Mountaineering boot

The mountain shoes or hiking boots is a special shoe for alpine use as mountain climbing, high-altitude touring or moving in trackless terrain, steep, rocky, debris, ice and snow. It is characterized by high sole rigidity, water tightness, anti-slip profile and robustness. The shank of mountain boots runs up above the ankle, he is stronger and heavier than the hiking boot.

The stiff sole also proved invaluable in carrying heavy luggage and when wearing crampons condition, otherwise they will slip off the shoes. Pure high mountain boots have no appreciable distortion of the sole, which is useful in the high mountains, but when climbing up and down or hiking hindered since the shoe does not rolls and is reminiscent of a ski boot in walking behavior.

Crampon suitability

An important distinguishing ability, the suitability for carrying crampons. Therefore, a distinction is not mountain boots in, and conditionally (full) crampons.

• Not crampon shoes are not for carrying crampons.
• Due crampon shoes allow wearing crampons and crampons with strap binding.
• Fully crampon shoes have now fixed the majority of the shoe attached breakpoints for lever bonds, similar to ski bindings.

For this type of footwear includes the high alpine shell shoe, which - similar to a conventional ski boot today - has a hard-shelled exterior shoe. Also, most, very similarly constructed Touring Ski Boots are fully crampon compatible.