r/iceclimbing

Hello everyone, I have always been passionate about hiking and mountaineering, I am 21 years old and I am approaching mountaineering, I do not yet do climbing but I want to get closer to the frozen world, I took my first vapoons, the Lite Hd Shoes, I have to choose the crampons and the ice axe but I do not know what to choose, I was thinking of a straight ice axe of at least 50 cm since I am 173 cm high but I do not know what to choose

Please help me and if you have any advice on other equipment, I also gladly accept those, thank you very much

I’ve gone through 2 pairs in about a year, they both tore between the thumb and index finger, probably from a combination of rope work, using poles, and using ice tools. Curious how long most people are getting out of a pair

So I’ve been trying to find a better fit than my phantoms - which just don’t hold my foot unless I tighten them so much they compress nerves. I’ve more or less tried every current super gaiter boot, none of them are perfect.

Gtech creates a pinch at the bend (fine when the strap is very loose but not its tightened it causes pinching below where the material bends, boa seem to compress my foot a lot.

Asolo Eiger pretty nice, probably my favourite. Only one that really holds my heel, but it really puts pressure on my heel when in front points (the shape of the heel cup just seems to push on the bones)

Aku Aurai - pretty good, except the toe box is pretty tight an ld my toes are compressed laterally which I think will be a problem on big days out. Also the toe welt is really far forward so makes the boo really long for the same internal size - potentially the most comfortable short term

Gsummit - same as tech

Kayland - really uncomfortable

Phantom - good toe, terrible heel, too much volume. With an insole it kinda works but my foot lifts a lot and feels unstable and if tight damaged nerves

Etc etc

I have a very low volume instep and ankle but wider toes

So what’s the best compromise for an ice boot? They obviously can’t be perfectly comfy due to the nature of these boots and feet in general, my thoughts were always protect the moving parts at the front and go for the wider toe but the phantom has proven problematic. So really it’s down to heel pressure (lots) in the asolo, compression of the toes and more forefoot strain due to lever arm(aku) or pinching and pressure on top of the foot from the gtech

Standing on kerb edges with crampons the aku is probably the most comfortable, but over a big day I know it will be a problem having the toes compressed due to Morton’s neuroma. The gtech feels okay, and the boa is great but if I drop heels the pinching really starts to hurt, and same with the Asolo which is super comfy walking but on edges really hurts my heels