A few interesting snippets from Scarpa about what's up their
sleeve for this winter and onwards into the Spring of 2003.
First, if you've got a good memory, you may remember Scarpa
featuring a new super mountaineering boot for this winter at last
year's Harrogate Go Outdoors trade show. The Cumbre will be in the
shops along with the rest of the autumn winter ranges in late summer
/ early autumn and looks interesting.
Scarpa says it's aimed at bridging the gap between their technical
ice boot, the Freney and more general mountaineering boots like the
Cerro Torre. The idea is that it'll be precise enough to climb hard
ice and mixed routes, but comfortable enough for all-day mountain
use.
The keys to its versatility are 'a new 360 degree rotational ankle
flex' - you can make out the articulation built into the ankle
section in the pictures from Scarpa's web site, and a new last that's
mid-way between the technical last of the Freney and more general use
ones.
Its crampon grade is B3, which means it'll take clip-ons
including, say Scarpa, the latest asymmetrical ones like DMM
Predators and similar. Last but not least, we were impressed with the
boot's lightness when we picked it up at Harrogate and the weight is
quoted as 2.1 kg per pair. Not bad for a full mountain boot with
Vibram sole, full Thinsulate thermal lining and an upper made from
full-weight reversed Anfibio HS12 with rand
To put that in perspective, it's 400 grammes less than the
Matterhorn Thermo and only 50 grammes more per pair than the lightish
Freney. Got to be worth a look if you're after a technical alpine
boot this winter.
Meanwhile in the kitchen...
Scarpa's designers have been cooking up some new boots for next
year, 2003. Right now we have only sketchy details, but there's a new
Phantom Series, which is a blanket term for a dedicated new range of
competition and expedition range.
There's a Phantom 8000, which the company says will 'revolutionise
high altitude mountaineering', the Phantom Lite, a super lightweight
technical alpine boot and the Phantom Ice developed with Grivel,
which is a competition ice-climbing shoe, we think. Expect something
like Salomon's all in one ice crampon / shoe.
Also expected are 'Rock Comfort' climbing shoes aimed at combining
all-day comfort with high performance and an innovative travel boot,
the 'Off Road'. More info when we've seen the stuff in the flesh at
next month's Harrogate trade show.
