Koflach Clima Montana

I had a pair of last year's Clima Comprex, the Montana is a slightly redesigned verion of the Comprex. The Comprex is maroon and yellow and the Montana is primarily purple.

I used the Comprex last season for climbing and hiking in the Whites, they were plenty warm except for standing around on belay at Elephant Gully one COLD, fine day last February. Anyway, there are lots of Comprexes for sale used at places like IME, and should prove to be a good boot for most people. I liked mine, however, because I have fat feet and skinny ankles, the design of the ankle cuff proves to be a problem. When I had to crank down on the boots for climbing, the various parts of the cuff would bind in such a way as to make the boot inflexible and painful. I tried the Montana and it has the same problem. They are great boots, plenty warm, great for climbing, moderately priced, but I had to change brands.

Skinny Ankles, stay away from 'em.

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There was a catastrophic problem with the plastic shell of my boots which caused both to crack the third time I wore the boots. Since I was still breaking them in (they never made it to a climb) by wearing them around the house, this was surprising. What was more surprising was that the boots continued to come apart over the next few days (the sole of one came completely off.

Later when I tried to contact Koflach customer service I was told that Koflach boots (which had been made by Atomic) were no longer being made, and hadn't been since early 2007. I was also told that I was out of luck as far as warranty work was concerned. All told, a bad experience.

I was quite pleased with these boots. They are my first plastic boots and I had heard horror stories of how "plastic boots break your feet in". I spent some time climbing outside Durango, Colorado, and found these boots to be quite comforatable as well as warm. I do however have extremely wide feet and felt after a long day of kicking steps, that I could have used a wider boot. But as a starving grad. student the price was right. They also fit quite well in a pair of Atlas 1233 Snow Shoes. I recomend these boots as long as Black Dome keeps selling them for 189.00.

Very pleased with these boots. They have been comfortable right out of the box. Have done a couple of mild winter climbs, and they have been excellent: comfortable on the approach and solid on more technical sections. Upper is extremely flexible - great for French technique. Hasn't really been cold enough to comment on warmth, but so far my feet have been toasty.

Take your time when shopping and make sure they are the boot for you. If they fit your feet, I highly recommend them.