These look deceptively simple and straight-forward but they’re light, secure, anatomically advanced and well-protected shoes.

Despite being Scott’s entry-level pair, the Comps get usefully stiff, pedal-efﬁcient and hotspot-free soles. The ErgoLogic Powerzone heels have engineered-in twist said to ease strain on your ankles and knees on long rides and while walking/riding on rough, slippery terrain.

Meanwhile, the hard compound but multi-proﬁle tread bites into most surfaces and stops you skating around too much. The optional toe studs help with extra winter grip.

While Scott describe the ﬁt as neutral, our testers found the uppers long for a given size and the extended, square-nosed toe boxes certainly give plenty of wriggling room.

The mesh toe panels mean no splash protection, but plasticky rubber toe bumpers wrap round to join extended tread panel sections on the toe sides, which you’ll be glad of in rock-prone areas.

Once you’ve cinched the three simple Velcro straps, the double-layer wrap gives a secure ﬁt without losing its light and airy overall feel. The heels are low cut at the sides but the ﬁrmly supportive, reinforced heel cups back around the Achilles for a snug, secure ﬁt without obvious heel lift when running. Bulged insteps give subtle arch support but there’s a deﬁnite dropped-heel feel that some testers found odd.

The women’s shoes are identical bar a more ornate ‘Comp’ script, but both versions are lighter than most in their category.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.

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