jerry adams
2013-04-20 03:48:36 UTC
http://tinyurl.com/chm5r4o
SCARPA RAPID LT APPROACH SHOE
TEST SERIES BY JERRY ADAMS
IR
April 18, 2013
TESTER INFORMATION
NAME: Jerry Adams
EMAIL: jerryaadamsatyahoodotcom
AGE: 59
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, USA
GENDER: m
HEIGHT: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
WEIGHT: 195 lb (88.50 kg)
I started hiking about 45 years ago. My first backpack was 40 years ago. I currently try to do one backpack trip of 1 to 5 nights every month (which can be tricky in the winter). Mostly I stay in the Western half of Oregon and Washington. In recent years I have shifted to lightweight - my pack weight without food and water is about 12 lb (6 kg). I make a lot of my own gear - silnylon tarp-tent, bivy, synthetic bag, simple bag style pack.
INITIAL REPORT
PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: SCARPA
Year of Manufacture: 2013
Manufacturer's Website: <<HYPERLINK GOES HERE - "http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/control/main">>
MSRP: US$110
Measured Weight: 24.6 oz (700 g) per pair of shoes size 12 US Mens (46 Eu)
Other details:
The SCARPA Rapid LT is a lightweight breathable shoe for hiking. They have no Goretex lining. They advertise it as an approach shoe for hiking from a trailhead to the beginning of a climb where climbing shoes would be worn. I will use them for lightweight backpacking and day hiking.
SCARPA is a Northern Italian company founded in 1938. SCARPA stands for Società Calzaturiera Asolana Riunita Pedemontana Anonima, which means Associated Shoe Manufacturing Company of the Asolo Mountain Area.
Rapid LT:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 1">>
The outside of the uppers have a black leather piece that the laces go through. This piece goes down to both sides towards the heel and down to the sides near the toe. There's another black leather piece at the heel with a webbing piece going through that's used to pull up the heel when putting the shoe on. The rest of the upper is some synthetic mesh material with some webbing pieces for strength. There's rubber reinforcement over the toes.
The inside of the uppers is a synthetic material with some foam inside that. The removable insoles are made with what appears to be the same material as the lining glued to foam pieces.
The soles are rubber with medium aggressive lugs (about 1/8 inch - 3 mm).
The shoes are black/gray with some fluorescent orange trim. These would be good for night hiking along a road so people would see me, or for other people to see for style reasons.
They say they have a "convertible heel pull loop". I assume that means I can pull the loop through one of those holes. I'm not sure why I would want to do that, maybe hang it to dry or something?:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 2">>
The laces have a rough texture so they shouldn't come untied accidentally. They go through loops in a piece of webbing sewn down the middle of the tongue so the tongue shouldn't slide to the side. In the course of testing, I'll find out if the laces stay tied and if the tongue slides to the side. The eyelets are just holes in the leather piece. There's sewn thread reinforcement around the perimeter, but I think this is more for style than reinforcement. The top two holes on each side are metal grommets. All the eyelets are orange.
There are some sewn, white logos.
Another view - of front:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 3">>
The low point of the shoe at the side of the heel area is 3 inches (7.5 cm) above the ground. The high point at the back of the heel is 4.1 inches (10.5 cm) above the ground. The sole is 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick at the heel (maybe 3/4 inch 2 cm when compressed). The sole is maybe 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick at the ball of the foot. SCARPA says there's 7 mm (1/4 inch) drop from heel to mid which is consistent with these measurements.
The shoes are made in China,
SCARPA advertises that the shoes are made mostly with recycled materials, and they are treated so they will decompose faster in a landfill.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I tried these around the house and for a few hours around town. They are very comfortable so far. I like how light they are - I have boots that one boot weighs more than this pair of shoes.
They seem well made. All the stitches are good. The different pieces of material are cut well. No bits of glue showing.
Even though I am unqualified to judge, the shoes seem well styled. The main body is black. There are some matching gray webbing pieces and laces, which is complementary with the black. There are matching orange accents on the laces, eyelets, webbing, edge of the sole, and lining, that are an interesting contrast with the black/gray. The bottom of the sole has the same color scheme - mainly black, gray trim, orange accents.
From the limited wearing I've done, the shoes seem to fit well. The size 12 USm (46 EU) seems true to size because this is the same as other shoes and boots I've worn. If I wear these and don't get blisters then I'll know for sure they are the right size, it's a little hard to know from the limited wearing I've done so far.
The soles seem fairly thin with less stiffness than other boots/shoes I've used. This is what I would expect with shoes (vs boots) and with the light weight of these shoes. This will mean the shoes aren't as good on rough rocks where the stiffness can prevent sharp edges from "telegraphing" through the soles to my feet. On the other hand, they will provide more feel. It will be interesting to see if I like this better.
SUMMARY
The SCARPA Rapid LTs are lightweight hiking shoes.
I have mostly used mid height Goretex boots in the past, but I have wanted to try lighter shoes to see how these would work. These shoes will be a good opportunity.
These shoes are less waterproof than other shoes I've used, but they should dry out faster. I will be interested to see how this works.
I will test these shoes on a couple backpack trips in each of the Field Report and Long Term Report periods. I'll get a range of level trails, a little rougher off-trail, some rainy weather, some walking through snow, and some warmer weather. It will be mostly with my standard lightweight backpacking outfit. I'll also do a few day hikes.
I'll probably wear mid weight Merino socks but may try lighter socks. I'll use lightweight gaiters over the tops.
Thanks to SCARPA and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me test these.
See my Field report in about two months.
