Atomic Backland

[LeeLau]

Is there a thread started? If so I couldn't find it other than the musings in some scattered threads

Will put up comparison shots vs the Scarpa F1 Evo

Till then there is Lou's always thorough look- https://www.wildsnow.com/15504/atomi...-touring-boot/

http://www.tetongravity.com/video/sk...eview-sia-2016 super annoying autoloading video

Memoryfit tech - http://www.amersports.com/newsroom/n...to-a-new-level

if i remember to dig them up will stick up the Atomic videos here too.

What other questions?

[Lindahl]

Need to ski them some more, now that they're molded, maybe Wed? But, I will say that memory fit is legit - worked really really well for my foot. For those that can't bear a full day in a TLT6P, this is the answer. Tours better and skis comparably. Intuition Pro Tour liners make them ski a shit-ton better with no weight gain, and it still feels like a sneaker on the way up - much better than a Spectre, as good or maybe slightly worse than a TLT6P. Skis much better than a TLT5P (and TLT6P?) with the different liner, in my opinion. Feels more progressive? Definitely softer than my Cochise 120s with Pro Tours - probably didn't need to be said though.

[timmaio]

Anyone know if the first year run of boots is sold out? I can't find them anymore at Barrabes

[sfotex]

I have a pair of pre-production Backland Carbon Lights with the soft tongue (as of few weeks ago Atomic is making a few tweaks to the boot before they do next years production run). I have around ~40k self powered vertical on mine right now. Conditions ranged from dust to 6" on crust, breakable crust, unbreakable slide for life rain crust, crust with refrozen death chunder mixed in, and refrozen rain soaked cement. Low angle up to 40 degree slopes. I used the Fischer Hannibal 94 and the Voile V8.

Construction:
Everything seems top notch. Tech inserts worked well. They were easy to step in/out of. No pre releases, etc. Sole is seems durable and grippy. Liner
was about as warm and comfortable as expected (uses Ultralon foam, I've heard they are made by a large liner company that people on here like a lot). Could use some more padding/volume in the liner in the cuff (supposed to be fixed in production boot). Buckles are nice and work well.

Fit:
Fit is roomier the the TLT 6, forefoot feels more like the F1 Evo. I kept the same size as the TLT 6 (27) to have a roomier all day fit. I haven't molded them. After around 6+ hours in my ski boots my feet start to swell so I sized accordingly. I have six 6-8 hour days on them so far.

Up: No complaints here. Skinning without the tongue is like using running shoes, but getting the tongue in is a bit fiddely. I spent most of my time skinning with the soft tongue in, and didn't really notice much of a real difference on the up. Transition from up/down is pretty smooth. Flip the upper cuff to closed and flip the bar down to put them in ski mode. The buckles have a stop to lock them into open mode so they don't flop around. I used ski crampons quite a bit and cuff supported my shins adequately while side hilling.

Down: Got the job done! The boot has great torsional rigidity, so edging even the V8's on icy shit wasn't a problem. The boot drove the Hannibals in all conditions with no problems and was a great match. I did a lop of jump/hop turns in the death crust and flexed the boot mainly my bending my ankles/keeping on my toes. Wouldn't mind a slightly higher cuff, the boot can handle it IMHO. I've heard Atomic is tweaking with this. We got a major 4" dump and I was able to pull out the V8's (what a season!) and find some deeper wind blown places. I was able to drive the tips and lay down some turns in the softer stuff fine, but when I hit refrozen chunder, etc I was starting to push the boot past it's limits I thought. I would like to check out the stiffer tongue. I think they will do fine on real back country powder days with wider skis, but I need to do more research.

[gregL]

[QUOTE=LeeLau;4437393If so I couldn't find it other than the musings in some scattered threads[/QUOTE]

I'll try to consolidate my musings, Lee.

