which touring boots?

[fmcl]

Hi there - long time lurker and occasional poster around here (and epic ski before it), always blown away by the quality of advice and knowledge on offer.

I'm in the market for some touring ski boots compatible with tech bindings.

I currently ski Salomon Xmax 120 in size 27.5 from 2017 - my bootfitter has done a great job and they're the best boots ive ever owned.I've got a narrow achilles, relatively wider forefoot and bunions on big toes all sorted through customer footbeds and some stretching around the toes.

Does Salomon have an equivalent dimensioned touring boot? If not, can anyone suggest some boots I should try? Most shops around here only stock a limited range of touring boots - it's still a niche activity here.

Thanks!

 

[surfandski]

Paul Forward has a good write up on Blister: http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/skiing-101-at-boots-bindings That one is a few years old but those guys are all about touring so there's lots of good info there.

Maybe the Mtn Lab if you're a Salomon fan. Atomic has some good ones as well as several other companies.

 

[neonorchid]

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I currently ski Salomon Xmax 120 in size 27.5 from 2017
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Does Salomon have an equivalent dimensioned touring boot?
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No.
I too am in an X-Max. Tried every Salomon touring / crossover boot, can't fit my toes into any of them, and they're worse in walk mode, ouch! Same goes for every Dynafit I've tried. Shop in Ludlow VT had me size up in Atomic Backland which made the cuff ankle heel area terrible. Actually, prior to that the Dynafit shop in Aspen had also suggested I size up, told me it's not unusual for people to size up in a touring boot. It didn't do it for me.
The old Dalbello Sherpa whatever it was fit but had limited range in walk mode (all forward not much rearward), mechanically chintzy walk mechanism and a silly low cuff.
My feet seem to get along with the lattest generation Scarpa Maestrale which sort of fit similiar to the X-Max. Scarpa Freedom is also similiar but didn't work for me. I attribute the difference to it being Freedom's four buckle overlap vs the Maestrale's cabrio large ankle buckle which pulls the heel into the heel pocket. Also, with toes pressed to the front I'm a 1.25 finger shell fit in a 25.5 Maestrale and a 2 finger shell fit in the 25.5 Freedom, both are a 297 BSL. Aside from that I'd say the lattest generation Maestrale fit more like the Freedom, I couldn't wear the prior gen Maestrale. I've yet to get new Maestrale's Intuition liner molded which should tighten up the heel pocket and hopfully take care of the one hot spot on the instep outside top ~10 - 11 o'clock just in front of the (cabrio's) large ankle buckle and before the clog's single two-point buckle of the left foot. No such trouble with the right foot. It is something I'll address with the shop and have them work on before committing to the boot. I'm located in the Mid-Atlantic with limited time to use the AT gear so rush with any of that.
From what I read, La Sportiva Syncro and Spectra are a possibility which I've yet to try.
Good luck.
LMK how you make out, may give me some ideas for my own AT boot endeavor.

 

[Ken_R]

Hi there - long time lurker and occasional poster around here (and epic ski before it), always blown away by the quality of advice and knowledge on offer.

I'm in the market for some touring ski boots compatible with tech bindings.

I currently ski Salomon Xmax 120 in size 27.5 from 2017 - my bootfitter has done a great job and they're the best boots ive ever owned.I've got a narrow achilles, relatively wider forefoot and bunions on big toes all sorted through customer footbeds and some stretching around the toes.

Does Salomon have an equivalent dimensioned touring boot? If not, can anyone suggest some boots I should try? Most shops around here only stock a limited range of touring boots - it's still a niche activity here.

Thanks!

Try the Atomic HAWX XTD 120 or 130. Awesome boot and should have a similar enough fit. I own a pair in 27.5 and really like them. They fit nice and snug with intuition liners (Pro Tongue) but for touring the stock liners are better since they are softer and flex more in walk mode. They worked for me as well its just that for in bounds use the intuitions are better since they add stiffness and my feet are more snug. A PITA to get into the boot with the intuitions but once in there its all good.

That said, for touring I would seriously look into touring specific boots. They are even lighter, have better soles and just hike better.

 

[surfandski]

Try the Atomic HAWX XTD 120 or 130. Awesome boot and should have a similar enough fit. I own a pair in 27.5 and really like them. They fit nice and snug with intuition liners (Pro Tongue) but for touring the stock liners are better since they are softer and flex more in walk mode. They worked for me as well its just that for in bounds use the intuitions are better since they add stiffness and my feet are more snug. A PITA to get into the boot with the intuitions but once in there its all good.

