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Scarpa Ascent Tech Mid - First
Look
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Price: £89.99
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Weight: 1264 grammes (pair size
43)
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Features: Crosta
suede leather upper, FS climbing last, Vibram Spinne sole
with Megabyte rubber, toe length lacing system, Dry-Lex
lining, sizes 36-48, Flex Lite mid-sole.
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Grippy as a angry pit bull.
Not as good at edging as Mescalito.
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The
Concept Halfway between the more technical Pro Ascent, which is
designed as direct replacement for the old Mescalito, and the lower
cut Lite Ascent approach shoe, the Tech Ascent is a sticky-soled
mid-cut boot built on Scarpa's climbing last and with rock boot style
lacing and toe and heel rands.
The idea is to produce a boot that's comfy enough for walk-ins,
but sticky enough to perform on harder scrambles and easy climbs,
plus Via Ferrata and the like.
Features You only have to look at the Ascent to spot its rock
boot heritage and it's
not
only skin deep. The boot is constructed around the FS climbing last
which fits snugly and puts the emphasis on the big toe for balance
and control. You also get lacing right down to the toe for a snug,
tailored fit and rock boot style heel and toe rands for jamming into
cracks.
The new Vibram Spinne sole features a flat toe section for
smearing grip and a selection of 'sucker-type' rings with a low heel
section. The rubber is Scarpa's Megabite and, unlike the later
version of the Mescalito, the entire sole unit is made from it.
In Action We've only been using the boots for a couple of
weeks, but initial impressions are very promising. The fit is close
and comfy on the OM test foot and the lacing system lets you snug the
uppers up nicely for more technical work. Fortunately that doesn't
seem to compromise comfort and we found them fine for
general
walking as well, though the sole and mid-sole unit offers only
limited padding underfoot.
The Megabyte rubber is as grippy as a very grippy thing on rock
and unlike the later Mescalitos - now superceded - the entire sole
unit uses the sticky rubber, not just the forefoot area. The
Flex-Lite mid-sole is a lot less stiff than the the old Mescalito,
which means that edging performance isn't in the same league, but
it's much better for both smearing and walking comfort. Arguably with
a boot which is likely to be used for scrambles with largeish holds
and general mountain walking, this is more important.
Other plus points were that our feet didn't get overhot even in
the recent scorching heatwave conditions and the mid-high cut gives a
little more protection to protruding ankle bones than the lower-cut
Lite Ascent.
So far, so very good indeed. Comfortable, great grip on rock and hard
surfaces, but limited on muddy ground - but hey, that's not what
they're intended for - and better smearing performance than the
Mescalito and the expense of some edging power though. Torsional
rigidity is still acceptable though.
The FS last gives a close, precise feel aided by the 'down to the
toe' lacing system and on top of everything else, you get Scarpa's
usual bomber build quality and top-end feel. Just as well since at
90-odd quid, these are hardly cheap. If you want a boot that you can
use for walk-ins followed by either graded scrambles, via ferrata or
easy mountain routes, the Tech Ascents are on the ball. We like
them.
If you're after something stiffer and more 'serious', take a look
at the Pro Ascent, which has the more rigid Flex-Plus mid-sole unit
and is cut higher again.
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check
out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If
you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
