Excellent Mountaineering Boot
I compared these Scarpa Mont Blanc boots to the La Sportiva Nepal Evo boots when I made my decision to purchase. I wear a street shoe size 10.5 and found a size 44.5 to be perfect - this includes wearing a thin wool base sock and then a mid-weight wool sock over the base sock. I also swapped out the standard foot bed for a green SuperFeet foot bed. I found the Mont Blanc to be extremely similar to the Nepal Evo with the exception of the front part of the boot which is a tad wider than the Evo. So if you have a wide foot up by your toes or just want some additional room for your toes to breathe then this is the boot for you. The heel, surprisingly, offers a tight fit despite the front part of the boot being a little wider. I had no problem with heel slippage due to the form of the heel inside the boot as well as the lace system. The lace system on the bottom of the boot is similar to most mountaineering boots however the Mont Blanc differs from the rest beginning where the foot meets the ankle - there is a lace guide at this point which allows for the front boot laces to be tension held, then immediately after this lace guide there is a lace loop which will focus the lace tension at the ankle (or this can be ignored if you want to tie a surgeon's knot at this point). Then, going up the ankle, there are 3 more lace guides which are placed more closely together than other mountaineering boots, and this offers a very nice tightening system for the upper part of the boot. Having spent so much time on the lacing system review is important because the Mont Blanc offers several different ways of tying one's laces; for example, it is possible to have a tight lower boot and a loose upper boot if you need some flexibility in your boot for approach hikes. Also having a tongue pull and a heel pull helps get the boot on while wearing heavy gloves. For someone who was focused on buying a pair of Nepal Evos before I found the Mont Blanc I can say that these boots are as well made as the La Sportiva boots at a lower price! And the mango color suede upper is really good looking in person.