The Hoka Kaha 2 Frost GTX is a 400g insulated winter mountaineering mid boot rated all the way down to -25F. Heat and waterproof, its an attention-grabbing different to each calf-height insulated 400g winter mountaineering boots. However when evaluating insulated mountaineering footwear, you might want to take into account your complete winter footwear system, together with insulation, traction, and flotation. Likelihood is you’ve invested a substantial sum in gaiters, microspikes, crampons, and snowshoes…or you’ll..so that you’re going to need footwear that may gracefully interoperate with these parts.Â
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- The Kaha 2 Frost GTX has a Vibram megagrip sole, 400 grams of insulation, an aluminum reflective sock liner, and Gore-tex membrane.
- A pair of males’s 10.5 US, runs barely small and weighs 2 lbs 10 oz
- The boots are about an inch longer (13″) than 10.5M Oboz Bridger 10″ 400g boots in the identical dimension and an inch wider (4.5″).
- The rear soles are extensively flared like most Hoka’s.
- There’s a slim front-toe kick.
- The soles are flat, though there’s an honest rocker. However there aren’t any attachment factors for gaiters, together with no entrance gaiter ring and no protruding ridge within the again to carry down a snowshoe strap.
Insulation
The Kaha 2 Frost GTX is insulated with 400g insulation, which places it into the identical class of insulation as Oboz Bridger 10″ and Eager Revel IV 400g insulated winter boots which can hold your toes from turning into popsicles in subzero climate. Each of these boots, the main winter boots utilized by many winter hikers, are calf-high boots and never mids (mid-height). The upper added leg protection makes them hotter than insulated mids, which is one thing to think about.
The 400g designation signifies that 400g/sq. meter insulation is used within the boots, not that they’ve 400 grams of insulation. In the event that they did, they’d be as heavy as cinderblocks. It is a frequent mistake made by the advertising of us who write product descriptions. Hoka charges these all the way down to -25F, however that assumes you’re mountaineering vigorously and never standing round ready for SAR to reach to evacuate your buddy who’s damaged a leg.
I simply discovered that these boots solely have 200g insulation in them as a substitute of 400g. Whoever wrote the product description for the Hoka web site assumed that 200g x 2 sneakers = 400g. I don’t suppose I’ve ever encountered an organization so inept or misleading in how they market their insulated footwear. That is simply mistaken…on so many ranges!
Traction
Rather a lot has been written about Vibram megagrip and the way nice it’s for climbing functions, however none of that’s going to matter in any respect when mountaineering on snow or ice. The one factor which may matter is the lug depth when mountaineering on packed snow, and that’s sort of ho-hum on the Kaha 2 Frost. It’s what you’d count on on a 3-season path runner. Deeper lugs would supply extra traction.
Traction Aids
In the event you want traction on a winter hike, you’re going to be carrying and utilizing a number of of the next traction aids which are suitable with soft-soled footwear.
How properly does the Kaha 2 Frost GTX play with the binding techniques of those varied traction aids?
- Hillsound Path Crampons: The pair I usually use (with Oboz Bridger 10″ boots) barely match over the additional lengthy and vast sole of the Kaha 2 Frost GTX. However extra importantly, the entrance presses down uncomfortably on the Kaha’s toe Field. I’ve seen this earlier than on different winter boots that don’t have beefy toe kicks that may resist the compression exerted on them by an elastomer harness. It ends in toe blistering, discomfort, and chilly, because the toe field is compressed, decreasing blood circulation.
- Kahtoola K10 Crampon. Non-starter. The again of the binding doesn’t match over the rear flared heel of the Kahas. The boots are also too lengthy for the versatile leaf spring (middle bar).
- Hillsound Path Crampon Professional. Non-Starter. The again of the binding doesn’t match over the rear flared heel of the Kahas, and the entrance doesn’t match both. The boots are additionally too lengthy for the middle bar.
- Grivel G1 Crampon: Non-Starter. The boots are additionally too lengthy for the versatile leaf spring (middle bar). The again binding assumes a vertical, not a flared heal, and doesn’t work.
Internet. Internet. The Kaha 2 Frost GTX doesn’t work with these widespread traction aids. That’s an issue since I put on them over 50% of the time when mountaineering up and down mountains. Your mileage could differ.
Flotation
The one snowshoes I’ve available are MSR Evo Ascents with conventional 3-strap ski bindings. These are likely to work with any sort of boot, together with mammoth mountaineering boots and so they labored surprisingly properly with the Kaha’s. I nonetheless need to take a look at them with snowshoe binding from Tubbs, MSR, and Atlas,
Preliminary Impressions
I’m underwhelmed by the Hoka Kaha 2 Frost GTX winter boots. The shortage of compatibility with traction aids provides me pause. The rear flared sole, which is Hoka’s signature function, can be its biggest legal responsibility. In the event you can stand the toe compression brought on by an elastomer harness and you’ve got a suitable snowshoe binding, these may be appropriate for winter mountaineering…however should you’re going to pay $280 for a pair of insulated winter mountaineering boots, I’d get a pair that works with any traction assist or snowshoe and provides these Hokas a move.
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