Scarpa Kailash In-Depth Review

These are the best hiking and backpacking boot of my life. Zero blisters in 2+ years. Exceptionally well made with great grip on any surface. Durable and robust so they handled off-trail travel and a heavy pack with ease. My uber-picky feet are happy!

The short version: the Scarpa Kailash Trek GTX are the single best hiking and backpacking boot I ever owned. Zero blisters during 100+ days of use. Exceptionally well made with great grip on any surface. Durable and robust so they handled off-trail travel and a heavy pack with ease. My uber-picky feet are happy, and I am happily on my second pair after 2.5 years of use on the first.

Favorite features:

• Locking eyelet at the ankle that really increases comfort

• Grippy but durable soles and very waterproof

• Shape of the heel cup- not a single blister on the heel all summer

  
  

Cons: the grey suede turns a dusty brown over time. But really, boots are made to get dirty, so who cares. I had to list something here.

Other versions not tested: Kailash Plus GTX (a full-grain leather version). At the end of the article I list the other notable boots I tried and why they didn’t work for me. Keep in mind that we all have unique feet, so what works for me may not be a good fit for you! I do my best to describe my feet shape/ issues and why I like these boots in the hopes this review will be helpful for others in their boot search, too!

The Background

Ten months ago (sometime in 2022) boxes formed two colorful piles in the corner of my room as I laced up yet another pair of hiking boots. With tags carefully tucked in I set out… and started going up and down the many stairs in my house. I wore the same brand of boots for ten years – TEN! – and now they are discontinued, and the hunt is on for a new pair that will work for my poor feet.

I love and hate my feet. They make every hike possible and carry me to amazing places. And, they are also whiny little beautiful b*itches ridiculously prone to blisters, hot spots, getting too cold, getting too hot… You get the idea. I love you feet, I promise. I just wish you weren't so fragile.

A decade ago a boot fitter at REI named Pete revolutionized my life (and this is not an understatement) when he fitted me in the Asolo Fission boots (a version of a boot Asolo already made at that time but with colors specifically for REI). Prior to these boots my feet would blister 1.5 miles from the trailhead even with a myriad of preventative measures, and once the pain got so bad that I altered my gait and messed up my knee for three months. With the Asolo boots I could hike, for the first time in my life, almost without worrying about blisters, and it completely changed my hiking experience. I stockpiled these boots and went through a pair about every 2.5 summer seasons (the goretex liner eventually started to leak right around the time the tread wear led to traction issues).

With the boot discontinued, and the new versions from Asolo bruising my feet, I embarked on a multi-month at home adventure to find a replacement. After trying on every boot at REI, and more at home ordered online, I landed on the Scarpa Kailash, and I could not be happier! The review of the Kailash is below, but I wanted to start by sharing some info on my feet shape. I wish boot reviews had this information, so I am adding it to mine in case your feet also check any of these boxes.

About my picky feet:

Size 7.5 US women’s (39 euro), with my right foot a bit over a ¼ size larger than the left. Overall very low volume feet with a not very high arch, so I add the Superfeet Carbon insoles to my shoes. These insoles lift my arch up which helps reduce pronation and keeps my little toe from splaying as much to the side. The insoles also help the circulation in my feet which is terrible. The low volume, especially on the top of the foot and at the ankle, means that boots must be able to tighten and hold my foot in place, otherwise my heel moves too much. My heels are decently rounded, perhaps a little more than most average feet, which, in combination with very delicate skin, means my heels are a primary blister zone. I have very short toes, and if you draw a line from the base of my big toe to the base of the pinky, the line angles back quite substantially (more often this line is closer to the horizontal). This angle means that my feet break – bend – in a way that doesn’t work for a lot of footwear and leads to numbness in my toes (often shoes are designed to break in a more horizontal line to match a more standard foot).

What I want in a boot: This last summer I backpacked for 34 days (with more day trips) and I wanted a boot that would support my feet and body for these trips. I avoid hiking in low-cut footwear because of my propensity to roll ankles, and I also like the protection of full hiking boots when hiking off trail. Boots needed to be waterproof and sturdy enough to support me on long trips with heavy loads (my pack weighed between 30-45 lbs this summer, and I weigh 125 lbs for reference).

Again, I want to emphasize that I was not after the lightest boot out there. There are insanely light hiking boots on the market now - basically trail runners with an upper - but these just don’t work for me. They wear out fast, and simply don’t have enough support for my ankles. I know some folks love them, and that’s great! But if you are looking for a more traditional hiking boot, that’s what this review is about.

