La Sportiva Spectra....

[Cocximus]

Oke that was easy... nothing like getting in to modifying boots with brand new $600 boots.

[LeeLau]

Here you go - http://www.tetongravity.com/reviews/...g-Boot-437.htm

[userA]

i like the idea of multiple flexing tongues much like raichle did.
b

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Lee just put up a detailed review of the Spectre on the site yesterday: http://www.tetongravity.com/reviews/...g-Boot-437.htm

[turnfarmer]

Anybody have anything else to add? I gather the liners are fairly thick, which is something that interests me. If anyone Spectre buyers upgraded to Intuitions and is looking to unload Spectre 25 or 26 liners contact me via pm. I know gear swap, but this is pretty specific to this boot and may help out anyone who has them looking to unload liners.

[kevino]

What else do you want to know? I can do a full review and show my modifications when I get back from climbing today.

[kevino]

As this thread seems to have a lot of differing opinions, I'll add to it (Updated, 2/22/15):

Summary:
If you want a dedicated ski touring/ski mountaineering boot that has a progressive flex, then I think this boot is worth checking out.

Longer version:
I am not your typical TGR forum member skier. I started skiing about seven years ago, and went straight into the backcountry. I've never skied in a non AT boot. I've only owned a seasons pass twice and I've done two days of lift served skiing in the last three years, while regularly having 60-80 days of ski touring or ski mountaineering. Hopefully that helps illustrate where some of my opinions have come from. I purchased these boots in January. They problem have somewhere in the neighborhood of 40+ days on them. Now up to 80 or so.

Boots I've previously owned and skied:
Garmont adrenalin
Dynafit TLT5 Mountain
Dynafit Titan UL
Dynafit Vulcan

Skis I skied with the Spectre:
-186 PM Gear Kusala Pow
-177 Movement Pariah
-176 ON3P Tychoon Tour
-180 Praxis BC
-173 Hagan Y Flow

Walking/Climbing: Never felt hindered by this boot. The walking actually feels more natural than all the other boots other than the TLT5, which the only difference is probably due to the 7 mm BSL length difference. I've scrambled rock and climbed steep snow and some ice with crampons and found them quite comparable to by La Sportiva Baturas (ice boots). As far as crampon fit, my CAMP aluminum crampons fit amazingly well. I was less than impressed with the toe bail of my Petzl Dartwins. My new Petzl Lynx has a better fit than the Dartwin. Dane has talked a lot more about crampon fit earlier in this thread. I also found the rubber to be softest/stickiest of any of the boots I've used so far, which is a good thing to me.

Touring: Less ROM of motion than the TLT5 but not noticeable. Touring on flat ground is not limited by the boot range of motion. I don't really have any problems getting in and out of dynafit toes either. Still true.

Skiing: Earlier in this thread I put these as less stiff than a tongue-less Vulcan and stiffer than my Titan UL. I still stand by that. In my mind they are probably comparable to the TLT5 but with a more progressive flex, which to me allows me to ski them more comfortable in a wide range of snow conditions. I use my Kusalas only in good powder and had no problem with the Spectres. I've of course used the other two skis in about every condition imaginable across three states from winter to summer and have ranged from pleased to satisfied with their performance. After more time, I found the Kusalas to be a handful in less than ideal conditions. Honestly, I also just found that I wasn't skiing them much because my Praxis are that good. With that being said, paring this boot with the BC has been great.

Liners: Easy to bake. Love the lacing system. No excessive wear. Broke a pull tab when I was being dumb. Didn't have any problems with warmth during the winter months in the Cascades or Montana. There wasn't a lot of standing around on my long days in the mountains and I haven't done any over night trips. Showing more wear with more use, duh. Laces had to get replaced. They get worn down easily.

Durability: The only thing I've broken so far is one of the pull tabs on the liner. I was really yanking on it. Otherwise they have held up well to my use and abuse. Soles are pictured at the bottom of the post. Broken 1, nearly broken a second buckle. Sportiva sent me replacements. The cant rivet gets loosened easily. Haven't had problems with my ski/walk mode yet. Rubber around toes and heels is thinning out, but still acceptable.

