My Long Term Review of La Sportiva’s TX4 GTX Boot

Published By: Daniel Woodley. Updated: 17th October 2023. Filed at: Reviews. Disclosure: I may earn a commission from purchases made via links.

I’ve been wearing La Sportiva’s TX4 GTX approach boot for the last 24 months and have completed dozens of routes in Snowdonia including:

• Crib Goch and Snowdon.
• Watkin Path and South Ridge Circular.
• Tryfan’s North Ridge.
• Bristly Ridge.
• +Dozens of scrambling routes at grade 1 and 2 plus a couple at grade 3.

In short, La Sportiva TX4 GTX has given me the confidence on the rock that I simply wouldn’t have with a regular hiking boot and after two years of hard use, no part of the boot has failed.

The TX4 comes as a shoe or as a mid-boot, go for the GTX version if you want the waterproof Gore-Tex liner which is great, while it lasts.

Me on Notch Arete wearing my La Sportiva TX4 boots.

What is the TX4 For?

La Sportiva’s TX4 is approach footwear; this means that it isn’t a general hiking boot and it isn’t a dedicated climbing shoe.

It fills the niche between the two and is popular with scramblers and also climbers who wear them on technical approaches to their routes.

If you currently own a regular hiking boot but now find yourself spending more time on rock rather than mud and grass, then the TX4 could be for you. It provides the user with the comfort of a hiking boot yet with the grip and confidence you can expect from a rock climbing shoe.

Not sure whether you want climbing, approach or general hiking footwear?

Look at the tread of these three:

TX5: The TX5 has a decent heel, no climbing zone and deep, shaped lugs all round, making it very good on grass, mud and for general hiking but mediocre on technical rock and scrambling.

The Sole and Tread

The soles of the TX4 are made by Vibram, the leading manufacturer of soles for climbers, hikers and walkers.

I found that the rounded lugs gave me plenty of grip on a variety of hard surfaces from gritty sandstone to shiny quartz.

Also, the lugs shed mud quickly, and I can’t recall ever having an issue with dirt or grass getting stuck in the tread – this is something newbie scramblers will appreciate as regular hiking boots often have a deep tread which picks up all sorts of organic material that could cause a traction issue on rock.

As with many approach shoes, they don’t perform as well on slopes with wet grass. The tread is primarily designed for rock and hard surfaces and in my opinion, it isn’t deep enough to provide good, reliable traction when going up hills with wet grass.

At the toe, there is a climbing zone, which is a smooth area of rubber for maximising traction on narrow footholds; again, this will help scramblers and climbers alike and is rarely found on regular hiking footwear.

The sole is moderately firm but not overly rigid and perfect for scrambling and hopping over rocks.

Pro tip: As with most approach/scrambling footwear, the lugs aren’t as deep and hard as those on regular boots, so they won’t provide the best grip on wet grass and they won’t last as long. Given that these boots provide excellent grip on hard surfaces, they are best worn on approaches to climbs and scrambling routes rather than for general use. In other words, I would wear these on the Snowdon Horseshoe or in the Glyderau but I would wear my old leather hiking boots for a trek in the Chilterns where there’s lots of rolling grassy hills and steep muddy paths.

The shallow rounded lugs and “climbing zone” at the toe provide plenty of traction on rock, less so on wet grass and mud.

Cushioning, the Upper and Breathability

Cushioning under the heel is moderate and as I would expect from an approach shoe while the mid and front areas only have light cushioning. It’s worth remembering that this isn’t a general hiking boot so I wouldn’t expect it to be as heavy or have as much padding.

The boot upper is made from suede leather and mesh, and despite some heavy usage over the last 24 months, there’s no sign of wear and tear problems.

I found them a little hot in the summer but only rarely where they uncomfortable. For me, they provide the perfect balance between protection and breathability, and I certainly wouldn’t want a boot with less protection just for the sake of cooler feet – next time I may get the version without Gore-Tex as I suspect this reduces breathability of the boot.

The lacing system on the TX4 looks flimsy, and I wasn’t sure how long they would last, but to my surprise, after 24 months, there are no issues for me to report here either. Tightening or slacking the laces is easy and I often found myself loosening them off on long approaches and then tightening them up before challenging scrambles.

I liked how the laces went down close to the toes, allowing me to really tighten them up before a challenging scramble.

I initially had concerns that the lacing system might not last, but after 24 months I have no issues to report.

Build Quality/Wear and Tear

Whenever I buy lightweight clothing or shoes, I always worry about the build quality.

Has the manufacturer made a compromise to keep the weight down?

Well, not with this boot.

After 24 months of intensive use, I can only find two very minor issues.

• There is some minor scuffing that has removed two tiny patches of surface material.
• The sole has come away from the heel and the side by a few millimetres, but I don’t think it will get worse anytime soon as it feels like the rest of the sole is secure.

Two minor patches where the material has scuffed off – very minor and typical “wear and tear” after 24 months of use.