I’ve got a few days on a pair of Backland Carbons, and as a long time user of both the TLT5 and TLT6P I think the Atomic boot is a legitimate contender in the light touring category. The Backland Carbon is a little lighter, a tiny bit softer, and a fair amount cheaper than the TLT6P.
The fit of the Backland boots is probably the biggest news, especially for those with higher volume feet. I have a roughly 103mm forefront and medium instep, with bunions at the first and fifth met heads and a wide medial midfoot. I make a TLT6 fit by if sizing up a shell size from my alpine boot 26.5 to a 27.5 and punching the shell heavily in three spots.

I tried both the 26.5 and 27.5 Backland Carbons on during the product rollout dinner and decided the 27.5 was too roomy. Doing the MemoryFit thing (15 minutes in the oven with liners in the shells @ 240 F.) took care of the general width issues and I was able to ski the boots for a half day without crippling myself. I later punched for the first and fifth bunions manually and the carbon-infused Grilamid punched easily with minimal heat and held the punches well – much like punching a TLT shell (don’t use much heat). I’m super happy with the fit of the 26.5 now, and five or six of my friends who also use 27.5 TLT’s agree that they would go shorter in the Atomic.

Skinning performance is superior. With the tongue out and buckles undone the rearward range of motion is slightly better than the already excellent TLT6 and the carbon cuff provides great lateral support on sidehills. I’ve experimented skinning with the tongues left in (I do this quite a bit with my TLT6 , too) and they work great as long as you leave the powerstrap behind the tongue. If you do remove the tongues they are harder to get in and out than the Dynafit tongues. The Backland Carbons feel lighter on my feet, and are: 1166 grams per boot with stock liner and a posted custom Sidas insole for the Backlands vs. 1240 grams for my TLT6P with a similar footbed and a lighter TLT5 liner. This makes my TLT6’s approximately the same weight as the Euro-only version with the CL liner, but keep in mind the shells are also a size larger.

Speaking of shells, the BSL on my Backland Carbons is 288mm. The 9mm difference makes it impossible to adjust some of my skis to fit.
As to the skiing, the Backland Carbons are solid. I skied next year’s Atomic Ultimate and Backland skis on hard groomers on them all morning and they were super precise and the balance point was much like the Dynafit boots (skis were mounted with rental Radical ST’s). The overall cuff and liner height is lower on the Backland Carbon than on my TLT6, and the forward flex slightly softer than the TLT6 with black tongue in, but I didn’t really notice any difference in dust-on-crust or 4 inches of fresh. Once while touring in the rain in foot of mank I felt I could have used more boot, but in a normal year I wouldn’t have even gone out that day. In fairness, I probably would have struggled in my RS 130’s in those conditions.
I plan on putting a lot more mileage on these boots this spring and summer, snow permitting. For now, I’m very happy with them, and other skiers who have a hard time fitting the TLT6 would do well to check them out.

[gregL]

Could use some more padding/volume in the liner in the cuff (supposed to be fixed in production boot).

I have it on good authority that a new, higher liner with a stiffer tongue and more padding around the ankle is in the works.

[Meathelmet]

Thx for the writeup gregL!

Is there any cuff alignment adjustment? I have Mongolian horserider legs and was wondering if there is some adj or if one has to hope that the heating of the shell could take care of some alignment issues? And yes, apart from my small hobbit feet I look like Pecos Bill.
Oh well, at least the bootfiters have something to do..

[gregL]

Is there any cuff alignment adjustment?

Not in the pair I have. The cuff rivets are Allen keyed and user replaceable, but there's no cam adjustment like an alpine boot.

[Lindahl]

Yup, this boot is pretty capable. Very pleased.

A little clip of me stomping a 25' drop into a chute and making a few turns (kind of hard to see the drop). Shitty iphone video, but it does the trick, I guess.



For reference, this was my first REAL run ever on the boot, and my first time ever in this zone. The snow was also pretty punchy - like styrofoam. Overall, I feel that this was a pretty good test from every aspect. The little catch I had when transitioning between my second and third turn wasn't from the boot. 99% sure that I would have had that weird catch happen on my Cochise 120s. I'll do some firm snow testing later, but for now, we're getting hammered with fresh snow, so I'll take it! We did have a high speed firm luge track on the way out, and they were great on that.

