Walking Boots

The North Face Verto S3K Gore-Tex Mountaineering Boots | Review

Lightweight, supportive, and perfect for fast summer ascents; you'll love the North Face Verto S3K boots.

Mountaineering in the summer is a whole different ball game to winter mountaineering. The days are longer, the temperatures milder and you’ll be spending more time on rock and scree than battling through snow and ice. When looking for a summer mountaineering boot, you want to make sure that it is lightweight and stiff enough for the route you’re planning to take.

Mountaineering boots range in stiffness from B1 to B3. B1 boots are more flexible, ideal for glacier trails and easy mountaineering whereas a pair of B3s are stiffer and more suited to snowy routes like climbing Mont Blanc.

The North Face have been making mountaineering boots for a number of years now. In the 50 years since they started as a small outdoor shop in San Francisco, The North Face have helped explorers reach the most far-flung corners of the planet – from scaling untouched Himalayan peaks to the world’s toughest ultramarathons.

“582g per boot is really impressively light for a full-blown technical mountaineering boot.”

The North Face Verto S3K is a summer mountaineering boot designed specifically for men. They are perfect warm weather boots for when you are climbing technical mountainous terrain and via ferratas.

The first thing that struck us when testing the Verto S3K boots was how lightweight they are, making them great for quick, nimble ascents. 582g per boot is really impressively light for a full-blown technical mountaineering boot. They are supportive too, thanks to the 270 degree Kevlar wrap that forms a cage around your foot. These boots offer excellent stability when tackling tough terrain and around the B1 mark when it comes to stiffness. These boots are only ankle-height unlike other mountaineering boots, which allows greater freedom of movement when climbing.

These are perfect warm weather boots for when you are climbing technical mountainous terrain and via ferratas. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The North Face have been delivering the goods for outdoors enthusiasts for 50 years. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The Gore-Tex waterproof membrane allows your feet to breathe when they get hot and sweaty. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The soles are made with Vibram Mulaz, a grippy rubber that delivers superior traction on wet or dry surfaces. Photo: Chris Johnson.

The Verto S3Ks are also completely waterproof, which is essential when hiking through snow, slush or rain. The Gore-Tex waterproof membrane allows your feet to breathe when they get hot and sweaty, while also keeping your them dry. The soles are made with Vibram Mulaz, a grippy rubber that delivers superior traction on wet or dry surfaces.

If you attempt summer summit missions in winter mountaineering boots, more often than not you’ll find them unnecessarily heavy and hot. You need a pair that are lightweight for those fast ascents with enough support to keep your foot protected. The North Face Verto S3K boots will do just that.