The Scarpa Kailash were the last boots I tried, and I am so happy I found them. They may not be the lightest boots out there, but they are comfortable, sturdy, supportive, durable, and most important, I didn’t get a single blister wearing them on 34 days of backpacking and a few hundred miles of hiking.

Overall Boot Fit

Some folks say that Scarpa as a brand tends to run a bit wider than other makers, and I agree with this for the Kailash. The boot is wider than the La Sportiva’s I tried, and also wider than the new Asolo boots I tried that bruised my little toes (I do not have actual wide feet).

There are two things that I love about the Kailash fit. First, they have a lovely heel cup that is a bit deeper than other boots from Scarpa and from most other manufacturers I tried. I could feel this right away walking around the house- no friction between heel back and boot. And then once I got them out on the trail I did not get a single blister which literally never happened my entire hiking life.

Second, the lacing system is simple but incredibly effective (and adjustable, more on that below in the breaking in section). I could easily unlace a section near my toes for a particularly punishing descent, and the locking metal loop right at the ankle is something EVERY boot should have. This little, tiny feature means that I can lace the forefoot as loose as I want while still having my ankle held in place. AMAZING! In other boots I always had to use a surgeon’s knot here and it’s nowhere near as effective.

Backpacking and Hiking Performance

After two weeks of walking around each day in the new Kailash boots and two shorter training hikes, I took a chance and brought these boots with me on a 9-day backpacking trip in the Olympic Mountains. The trip I did – called the Grand Loop – is known for having some brutal descents and very steep ascents spread over some of the most spectacular terrain of the range. And we did a two-day off trail variant with some short but seriously steep slopes. Across it all, the Kailash handled everything with ease.

The year before I’d done the same hike and slipped a few times on loose gravelly trails and some of the more shale/powdery rock areas. I did not slip a single time with the Kailash, and they really helped me feel confident on my feet, even with a very heavy backpack (47 lbs on day one).

Water crossing: When the rest of the group had to take boots off for a lower water crossing I just tromped right across on the rocks, the waterproofness and height of the boots keeping my feet dry even when submerged to just below the boot top.

Snow: the boot grip is also stellar on snow! The deep lugs bit in well even in slush, and I felt very comfortable tromping around on steeper terrain where an ice axe was required. The stiffness of the boot is also perfect for snow. Not so stiff that I notice it on the trail, but supportive as a platform when kicking steps.

Break-in Period

The Kailash are made from leather and suede (and some synthetic materials like on the tongue, sole etc), so there is a little bit of a break-in, but nothing like the thick full grain leather. I felt like they loosened up well after just a few walks, but I did a week of short walks up the hill and two shorter (3-5 mile) day hikes before my first backpacking trip just to be sure.

Over time - and this is one of my favorite things about a leather boot – the leather does stretch and soften to match my foot. This was especially noticeable in the toe area. For the first 15 days of backpacking with them I left a gap in the laces to give my toes extra space just in case on descents. Over time, the boot stretched a bit and I could return the shoe to normal lacing. You can see this lacing tactic in the photos at the top of the post.

NOTE - for the second pair, I found that I did NOT need to do this wider lacing. I kept the boots overall a wee bit looser the first hike, and then laced them to a normal tension thereafter with no issues.

Durability & Craftsmanship

So far, I put 35 days of backpacking and cumulative over 100 hikes/ walks on these boots and they still look great. There is some definite wear on the soles, but this is pretty typical for any shoe I have (with my pronation I wear the inside edge of the boot lugs on the feet the most. Please note that I also put extra wear on my boots because I wear them on walks up the street, because they are literally the only shoe I have right now that my feet like. They are worn everywhere and anytime I am walking more than a half mile.

I expect these boots to last me around 2.5 years, which is based on my prior use rate of the Asolo boots. I know it is time to replace a boot when the goretex liner begins to leak (this is normal, as the flexion of the boot causes the membrane to fold/ bend over and over again, and over time this leads to micro tears). Or, the tread depth gets to low and I begin sliding on snowy terrain. When too worn for backpacking but with life still in them, I clean and donate my old boots to a women’s shelter where they can make a big difference for someone living outside.

The only other sign of wear on the boots is the color change, and this is literally the only complaint I have about them. The beautiful pale grey suede immediately turned brown and never went back after a few dusty hikes. They are now a subtle brown leather color, which is totally fine just not as stylish as the cute grey. (Washing doesn’t change this much, that dirt is in there for good). Honestly, I don’t care at all because this is just cosmetic and boots are made to get dirty.

