La Sportiva Spectra....

[LeeLau]

Ya the Spectre is surprisingly taller than all the compared boots -even the Vulcan. Therefore the boot of choice for back seat skiers!

[Dry]

Or the guys with skinny legs

[SkiingQuinHat]

Just bought a pair of these. Hope to try them out tomorrow. Ended up with a Vulcan on one foot and these on the other. The Spectre's were softer but very smooth. You could feel that the Vulcan was bomber for skiing - but the walk mode was dramatically stiffer/less comfortable - Spectre felt like wearing shoes rather than a ski boot - remarkable! Then I remembered why I was buying these - blisters from touring - so the Spectre's were the choice

[buenonda]

and if you take off the yellow part on the hell, you win more (plush) front travel.
but the back of the linner will be full of packed powder ;(

[Dry]

Big potential is so many ways with this boot. How tightly it is buckled makes all the difference in the world on how it skis. Want a stiff down hill boot? Just snug them up.

I had both TLT5s and now the 6 P and the RS. And love them, all nice boots. But gotta give the Spectre the nod for the most user friendly walk mode by a fair margin of all of them. Most sorted AT boot I have been in to date. All of which still surprises me.

[LeeLau]

Big potential is so many ways with this boot. How tightly it is buckled makes all the difference in the world on how it skis. Want a stiff down hill boot? Just snug them up.

Been playing with that concept the last few days skiing the Spectres. Not feeling a huge difference between a snug, a bit tight or really tight. Laterally it feels better than average/acceptable flex. Perhaps a wee bit stiffer than Maestrale. Fore-aft it feels like Maestrale which is to say its prone to collapsing if you push it hard in variable snow but feels fine in softer snow. Walk mode is insanely good of course.

Very preliminary impression so far ... its a ridiculously well priced dedicated touring boot biased more towards those who are predominantly in soft snow.

[Dry]

My most recent comment comes from skiing some well used and hard snow at Crystal last few trips. Hard enough today that tech bindings and the snow was beating up my knees. Not sure which Maestrale you are speaking of Lee. I find it more of a boot over all than the RS.

If you are saying the regular Maestrale..then you are comparing the Spectre ot a TLT5 Mountain as well IMO. Which makes no sense to me. (see my comment for nuances on fit and flex)

Different of course than the RS. But a more supportive ski boot over all for me than the RS. Subtle nuances instead of glaring differences. Different than a TLT 6p as well. But the flex/walk mode/fit are also much different between the three boots. I get a good fit in all of them. My best fit is in the Spectre. Boot I most like skiing in right now is still the TLT6 with a green tongue and no power strap.

Personal preferences are always going to win out. Hard to always define what those are.

[LeeLau]

Mango Maestrale is what I compare Spectre to. If I refer to Maestrale RS then it is always stated as Maestrale RS to avoid confusion.

IMO there is no way the Spectre is close to the stiffness of Maestrale RS and even moreso no way it is equivalent to Freedom SL. Obviously this boot and for that matter the Freedom SL has given rise to many differences of opinion among people who've skied many boots so I stress this is by no means attacking your opinion.

The fact that the Spectre compares favourably to the Maestrale is good because I still think of the Maestrale (and the Maestrale RS) as the best bang for the buck boots ever made.

One more note - the La Sportiva liner is really good. I've got some ProTours molded for the Spectre but haven't felt the need to use them.

The buckles took some getting used to but after a couple of days fiddle factor is much reduced.

Overall I'd have to say LaSportiva hit this one right out of the park with their first shot at it.

[Dry]

No worries, hadn't thought so.

Flexon/Full Tilt technology keep coming to mind as an explanation of "different".

TLT 5 Mountain/Meastrale comparison to a Spectre..bewildered there. We should meet up for a ski day at Baker and compare notes.

No doubt the on hill performance of a Freedom/ Freedom SL is no where near a rug test. That one I'll give ya But again the flex and fit are so different compared to the Spectre for me....not the best comparisons.