Cons: The time is took to get the fit and buckles dialed in. Part of this is my fault and was rectified by actually getting ski orthotics made for my feet, which solved my fit problems. Also it should be noted that I purchased these boots used, and the previous owner already opened up the instep. And my feet always require navicular punches. The rest were solved by DIY stuff (see below). The other con is the narrow spectrum of crampon fitting, which I think will be solved by using my CAMP aluminum crampons or using steel crampons with New-matic attachment. See above for updated grips.

Pictures of my "mods" and use after one season:
-replaced velcro power strap with booster strap: I like the elasticity and buckle design rather than velcro and how it tears apart the inner of pants and is easier to use one handed.
-after skiing for months I found the lowest toe buckle and highest ankle buckle did nothing. So I simply removed them. The bottom one I filled in the holes and the top one I cut off the extra plastic.
-Still skiing as I described above. As long as I dial in the buckles, I feel like I still get adequate performance out of them.

[LeeLau]

Lee just put up a detailed review of the Spectre on the site yesterday: http://www.tetongravity.com/reviews/...g-Boot-437.htm

Link is dead - uploaded new link http://www.tetongravity.com/story/sk...ring-boot-2013

[HHTELE]

Mine are on the way, but the snow may get here sooner.
I am mounting Speeds on Carbon Converts for use with this boot.
I would like to mount the binding now, and can use my Skooks in the mean time. Is there anything unusual about the socket placement?

I know the binding has plenty of adjustment, and a few MM doesn't matter, but, all things being equal, I'd like to mount the bindings so boot center on the Spectres lines up with boot center on the ski.

[asbvt]

Hello All,

I've been on these boots probably 25 days having picked them up mid last year. Almost all touring. I like the progressive flex, found them comfortable out of the box once I fixed the instep issue. The buckles honestly feel gimmicky and unnecessary, but I've gotten used to them....

I do have an issue I was wondering if anyone has come across. They've just recently stopped reliably going from walk to ski mode and vice versa. Sometimes so much so that even after 3-4 minutes of fiddling I'm forced to finish my tour with one boot permanently in one mode or the other. Back on the shop bench they work reliably and I can't really see how snow or ice could prevent them from functioning. Thoughts? FYI, I am going to get in touch with La Sportiva and will post their thoughts here as well.

[tDot13]

Hello All,

I've been on these boots probably 25 days having picked them up mid last year. Almost all touring. I like the progressive flex, found them comfortable out of the box once I fixed the instep issue. The buckles honestly feel gimmicky and unnecessary, but I've gotten used to them....

I do have an issue I was wondering if anyone has come across. They've just recently stopped reliably going from walk to ski mode and vice versa. Sometimes so much so that even after 3-4 minutes of fiddling I'm forced to finish my tour with one boot permanently in one mode or the other. Back on the shop bench they work reliably and I can't really see how snow or ice could prevent them from functioning. Thoughts? FYI, I am going to get in touch with La Sportiva and will post their thoughts here as well.

Pull the liner and open up the back of the boot cuff to expose the walk mechanism. Clean the metal walk mechanism and surrounding area. Then a small amount of lube on the walk mechanism pin and on the bar itself will keep everything sliding nicely.

I got about 30 touring days between lube applications before I noticed it needed cleaning again. It seems that black dust forms a paste that increases friction and prevents the spring from pulling the pin out of the bar.

[kevino]

You guys break any buckles yet? I've started to have the cables pull out of the thread portion. I've emailed La sportiva for replacement, awaiting their response.

[tDot13]

You guys break any buckles yet? I've started to have the cables pull out of the thread portion. I've emailed La sportiva for replacement, awaiting their response.

Nope. All good here.

[sar13]

No broken buckles here but the upper cuff alignment screw got really loose - make sure you all check those.

Kevino - Are you still running just two buckles? I tried it for a while with a booster strap but finally decided that the loss of stiffness, particularly laterally, was noticeable enough that I put the top buckles back on. I liked the idea and was just curious if you were still happy with it.

[rangerjake]

Hello All,

I've been on these boots probably 25 days having picked them up mid last year. Almost all touring. I like the progressive flex, found them comfortable out of the box once I fixed the instep issue. The buckles honestly feel gimmicky and unnecessary, but I've gotten used to them....

I do have an issue I was wondering if anyone has come across. They've just recently stopped reliably going from walk to ski mode and vice versa. Sometimes so much so that even after 3-4 minutes of fiddling I'm forced to finish my tour with one boot permanently in one mode or the other. Back on the shop bench they work reliably and I can't really see how snow or ice could prevent them from functioning. Thoughts? FYI, I am going to get in touch with La Sportiva and will post their thoughts here as well.

