Scott MTB Comp Mid shoes review

The MTB Comp Mid sits between a lightweight cross-country shoe and a heavier-duty trail shoe. It has a relatively low-bulk construction, but with some trail-friendly features to boost all-day comfort.

Scott MTB Comp Mid Shoe spec details

The bulk of the upper of the shoe is built from a single sheet of material, with perforations for ventilation, as well as two mesh-covered ventilation ports. Both the toe and heel areas receive additional reinforcement to protect your feet from bashes.

The shoe is secured with a single Boa dial, with the routing of the Boa wire going down to just above the toes. There’s a single wire guide at the top of the tongue to keep it central in the shoe.

The Boa L6 dial has indents, giving plenty of adjustment on tightening. To loosen, the dial should be pulled up, allowing free movement of the cable through the ratchet.

Around the ankle is a neoprene gaiter, designed to reduce the amount of soil or grit that can enter the shoe, a feature we've seen on a number of the best mountain bike shoes.

The sole has numerous tread blocks, largely running front to back, along with a pair of moulded-in studs. The rubber is moderately soft, while there’s a rubber section in the middle of the sole, where there are no tread blocks, to aid grip if you miss the pedal’s clip mechanism.

The 32mm-long cleat channel is average in its length, and we were able to get the cleat run fairly far back in the shoe, which helps with foot stability during descents.

Inside the shoe, there’s an insole with good arch support and a metatarsal button. This section of the insole is designed to help prevent your toes from scrunching up on prolonged pedalling sections.

The inside of the heel box isn’t flat, but there are shoes out there with thicker, more sculpted padding around the heel.

Scott MTB Comp Mid Shoe performance

Fit on the shoe is good, with the Boa wire enabling good tension control over your foot. However, an additional Velcro strap or secondary Boa system would offer additional tension adjustment.

I found the Boa wire would bind on itself when getting towards my optimum tightness – usually on the top cross-over of the Boa wires. This is something I’ve found with many Boa systems in the past. It requires you to wriggle your foot a little to release the bind, or re-tension early in the ride.

Despite this, I was able to get the shoe to fit comfortably. The toe box is spacious without being cavernous, and while some shoes have better heel hold, I never found my heels rubbing or slipping when pedalling or pushing.

Likewise, the arch felt good, and much like with Specialized’s Body Geometry shoes, I found the metatarsal button did as advertised, with no scrunched toes on long climbs.

Ventilation is good, though this comes at the expense of splash protection. Furthermore, toe and heel protection feel adequate.

The gaiter does a good job of keeping loam and grit out of the shoes. While full sock constructions work better, it’s a good compromise between dirt protection and ease of entry and exit from the shoe.

The sole has a ‘6’ rating for stiffness on Scott’s scale – generally speaking, it’s in the middle of the range. This means pedalling efficiency is good, but there’s enough flex in the shank and towards the toe to make pushing the bike comfortable, rather than feeling like you're walking on ice skates, and the shoes don’t feel excessively stiff on rough, technical tracks.

While the shoes are stiff enough to use on pedals without a cage, we found they felt best with a little extra support, such as with Shimano’s trail pedals.

The sole’s tread clogs fairly quickly with mud, and the tread blocks aren’t particularly deep, so pushing in the mud is a touch compromised.

However, I found the cleat channel’s openness made it easy to locate the cleat when clipping into pedals.

Scott MTB Comp Mid Shoe bottom line

The Scott MTB Comp Mid is a good shoe for general trail riding. Stiffness is good enough that the shoe doesn't feel soggy or inefficient, while also remaining comfortable on long rides.

The upper does a reasonable job of keeping the weather out, and the addition of the gaiter keeps feet cleaner and dryer than they might otherwise be.

Improved traction in mud would be nice, and the binding Boa wires are a frustration.