Team Geared Up

price difference? thought you bought them already?

I realise that this is quite an old string and therefore probably too late to help the person who initiated it. Anyway I have owned both Nepal Extreme and Evo’s so I thought I’d offer my belated point of view incase someone else out there had the same question.

I bought a pair of Extreme’s a few years ago and got rubbing both in the heal and in the toe section. I soon made my mind up to get rid of them but nothing else seemed to fit me right until I tried the Evo’s. Since then I’ve never looked back.

I disagree that the Extreme and Evo are the same boot. In fact the only thing they have in common is the brand and colour. Sportiva’s intention was probably to update the Extreme but what they have ended up with is 2 superb boots that suit different foot shapes. This is possibly why they have not discontinued the original Extreme.

For me the main diffentence is the toe section, which is completely different. The Extreme’s toe section extends to a point in the center of the boot. This is OK if you have a small-ish big toe, but if you are like me and your big toe extends well beyond the others you could find a lack of room in that area of the boot and a lot of pressure building up (both my big toe nails fell off after a day spent front pointing). The toe section of the Evo is generally roomier with more internal height so your toes do not feel squashed, but most importantly it has been completely reshaped it to give more room on the side of the big toe.

The heal section has also been remodeled for the Evo and now acts to clamp the foot in and limit movement. Coupled with the ankle hinge thing this does a lot to prevent hot-spots.

There are other smaller changes; overall the Evo is a higher boot, the new snow skirts are useful, the extra tongues use a lighter and more breathable material, and there’s the Gortex (which will be rendered useless after a few miles as in all gortex boots).

I have been well impressed with the Evo. I have taken them on numerous trips including spending 3 weeks living in them at 4000+ in China last year. My feet were toasty warm, dry and blister free compared to my two friends, one of whom was wearing Extremes! They are very comfortable to front point in and great on long walks.

It all depends on the shape of your foot. Some people will have more success with the original Extreme’s, but they are definitely not the same boot. For me the Evo’s are definitely worth the extra cash!

cheers Ian, been looking at them both aswel and you answered my questions. thanks for posting it.