The La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX is a boot that could be absolutely perfect or absolutely rubbish, depending on your objective. In the hiking and climbing realms of mountaineering, this award winner crushes! It has excellent edging capabilities and is comfortable to wear on those uber long days in the mountains. That being said, this was the only model tested that doesn't work with step-in crampons. It is the lowest performing boot when it comes to straight ice climbing. Designed with a..." go to full review

In the mountains, low weight, comfort, and high technical performance are all qualities which are highly desirable. The Lowa Mountain Expert GTX EVO - Women's hits that sweet spot of being comparable to a comfy light-weight hiking boot while possessing technical ice capabilities. The wide tongue-opening makes them slide on to the foot more easily than any other product tested and the flexible ankle cuff and rockered sole allow them to hike very well. The stiff full shank and innovative..." go to full review

If you're looking for a high caliber boot that performs well across the board, look no further than the La Sportiva Nepal Cube GTX - Women's. The Editors' Choice award winner features a whole range of qualities we look for in a quality mountaineering boot: front and rear toe-welts, a full shank, and waterproof insulation to keep those feet warm and protected from the elements. It also stands up to the task of kicking and front-pointing into the hardest ice. Increasing our love of this boot..." go to full review

We really like the La Sportiva Trango Ice Cube. It's light and climbs rock, ice, and mixed terrain well. The surprising warmth of the boot, in addition to the integrated gaiter, makes this one of the more versatile lightweight boots on the market. If it sounds like this is the feature set you need for your climbing, you might be willing to overlook the possible fragility of the lace hooks.go to full review

The Scarpa Phantom Tech is a super-gaiter style mountaineering boot, which is essentially a single boot with a permanently attached gaiter. The gaiter of the Phantom Tech is constructed of Elastan and Cordura blend material, which Scarpa calls S-tech Fabric. This gaiter is very durable and seals out the elements effectively. The gaiter is closed with a waterproof T-Zip. The Phantom Tech had the widest fit of all the boots in the review, and will be a comfortable choice for people with wide..." go to full review

The Arc'teryx Acrux is the warmest boot in our review. A removable liner on a boot designed for altitudes less than 6000m is a unique and advantageous feature and gives this boot a level of versatility not found in comparable products. We experienced some serious durability issues but hope that they're not widespread. While this isn't a perfect contender for cold weather ice climbing, it does get the job done, and its other attributes make it uniquely qualified as an all-around cold weather..." go to full review

The integrated semi-gaiter adds quite a bit of warmth to the boot, and keeps scree and snow from coming in the top. It’s not of the zip-up kind like on the Phantom series, and the laces go over top of it rather than underneath, but it’s a neat design and adds to the sock-like feel of the boot. The semi-gaitered design also adds flexibility to the ankle, making the MBP slightly less supportive than the classic MB but also that much more comfortable when walking and more capable when climbing..." go to full review

The ICE is much warmer than its weight would indicate, and even on the colder -20C days my feet stayed warm during long belays. The gaiter adds a bit of warmth, I think, but the carbon insole and other high-tech outer materials have to to be given due credit as well. I wouldn’t hesitate to use these mid-winter, and though Sportiva doesn’t rate them as warm as Nepal EVO’s, I think they’re not far off.go to full review

For many durability is one of the main requirements of a winter mountaineering boot, you’ll often hear people wax lyrically about having this or that boot for 10 years or more… “and they’re still going strong!”. The fact they only wear them for their one trip of the year may have something to do with that. However, it is important when investing the price of a climbing holiday to Spain in your footwear. You want them to last. In testing, I did manage to tear the upper of the Cordura gaitor...." go to full review

These kept our testers feet nice and warm even when the temperatures were well below freezing. The tall thick rubber rand kept crampon damage in check. Good lace systems and comfortable footbed and lining.  The sizing is is standard and normal so you can order online with confidence. The Lowa Weisshorn GTX is definitely a keeper. A great boot that is at home on ice and alpine routes.go to full review