SCARPAFuego Hiking Boots for Mountaineering and Wildland Firefighting

Gnarly, Stiff, Quality: three words that summarize my first impression of these boots. I had been watching them for a while, waiting for a sale. Then I saw a pair of 46.5s used in good condition for $150 and I jumped. I would normally wear a 46, but I followed the advice in many reviews and went a half size bigger. Glad I did too , and not just for the $100 savings in the used boot. I also have a pair of Scarpa Mid GTX approach boots which I bought in 46, and I can see how the extra 1/2 size would have helped. So I am glad I upsized with these Fuegos.Gnarly: these kicks just look as though they are gonna' attack and eat whatever gets in their way. There is amazing padding in the tongue and around the ankles. Despite going up a half size to 12 1/2, these boots don't look like clown shoes.Because the entire boot is so beefy, the extra length seems unnoticeable.Stiff: like many reviews say, you can't bend them by hand. I mean you can, but it is hard. I stand on ledges, branches and other narrow footholds when snapping photos and am confident this stiffness will reduce fatigue and pain from extended standing on 'rung like' surfaces.Quality: these boots veritably SCREAM quality. Stitching is flawless. The suede uppers feel luxurious and durable, the lining strong and comfortable. As with my Scarpa GTX mids, the Fuego's insole is basically an unpadded liner. If you want a cushy footbed, buy an insole. The hardware through which the laces pass is quality too....no sharp edges to cut hurried, searching fingers in the dark.To sum up, these boots are up for any challenge, are built like a tank, stiff as a board (a good thang) and look as though they will outlast me. Buy a half size up on sale for $100 off and you too will be writing glowing reviews of these fine, fine boots.UPDATE: Went for an off trail photo hike today along the steep slopes of a burn recovering costal canyon. I've been wearing Bates and Bellville for years, but these Fuegos are a whole different class. Outstanding! They will take time to break in, but the inherent stiffness of the Scarpas makes brush busting easy.

Bought for a season of wildland firefighting on a type 2 handcrew in northern California in '21 (Caldor, Beckwourth Complex, Monument) and worn/abused without incident (did replace laces). Continued to use for occasional chainsaw work, and abused once more for a season of trailwork ("The Boot-Mattock": kicking rocks, scraping drains, touching up tread). Developed an internal tear in the midsole that feels a bit weird, but completely solid on the outside. Tread is getting a bit worn, to be expected. Just oiled them for the first time after noticing some small cracks. Fits true to size, minimal break-in period, not too hot, lighter than loggers, and pretty good for hiking. I will definitely be buying these boots again!

Love the Scarpa fuego! Super comfortable and solid construction and quality which I have come to expect from Scarpa. I've been in wildland for 18 years and I will never use a logger boot again. Highly recommended for anyone looking to try something different than a traditional logger style. Overall no break in period for comfort, but give them 4-6 weeks to unstiffen Overall. These do have a stiff feel at first but still comfortable out of box, first hike no discomfort or hot spots at all. I do recommend going up a half size too. I would say true to size but if you're like most all wildland hikers you need that little bit extra for the downhills. Best boot and good price considering the high price for loggers now a day. I also died mine black and it held up so far, 10 PT hikes, and 4 fires.

These shoes are made with excellent materials. They are very solidly made. I did have to return the first set I ordered, because they were size 11 which I wear, but they were just way too tight. So I upped the size to 12 1/2, and these fit my feet perfectly. I had zero trouble making the boot exchange with Amazon. The first set of boots came in about four weeks after I ordered them. I sent them back, and the new set was delivered in less than 10 days. These boots are very firm around the ankle and foot . I have not worn these through the winter yet, and that is the main reason I bought them. I do a lot of outside work on snow shoes, and I thought these would work well. I will have to update this review after the snow starts falling and I have to switch to snow shoes.

My wife and I are both firefighters. She purchased these boots for wildland fire fighting. She's like's them so I decided to get me a pair for the same reason.The bad part about getting these boots is the sizing. I tried a few pairs in order to get the correct ones, but I wear a size 9 shoe and ordered the size 42 boot. That size is good for me. I wear a good thick pair of boot socks when I wear these. I would reccomend doing this anyway.When the boots are new plan on them being very very stiff. The first time I wore these I laced them all the way up. After about 2 hours the top of the tongue was digging into my shin. I unlaced the top rung and retired them. That helped, but by that point it was already rubbed uncomfortable. I did not wear those again for 2 days, then again laced them all but the top that time. I was able to wear the boot all day that way. I have put about 10 miles in them so far and they are still very stiff. My wife went on a fire with hers not being broke in, and did not have any blisters after the boots first call. They are a good comfortable boot in my opinion. Just stiff, but still more comfortable then the last pair of wildland boots I had.