That said, for touring I would seriously look into touring specific boots. They are even lighter, have better soles and just hike better.

Hey Ken, out of curiosity, when you talk about getting into the boot with the intuitions on, is that putting them on your feet first and then sliding them in the shells? I gave the Dalbello Krypton 130 a tryout last week and they had Intuition wrap style liners and I found them so flimsy in the heal that I could not easily slide the liners into either the Dalbellos or my Lange RS 130 with my foot in the liner. The whole heal pocket would crumple up on that particular model of intuition. However, with my Zipfits, and stock RS 130 liners, they are both stiff enough and much more "slippery" than the intuition material so putting them on your foot and sliding into even my very tight RS 130 is a breeze. Doing that with the stock liners is about the same as keeping the liners in the boot and then slipping the foot in but I find the Zipfits much easier to put the liner on my foot first and is the easiest method I've found to get in these RS boots. I think the Zips are going to be the answer for getting my fused ankle into an overlap boot. Getting them out is where I think walk mode in my soon to arrive XT 130s will help. Who knows, I may end up skiing with the RS on my good ankle and the XT on my bad or use both XT for colder storm days (fresh snow) and the RS on both for bluebird mach 1 groomer days.

 

[Ken_R]

Hey Ken, out of curiosity, when you talk about getting into the boot with the intuitions on, is that putting them on your feet first and then sliding them in the shells? I gave the Dalbello Krypton 130 a tryout last week and they had Intuition wrap style liners and I found them so flimsy in the heal that I could not easily slide the liners into either the Dalbellos or my Lange RS 130 with my foot in the liner. The whole heal pocket would crumple up on that particular model of intuition. However, with my Zipfits, and stock RS 130 liners, they are both stiff enough and much more "slippery" than the intuition material so putting them on your foot and sliding into even my very tight RS 130 is a breeze. Doing that with the stock liners is about the same as keeping the liners in the boot and then slipping the foot in but I find the Zipfits much easier to put the liner on my foot first and is the easiest method I've found to get in these RS boots. I think the Zips are going to be the answer for getting my fused ankle into an overlap boot. Getting them out is where I think walk mode in my soon to arrive XT 130s will help. Who knows, I may end up skiing with the RS on my good ankle and the XT on my bad or use both XT for colder storm days (fresh snow) and the RS on both for bluebird mach 1 groomer days.

I tried putting the liners on first and then into the boot, I couldnt do it. At least with the shells at room temp (75º). The shells are not as bad to open up as the one in my Lange RS130's but it isnt super easy either. So I leave the liners in the shell. Of course, warming up the boot makes it much much easier. The intuition liners I have are the Pro Tongue not the wrap style. They are very similar to typical alpine liners but the foam around the ankle, lower leg and tongue is MUCH firmer and doesnt really compress much even with heavy use and has a tad more thickness. I had to move the upper buckles of the boot to a more outside slot so I would be able to close them! The liners do have laces (pull and lock with a plastic piece it comes with) but you can remove them if you want. I really like them for touring.

The walk mode doesnt really help getting the foot out. In fact I lock the walk mode in the ski position to get more leverage to be able to push the tongue out and open up the shell to get my foot out. Once you try it youll see what I mean.

 

[surfandski]

I tried putting the liners on first and then into the boot, I couldnt do it. At least with the shells at room temp (75º). The shells are not as bad to open up as the one in my Lange RS130's but it isnt super easy either. So I leave the liners in the shell. Of course, warming up the boot makes it much much easier. The intuition liners I have are the Pro Tongue not the wrap style. They are very similar to typical alpine liners but the foam around the ankle, lower leg and tongue is MUCH firmer and doesnt really compress much even with heavy use and has a tad more thickness. I had to move the upper buckles of the boot to a more outside slot so I would be able to close them! The liners do have laces (pull and lock with a plastic piece it comes with) but you can remove them if you want. I really like them for touring.

The walk mode doesnt really help getting the foot out. In fact I lock the walk mode in the ski position to get more leverage to be able to push the tongue out and open up the shell to get my foot out. Once you try it youll see what I mean.