These boots are made in Italy, and it shows. They look perfect- no loose threads, glue-overages, or misaligned bits and pieces like I saw on the La Sportiva’s and a few other brands at REI.

old on the left, new on the right. notice the color change!

How did my feet do in them???

I had zero blisters (this literally never happens). Early season and on the punishingly long descents with a heavy pack and 4,000 feet of elevation loss in a short time my feet did get sore – of course! But this is more an issue with my feet being sensitive early season, as they always are, before I’ve broken them in to the rigors of backpacking again. And again, I have VERY sensitive feet, so I don’t fault the boots for this.

Overall, my feet were really happy. Thanks to the lacing switch for a while early on my toes never got bruised and no toe nails got damaged. My arches and ankles were even happier once I returned the lacing to normal, as this increases the rigidity of the boot.

Combined with wool socks I found the boots did as well for breathability as any goretex shoe does in hot weather. Yes my feet get sweaty. They do this in any footwear, and I just bring a clean pair of socks to wear at night and rinse them out on longer trips to prevent salt rash.

Even when the outer layer got completely saturated in snow my feet stayed dry, too. Wahoo!

Conclusion: I already bought a second pair

I very rarely purchase duplicates because I have limited storage space. But for these boots, I made an exception. Because of how sensitive and blister prone my feet are, these boots have made such a huge difference. I wanted to have a second pair at home and ready to go for when I wear the first pair out! As some folks noted in the comments, you can't keep boots sitting forever as the glues can break down over time on the soles and layers of the boot. The longest I would ever let a pair of new boots sit is 2-3 years.

Thank you Scarpa for making this boot, and I hope you continue to make it for a very long time. If you do, I’ll probably wear these for the rest of my life.

2.5 Year Longevity Report/ Update

After two summer seasons, two winters, and every walk in the park and neighborhood, I finally switched to a new pair. There were a few signs that I needed to do so.

• First, the goretex membrane failed in that second summer, and my feet would get wet if hiking in snow for a long time or in heavy rain. This is the typical lifespan of the membrane for me, given how much I use my boots year round. With a trip in the Himalays coming up I knew it was time to switch.

• Second, the tread was noticeably worn down. BUT it definitely did better than my old Asolo model which would be almost worn to nothing at this stage.

• Third, the boots finally showed some visible signs of wear outwardly, in the leather starting to crack, and some cracks in the side of the sole. I was really, really impressed by how minimal this wear was. If I was able to get more than 2.5 yrs out of each pair I would definitely wash and condition the leather a few times a year.

Overall, I am still incredibly happy with these boots!! The grip, comfort, durability, and stability are perfect for my feet. I feel confident on hard off trail terrain, and yet they are light enough that I don't mind them on my feet! I am so glad I found them.

Boots I tried that didn’t work, and why

La Sportiva Nucelo High GTX II: A favorite of many folks online, I bought these from REI and then sadly had to send them back. Size 39 was good for length and surprisingly roomy in the toe box. Failure was the super soft/ bendy upper of the boot- when I wore these up the hill, the bendy upper allowed my lower leg / foot to turn inward too much. Realized I needed more stiffness/ structure up top to prevent this.

La Sportiva Ultra Raptor mid- size 39, super narrow in the toe box. Tried other sizes, and when I got enough width in the toes the boot could no longer tighten adequately around my ankle.

La Sportiva Spire GTX- 39- I loved the idea of these lower boots, but they were too big/ wide for my feet. Plenty of width in the toes. Gave them to my mom, and they fit her size 8 wide feet great and she loves them. Stiffer and more supportive than a running shoe, great grip. Bummed they didn’t work.

Asolo Drifter GV EVO- 39 – the boots that from photos look the same as my old fissions, but there have been some key changes that made them a terrible fit. The hook that holds the laces right above/ on top of the ankle bend is set much farther back on the boot than my old Fissions. For my feet, this meant that when I tied the boots tight enough to prevent heel slippage and blistering, the boot had a pressure point right above my foot on the lower leg. I was so hopeful about these, but when I took them for a hike, the pressure caused significant pain and bruising on a 5 mile hike (2k elevation gain).

Scarpa Mezcalito – 39- loved the “sock-fit liner”- really felt nice and secure, but ultimately the heel cup was too small/ not rounded enough, and caused a hot spot.

Scarpa Zodiac Plus GTX- was really interested in these, but ultimately too stiff for everyday hiking and backpacking (basically no flex at all across the whole boot- walked like a less bulky version of my Nepal Evo boots.