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ScottB

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I have been looking for my first pair of AT boots recently. They are not well stocked in most ski shops in the Boston metro-East areas. REI carries them but they won't bring out their ski gear till October. I will miss all the summer/early season sales by then. Kind of need a specialty BC shop to find a good selection. If I drive from Boston to ski country I am sure I can find plenty of boots to try, but I don't have the time for the trip.
I found a local shop, The Sports Stop, in Wenham MA that has some. I tried on the following:

K2 Pinnacle 110
Head Kore 1
Salomon QST 120
Full Tilt ?
Tecnica Cochise 120

I found out I can size down one size from my Lange RS140 29.5 boots. Really, I should be in Lange RS140 28.5 with a toe punch vs my 29.5's. I have a long narrow foot with no unusual features. If they are narrow enough and long enough, I get a great fit out of the box.

I liked the K2's and the Technica's. The fit was good and the boots felt pretty good overall. The are both heavy downhill derived boots with a walk mode and toe inserts. The Head Kore's hurt my feet around the instep and ankles. No way on those, but they were decently light. The Salomon proved that 29.5 was too big and they didn't have a 28.5 to try. The Full Tilt was just awful in too many ways, and very heavy.

The two boots I am most interested in are the Salomon SLab/Mtn and the new Technica Zero G tour Pro. The shop is ordering both pairs for me in 28.5 size and I will go back soon when they come in. I am hoping that they will be the boots for me and I get to pick the one I like the best. I don't think this shop has a certified boot fitter (I didn't ask, yet) but I know my feet well and how a boot is supposed to fit. I need to remember to do a shell fit to make sure the boots will have enough room. I assume I want a slightly more relaxed fit compared to a race boot fit.
 

Mattadvproject

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I have been looking for my first pair of AT boots recently. They are not well stocked in most ski shops in the Boston metro-East areas. REI carries them but they won't bring out their ski gear till October. I will miss all the summer/early season sales by then. Kind of need a specialty BC shop to find a good selection. If I drive from Boston to ski country I am sure I can find plenty of boots to try, but I don't have the time for the trip.
I found a local shop, The Sports Stop, in Wenham MA that has some. I tried on the following:

K2 Pinnacle 110
Head Kore 1
Salomon QST 120
Full Tilt ?
Tecnica Cochise 120

I found out I can size down one size from my Lange RS140 29.5 boots. Really, I should be in Lange RS140 28.5 with a toe punch vs my 29.5's. I have a long narrow foot with no unusual features. If they are narrow enough and long enough, I get a great fit out of the box.

I liked the K2's and the Technica's. The fit was good and the boots felt pretty good overall. The are both heavy downhill derived boots with a walk mode and toe inserts. The Head Kore's hurt my feet around the instep and ankles. No way on those, but they were decently light. The Salomon proved that 29.5 was too big and they didn't have a 28.5 to try. The Full Tilt was just awful in too many ways, and very heavy.

The two boots I am most interested in are the Salomon SLab/Mtn and the new Technica Zero G tour Pro. The shop is ordering both pairs for me in 28.5 size and I will go back soon when they come in. I am hoping that they will be the boots for me and I get to pick the one I like the best. I don't think this shop has a certified boot fitter (I didn't ask, yet) but I know my feet well and how a boot is supposed to fit. I need to remember to do a shell fit to make sure the boots will have enough room. I assume I want a slightly more relaxed fit compared to a race boot fit.

Sounds like you have it pretty figured out Scott and you are looking at two decent options. Fit is probably going to be the deciding factor in that case. I think you still want the fit to be pretty snug, for the downhill and for the uphill, maybe not quite a race-fit but not far off, in my opinion. Is there another question in here or advice that you are seeking that I missed?

- Matt
 
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ScottB

ScottB

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Thanks for the feedback and fit advise. No other questions at this point. I was just excited to actually try some gear on after reading about it for a while. I wanted to share my impressions and would be interested to hear what others thought if they tried on or own any of the boots I am looked at.
 

Wendy

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Thanks for the feedback and fit advise. No other questions at this point. I was just excited to actually try some gear on after reading about it for a while. I wanted to share my impressions and would be interested to hear what others thought if they tried on or own any of the boots I am looked at.

I have a skinny foot, too, and I tried on the Roxa R3 and found the boot to be good right out of the box. More toe room than my Tecnica, but no need to size down. Good heel hold, and a super light boot. GripWalk or a tech sole is available.
 

Joel

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For AT, I have really liked my LaSportiva Spectres. I also have a narrow foot but with Royal Toe and flat footed. So I did some foot bed work and all is good. What I really like about them is the have a good range of motion without having to unbuckle anything. The stock liner was good, I put some Intuition liners in and like them even more.

For my mostly tour use, they have been great, no experience at how they do in real downhill though.

Joel
 

Choucas

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Do you currently own alpine ski boots? Do you like them? If so, you should keep them for your lift served skiing, and get a real pair of alpine touring boots for touring. The boots you have looked at and are talking about are hybrid alpine boots than can be used for touring. If you are serious about touring, get a pair of touring boots. I've owned, and toured, in about every boot in the spectrum from full on alpine to full on touring boots. If you want to tour, get a lightweight touring boot that makes your feet happy. You are correct that you don't want a race fit. Your feet get worked over more when touring than when alpine skiing, so having a little extra room is better than a close to shell kind of fit. I don't know who in the Boston market really knows and can fit touring boots. There are plenty of folks in Vermont who can do this. Rather than jumping on something right away, I'd suggest making time for a ride to Vermont (you're not that busy) to try on boots and talk to folks who fit touring boots every day to gather your info.
 
