Gear Review: Scarpa Maestrale 2010-2011

It’s mid July, it is pitch black out, scrambling my way up exposed ledges of loose rock on Mt Rainier, skis strapped to my back. It seems a strange place to be, high in the air surrounded by ice and snow, teetering on loose chossy rock in the darkness, all things feeling uncertain around me, except my footwear. It may seem unbelievable to some that a Ski Touring boot such as the Maestrale could provide such a feeling of security and comfort while ski mountaineering. I too would be a sceptic had I not experienced them first-hand for the past season, although perhaps I should start from the beginning.

My first experience with the Scarpa Maestrale was as a rental boot from Mountain Equipment Co-op. I was immediately surprised by the comfort and warmth of the boot, as well as it’s performance.The boot was light and fast on the up, but stiff enough and stable on the way down. After a few rental sessions with these boots I decided to bite the bullet and buy a pair online.

Now to say these boots were perfect right out of the box would be an outright lie, in fact I had a number of problems with the boot in the short time after I got them. For starters, the day the boots arrived in the mail I eagerly took them out of the box to try them on and one of the nylon handles at the back of the Liner (you know the one, it’s there to pull your foot into the boot) tore free from the liner. Now that isn’t really Scarpa’s fault, the liners are made by Intuition, who kindly offered to exchange the liner for any liner from their catalogue, while this process took about 2 weeks, it was quicker than sending the boots back to Scarpa, and it’s also a professional courtesy not often honored these days, so kudos to Intuition!

The second memorable problem these boots gave me was a detached buckle, which had been noticed by a friend during a trip to a popular local touring area. With the boots only a couple of weeks old at that point a buckle had already fallen off, I was upset to say the least. It turns out the first iteration of the Maestrale was designed to be 100% field serviceable, so instead of the rivets used to secure the buckles on a conventional boot the Maestrale used bolts. This combined with either a bad batch or insufficient quantity of lock-tite had created a massive problem for this line of boot, with detaching buckles being incredibly common. I looked around but after a long struggle and no availability I had to call Scarpa North America and have them mail me a replacement nut and bolt. This again was a rather long process that in the end took about 2-3 weeks to arrive, but once the buckle was repaired I never had another issue with these boots.

Good news for those who are interested in the Maestrale, the boot is now made with riveted buckles, like all the other boots out there, so you shouldn’t have any detaching buckles at all!

Now that the bad it out-of-the-way, get ready for the good, cause there’s a lot of it!

The boot seemed to fit my foot perfectly, right out of the box, with almost no discomfort at all the first day I wore it, or any other day for that matter. The Intuition 100% thermo-moldable liner is durable and comfortable, shaping to fit the foot of the wearer perfectly after just a few short days of skiing. I never found it necessary to mold my liners, they just kept fitting better every time I wore them, so it seemed like a waste. The high quality liner has an optional shoe-lace for extended tours or hut trips, a nice added feature. When I eventually passed these boots on the Liner was still looking new, with no rips or tears anywhere, surprising after a long season, skiing well into September.

I drove a lot of different skis in this boot, most commonly a pair of 2009 Black Diamond Zealots (192cm) and a pair of 2011 K2 Kung Fujas (179cm).  To my surprise the Maestrale held up quite nicely in most circumstances. I did find that while on the Zealots in variable conditions the skis did tend to have a bit too much power for these boots, and I would recommend you look at other, stiffer AT boots if you plan to ride a big, fat bottomed charging ski! The 100 flex Maestrale boot is quite stiff for the flex rating it has been given, and I rarely felt like I needed more of a boot when skiing gnarlier terrain.

In their inaugural year the Scarpa Maestrale was the lightest 4-buckle touring boot on the market. For a skier such as myself, who doesn’t quite know when the season is supposed to be over, this weight savings was a godsend. I must have logged over 100 kilometers of hiking in the past summer with skis and boots strapped to my back, climbing steep trails, bouldering steep gullies and couloirs, scrambling myself to the snow line whatever it takes. The miniscule weight of this boot isn’t only an advantage when they are on your back, but also provides huge energy savings when touring as the body is required to lift much less weight with every stride.  The weight of these boots enabled me to do some very long distance days of skiing, hiking, and climbing, including climbing and skiing Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker each in a single day.

Okay, so they’re light, strong, and comfy. But you really expect me to believe they can boulder or climb?

Yeah, seems absurd doesn’t it? But it’s true! The Maestrale comes complete with a rugged, rockered Vibram mountaineering sole. This sole is similar to what would be found on many high-end mountaineering or climbing boots. Now obviously with the thick rigid plastic exteriors of the average ski boot these don’t perform as a dedicated mountaineering boot might, but you will be surprised when (if) you have to tackle that sketchy looking section of rocky ridge how well these boots feel under-foot.

All in the Maestrale provides a good, burly ski boot capable of driving almost anything you could want, but without the costly weight gains typical of most stiffer boots. If you’re looking for a boot that is as comfortable on long tours as it is on the descent, performs well in all conditions in and out of the ski binding and keeps your foot warm, dry, and comfortable, the Maestrale is just what you’re looking for!

 

Pros: Warm, Comfortable, LIGHT, Durable, Stiff, Stylish, Affordable.

Cons: Not everyone can pull off bright orange! [2010/2011-Buckles fall off, (my pair) defective liners] It looks like the manufacturer has righted these wrongs, and if so, there are no cons to this boot!