Scarpa Men's Zanskar GTX Hiking Boot

I bought these boots to replace a pair of well-worn La Sportivas. My feet are a bit on the narrow side so finding boots that fit well can be challenging. These are wonderful though, narrow enough to cradle my feet but spacious in the toe box. Construction is rock solid with very few seems that could allow water in or fail. The large rands on the toes are great at protecting the leather. They also have a great 2-zone lacing system allowing you to tighten the lower and upper parts separately. One feature I particularly like is the lower laces run through small pulleys instead of the usual loops or holes, making getting the correct tightness a breeze.After putting roughly 150 miles on these so far, I can safely say these are some of the best boots I've owned so far. There was no noticeable break-in needed, and I didn't get any hot spots on the first hike. The waterproofing is great, I've stepped in many streams and my feet have not gotten wet. The traction is excellent as well, they're solid even on fairly wet surfaces. Foot and ankle support is good, but it should be noted that the included insoles are thin and have little arch support. One other thing is at these boots can feel pretty hot, but that's the price you pay for nearly full leather uppers and gore-tex. Also as I mentioned before they do tend to run on the narrow side, so if you have wide feet buy the wide version.I would highly recommend these boots!

WOW! Scarpa at their finest.Read my other reviews to place this boot on the spectrum;Zanskar has a unique place on the spectrum of tools for your feet.The Zanskar toe box is longer and more narrow.We find extra space up front for the Big Toe and tighter fit around the sides.We all can actually get away with 1/3 size down.The sole has slightly more flex than the Active SL and Kinesis and the underfoot placement is more narrow sothis boot is great for picking your way through Alpine rocks which gives ita slight Approach Boot feel mixed with a solid packing boot like SL or Kinesis.Likewise, it is initially more flexible all around than the standard trail packing boots from Scarpa.Foot placement feels close to the R Evo but more solid, which I prefer.If the R Evo is just too light for you, this would be a notch above in solid platform.Zanskar is very similar in performance to the Lowa Cevedale, but at least $100 less for a very similar bootthat is not designed for semi crampons. Zanskar is not really an ideal crampon boot.The toe box is more narrow and less sloppy than the Cevedale.Cevedale has rubber all around, but both boots break in similarly.Balance of protection and flexibility that give Zanskar a unique place in the arsenal of footwear.These boots are truly blister free, and free of foot problems straight from box to trail,but they will break in nicely over time.I originally tried Zannies to replace a Salo Quest which is a boot I really dislike.Comparing the two, the Italian born Zanskar is such a better boot,The level of craftsmanship just blows my mind....can't say it any other way.The Zanskar is like a gift from heaven.I imagine every time a new pair of these comes off the line,they close the lid of the box and shout......NAILED IT! or what is that in Italian???

Might be the perfect hiker but am not sold on gortex. Was planning to return them until I recived the non-gortex SL shipped 1/2 sized bigger. Like the narrow last from the heel through the arch but after a couple of weeks of morning 2 to 3 hour breakin wear, just now worn all day, the toe box is a little snug. The fabric loop point above the fantastic rolling and sinch, lower section, takes a little getting used to but allows precision in tensioning the fit and have seldom re-adjusted during wear up to now. Have not subjected the shoes to any adverse conditions at this point in my break-in cycle. If the footbed remains stable as normal hiking abuse requires, I am hopefully optimistic this Scarpa (my first for this brand) turns out to be a good if not great, purchase. Will update review as experience permits. Also note, generally speaking, the numerous hikers I have purchased under $200 in the last 3 or 4 years are not worth the time or money l have wasted while trying to wearing them through a reasonable break-in period. Most if not all break down in the footbed area after a few weeks of non rigorous wear and no insert seems to make them serviceable. Got my fingered crossed on the Scarpa!

First ever pair of Scarpa boots I always knew they were top quality. I chose the Zanskar because of brand, price, nubuck leather which Im a fan of and the relative lightness for a full leather boot and have since found out through a gruelling New Zealand backcountry mission that they are not only comfortable, supportive but very sturdy. Its early days as they are still newish but I have been impressed so far by the overall performance of the Zanskar. The fit was very spot on. I had a few pairs of Kayland boots previously and had heard there were alot of similarities between the 2 brands so chose size 9US and being from New Zealand I took that risk and it paid off. I'm sure there are better boots on the market BUT for price, quality and functionality I'm uncertain other brands can offer something better in this range.I also researched other brands and they just didn't quite do it for me, perhaps Lowa may have come close, but still too pricey for what you get in return. This is a really well thought out piece of footwear and the sale price was just an added bonus that I just had to take full advantage of, Go Scarpa!

Top notch quality product if the fit works for you. The insoles have inadequate cushion and no arch support at all and too narrow of a heel and not deep enough heel cup so that there was a little bit of heel slippage. Very stiff boot more for heavy duty backpacking and not appropriate for everyday use.