I don't discount your experience with your boots and liners as a lot of variables go into what works for us specifically. That said, I had read a lot of comments saying that walk mode makes a big difference, especially when getting out of the boots. My XT 130 arrived yesterday and I experimented with both the stock and Zipfit liners going in and out with the cuff in ski and hike/walk mode. At room temperature (let alone using a heated boot which I'll do for sure) getting in was easy either way but getting out was much easier in walk mode. For someone with a healthy ankle I don't think it would matter that much but when a fused ankle is coming out of a ski boot, the hard part is when the instep hangs up on the curve of the overlap. It's at this point where having the boot in hike/walk mode allows the heal to slide back the higher it gets. By the end, there is a 2-3" difference between where the back of the cuff is in ski vs walk mode. This 2-3" difference wouldn't mean much to a healthy ankle that can point the toes but I think it will be significant with a fused ankle in a cold boot at the end of the day. I still may need to blast the car heater for a bit or try to find a 12v hairdryer (they all seem to blow fuses) or heating blanket but I think my days of overlap boots aren't over. Thank God as I did not like the Dalbello Krypton 130 at all.

The only negative on the XT 130 is it is significantly softer than the RS 130 at room temperature. My guestimate would be that the XT with Zipfit is like the RS with the stock liner. Hopefully the Nordica direct drive front spoilers will help. The plastic in the clog seems thinner or softer than the RS. This F'ed ankle (fused but other words apply) of mine will be an interesting science project next season but I feel like I'm starting to get a grasp on what will and won't work and then will let the boot fitters work their magic when I get to Colorado. Since boot fitters can have very different methods, I'm thinking of using the one who has worked on my RS for those and then use someone else to setup my XTs so that I can glean from both and dial in the best setup, possibly swapping out boots during the day to expedite things.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Atomic Hawx XTDs. I have the 130 in a 26.5 with the original liner. I had them cooked and the fit is phenomenal. It fits as well as my Fischer Vacuum RC4 Pro 130s. I had been looking for lighter boots for touring that aren't wimpy on the descent. I toured the Fischers with Marker Barons as I had a limited budget. Then I got the Lange FreeTour 130 which was nice as it toured well and had pin vittings but wasn't such a gain in weight savings. Then I got the XTDs. Great weight savings although not close to some of the ultra light skimo gear or dedicated AT boots BUT the performance for touring and skiing is GREAT. Admittedly I haven't toured them much, but with their excellent fit and the tours I have done in them I'm sold on their uphill performance. I use them in the resort maybe 50% of the time and love the comfort and downhill performance. Not as strong descending as my race boots, but not a compromise, either.

 

[Ken_R]

Atomic Hawx XTDs. I have the 130 in a 26.5 with the original liner. I had them cooked and the fit is phenomenal. It fits as well as my Fischer Vacuum RC4 Pro 130s. I had been looking for lighter boots for touring that aren't wimpy on the descent. I toured the Fischers with Marker Barons as I had a limited budget. Then I got the Lange FreeTour 130 which was nice as it toured well and had pin vittings but wasn't such a gain in weight savings. Then I got the XTDs. Great weight savings although not close to some of the ultra light skimo gear or dedicated AT boots BUT the performance for touring and skiing is GREAT. Admittedly I haven't toured them much, but with their excellent fit and the tours I have done in them I'm sold on their uphill performance. I use them in the resort maybe 50% of the time and love the comfort and downhill performance. Not as strong descending as my race boots, but not a compromise, either.

Ive toured with my XTD 120's quite a bit and they are fantastic while touring, specially with the stock liner. They handle my heavier skis well on the resorts also. Really awesome for such a light boot. Atomic really put out an awesome product.

 

[neonorchid]

I like what I'm reading about the redesigned for 18/19 Tecnica Zero G Tour boot.
Particularly the Vibram sole's hardened AFD interface areas at the toe and heel as I plan on using a Salomon Shift binding and question how well the Scarpa Maestrale will interface and release with the Shift binding in downhill mode.
18/19 Zero G Tour external Walk Mechanism's two-point connection is interesting too, in theory at least. I'm not so wild about the new buckles, then again I've yet to see and try the boot.
http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/2018-2019-tecnica-zero-g-tour-pro
https://www.wildsnow.com/24270/review-tecnica-zero-g-2018-2019/
https://www.wildsnow.com/24685/comparo-tecnica-zero-g-17-18-19/#more-24685

 

[fmcl]

No.
I too am in an X-Max.
...
Good luck.
LMK how you make out, may give me some ideas for my own AT boot endeavor.

thanks , really informative post and gives me plenty to think about. planning on trying a few boots and will let you know where i end up..

That said, for touring I would seriously look into touring specific boots. They are even lighter, have better soles and just hike better.

that's the plan for sure, keep my salomons for in the resort, horses for courses.