Thread: Touring boots

Hi,

I'm currently looking at buying myself a pair of touring boots. I'm currently skiing Stoeckli DP Pro's in 174 mounted with some Diamir Freerides. I've also got a pair of mantra's and a pair of Allstars for the pistes. I'm currently using Falcons on these skis, but these become a bit heavy when the tours become longer and are not so grippy on the rocks. Since I'm currently living in Holland, this quiver is fine for me at the moment. However in 1-2 years I hope to move to a place (a lot) closer to the Alps. My ideal quiver for that moment would be something like
-Allstar and Falcons for piste days
-DP Pro/Legend Pro/Mantra/Black Crows Corvus a size longer since I can ski a lot more, and resting can be done at the office. Falcon with the diamirs to have some flexibility in the approaches. If a bit longer or some rock scrambling is involved->touring boot.
-DP Pro 174 for steep skiing/touring with dynafits
My main objective is always the descent. However, I'd like some comfort when climbing since this is completely missing when using the falcons.

I'm looking at the scarpa Spirit 3 or 4. At the moment I'm mainly focussing on the 4 but would the 3 be a good choice? Possibly with some modifications such as a stiffer tongue? Will it be stiff enough to handle some bigger skis? I think the BD's are too much focused on skiing instead of touring and are too close to my Falcons. What about the new Scarpa Skookum or Dynafit Zzeus?

thanks for the help,
Vincent

so you dont need this for 1-2 years, maybe wait and see what the next big thing is by then...

buy a boot (AT, tele, or downhill) that fits YOU the best, and see a good bootfitter (maybe when you move to the alps)

Well 1-2 years should basically be next winter. I've already tried on some scarpa tornado's and garmont adrenalins, but I'm feeling that I'll move to Dynafit. My main question is actually if a Spirit 3 would be stiff enough to handle stiffer skis such as a DP Pro 174 and from time to time a bigger freeride ski such as the Corvus of Legend Pro.

I'm sure that it all depends on how aggressively you ski and how much you weigh. The Spirit 3s (with black tongue) are probably just about the same flex as my Megarides (modded with stiffer tongues). I ski Janaks for the BC which aren't noodles, but they aren't the stiffest ski out there either. I'm a fairly aggressive skier and I weigh around 185lbs. My opinion is that the Megas are pretty good boots for all around touring, but as soon as I can, I'm going to buy a new pair of (stiffer) boots. I was originally planning on continuing to mod the Megas, but after trying on the new BD boots a few weeks ago, I'm holding out for a pair of Factors. The feel a little less stiff than my X Wave 10s, but the walk mode is easily as good or better than the megas. That's my $.02. Good luck with the decision.

let your foot do this choice. Scarpa fits feet that are very different from those fit by garmont, dynafit and BD. And the fit is crucial to drive demanding skis like the DPs. Said that, even if your foot likes the scarpa I really doubt the spirit 3 is your best bet.

I've tried on some scarpa Tornado's and they had a way better fit than the adrenalins I tried on. I think I'll try to find some spirit 4's for a good price. They have a good sole that hikes well, dynafit compability and stiff enough to ski bigger skis in difficult snow but ok for some longer tours.

I have a similar set up, namely 188 Stockli XXXL (the yellow/black fukkers) as well as a pair of 190 Gotamas both mounted with diamir freerides. I skied all last season on my Garmont Endorphin Mg boots and had no issues whatsoever with stiffness. I've got a pair Volkl AC3 or AC4 tucked in the cupboard for piste days (the fact I can't remember which ones they are tells you how much I use them) and I ski those with alpine boots (rossi race boots) as they are mounted with regular bindings. Point is, unless I am slamming down bulletproof pistes on a stiff SL ski, i have yet to find the Garmonts lacking in stiffness - I could of course be that i need to sack up and ski like a man, but until someone tells me that i shall maintain the belief I know what I am talking about!

as for which make of touring boot, the decision between scarpa and garmont was determined in my case by fit. The Garmont was a better fit for me - i think that is a much more significant consideration than a few degrees of stiffness between one boot and another. Has anyone tried the new Black Diamond boots yet?