[kevino]

Dane,

Have you tried these with Petzl crampons? Finally got to try these on and I wish I hadn't since I now want a pair. Even with the same BSL as my vulcan they walk significantly better, similar to my baturas. I like the rubber they use, and the buckle arrangement for climbing/hiking in scree.

Thanks.

[Dry]

Hi Kevin,
I did take a look this morning for you. Not the best fit on Petzl but they will certainly work. For my TLTs and now the Spectre I have been using G20s. Big fan for the use. Much better fit I think. FWIW, Spectre has been a bowl over hit in Cham so far this season as a climbing boot. Walk mode and buckle system as you have guessed is why. Likey won't take mine this year (too much luggage as is). But am tempted to pull both lower buckles, duct tape the holes and try them on some bigger routes where you are better off carring skis over. Done too much in the TLTs though to change mid-season. But surely tempting with the Spectre and ikely to regret not doing so.

As you said...nice walk mode!

[kevino]

Well I picked up a barely used pair for a good price. Aslong as they can drive my fat skis in powder and my skinny skis in everything else I'll be happy. I'll let you know how they work out.

[Nitrox]

I fit Darts, Dartwins, Vasaks, and Lynx and they fit great. The heels are a bit narrow and don't contact the tabs but there is zero play or movement. I get a better fit with Spectres than with Nepals or P-Guides.

[Dry]

27 shell fits the Petzl crampons better than the 28 shell. Nitrox's 27 shell is a WAY a better fit than my 28 shell with the Dart/Dartwin. Workable but not the best for sure. A larger 29 shell will require a Grivel I suspect. 28 will do better in a Grivel with the added heel support offered. Fit is a lot better with Grivel on Spectre or TLT6 shell with their single hoop front bail and pegged heel IMO than any other crampons available currently.

That said, and I only climb water/alpine ice in Petz crampons for my mountian boots. No favorites here other than how critical the crampons fit is for the specific boot you choose.

I simply wouldn't/won't climb ice in a crampon that doens't have a solid boot fit.

[Nitrox]

I'd like to see pictures of the suspect 28 shell Petzl crampon fit.

[Dry]

Nitrox, better yet take your new booties and go try a pair of Grivels on and get back to me on how well your Petzls fit

'cus aint no way your Spectres or any AT boot fits a Petzl crampons better than a pair of Nepals or Phantom Guides. If of course you actually know how to fit a crampon and what is a good fit and what is actually a marginal fit.

Petzl bails are bent at an angle, 6 different times to get around the toe welt. No actual sole welt is shaped like that. Works on a well rounded mountain boot like La Sporitva because it is narrow and not very tall. Works well on the Scarpa Phantom series but could be more narrow for a better fit to any of the Phantoms. To make up for the crampon bail actually being too wide and allowing some slop on the front points we clamp the crampon tighter so it doesn't shift around on the front ponts. Which is how people then crush Spantik, Baruntse, Batura and Nepal hard plastic toe caps and wreck a boot. Common with the too big/wide heel pieces on a BD crampon unless you have really big boots. Damages or destroys the levers as well when you are cranking the levers that tight. Phantoms seem to take the abuse on the toe welt but that doesn't mean a Petzl crampon is a great fit. It isn't. It could be a LOT better. I still climb in Petzls all the time on my mtn boots because loosing a crampon is very unlikely. And for every crampon I ma using on a MTN boot I use Petzl front bails. If I want to climb in ski boots I use Grivel.


My Dartwins on Phantom 6000s

The newer Grivel bail is bent twice but also has a large and asymetrical rounded bend on the front bail...which in turn fits most rounded front boot welts better as the toe shape is similar. If the bail were taller it would fit At boots better and mountain boots worse. If it were a tighter bend it would fit mountain boots better but likely no At boot.

The heel of a Petzl (six i have here to measure) is 64mm +/- wide at the narrowest point. A 28 Spectre shell is 63mm or less wide. Bet the 27 is as well. So it is the lever actually sizing the crampon on a Petzl with the Spectre, as you said previous..even if you didn't realise what exactly you were saying. It is a RARE occasion the levers on any crampon were actually intended to size the crampon. The crampon should be sized to the boot sole so that the crampon/boot sole take the pounding of front pointing...not the heel lever. (clue)

Grivel heels of the six I have to measure is 46mm +/- at the narrow point. You have to adjust the crampon sizing for length as you fit the heel. Either way the fit of a Grivel is going to be better on most every modern AT boot on the front bail and heel pegs.

