2014 Technica Cochise Boot line

**CaliBrit** · 11-26-2014, 10:29 AM

Ski in a 26 normally, skied last years 26 Cochise, felt great but a bit too much room, didn't need a width stretch.

Just picked up a 25 of the green monsters.

Length is good, will be fine with an intuition molded with the toe caps. Width is tight.

Going to ski my old powerwrap in them first that is a bit packed by now to see if it works width wise.

Have some new prowraps in a 26 from the group buy which have to lower volume up front due to a regular footboard which should work better with a custom insole too.

Hopefully once I have my footbed in I can get away without a stretch.

**uglymoney** · 11-26-2014, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by LeeLau

Ugly - I had an aggressive liner cook at my forefoot and it did the trick. I love that heel pocket grip though

Originally Posted by SupreChicken

UM...a mild forefoot punch did wonders for me on last seasons model.

Thanks guys - pretty sure I'll be able to dial these in. And thanks to everyone who gave me sizing info - spot on.

**CaliBrit** · 11-26-2014, 05:11 PM

As a note, anyone on the fence on these, the 25's are rapidly disappearing. So move quick. PM brianskis if you are striking out.

**zion zig zag** · 11-27-2014, 08:36 AM

Two questions (I kind of looked): What is the break point on sizing for technica? It seems like I am between a 25.5 and 26. Is it the same size shell and a different liner? Or is that 26/26.5? Second, if I am only going to ski inbounds, would I be better off in the mach 120? I have dedicated touring boots but I could see walk mode being beneficial for long bootpacks at the resort, I just don't know if the Mach 120 skis any better being a true downhill boot.

**SupreChicken** · 11-27-2014, 10:12 AM

If it helps, I got rid of my alpine boots entirely when I picked up last years Cochise. Intuition HD race is money. Go 120 or 130 (personal preference, really) and keep the touring boots for longer tours...for sidecountry and short skins, the tech blocks will be sufficient. Vulcan/Cochise 130 is all I need...

**bern43** · 11-27-2014, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by zion zig zag

Two questions (I kind of looked): What is the break point on sizing for technica? It seems like I am between a 25.5 and 26. Is it the same size shell and a different liner? Or is that 26/26.5? Second, if I am only going to ski inbounds, would I be better off in the mach 120? I have dedicated touring boots but I could see walk mode being beneficial for long bootpacks at the resort, I just don't know if the Mach 120 skis any better being a true downhill boot.

If I already had dedicated touring boots I'd probably get the Mach 120s. As for sizing, I'd get the smallest ones that fit. 25.5 and 26 are different size shells.

**XavierD** · 11-27-2014, 01:59 PM

25/25.5 : 300mm
26/26.5 : 310mm

Mach 1 should ski better. The heel hold will be better, and the shell will be marginally stiffer. I don't have a problem skiing the cochise 120 for everything though. I'd not worry each way. I'd say the power strap/buckle combo is worth more than the walk mode, but the Mach 1 liner is nice.

**zion zig zag** · 11-30-2014, 10:30 AM

OK, definitely leaning towards the mach 1 then. One other question; I've always skied a 120 flex boot with a powerwrap intuition liner, if I am going to stick to the stock liner do I go up to a 130 flex to compensate for the lack of a powerwrap?

**mntlion** · 11-30-2014, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by zion zig zag

OK, definitely leaning towards the mach 1 then. One other question; I've always skied a 120 flex boot with a powerwrap intuition liner, if I am going to stick to the stock liner do I go up to a 130 flex to compensate for the lack of a powerwrap?

go 130, you can always make it softer if needed (but I dont think the liner will change the flex much either way)

also, the cochise 130 is the 98mm shell the cochise 120 is the 100mm shell. different shapes AND flexes

**WMD** · 11-30-2014, 04:10 PM

I've got a line on a pair of last year's 130 pro at a great price. I just made the switch to alpine last year after 30+ years on tele and skied a few times last year in a Titan UL and La Sportiva Spectre. How big a jump in stiffness and power is there between the pro and those boots? Am I crazy to consider the 130? I'm 5'11, 190 and ski steep funky snow a lot.

**SupreChicken** · 11-30-2014, 04:17 PM

WMD - you aren't crazy. I started with the pro light 120, upgraded to the 130 halfway through the season and it was a game changer. I'm 6'0" 165. Noticably better walk mechanism vs. the titan. (Seriously, the titan walk mechanism is a POS compared to the cochise). I like the downhill performance better as well. But others might think they are equivalent. I added an HD race liner to my setup and that improved the downhill performance further.

**WMD** · 12-01-2014, 10:36 AM

Thanks Chicken. You didn't find the 130 too stiff? What made it a game-changer?

**CaliBrit** · 12-01-2014, 12:05 PM

Got my 25's. Fit is great, really think I will get away without a stretch, can't wait to get the Prowrap's in them.

Even the standard liner feels pretty damn good. Anyone ski this liner? Thoughts?