White lithium grease on the bar and cycle the walk mode. Problem solved.

[rangerjake]

No broken buckles here but the upper cuff alignment screw got really loose - make sure you all check those.

Kevino - Are you still running just two buckles? I tried it for a while with a booster strap but finally decided that the loss of stiffness, particularly laterally, was noticeable enough that I put the top buckles back on. I liked the idea and was just curious if you were still happy with it.

I also had the cuff alignment screw back all the way out on me. Do keep eyes on those.

[HHTELE]

I have this years. Started to remove all screws to loctite them, and the first few had blue loctite on them.

[creaky fossil]

I just got a pair of these, got them on right now, impressed with them overall. Just indoor fit testing now to see if I will be able to make them work. I'm in a 26.5 KR2 alpine boot and the 27.5 Spectre seems perfect. As unmolded, tiny pinch at 5th met base on left foot, but instep height not an issue, weight excellent, ROM huge. The quirky buckles weren't hard to figure out and actually seem clever to me. Muchas gracias to Lee & others who gave detailed reviews.

[HHTELE]

I am considering removing the bottom buckles, and drilling holes between the existing holes, for one fore foot buckle. Any do this, or similar?

The top forefoot buckle is right over the spot on my foot where one might check a pedal pulse. meaning, right where the artery is closest to the skin. I don't think the issue is instep height- Even if I stretch the top, or drop the bottom, the buckle will still closes over that artery.

Used my T1s yesterday, and was reminded of 2 things. Horrible ROM, which I never used to notice. Great buckle placement, with one buckle pulling the heel down into the pocket.

Another question:
Anybody use the tongue adjustment? I can see how to adjust it, just not sure what it will do.

[tDot13]

Another question:
Anybody use the tongue adjustment? I can see how to adjust it, just not sure what it will do.

I pulled the tongue back and it helped tighten up the heel hold along with taking out some of the height in the lower shell. I needed the heel hold, didn't need the decrease in volume, but in the end I kept one boot like that and changed the other back to stock settings. I have a one size smaller foot and a visually smaller calf on that leg, so it probably helped compensate for one or both of those issues.

[kevino]

The aforementioned breakage:



La Sportiva was gracious enough to send me a replacement or three.

[kevino]

No broken buckles here but the upper cuff alignment screw got really loose - make sure you all check those.

Kevino - Are you still running just two buckles? I tried it for a while with a booster strap but finally decided that the loss of stiffness, particularly laterally, was noticeable enough that I put the top buckles back on. I liked the idea and was just curious if you were still happy with it.

I am actually. I'm probably just not good enough of a skier to notice it.

[henkelst]

I had a glance through this thread, and didn't see anyone complaining about the fit of the inner cuff of these boots around your (inner) ankle. Lee says they corrected it and raised the cut of the cuff in the 2014 model. Sadly, I have the 2013 and it is brutal on my ankle bone. I'll take it to Larry's in Boulder this summer, but for now I am stuck in Korea with no proper boot fitter. Does anyone have any good home-grown solutions, or, is this just a problem in my feet?

[HHTELE]

I had a glance through this thread, and didn't see anyone complaining about the fit of the inner cuff of these boots around your (inner) ankle. Lee says they corrected it and raised the cut of the cuff in the 2014 model. Sadly, I have the 2013 and it is brutal on my ankle bone. I'll take it to Larry's in Boulder this summer, but for now I am stuck in Korea with no proper boot fitter. Does anyone have any good home-grown solutions, or, is this just a problem in my feet?

I had mine punched, which only helped a bit. I had a better look, and saw that the top of the lower boot was digging in whenever the cuff was buckled. A- it's high. B- the plastic actually angles in toward the ankle bone.

I shaved off some plastic, and used a heat gun to change the angle a bit. So far, it is definitely better while walking around my basement. Hopefully I'll be out for a couple hours this afternoon, and can report back.

I have never used heat on a shell before. It was easy. Just heating it a bit makes it soft enough to mold by hand.

[henkelst]

hhtele, agreed on A. and B. I'd love to see a photo of what you did if you have the time to take one. I think it's suspicious that they changed this in the 2014 model!