http://www.climbing.com Since 1970 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:35:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.climbing.com/gear/alpine-alternative/ http://www.climbing.com/gear/alpine-alternative/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:13:53 +0000 http://www.climbing.com/?post_type=gear&p=225204 Right out of the box, the Scarpa Rebel GTX Carbon ($439; scarpa.com) was an excellent addition to our tester’s alpine boot quiver. At a scant 21 ounces per boot, it’s no surprise that speedster Ueli Steck had a hand in designing them. Our tester found them best suited for moderate alpine rock and snow climbing in environments where you need more support and warmth than an approach shoe, and may want to wear crampons (semi-automatic crampon compatibility with a heel bail). They have enough support to climb ice and edge on rock, but you wouldn’t want them on really cold days or for sustained steep ice. The toe is quite sensitive—there’s not much clunky boot feeling on rock. They fit our tester’s narrow feet well and seemed true to size. The only complaint was the durability of the waterproof finish: Once the factory waterproofing wore off after a few big climbs, the uppers tended to absorb water. However, boot waterproofing spray did the trick. —Julie Ellison

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