The La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX is light and comfortable enough for hiking, but still stiff and fully featured enough for serious mountain expeditions.
Mountaineering boots are one of those products that you don't really need until they're the only thing you need. When you get above the snow line and need to use step-in crampons, a hiking boot won't cut it. But as soon as you're anywhere but in the snowy mountains, a hiking boot is much more fun to wear. Thus, most mountaineering boots spend most of the year in a boot bag waiting for their time to shine.
What really sets the Trango Cube apart isn't how good it is as a mountaineering boot, it's how good it is when I wouldn't normally wear a mountaineering boot. These boots are light enough to hike without compromising on performance in the high mountains, and that's what makes them my pick for best mountaineering boot.
Mountaineering boots are distinguished by stiff soles, attachment points for step-in crampons, and waterproof construction. Some will feature more calf support, an outer and inner boot for more warmth or a permanent gaiter, all of these can help in very cold or extreme conditions, but most mountaineering in moderate snow and temperatures will be well served with a lightweight yet stiff boot like the Cube GTX. A good mountaineering boot should be able to kick steps into snow, support your ankles across boulder-strewn side slopes, and keep your toes toasty warm even when it's well below freezing.
The Trango Cube GTX is fully synthetic, with a heavy rubber rand protecting the lower portion of the boot. Unlike many synthetic boots, they seem to hold their stiffness well, as a reviewer at Expedition Portal noted in a long-term test. Despite their light weight, the Cube GTX boots are fully waterproof thanks to Gore-Tex inserts, seamless construction, and a lightweight yet waterproof direct-inject lacing system.
I tested this through Alaskan ice and snowpack in the High Sierras and never found the boots wanting. The soles are impressively direct and slim, not the thin and imprecise foot-bricks that more traditional boots can be. Backcountry buyers are happy with the boots with one saying, "My feet are the happiest they have ever been." Like the buyers on Backcountry, I loved the stiff soles and the rip on rocky surfaces and found the boots more than acceptable as a winter and fall hiking boot in addition to a crampons-on mountaineering boot. Side-hilling, step kicking, and walking on rocky terrain felt rock solid with the great fit and solid ankle support. I found these fit my relatively low-volume feet well, especially with my customary orthotics insole. Readers with wider feet might want to try on a pair first.
These boots are pretty European in everything from color to sizing. European sizing is good, it allows more sizes per run and tends to be more precise. If you don't know your EU size, you can get measured at any good shoe shop. With a color scheme for everyone and a weight and performance level that makes them a great boot for just about everything other than hot-weather hiking, these are a great mountaineering boot that will reward everyone from beginners to seasoned outdoorspeople.
Pros: Stiff, light and waterproof, durable
Cons: Toe box width is on the narrow side