Anyone stick in the random orange foot board that are in the box? Presume they are to reduce volume slightly?

**TahoeJ** · 12-01-2014, 12:21 PM

I ski the stock liners and they're a huge improvement over the old ones. They're really holding up well after 25 days or so.

**wasatchback** · 12-01-2014, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by CaliBrit

Got my 25's. Fit is great, really think I will get away without a stretch, can't wait to get the Prowrap's in them.

Even the standard liner feels pretty damn good. Anyone ski this liner? Thoughts?

Anyone stick in the random orange foot board that are in the box? Presume they are to reduce volume slightly?

The red spacers come installed In the pro 130 and pro light. They come in the box in the 120s. They're there for people that need to take up some vertical volume. New boot is better in that regards than the old one but some people still might need it.

**CaliBrit** · 12-01-2014, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by TahoeJ

I ski the stock liners and they're a huge improvement over the old ones. They're really holding up well after 25 days or so.

Did you heat mold them?

**CaliBrit** · 12-01-2014, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by wasatchback

The red spacers come installed In the pro 130 and pro light. They come in the box in the 120s. They're there for people that need to take up some vertical volume. New boot is better in that regards than the old one but some people still might need it.

Great thanks. Might stick them in. Have a lowish instep.

**bern43** · 12-01-2014, 02:35 PM

I had powerwraps in my old 120s. I put them into the new 120s I picked up just to compare. The heel hold on the new stock liners is much better. I've got ankle wraps on my powerwraps, and even with those on there the stock liner just seems much better in that area. The old liner (1st generation) was sort of terrible. But this one seems really good.

**ready2tumble** · 12-01-2014, 03:14 PM

Let's see. I have tiny-volume, skinny-ankle feet, but they are maybe unsurprisingly attached to a tiny-volume, skinny-legged body. So I'm looking for the tightest fit I can get, but a 130-flex boot would be way beyond too stiff for me. If I were to go the Cochise route, am I better off starting with the more anantomical 130s and cutting drastically to soften them up, or dropping down to a 120 (or really, a 110 or 100 if the fit is the same) for more appropriate natural flex?

**CaliBrit** · 12-01-2014, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by ready2tumble

Let's see. I have tiny-volume, skinny-ankle feet, but they are maybe unsurprisingly attached to a tiny-volume, skinny-legged body. So I'm looking for the tightest fit I can get, but a 130-flex boot would be way beyond too stiff for me. If I were to go the Cochise route, am I better off starting with the more anantomical 130s and cutting drastically to soften them up, or dropping down to a 120 (or really, a 110 or 100 if the fit is the same) for more appropriate natural flex?

Well, you might be able to drop a shell size with the Cochise, which will actually give you a much closer fit to start with. I would perhaps try that route in a 120, I just dropped to a 25 from a 26 Salomon, and the Salomon was a good fit to start with.

**mntlion** · 12-02-2014, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by ready2tumble

Let's see. I have tiny-volume, skinny-ankle feet, but they are maybe unsurprisingly attached to a tiny-volume, skinny-legged body. So I'm looking for the tightest fit I can get, but a 130-flex boot would be way beyond too stiff for me. If I were to go the Cochise route, am I better off starting with the more anantomical 130s and cutting drastically to soften them up, or dropping down to a 120 (or really, a 110 or 100 if the fit is the same) for more appropriate natural flex?

or look at the Cochise 95W, its a 100ish flex, and the same 98shape.
Or get the 130 and soften it.

boot fitting basics:

you can make stiff boots softer, but can't make soft boots stiffer
you can make narrow boots wider, but you can't make wide boots narrower.

so get a stiff, narrow boot, and get it adjusted

**ready2tumble** · 12-02-2014, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by mntlion

or look at the Cochise 95W, its a 100ish flex, and the same 98shape.

Looks like the 98-shaped Women's boot is the COCHISE PRO W, which is advertised as 105-flex. Promising! Do you know if it will be the same shell as the men's, or is it going to have a short cuff? I'm just skinny, not short.

**SupreChicken** · 12-02-2014, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by WMD

Thanks Chicken. You didn't find the 130 too stiff? What made it a game-changer?

Over the 120 light, there was such a huge upgrade in fore-aft stiffness and responsiveness. In smooth snow, they feel similar. In choppy, bumps, less forgiving conditions (typical in bounds PNW), they are the difference between being able to ski aggressively vs. feeling my heels lift up out of the pocket in the boot and having to back off.

It was burlier and more responsive than any pure alpine boot I had ridden before. The walk mechanism was a huge upgrade from the dynafit ZZeus. I've never had something with a 130 flex before. I'm super bummed the hazard yellow is only on the 120 this year.

RE: stiffness...the first few days in it with the new intuition HD race were uncomfortable. It got better over the course of the season. Still tougher to put on and take off than any other boot I've owned...but that's not much of a price to pay to feel secure in all snowtypes...