If all you do is climb snow all this means jack. If you climb technical ice it is rather important. Loosing a crampon on lead or soloing sucks. Falling off with pointy things even more so. Fitting the heel posts as one generally does with BD or a Petzl gives the user a better chance of the sytem eventually fail. The Grivel offers some redundency if either crampon or lever fails.

Pictures? Suspect crampons? If all I owned were Petzl crampons I might use them on my At boots. I do like climbing in them with mtn boots well enough. But I pick my crampons by how they fit my boots, then the intended use, not by brand name.

Decent fit to climb in on the Petzl with my 28. But I wouldn't use the combo. Too narrow in the heel, so th crampon isn't sized to the boot. The heel posts are only a rough guide to keep th heel piece from may be moving around some. "May be" and "some" aint what I want in a crampon fit.

Look at the front bail below. Note it does not suck into the welt of the Spectre when clamped on (or any At boot I am aware of) and it is angled all wrong. It simply sits too high. Will it work?....sure in the class room....and likely in the mtns. until it doesn't.

[Nitrox]

I have a pair of G20's sitting here. The question was about Petzl.

The fit of the Petzl toe bail on my Spectres is better than that of the P-Guides and Nepals. Say what you want but Petzl bails fit those boots just slightly better than dogshit. The toe welt on P-Guides is narrow enough to allow shift from side to side. The Nepals just suck in general. G20's fit both boots better.

Pretty much all crampons size from the heel lever. You may get a nice friction fit without the lever engaged but the sole is pulled away from the metal tabs once the lever is flipped up. I've read your crampon fitting musings and they sound great in theory. In practice those metal tabs do very little (even Grivel). I'm sure you'll respond with a 5,000 word dissertation on why you're right and then post up some more stale pictures but my experience says otherwise.

Anyhow, thanks for the lecture. It was...something.

[Dry]

Think that actually might read better as... "Pretty much all of Nitox's crampons size from the heel lever." Kinda seems like you don't know how to actually fit a crampon....but I digress. Thankfully i am sure, no more lectures or pictures for you

Guess one could argue one way or the other for Petz or Grivel being the better fit on the Batura and Phantom. I see an advantage there for the Petzl for my size 45s. Advatage to Grivel IMO for all my AT boots.

[ulty_guy]

Anyone tried another tongue in these yet?

[buenonda]

just try the vulcan tongue underthe yellow one at home:
much stiffer but less responsive and progressive.

pehars the best will be the B tongue (kryton) with the foward lean free on the mecanism.
know this works pretty well with customize tlt5 (stiff but very progressive and responsive)

[ulty_guy]

Yeah, I bet a TLT6 tongue would be a better match. I've got the Mercury and I wouldn't describe it as the most progressive thing in the world...

[tDot13]

Anyone tried another tongue in these yet?

I have a set of TLT6 soft tongues that I've played with in the living room. Stiffens the boot up quite a bit, and retains the progressiveness, I just slipped it under the existing tongue. The TLT6 stiff black tongue killed the progressiveness of the flex for me. But honestly, I have some time on the Spectre now, and it skis a hell of alot stiffer then it feels in the living room tests. My bro has even more time on them then I do and we both agree that they ski stiffer then the Maestrale, though neither of us have time on the RS to compare it to. I am actually leaning towards the Spectre over my Cochise Light for anything but 100% resort days.

[TG]

Can we at least get the thread title to reflect the correct spelling of the boot being discussed??

[Nitrox]

La Sportiva Spectra....

Think that actually might read better as...

Now that's ironic.

[kevino]

Boots came, and first thing I did was try out my crampons...petzls don't fit well but my CAMPs do. In addition to the toe toe not fitting, the heel lever is rockered back, which looks somewhat concerning. However the CAMP heel lever, which is not as tall, sits fine.