Again, this is with an Intuition Pro Tour liner with the Powerstrap slanted upwards to catch the upper part of the liner tongue. This makes a BIG difference in how the boot skis. It's not a Cochise, but it skis pretty damn well in this configuration. As I mentioned before, Atomic's Memory Fit shell is legit. It worked REALLY well for my foot. Fits like a dream, now.

Just in case anyone wonders, the skis are Down Countdown 102s, and the bindings are Speed Radicals.

I have it on good authority that a new, higher liner with a stiffer tongue and more padding around the ankle is in the works.

If it's similar to the Intuition Pro Tour, they'll have a serious winner on their hands.

[Lambert]

Just in case if they dont come with a stiffer black tongue and curiosity, did someone ever try to make tongues stiffer, maybe by laminating some carbon strips on it or anything like that?? Just curious..

[Lindahl]

Pretty sure you can screw a salomon spoiler to the tongue to make it stiffer. My buddy did that with his Maestrale RSs. I'll try to get more details sometime later this week. I thought about doing the same, but after skiing it, I don't think I really need to.

[LeeLau]

Some random notes from a PK before they gave me my test pair. Excuse the scribblings but this is just a dump of notes

Backland Carbon 27 $799

Climate control to mitigate Ultralon liner. Sourced from Ultralon w Goretex membrane. Washable

Memoryfit. 12 mins. Entire boot/shell. 30mins fit. Can customize to narrow wide fit

Frictionless walk mode. 74 deg motion. Igus bushings on heel cuff. Don't need to unbuckle. Can use tongue

Updates

Tongue to be thickened
Cuff higher on liner


Footbed
Volume reducer is the half size
Breaks on full shell size
Flatbootboard. Bushings taped
Removable hardware
Taped watersealed
Tongues right left
Tongues in 120 flex.
98mm last. Sz27
1040g
298mm bsl
Dynafit inserts "lost wax casting" removes impurities. Not made by Dynafit
Full prepreg carbon cuff. Fiberglass protective layer.
Carbon loaded lower shell. Grilamid infused with Carbon. 5 to 6x stiffer

Back land Carbon 799
Back land women's 699
Sz 22s real size to 31
Women's 22 to 27

Lean 13 - 15. Can be modded by changing lean lock lever around

[sfotex]

Saw the list of changes Atomic is making to the production boots. Basically making the liner thicker ankle/heel and tongue. They made a few tweaks to the buckles and reinforced some fabric areas and buckles, but no drastic changes.

[Fejau]

So what's your consensus on them right now Lee? Stiffer than TLT5?

James from ER seems to be really excited about them!

[Lindahl]

Saw the list of changes Atomic is making to the production boots. Basically making the liner thicker ankle/heel and tongue. They made a few tweaks to the buckles and reinforced some fabric areas and buckles, but no drastic changes.

No cuff height change in the liner?

[sfotex]

No cuff height change in the liner?

Doesn't look like it.

[hoarhey]

Any further updates?

[Kufo]

Great read, thank you!

[Lindahl]

Had this boot out in spring/summer conditions a few times this season. Still performed really well. Very happy with this boot. Even for dirt trail approaches, I didn't even bother bringing shoes in and just hiked in the boots. Probably could have used a custom foot bed, but felt pretty darn good despite. Excellent mobility. I'll probably go back to using shoes for long dirt/rock approaches just to increase the longevity of the boots/soles. Had all sorts of conditions between mush, firm runnels, soft runnels, ice, powder, corn etc. Performed well in each of these conditions. I have no qualms about leaving my Cochises behind for these longer missions. They ski exceptionally well. I could drive the ski hard, and provided excellent transfer of power to the edges. You do notice the lack of weight/ballast, but that's about the only complaint I can give. Ten thumbs up.

