I’ve had these boots for a little more than a year. They’ve been up Victoria, Joffre and LeFroy and several smaller objectives in the Southern Rockies.Short and sweet:Light, fast and super comfortable. The extra flexibility goes a long way for moving quickly over rough terrain, great for horizontal-point crampons over glacial ice, nevé, etc. etc.Front pointing (with vertical point crampons)?The flexibility that makes the boot so comfortable really works against you here. Simply put, these things SUCK for front pointing. Calf fatigue is a real, quick and brutal problem when front-pointing for any more than a couple of dozen meters or so with these boots.Water proof?For stepping through streams, into sludge and muck they’re great – right up to the boot’s ... MoreI’ve had these boots for a little more than a year. They’ve been up Victoria, Joffre and LeFroy and several smaller objectives in the Southern Rockies.Short and sweet:Light, fast and super comfortable. The extra flexibility goes a long way for moving quickly over rough terrain, great for horizontal-point crampons over glacial ice, nevé, etc. etc.Front pointing (with vertical point crampons)?The flexibility that makes the boot so comfortable really works against you here. Simply put, these things SUCK for front pointing. Calf fatigue is a real, quick and brutal problem when front-pointing for any more than a couple of dozen meters or so with these boots.Water proof?For stepping through streams, into sludge and muck they’re great – right up to the boot’s collar. For longer hikes where I’m in constant contact with snow and ice and the temperature is more than about -5C, the water stops beading on the boot after about an hour or so – no matter how much I clean them beforehand, no matter how much protector I apply, even with additional set of gaiters (though the boot’s built-in gaiter really is nice). Once the beading stops it’s not long before my feet start feeling damp, then they’re sopping by the end of the day. If it’s colder than about -5 C or warm enough that the snow is sporadic and I can keep the boots dry, then there’s no problem. Near zero, my body heat warms the surface of the boot enough for the snow to melt, sit and seep through. It’s annoying and problematic with cold-weather camping: those boots sop up a lot of moisture (there is NO WAY it’s sweat!). I have to bring them into my sleeping bag to dry them out overnight or I’m left with two chunks of ice come morning. The sleeping bag trick works well enough, though it’s colder for me. It’s a good thing that these boots don’t have this problem when it’s colder than about -10C or so.That said, I love the boot!I’m hard on the “waterproof” rating because frankly, they’re not waterproof (outside of stepping through streams and muck). Yet the only boot I’ve ever met that truly is waterproof is a gumboot. Keeping feet dry, in my opinion, is a skill and takes practice. The MBPs don’t perform well here, particularly when it’s near 0 C and the outside of the boot is constantly exposed to snow and ice. I’ll look for a suitable overboot: my gaiters leave a fair chunk of exposed surface that a good overboot may cover. Once again, stepping into water up to the collar is no problem and a great feature for this boot. It’s the prolonged exposure to melting snow and ice that does these boots in here.As for the calf fatigue when front-pointing, sure it’s a disappointment. But that flexibility really pays off just about everywhere else I use this boot. That’s the trade-off. In my opinion the idea of an all-around mountaineering boot is a pleasant fiction – much like the idea of a truly “waterproof” mountaineering boot.

I have so far only worn my boots around the house; trying them for fit, but I do have some advice re: sizing. Note; I have for now given an overall rating of 3 and will revise after use. MEC’s Size Guide states, “Members typically downsize 1-1.5 sizes (performance fit) or 0.5-1 sizes (comfort fit) from their street shoe size”. I wear size 8 street and running shoes and have a pair of Scarpa Kailash Trek Gore-Tex boots in size 41, approximately size 8.0. These fit very well. So following the advice I ordered Mont Blanc Pro boots in sizes 41, 40.5 and 40. I can get my feet in all three pairs, but the size 40 and 40.5 pairs pinch at points and I expect would produce pain and blisters after a day of mountain wear. I see that the insole of my Kailash Trek boots has the ... MoreI have so far only worn my boots around the house; trying them for fit, but I do have some advice re: sizing. Note; I have for now given an overall rating of 3 and will revise after use. MEC’s Size Guide states, “Members typically downsize 1-1.5 sizes (performance fit) or 0.5-1 sizes (comfort fit) from their street shoe size”. I wear size 8 street and running shoes and have a pair of Scarpa Kailash Trek Gore-Tex boots in size 41, approximately size 8.0. These fit very well. So following the advice I ordered Mont Blanc Pro boots in sizes 41, 40.5 and 40. I can get my feet in all three pairs, but the size 40 and 40.5 pairs pinch at points and I expect would produce pain and blisters after a day of mountain wear. I see that the insole of my Kailash Trek boots has the label “comfort fit” and the insole for the Mont Blanc boots is labeled “mountain fit”. I suspect that Scarpa has taken the intended use of the boots into account and made the mountain boots fit a bit tighter (narrower) than their hiking boots. So, in ordering your street shoe size you may already be getting the suggested downsizing, or at least part of it.

