Dolomite Steinbock Approach HP GTX
Price: £195
Country of manufacture: Romania
Weight: 1,380g a pair of (size 44½/10)
Colour: red/silver
Material: uppers, 1.6 to 1.8mm suede and DLM elastic fibre; sole, rubber
Waterproofing: Gore-Tex
Crampon rating: B0 (not crampon compatible)
Dolomite may not be the best know boot brand in Britain, but the Italian company has been around since 1897 and is now part of the Tecnica Group which includes Lowa.
Dolomite, pronounced Italian-style: Dol-o-meetay, rates its boots in five groups: mountaineering, approach, backpacking, hiking and multifunction.
The Steinbock Approach HP GTX falls into the approach category, aimed at mountain walkers who might tackle some rock on their route. So if your preference is for scrambly outings, Dolomite reckons this is the boot for you.
Dolomite has various models with similar names, including the shoe version of this model and a full mountain boot, the Steinbock GTX, which will takes a semi-flexible crampon.
The Steinbock Approach HP GTX has quite a stiff sole but is not rated for crampon use, though it might just take a C1 walking crampon, but it’s clearly not designed for any technical ice work.
The Vibram sole, with its replaceable tip
The Vibram sole has a replaceable front section designed to help on small scrambling footholds. The outsole’s lugs are fairly shallow, which means they’re not at their best in gloopy mud, though performance on mud on our test routes was acceptable.
Where the boot really comes into its own is on rocky routes. Grip on dry rock, both going up and down, is very good. Traction on gravelly paths is good and braking downhill is also very reassured.
On wet rock, the Approach HP GTX also performed well, with assured grip on all but the most difficult, greasy terrain.
On wet grass, traction and braking were reasonable.
The stiff sole gives good confidence on smallish rock holds. These are not rockshoes, but there is a fair amount of friction in the sole and the toe section works well on rock.
The rand, which wraps around the whole of the toe section is stiff and gives good protection against knocks against rock.
There is also good heel protection from an outer rubber heel cup.
For a boot with such a stiff sole, the Approach HP GTX is surprisingly comfortable. We wore the boots on all sorts of terrain, from very tame Peak District trails to Lake District mountains, and our feet were fresh even at the end of a long day.
Grip on rock was reassuring
The boots are reasonably lightweight, but the key to the comfort is in the Dolomite Anatomic System.
Again, this is rated at different levels, from one to four, with the Approach HP GTX benefiting from DAS3. The insole is not over-endowed with cushioning, but clearly the midsole is very well designed and absorbed shocks very well, even after fairly prolonged walking on hard surfaces.
It’s nice to have a boot that performs well on tougher terrain but is also fairly comfortable on the walk-in or that you can also use on tamer routes.
The suede uppers are fairly soft but give enough protection against knocks.
The ankle cuff is unusual in that it’s a soft foam affair that hugs the ankle and does a reasonable job of protecting against impacts, though won’t protect as much as a high leather ankle model. Combined with the foam cuff is an elasticated gusset that hugs the ankle and helps keep pebbles and grit out very well.
Lacing needed care, as there aren’t really any locking loops until you get to the very top two hooks, so a locking knot was necessary lower down on the seventh lace-holes. There is no metal reinforcement round the holes until the sixth and seventh, which might put a question over durability though to be fair there was absolutely no sign of excessive wear on the unprotected holes during our tests.
Styling is that of a mountain boot
The asymmetric pattern of the lacing holes worked well at holding the forefoot in place.
The uppers have a Gore-Tex membrane to provide waterproofing. In warmer weather this leads to a little more build-up of moisture in the boot than a non-membrane model, but it was manageable.
The style of the boot is very much in the European mountain tradition, with bright red and silver colourway prompting ‘they’ll see you coming in those’ comments. A few trips through British bogs toned down the brightness of the red suede while retaining a certain Alpine style. For more conservative tastes, there is a black and silver version.
The Approach HP GTX does not come in a women-specific version, but sizes 3 to 12½ are available.
These Dolomite boots might just do as an all-rounder for spring and autumn for mountain walkers who like to tackle rocky routes or graded scrambles. Feet and legs were in reasonable condition after prolonged days walking in the hills and the boots remained comfortable despite the stiff soles.
Performance 30/35
Comfort 30/35
Quality 8/10
Value for money 14/20
Total score: 82/100
More details are available on the Dolomite website.
UK distributor for Dolomite is Allcord.
