The Trango Tower GTX is the latest addition to La Sportiva’s much lauded Trango series of lightweight mountaineering boots.
Much like its other Trango siblings, the Trango Tower GTX is a great looking, technical mountain boot that will appeal to fans of Euro alpine styling. The colour of the model we tested was Grey/Berry – a distinctive combination of off white/salmon pink that’s subtly female without being overtly girly.
As soon as you pull a pair of Trango Tower GTX’s onto your feet, you’re immediately aware of their intentions. They’re a semi-stiff, super supportive, exceptionally well constructed boot – serious enough to take a hybrid crampon yet flexible and light enough to be used for a long winter’s day on the hill.
Fit-wise, the La Sportiva last tends to work best for those with narrow or medium sized feet so if you’re new to the Italian brand then we strongly recommend trying on the Trango Tower GTX before splashing the cash. We have very narrow, low volume feet and the Trango Tower GTXs just about work for us with the addition of a supportive footbed.
In terms of features, the Trango Tower GTX are laden with innovation and the very best in Italian design. The GORE-TEX membrane does a great job of ensuring your feet stay warm whilst keeping water at bay. The light yet stiff feel of the boot is the result of a PU midsole with EVA inserts that offers a far more comfortable ride than that of a traditional steel shank.
One of the stand out features of the Trango Tower GTX is the durable, abrasion resistant upper with ‘Honey-Comb Guard’ – a tough mesh fabric that offers greater protection against wear and tear in vulnerable areas. If you’re investing £265 of your hard earned cash in a B1 boot, you’re going to want to know it will last the distance.
On that note – whilst it is hard to be critical of a top quality boot like the Trango Tower GTX, if we had to find any kind of fault then we’d be looking at the potential durability of the sole. The super sticky Vibram Cube sole is grippy yet soft so is likely to wear out faster than a heavier sole with deeper lugs. Intersperse use with trainers for light hikes and a more traditional boot for the most demanding of mountain days and you should be good to go.
While the Trango Tower GTX will probably be too stiff for back-to-back days of munro bagging in wet conditions, they’ll come into their own if you find yourself scrambling on An Teallach where the ability to edge on small holds will be key.