This report was created with the BGT Report Generator.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
SCARPA RAPID LT APPROACH SHOE
TEST SERIES BY JERRY ADAMS
IR
April 18, 2013
TESTER INFORMATION
NAME: Jerry Adams
EMAIL: jerryaadamsatyahoodotcom
AGE: 59
LOCATION: Portland, Oregon, USA
GENDER: m
HEIGHT: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
WEIGHT: 195 lb (88.50 kg)
I started hiking about 45 years ago. My first backpack was 40 years ago. I currently try to do one backpack trip of 1 to 5 nights every month (which can be tricky in the winter). Mostly I stay in the Western half of Oregon and Washington. In recent years I have shifted to lightweight - my pack weight without food and water is about 12 lb (6 kg). I make a lot of my own gear - silnylon tarp-tent, bivy, synthetic bag, simple bag style pack.
INITIAL REPORT
PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: SCARPA
Year of Manufacture: 2013
Manufacturer's Website: <<HYPERLINK GOES HERE - "http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/control/main">>
MSRP: US$110
Measured Weight: 24.6 oz (700 g) per pair of shoes size 12 US Mens (46 Eu)
Other details:
The SCARPA Rapid LT is a lightweight breathable shoe for hiking. They have no Goretex lining. They advertise it as an approach shoe for hiking from a trailhead to the beginning of a climb where climbing shoes would be worn. I will use them for lightweight backpacking and day hiking.
SCARPA is a Northern Italian company founded in 1938. SCARPA stands for Società Calzaturiera Asolana Riunita Pedemontana Anonima, which means Associated Shoe Manufacturing Company of the Asolo Mountain Area.
Rapid LT:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 1">>
The outside of the uppers have a black leather piece that the laces go through. This piece goes down to both sides towards the heel and down to the sides near the toe. There's another black leather piece at the heel with a webbing piece going through that's used to pull up the heel when putting the shoe on. The rest of the upper is some synthetic mesh material with some webbing pieces for strength. There's rubber reinforcement over the toes.
The inside of the uppers is a synthetic material with some foam inside that. The removable insoles are made with what appears to be the same material as the lining glued to foam pieces.
The soles are rubber with medium aggressive lugs (about 1/8 inch - 3 mm).
The shoes are black/gray with some fluorescent orange trim. These would be good for night hiking along a road so people would see me, or for other people to see for style reasons.
They say they have a "convertible heel pull loop". I assume that means I can pull the loop through one of those holes. I'm not sure why I would want to do that, maybe hang it to dry or something?:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 2">>
The laces have a rough texture so they shouldn't come untied accidentally. They go through loops in a piece of webbing sewn down the middle of the tongue so the tongue shouldn't slide to the side. In the course of testing, I'll find out if the laces stay tied and if the tongue slides to the side. The eyelets are just holes in the leather piece. There's sewn thread reinforcement around the perimeter, but I think this is more for style than reinforcement. The top two holes on each side are metal grommets. All the eyelets are orange.
There are some sewn, white logos.
Another view - of front:
<<IMAGE GOES HERE. ALT TEXT = "IMAGE 3">>
The low point of the shoe at the side of the heel area is 3 inches (7.5 cm) above the ground. The high point at the back of the heel is 4.1 inches (10.5 cm) above the ground. The sole is 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick at the heel (maybe 3/4 inch 2 cm when compressed). The sole is maybe 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick at the ball of the foot. SCARPA says there's 7 mm (1/4 inch) drop from heel to mid which is consistent with these measurements.
The shoes are made in China,
SCARPA advertises that the shoes are made mostly with recycled materials, and they are treated so they will decompose faster in a landfill.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
I tried these around the house and for a few hours around town. They are very comfortable so far. I like how light they are - I have boots that one boot weighs more than this pair of shoes.
They seem well made. All the stitches are good. The different pieces of material are cut well. No bits of glue showing.
Even though I am unqualified to judge, the shoes seem well styled. The main body is black. There are some matching gray webbing pieces and laces, which is complementary with the black. There are matching orange accents on the laces, eyelets, webbing, edge of the sole, and lining, that are an interesting contrast with the black/gray. The bottom of the sole has the same color scheme - mainly black, gray trim, orange accents.
From the limited wearing I've done, the shoes seem to fit well. The size 12 USm (46 EU) seems true to size because this is the same as other shoes and boots I've worn. If I wear these and don't get blisters then I'll know for sure they are the right size, it's a little hard to know from the limited wearing I've done so far.
The soles seem fairly thin with less stiffness than other boots/shoes I've used. This is what I would expect with shoes (vs boots) and with the light weight of these shoes. This will mean the shoes aren't as good on rough rocks where the stiffness can prevent sharp edges from "telegraphing" through the soles to my feet. On the other hand, they will provide more feel. It will be interesting to see if I like this better.
SUMMARY
The SCARPA Rapid LTs are lightweight hiking shoes.
I have mostly used mid height Goretex boots in the past, but I have wanted to try lighter shoes to see how these would work. These shoes will be a good opportunity.
These shoes are less waterproof than other shoes I've used, but they should dry out faster. I will be interested to see how this works.
I will test these shoes on a couple backpack trips in each of the Field Report and Long Term Report periods. I'll get a range of level trails, a little rougher off-trail, some rainy weather, some walking through snow, and some warmer weather. It will be mostly with my standard lightweight backpacking outfit. I'll also do a few day hikes.
I'll probably wear mid weight Merino socks but may try lighter socks. I'll use lightweight gaiters over the tops.
Thanks to SCARPA and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me test these.
See my Field report in about two months.
This report was created with the BGT Report Generator.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------