Scarpa Mescalito Planet Approach Shoe – Rigid and Comfortable

Drew Thayer

The newest in Scarpa’s line of sturdy, hiking-oriented approach shoes, the Mescalito is a durable, comfortable approach shoe that’s easy on the feet on long approaches, climbs well on slabs and cracks, and is sturdy enough for wall climbing. The “planet” designation is a nod to new material sourcing, using recycled textiles and rubber without compromising performance.

The Scarpa Mescalito Planet approach shoe is a proper approach shoe, at home on high-angle scrambly terrain. The boxy, full-rand construction makes these shoes very durable.

Scarpa Mescalito Planet Approach Shoe Review

Build: a slightly lighter take on boxy, full-rand durability

Fans of Scarpa approach shoes will recognize the boxy, full-rand construction of the Zen and Zen Pro, 17 ounce tanks I used to wear when I was on the road a lot, scrambling all over the place and climbing walls. Those shoes would literally disintegrate on the inside before their rubber-wrapped outers started falling apart, but man were they heavy and they didn’t really breathe.

The Scarpa Mescalito Planet approach shoe is similarly rugged, but a bit less dense, with a more breathable upper and a slightly lighter midsole and notably lighter and thinner rubber tread. My pair in size 43.5 (US 10.5) weigh 14.3 oz each. 

Only time will tell if this new tread, claimed to be 40% slimmer and 30% lighter, will last as long as my old Zen Pros. Given that those shoes were effectively indestructible, and I burn through running shoes every 9 months these days, I’m not worried about it.

In terms of fit, these shoes are neither particularly wide or narrow and will fit a variety of feet well. They run true to size for Scarpa, which has very consistent sizing IMO and sizing charts from EU <> US sizing tend to be accurate.

Rigid, padded, comfortable: an approach shoes’ approach shoe

In my opinion, the Mescalito Planet hits the mark as the definition of an all-arounder approach shoe for climbers who want to be able to access every kind of climbing with one shoe. This is the one shoe to bring on a 2 month road trip. They’re built to be very durable and flex just enough to be comfortable to walk in, which they are.

My feet are happy walking miles of flat trail, and they’re also rigid enough with enough density underfoot to traverse slopes of shattered scree. While they don’t have a rock plate per se, layers of dense sole and midsole effectively act like one; I cannot feel the sharp points of rocks prodding the bottom of my feet in these shoes. 

These Mescalito shoes are perfect for moving fast over trails, talus, and climbing low-fifth-class rock, which makes them a great choice for a pre-work scramble up the First Flatiron.

I’d emphasize the torsional rigidity of this shoe (its resistance to being twisted), because this is what makes it a great shoe for actually doing the work of approaching: all that hurried scrambly travel over broken rock, boulder fields, and low-fifth-class slabs and ridges to get to steeper rock climbs. This is the entire point of owning approach shoes, otherwise we’d just wear more comfortable running shoes. While softer, more sensitive shoes are nicer on the feet for hiking on trail, they suck for this kind of techy terrain, which comprises a majority of what we actually do moving around in the mountains.

Torsional rigidity is also super important for an approach shoe to climb well: the shoe needs to be stiff enough that you can apply your weight to the edge and not feel like the whole shoe will roll off. To resist twisting, the Mescalito has a TPU shank shaped something like an angled capital “H” that connects the rear foot to the forefoot, giving it this necessary rigidity. 

Climbing ability: about as good as you can ask for from a walking shoe

For a shoe that’s comfortable to walk 15 miles in, this climbs about as well as you could hope. As explained above, the rigid construction allows you to use the toe edge with confidence, and a good amount of surface area in the broad lugs provide a lot of grip for smearing. The Mescalito also jams very well in hand-size and larger cracks, and this won’t wear down the shoe thanks to the burly rubber rand. I think most people will feel comfortable scrambling low-fifth-class terrain in these shoes about as hard as any they would climb without a proper climbing shoe, somewhere between 5.4 and 5.7 for most folks depending on the style.

FWIW this would be a great wall shoe, similar to the old Zen Pro. The generous rubber toe rand can stand up to the shoe-destroying rigors of jugging, the instep is firm enough to feel comfortable standing in aiders, and if you need to do a bit of climbing you’re got sticky rubber on your feet in rigid shoes that edge well.

The Mescalito Planet smears and edges about as well as you can expect for a shoe that’s also comfortable to walk 10 miles in. Comfortable, durable, and relatively stuff, this is an approach shoe’s approach shoe.

Rounding out the all-arounder abilities of this shoe, it’s about as good an option you can find in a lighter, low-cut shoe for climbing snow. While mid-height boots with ¾ or full steel shanks will obviously perform much better on snow, you can get away with some steep snow travel on these shoes with some universal aluminum crampons. This shoe is rigid enough to give a crampon something to cinch snugly around, and doesn’t roll away from the engaged points the way a running shoe does. I climbed some 60-80 degree stiff snow while approaching the Longs Peak Diamond on an early season ascent this summer, and while it wasn’t the fastest or most secure footwear to be wearing, these shoes got it done and I didn’t need to carry an extra pair of light mountain boots for the day.

It’s worth noting that these are not your run-to-scramble shoes for ridge traverses and Flatirons scrambles… they are just not comfortable for running (no true approach shoe really is, but some are acceptable for shorter distances). 

Bottom line

Is your objective 8 miles from the car? Over loose scree and through a boulderfield? Need to climb a bit of snow? Some slabby 5.5 and a dirty chimney? (i.e. most alpine rock climbing in North America…) Mescalito Planet is an approach shoes’ approach shoe: dense, kinda heavy, supportive, stable, comfortable for long miles. One shoe to hike, scramble, slog up scree, jam in cracks, smear, edge, kick steps in snow, put back on near the summit when the angle eases off and glissade down warm slush at the end of the day. They’re a great wall shoe too. 

If you want one shoe to get you to most kinds of climbing, or only want to own one pair, these would be a good choice. There are lighter shoes, there are warmer shoes, but these pretty much do it all. The only thing they don’t do is run.

Drew Thayer