Nordica Strider Freeride Touring Boot

[roQer]

Nordica Strider is a new contender in the segment of downhill oriented touring boots. I ski Nordica boots since many years so I was looking forward to theirs variation of the well known scheme. Currently I'm on a Patron Pro alpine boot and had the previous version of Cochise Pro 130 as touring boot. I was never satisfied with the fit of the Cochise though. Looking for a replacement, I already settled on the Lange XT 130 Freetour but then comes Nordica with the Strider 130. During carpet testing, the Strider felt stiffer then Lange and significantly stiffer then the new Cochise. If the Patron Pro was 130 I'd rate the Strider 130 as 125-120. The Nordica feeling of a nice cushioned fit and simultaneously great race boot like hold was immediately there so I was pretty much sold.
Now I have like 1 month on the Strider and the boot didn't disappoint. The power transmission and precision is good enough to drive even big skis like the new Blizzard Spur. The flex is nice and progressive, I would say even smoother than in the Patron Pro. The touring mode works just fine, although I'm not an uphill enthusiast so I don't very much care about that.
I ski the Strider with the strongest Booster strap and an additional rear spoiler, trying to get as close as possible to the performance of a good alpine boot. The nice thing is you can use all kinds of bindings as the GripWalk sole can be replaced by a Cochise alpine compatible sole.
I still don't see the Strider enter my one boot quiver role. Therefore it provides as all boots with a walk mode which I know not enough rear support and feels generally a little bit more vague and less damp than a top of the line alpine boot. However the Strider comes pretty damn close and is sure enough boot for a little bit less aggressive skiing style.

[Skidog]

So it's a Cochise 120 cuff (Triax) and a Cochise 130 lower (PE) with a slightly different walk latch lever and WTR-ish sole pads and liner with some cork in it?

INFARED man.....didnt you read it?

[1000-oaks]

Sonofabitch you're right, game-changer.

[Skidog]

Sonofabitch you're right, game-changer.

And...i also forgot to mention...Michelin....so...without doubt its a gamechanger now.

EDIT: Looking at it those buckle bails look like a fucking pain in the ass.

[roQer]

So it's a Cochise 120 cuff (Triax) and a Cochise 130 lower (PE) with a slightly different walk latch lever and WTR-ish sole pads and liner with some cork in it?

I didn't care up to now for the materials but I looked them up. The lower shell is Grilamid, the cuff is Triax, however reinforced with some carbon.
Never skied the current Cochise 130 but in carpet testing the Strider had a stiffer flex and much better heel retention. The cuff seemed to be tighter as well. I didn't like the fit of the Cochise in the cuff/ankle/heel area very much.

[Lindahl]

Not surprised. The Cochise 130 plastic is soft at room temps.

[XavierD]

More upright than a Cochise too

[Skidog]

i would probably try these on all BS aside. Nordica has always fit my foot well. The cochise needed a pinky toe punch (first time ever in any boot for me) and they still run cold. The shell fit is right (Earl at sports loft), have custom footbeds. Still in orig liner (cold be part of the issue). They're tired at this point so its time for something new. I liked the cochise 120 otherwise. Maybe this is its replacement?

[Roberto]

Bump...Interested to hear more about how this boot fits.

[westoxified]

like this:

[Roberto]

Is it a true 130 bucket flex?

[roQer]

The mid volume boot fits my mid wide foot with a relatively high instep pretty well without any shell punches just with thermofitting the liner. The fit is somewhere around the range of a Lange XT Freetour with the 100 mm last. The liner is however better cushioned. The best approximation would be to try on a Nordica Speedmachine 130, although I had the impression that the Strider is slightly narrower in the forefoot and slightly stiffer. The buckles work just fine, no big fiddling factor there.
I'll go probably for some punches to widen the boot for uphill use as my forefeet start to burn walking up so I can report how's infrared working.

[smooth operator]

Interesting, liked the speedmachines.

[iriponsnow]

Interesting, liked the speedmachines.

It's a SpeedMachine clog & new upper. I was really underwhelmed talking to the Rep @ Stratton show & the 'sister' boot has been very problematic this season.

[roQer]

Deleted for further edit

[ghosthop]

To my knowledge the dependability of elasticity modules of thermoplastic elastomers on temperature is pretty linear.

dumbass, linear line on a log scale

[roQer]

Log-linear, you're right, but still same behavior, same conclusion. Deleted the post though. Not the topic of the thread, if I rethink it.

[roQer]

Update on the Strider. After dialing in the boot with several punches, customized sole, rear spoiler and booster strap, I stopped to use my long trusted alpine boot. Didn't expect that. The boot works well enough even with heavy metal skis like Kästle BMX 105 HP or Blizzard Bodacious.
Putting new CAST on the Kästle would be a really sweet setup in the current conditions.

[roQer]

With the Strider @ Hochkarr



Strider can bigger lines too

[roQer]

Blister just published a Strider review:

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...trider-pro-130

Pretty spot on, IMO, aside the fact that if you choose a tight fit the boot is not as high volume as suggested. I visited like 4 or 5 times the bootfitter to get punches and get rid of some fitting problems.

[Skidog]

The blister review has me interested as well. I'm market for a replacement for my aging 3rd gen Cochise.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Bumping this up.

In a moment of weakness after dealing with shit boots for the last 2+ months I said fuck it and bought Strider 130s on Saturday night. My usual size of 26.5. They felt great out of the box. I didn't heat mold and skied them all day sunday. Ankle/heel feels great. Toe box almost too roomy though. I figured a "mid wide" last would be ok for me. I don't have particularly skinny feet. Pretty normal. Have never skied nordicas though.

How is everyone else liking this boot so far? I really want to get back into touring in the next few months and couldn't justify 2 more pairs of boots. Will be skiing these inbounds alot though.

[cpj.slc]

Thanks for the info here. The Speedmachine 130 has been the best fitting boot I have ever found for my foot. So much so, that I bought two back up pairs. To hear this boot has the same clog, I am thinking it will be my next touring boot.

[roQer]

I‘m skiing since almost one year the shit out of my Striders 130. Never thought that this becomes reality but my trusted alpine boot Nordica Patron Pro is rotting in the locker. Right now I experience some desire again for a burly fully alpine boot skiing my new Faction Dictators 4.0. But this is a stiff like fuck no compromise big mountain weapon in 192 cm therefore some understanding may be granted. Still good manageable by the Strider, though, so I‘m not lookin further.

[smooth operator]

this is good to hear.
Does anybody have a direct comparison to the Lange Freetours? Fit as well as downhill performance? Given that they are roughly the same weight (I think).