Reviews by User: Charles97 (1)

I bought my Trango S EVO GTX online with some reservations. New to mountaineering, I wanted something that will work right away. I was torn between getting the tried and true Makulu or these boots. In the end, the Trango performed beautifully on Mount Rainier and I can highly recommend them. They felt comfortable right out of the box. I trained in them for a few weeks before heading up to Seattle for the Mount Rainier acid test. During the training runs, the boots went through rocks, sand, streams, hills, and grass. No leaks and no major issues. I did get a small blister coming down a 1,700ft hike with a 40lb pack. Time came for the Rainier test. We took the Ingraham Direct route. On the first day from Paradise to Muir Flat, the weather was awful -- complete whiteout. No visibility, rain at the lower elevations, and snow on the Muir Snow Field. Had to kick steps into the snow with the front of the boots for 2 miles and 3,000 vertical feet. No problems! The boots felt light and easy to use. The second day was the summit bid -- crampons, ice axe, and rope teams. Again, the boots performed well. I used Grivel Air Tech Light crampons with the anti-bott device. The crampons fit onto the boots easily and almost felt like they weren't there. (BTW, get the anti-bott! It's worth every penny.) We went through hard snow in the morning, and complete slush in the afternoon. Again the boots did very well. Front pointing in the crampons with these boots felt natural and easy. Descending from the summit was an adventure. The hot sun melted a lot of the snow, so we were post-holing a lot. Especially on the Muir Snowfield. The slushy snow went up to our knees with every step. The boots felt great and secure. My feet were in complete comfort. No blisters either, after I put on merino wool socks with a pair of smooth liner socks. When I finally took the boots off back at Paradise parking lot, I did notice that my socks were damp after 17 hours of straight hiking in these boots. However, I think some of it was sweat. Anyway, the boots felt dry the whole way and my feet were very comfortable. I can forgive the dampness after such a long grueling trek. I was very happy with the Trango S EVO GTX, and will heartily recommend them. Charles