Mammut Men Kento Guide High GTX® Mountaineering-Shoe

Product Information

Stand on the A4 paper with your heel pressed firmly against the wall and your foot pointed forward with the edge of your big toe aligned with the edge of the paper. There’s an age-old argument amongst enthusiasts and professionals alike; Boots Vs. Shoes. It used to be pretty easy to choose. If you’re running/climbing, wear shoes; If you’re hiking over bad ground, wear boots. But nowadays, with shoes being blessed with some pretty fancy tech, and boots getting lighter and more breathable, the choice is a little less obvious.

The Mammut Kento is an A7 shoe and is therefore compatible with strap-on crampons. Constructed on a mountaineeringTech last, the fit is optimised for use in alpine mountain environments and for use in conjunction with crampons. Motion control technology allows for multidirectional ankle flex so you feel unrestricted whilst hiking. NOTE: The above table is only a guide. Manufactures don’t like tomake it easy as every single oneof them strays from the measurements above. But let’s not dwell on what you don’t have, instead we shall teach you how to ascertain your size using some common household objects. The Kento is constructed from a mixture of both synthetic and natural materials. The majority of the upper is made from high-quality velours leather, which is soft, warm and comfortable, perfect for high alpine environments. The remainder is formed of a supple textile material that provides exceptional dexterity and comfort. If you can see this amount of space then you are pretty much on the way to making sure that your boots are the correct size. This space between your toes and the end of the footbed ensures that you will not stub your toes on the inside of the boot when you descend. This can be excruciatingly painful. If you can’t see this amount of space then it’s a good bet that the boots will be too small.Mammut is pretty well known across the industry, selling a wide range of equipment and clothing, ranging from good value accessories to their range topping ‘Eiger Extreme’ series. I was first attracted to the Kento Guide High GTX due to their super-modern looks and bright colours, despite employing some traditional materials and technologies. In summary, they are a full feature hiking boot, with a range of features designed to handle some mountaineering excursions. Membrane: Underneath this, a Gore-Tex membrane provides total waterproofing, ensuring your feet stay warm and dry throughout the day. Lower down, a super tough rubber is used to reinforce high wear areas such as the outer side, the toe and the heel. Mammut's 2-zone lacing system allows you to fine-tune the fit based on the shape of your foot, while their Motion Control technology prevents the ankle twisting during use, yet still allows your foot to move naturally without restriction. Inside the boot, a mixture of soft fabrics, a pre-shaped tongue and memory foam mould to the shape of your foot for increased comfort. Mammut actually use the same memory foam that Mercedes use in the seats of their cars! Lastly, the Kento is crampon compatible thanks to a wedge on the heel. A lightweight mountaineering boot, made with high quality, sustainably produced materials and designed for classic mountain tours and much more. A new last and sole design developed by Vibram and Mammut offers an optimised fit with less weight and more grip, while a breathable Gore-Tex® membrane keeps your feet dry and comfortable. The Gore-Tex acts as expected keeping your feet dry and fatigue free, a nod to the membrane itself and Mammut’s efforts to incorporate it into their product; something bigger names have failed to do time and time again.

I’ve found the sole, a Vibram effort, to be perfect in both aggressiveness and support, all while allowing the user to attach some pretty functional C1 crampons. A nice balance between comfort, useability and function. In our Hereford shop we offer a professional boot fitting service where we assess your feet, find a selection of boots that match you foot shape and most importantly we make sure that they are comfortable.This iseasy to do in the shop, where we have access tothe right tools, the option of letting you try on as many styles as you like and a knowledgeable member of staff that cancommunicate directly with you regarding your needs.

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However, even after the most rigorous assessment and testing, there is no better way to be absolutely sure than to have the boots on your feet for an extended period of time. We therefore offer our Home Trial Period which gives you the opportunity to wear the boots around your house to give you an indication of how they feel before you venture outside. We recommend that during the Home Trial Period that you wear the boots for as long as possible and at different times of the day, wear them up and down stairs, when moving around and when resting, you can even sleep in them if you want.

The Vibram rubber outsole is very grippy indeed across wet and dry terrain. The samples arrived too late for me to take them above the snowline, but they will be broken in perfectly for that test this coming winter. The heel has a counter to take a crampon heel clip, and the heel construction is solid enough that a crampon shouldn’t be felt while you wear them.

Responsiveness

Motion Control: Reinforced, flexible inside prevents you from twisting your ankle while maintaining full freedom of movement

The shoe contains outstanding grip and minimum weight thanks to a sole developed specially by Mammut and Vibram, while the improved last design supplies an optimum fit. Lined with Gore-Tex’s Performance Comfort Lining, your feet will remain dry regardless of the weather. The idea that some people may spend more time researching and funding their morning coffee than the footwear on their feet seems laughable when you write it down.

Durability

You should now be able to see approximately 2 cm (about an index fingers width) of the footbed poking out in front of your toes. Available in three different colours, Blue, Red and Grey, the styling is some of the most modern and radical available on the market at the time of writing. Maybe less suited to a traditional-led rambler, but they ooze style and function to someone like me. Despite their modern looks and streamlined design, the boots are pretty hard wearing. I’m obsessive in gear-care, so they do get cleaned and re-waxed/treated after each outing, which may not be as representative as your typical user, but there are few signs of wear after around 9 months of hard use. The main fabric is made from DryTechnology Pro 2.5 which has a HH of 20,000 mm. We can certainly vouch for its resistance against heavy downpours and increased wind-speed. Many hours spent in tough conditions high on the Monadhliath Munros are testament to this. memo foam is incorporated into the shoe, which provides insulation at higher altitudes and at lower temperatures. A pre-shaped tongue construction is supplemented with 2-zone lacing, which supports the anatomy of the foot and works with its natural rolling movement so you don’t feel restricted.