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ScottB

ScottB

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Do you currently own alpine ski boots? Do you like them? If so, you should keep them for your lift served skiing, and get a real pair of alpine touring boots for touring. The boots you have looked at and are talking about are hybrid alpine boots than can be used for touring. If you are serious about touring, get a pair of touring boots.

I ski in Lange RS140 consumer race boots. They are my 4th or 5th pair, so yes I like them. I have a large downhill quiver. I want to do sidecountry and not multi day tours. The downhill performance is more important to me than uphill, but I want good for both. The boots I tried on were downhill boots that can tour. To heavy and not good enough to tour. I don't want really light weight touring boots that have poor downhill performance. A boot like the Salomon Slab MTN seems to be a nice compromise. That is what I would say I want, a compromise boot that tours decent but goes downhill well. I am a coach for a race team and enjoy skiing hard and fast. I want the AT setup for 2 reasons: get some more exercise while skiing and get to better snow/ more challenging terrain out of bounds. (in the woods, really). I have called my Vt bootfitter (race stock sports) and he has the Atomic Hawk XTD boots. I will probably take a drive up there to see him.

I am trying to keep the price reasonable (say in the $500 range) for the boots. Having trouble getting prices quoted from local shops if they don't have the boots in stock. Not really sure how to play the price game since I don't know what I want and in what size yet. There are sales on now for the boots I am interested in, but don't want to buy online without knowing how they fit. In the past I have always bought Langes, so I know what I need and can shop online for them.
 

Choucas

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I think you are on the right track to have PJ set you up with the Atomics. They will work fine for what you are looking to do. Also handy for standing around on race days.
 
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ScottB

ScottB

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If you like lange, get the freetour 130 or lv pro@140

I am sure I would like them, and I haven't tried them yet, but I think they are too heavy and not good enough on the UP compared to other boots I am looking at. They would be the best boot for skiing on the DOWN, so pick your compromise. The weight is over 1.0 lb per boot, which I think is a lot. I can save 1.0 lb per boot and get 90% of the downhill ability with the new Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro. Another factor is price, the Langes have been out for a while so you can find them discounted, the Tecnica's are new this year and being sold at full retail. This shopping task is not simple, I personally hate shopping.
 

Doug Briggs

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I really like my Atomic Hawx 130 XTDs. Conformable shells and liners. Dynafit certified components. Light. And they ski great. Not like my race boots, but not far from it. When I'm in my Hawx I'm not looking for race qualities. I want a comfortable light all day fit that will let me charge with impunity.
 
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ScottB

ScottB

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I really like my Atomic Hawx 130 XTDs. Conformable shells and liners. Dynafit certified components. Light. And they ski great. Not like my race boots, but not far from it. When I'm in my Hawx I'm not looking for race qualities. I want a comfortable light all day fit that will let me charge with impunity.

That sounds perfect for what I am looking for and I am going to check them out

One question, in the reviews on Blister they discussed different liners in the 130 versus the 120 flex models. What liners do you have in your 130's?? The stock 130 liner Blister claims is thin without a plastic reinforced tongue. The stock 120 liner is stiffer and more downhill oriented. They might have been dealing with preproduction liners and they are different than what is being sold now.
 

Doug Briggs

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I have the stock liner. The tongue isn't soft or overly flexible. I find I have plenty of front to the boot.

MVIMG_20180928_114523643.jpg


MVIMG_20180928_114719003.jpg
 

Analisa

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One other thing I'd keep in mind that a lot of people miss for their first pair is the amount of cuff/ankle rotation for skinning. Having enough ankle ROM is important for getting a long, efficient stride. I'd say a basic-better-best spectrum starts at 40 degrees on the low end and 65 degrees+ on the top side. (Another good reason to skip the Freetour line)

My boyfriend skis the Dalbello Lupo TI ID, which I think is just the older model of the Lupo 130 C. It might be another good option to try on. The fit is also the same as their Dalbello Il Moro lineup (ones without the "MX").
 

Analisa

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Do you get the ROM while buckled up?

That's a good question. I've mainly skied the Dynafit Mercury and Vulcan lines that had to be unbuckled in uphill mode. I've always just gotten the ankle rotation from the manufacturer, but I'm not sure if they have a consistent way to measuring.
 

Rod9301

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That's a good question. I've mainly skied the Dynafit Mercury and Vulcan lines that had to be unbuckled in uphill mode. I've always just gotten the ankle rotation from the manufacturer, but I'm not sure if they have a consistent way to measuring.
Well, yeah, if you don't care about skiing, get dynafit boots.
 

Joel

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My Spectres have been great, unlock the cuff and and they tour fine, not sure I'm getting the full advertised ROM but I don't feel like I'm fighting the boot. I also have a pair of Scott Voodoos I used for an experiment. Advertised good ROM, but near none unless unbuckled, that project didn't quite turn out how I wanted, I still use them for limited conditions.
 

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