfeet gave me weak arches.
I also used to get pain in the sole of my foot early on in a walk but could usually "walk it off". I don't seem to have a problem with this anymore.
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I started using SLs a few years ago after 20 years of wearing trail shoes (although I stupidly called them trainers) and had very similar issues to Ben (pain-wise, but never any blisters), culminating in mild Plantar Fasciitis. Went back to trail shoes and have used Montrails ever since with no problems; often carrying reasonably heavy loads over a variety of terrain.
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The superfeet green seem to have done the trick, Feet are completely OK for about 6 miles and only minor ache after that!
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good result simon.
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 The standard scarpa insoles seem very hard It's not the insole that causes the hard feeling, it's the mid-sole which is the problem with SLs. It's like having a hard concrete layer under your feet; although I think they may have improved the hardness somewhat with the newer version in about 2005-ish. Adding noene or sorbothane insoles will absorb the impact and improve the comfort. I have the older version of SLs and have worn them for years as they really suit my feet and didn't need any breaking-in. I've had to dump the sorbothanes though as I need proper support for my pronating feet and they were giving me achilles tendon pain even though they sorted out the impact / sore forefoot problem. George Fisher's suggested the new pink girlie superfeet instead as a compromise - I can't fit my orthotics into the SLs. I walked a few miles yesterday with them and they seemed OK but the ground was very soft. . . Co-incidentally,I recently needed to replace my flexible boots and got these. Big mistake. The hard fore-foot is even worse then the SLs, even though they seemed OK in the shop; after about 2 miles I get bad hot-spots under my feet and they're going to have to get Ebayed. I have worn then about 5 times and they just aren't right for me. I have to stop to put plasters under my feet...sorbothane only partly resolves it and aren't a permanent solution as I then get crippling achilles tendon pain as the sorbo insoles are flat. I got the boots at Cotswold so I could get the 10% BMC discount and I have been to George Fisher subsequently, as they will offer post-purchase advice even if you don't buy from them but we haven't been able to resolve it. It's a shame as they are great boots and the uppers fit me perfectly. GF's say that most folk don't have a problem with them and they sell loads and use them as their hire-boots but maybe some of us have more tender under-feet then others.
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i bought scarpa sl last years model, i havent had blisters since 1991 doing basic training, i have been through lots of boots since then, but on recommendation of the shopkeeper i bought these and have blisters on the heel of both feet after only doing the carneddau north wales, will these boots get better or have i wasted my money. its difficult to walk in them now cos it takes the skin away each time.
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Why oh why does anyone wear chunky leather boots, without any intention of wearing crampons?????? Oh, I forgot... the magazine and reviewers tell you to. Get some lightweight fabric boots or Trail shoes.
They'll be more than OK for any hills the UK has to offer.
As an added bonus... blisters and achey feet are a thing of the past.
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ive had fabric boots and the sole unit lasts about 6 months after heavy use in fact my last pair was north face plasma xcr which after the carneddau, and tryfan were virtually falling apart (got full refund) so i wanted something that would last.
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