Adrian Nelhams: Hanwag Sirius GTX boot review

Hanwag Sirius GTX

Sirius, the brightest star in the sky? Well they’re certainly up there with all the major competitors when it comes to high performance mountain boots!

The Sirius GTX boots are ideally suited on both ice and mixed climbing in the winter and summer Alpine terrain, although they are a single boot. They kept my feet warm down to -16 degrees this winter, as long as I was moving. For me, this is bottom end when moving and anything lower in temperature or any more hanging around I’d need to be wearing double boots. I’ve replaced the insole for a more supportive foot bed which through years of guiding and climbing I need in any boot, I wear just one thick sock and in the most part wear short ankle gaiters which just tie in the laces and keep any loose snow out of the top of the boot. The Sirius I would say is a medium to wide fitting with a good amount of room on the toe box.

The Sirius is about 1900g for the pair which is similar to the Scarpa equivalent and a little lighter than the Sportiva which are all great boots but all different fits giving you a great choice in finding something that fits and feels great when it comes to shelling out on a new pair of Mountain boots.

The Sirius is a neat fitting high end performance climbing boot with the upper made from soft Bergrind Leather with very few seams meaning a lot more comfort and less rubbing and pressure points. Hanwag uses a special technique, which makes it possible to reduce the number of seams. It sounds simple, but it involves very complex craftsmanship which Hanwag have had experience of for over 90 years!

The soft upper allows maximum flexibility in all directions making hiking and walking over easier angled snow /ice slopes in crampons comfortable and allows absolute precision when climbing very steep, technical and fragile ice.

Matched to this the ridged Vibram sole unit which gives you a great platform when front pointing on the steepest of ice and great edging when climbing more mixed rocky ground.

The sole is also cushioned at the heal and fully compatible with a ‘step in’ crampon with a ‘welt’ at the front which accommodates most bails.

The rubber rand which extends around the base of the boot just above the sole unit gives the boot more durably waterproof, gives increased stability and protects the upper so that it lasts longer.

The lacing system includes a ‘Click Clamp’ locking D-ring system which I‘ve found incredibly useful when I really want to crank the boots up tight for the steeper pitches (The D-rings once locked keep the lower part of the lacing system tight while you finish lacing the upper part)

I’ve also found the boots to be incredibly breathable which has kept my feet dry during high activity walking into the icefalls this winter and hence warm feet when you slow down and start climbing and hanging around on the belays.

This must be due to the Gore-Tex lining and tradition leather outer which must breathe more effectively than a lot of the other largely synthetic boots with numerous seams and different panels.

The insulation is Durathrem which coupled with the breathability helps keep the feet warm even on the older days I had in the mountains this winter.

I’ve been used to using a boot with an integral gaiter for the past 10years and initially missed finishing lacing the boot up by zipping up a gaiter over the top which gave me the feeling that the boot was completely weather proof, warm and kept any snow getting in around the laces.

But I needn’t have worried as the Sirius with its high bellowed tongue, warm inner lining and waterproofness made me realise it was just a change of habit and as much of a visual thing as anything and like I say my ankle gaiters kept any loose snow from getting on over the top of the boot and my laces neatly out of the way.