Intuition Power Wrap or Pro Tour on a touring boot?

[littlespaceman]

Might be revisiting something here but as someone who is fairly new to skinning, and is convinced that Intuition liners can be the answer to all my problems, wonder if I can tap in to some of your the on-hill-experiences?

I have a pair of Salomon Quest Max BC 120 boots (this seasons, i.e 2013'-14) and they're really not as stiff as I'd was expecting. I also get big problems with sore shins (though it's much better in the Salomon boots as they're a way better fit than the Tecnicas I used to have)

I'm looking at the Intuition Pro Tour, and the Power Wrap - basically I want to stiffen the boot up a bit, and have heard the wrap-style liner can be effective at reducing shin problems. But does the stiffness of the PW negate the point of having a boot with a hike-mode? I'm not planning long tours, probably an hour or two max at this stage, and from the sounds of things, plenty of people here tour in the Power Wraps with no problems.

As an alternative, if the Pro Tour is better for touring, would that liner make any difference to the stiffness of the boot compared to the factory liner (which actually feels pretty good to me for an out-of-the-box liner...)

Cheers all

[snapt]

Sounds like the power wrap is the right choice. I've stiffened up some older, softer, AT boots with them. You'll loose some ROM but if you're tours are shorter it'll be worth it the way they ski.

[Shorty_J]

The power wrap will stiffen the boot up, but it will restrict your rearward range of motion in walk mode. Front flex in walk mode should be unnafected.

[ripvanwinter]

I bought a pair of dal bello Sherpas last spring and tried to make them a bit stiffer with the power wrap liner.

I ended up going back to the tour liner after one incredibly painful day because the shape of the power wrap was just all wrong for the boot.

To be honest, the only times I notice that the boot is less stiff than my old kryptons with the medium tongues is when I'm either skiing with bad technique or in icy conditions that I'd rather not be skiing in in any boot.

[Judo Chop!]

I use to have the solly Quest 14 boots. I'm not sure how similar/dissimilar they are, but when I went to Intuition for liners to stiffen them up it was a no-go. The way the boot works, a good portion of it's existing stiffness comes from the plastic sewn in to the liner itself, not the shell. So the shell is quite soft and lacking, IMO.
Even with a powerwrap (the stiffest), I could basically bend forward so much it was like a hiking boot. and it was softer than the stock liner, although better fit.
I've moved on from solly AT boots. Not sure if the BC Max 120 are similar design though.

The pro-tour will make it waaaaay softer; but does work very well with a different shell.

[hutash]

I have just done this in my Titans and Maestrales. Swapped the power wraps in my Titans for the Scarpa Intuition liner (basically a pro tour). The power wrap stiffened up the Maestrales significantly, but reduced the tourablity significantly. The Pro Tours in the Titans softened the boot and made it more comfortable. The Scarpas still tour okay, but not what I would want on a long tour. I did about four hours of easy touring/skiing in them and my feet while okay, but weren't nearly as happy in them as with the stock liner (pro tour).

So yes, for what you want it would work with the power wraps, as long as you keep the tours short. Power wraps will definitely stiffen up the boot.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Bumping this old thread.

Toured in Powerwraps in my MTN Labs. I liked that they stiffened the boot up, but picked up bad heel blisters after just 3k vert. Never had heel blisters with the Mtn Lab stock liner. I'm guessing my feet probably being hotter in the Powerwrap + no laces to lock my heel down was the problem.

My gut tells me I should ditch the Powerwraps and buy a pair of new Pro Tours, but maybe there's something to be done to save the Powerwraps?

(those Powerwraps are from an different pair of boots of mine so not a huge deal if I just don't end up using them)

[greasyslope]

What size are you? If the shoe fits, you’re welcome to give my Pro Tours a try to see what you think.

[galibier_numero_un]

There's always the Tour Wrap to consider. Mine just arrived, but haven't been molded yet.

One item of interest I just learned is that they have a lacing system. This might be helpful with your blister problem.

... Thom

[GravityDT]

been using TourWraps in the new Maestrale XTs. Significantly better fit than the stock Scarpa Intuitions and the ROM is fantastic. For my higher insteps I've had much better luck with the Wrap liners. My daily resort boots have PowerWraps in them (Lupo120AXs)

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Thanks guys - Tour Wrap seem like they could be perfect. I think that lacing system is exactly what my heel needs.

Appreciate the offer on borrowing the Pro Tour's too. If you've got a 28 I'll def let you know if I want to take you up on that.

[greasyslope]

No luck. I’m a 29.

[CaliBrit]

Power wrap foam is too dense for touring. The excellent heel hold will crush you when your heel inevitably moves when you tour.