Got these on sale for a great price from EMS, so the fit risk was worth the try. It's always a toss of the dice when you buy boots online, hoping you'll be lucky enough to get a good fit out of the box. These boots fit the bill, for me.I have a high-volume foot, i.e., a pretty high arch, and a fairly wide forefoot. Keens fit great, that should tell you something. I've had La Sportiva Nepal Evos (too narrow, not enough toe room), the Aku Spyder (beautifully constructed boots, still too narrow for me, or I'd still have them), and tried on several other Scarpas, La Sportivas, etc, and still found them too narrow from the start. It wasn't a matter of breaking them in, either, it was simply a fundamental fit incompatibility, something your foot knows from the git-go. ... MoreGot these on sale for a great price from EMS, so the fit risk was worth the try. It's always a toss of the dice when you buy boots online, hoping you'll be lucky enough to get a good fit out of the box. These boots fit the bill, for me.I have a high-volume foot, i.e., a pretty high arch, and a fairly wide forefoot. Keens fit great, that should tell you something. I've had La Sportiva Nepal Evos (too narrow, not enough toe room), the Aku Spyder (beautifully constructed boots, still too narrow for me, or I'd still have them), and tried on several other Scarpas, La Sportivas, etc, and still found them too narrow from the start. It wasn't a matter of breaking them in, either, it was simply a fundamental fit incompatibility, something your foot knows from the git-go. My street shoe size is 10.5-11.0, depending on the maker. I got the 45.5 (11.5-11.66, UK) in these, knowing I'd probably replace the insole and allowing for toe room and a decent wool sock.Out of the box, the boots are identical to the pictures I've seen, a nice bright, high-vis orange. The stitching and seams are all fine, the materials and leather solid, no stitch misses or poor quality manufacturing observed. The rubber rand is tight and appears fully sealed at the edges all around each boot. The interior is quite comfortable, the heel cup quite pronounced, as well, it really holds your heel in place, depending on how you lace these boots, which is a whole other subject.I replaced the stock Scarpa insoles with a pair of Viesturs insoles, and the very high arch on them was just a bit too much, so they went in a pair of winter boots (Keen Summits), and got them to fit even better than they already did, so I got lucky, there. Went for the Superfeet greens, that did the trick, I found I can use a thicker wool sock (even a silk liner, if need be) without my feet or the boots feeling compressed. So, the fit seems to be adjusted okay.It's only gotten down to the low 20s where I live so far this winter, but it's still early. I don't feel the slightest bit of chill at all so far when wearing the boots outside, but I wouldn't expect to, either. Incidentally, I've been hot-natured my whole life, love winter, I don't tend to get too cold no matter the outside temp, my feet and hands tend to stay warm even in sub-zero temps, allowing for selecting the right equipment, that is. That being said, I have worn the Aku Spyder boots in -15 F temps, and did fine. I don't think they were "supposed" to be worn in temps that low, but just to use that as a marker, I'd expect the Mont Blancs to do at least as well for me. They're going to Colorado in February and March, my climbing buddy there who owns a pair says I'll need a pair of 40 Belows as insurance, but that they'll do fine, even though they're not plastics. Sounds ok to me. So I'll submit another post and let you know how that does.Ok: Once I got moving on a 4.5-mile trail last weekend, the rocker of the sole gives a nice forward boost, I didn't notice any heel lift or hot spots, although I did adjust the laces a bit (snugging the ankle) a half-mile in. You can skip the "ankle-bend" lace points if you want more of a low-rise, approach boot feel, for me I found I preferred the laces done all the way, it wasn't overkill at all.Sorry about the long-windedness, I've noticed other reviews that were quite lengthy, as well, and I've found most of them to be very helpful when so much detail is included. Speaking as the owner of a high-volume, wide forefoot pair of feet, it was a relief to find a pair of pretty sturdy boots (non-plastics, which is what I was looking for) that fit so well, lots of toe wiggle room without it being too much, have excellent traction, are downright comfortable, and for me, look good. Hope this helps, if you're still awake!