I guess the other complaint would be a better shaped plastic tongue. I don't think it matches the forward lean of the boot very well - at least with my ProTour liners in it. Even with a good liner, you could still feel the pressure point where the plastic tongue made contact with the shin (it doesn't contact the entire shin very well at all). I'll probably fiddle with trying to heat mold it or other strategies. It doesn't really effect skiing, with a liner like the ProTour which has a stiff tongue, but it does affect comfort on longer downhills (feels like a slight bruising of the shin).

[Cocximus]

I tried them today. At $600 CAD for the carbon it's a whole lot of boot. Really wished they fit but everything was wrong about them on my tiny heel. The 265 is the shortest 265 I tried. The upper buckle unnecessarily complicated and it looks like it could snap. The instep reminded me of the spectre pinch point a bit. +1 on the to tongue, something felt a bit weird.

[Champers]

I also tried a pair of 26.0/26.5 last week. My left and right foot are respectively 26.5 cm and 26.3 cm long, have a maximum foot width of 108 mm and a low instep with mid/low arch.

While the overall length and width fit were fine, there was a significant gap over my insteps once strapped in. Replacing the stock footbed with some Superfeet + 2 mm shim and lacing the liner took some instep volume away but not completely. I ended up visiting Tom at Intuition and swapping the stock liner with some Pro Tour LV size 27. The Pro Tour liner is slightly taller than the stock liner but combined with the stock footbed, the instep gap was gone and the fit was great even before heat molding.

The only oddity we noticed is when the left boot was cinched up and in walk mode with the Pro Tour; flexing the boot back just pass the vertical cause a regular clicking noise between the small lower orange rear cuff cover and somewhere inside the rear upper cuff. We didn't spent much time investigating and didn't find the exact source of this noise. At the time, the left boot had the tongue in while the right boot didn't.

[1thenaton1]

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...nd-carbon-boot

[Meathelmet]

http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...nd-carbon-boot

I dont get it?

Tried the Backlands in a shop with my (Scarpa) Intuition Pro Wrap around liners and had only slight dificulties to get the liners in the boots.
The article makes it sound like it is Impossibru.

The Intuition liners made the boot feel ( in the shop, that is) totally different. The cuff is low on the boot (tried size 25) so with the original liners I personally would have close to 0% possibility to ski them. It would basically break my shin trying to ski any burlier skis than 75mm sticks, even if I would have a grace of a ballerina.

With the Pro liners it was totally different ball game.
And as the walk mode is stupendously good, I didnt even notice the difference between the Intuition and stock liner in the beginning. Only when I changed back the original liner I realized that yes...the stock liner walks better. Like slipper good. Actually, retardedly well. #gushing

But, that matters shit if it skis like shit. I personally (probably) could not even ski the stock liner but I am seriously contemplating getting the boots.
And using intuitions. And a booster strap. And getting a reinforced tongue.

Weirderst part is that I have a super wide boot (103mm/24.5) and I could stroll around in the Atomics fine for 20 mins in the shop, but when I tried the Salomon MNTs in size 25, my feet cramped after couple of minutes. Same liners that is. I figured that the Salomons would have had more volume but apparently no, even as the Atomics are advertized to be 98mm last and the Salomons 100mm?

And oh, the Salomons forward walk flex is about the shittiest ever. Slight movement in the cuff and bam. Thats it.

[neck beard]

I dont get it?

It's Blister.

Anyway, the boot was only used for 4 days in an area with pretty limited ski touring terrain. Grain of salt beyond a first impression opinion.

[Lindahl]

The Intuition liners made the boot feel ( in the shop, that is) totally different. The cuff is low on the boot (tried size 25) so with the original liners I personally would have close to 0% possibility to ski them. It would basically break my shin trying to ski any burlier skis than 75mm sticks, even if I would have a grace of a ballerina.

With the Pro liners it was totally different ball game.
And as the walk mode is stupendously good, I didnt even notice the difference between the Intuition and stock liner in the beginning. Only when I changed back the original liner I realized that yes...the stock liner walks better. Like slipper good. Actually, retardedly well. #gushing

But, that matters shit if it skis like shit. I personally (probably) could not even ski the stock liner but I am seriously contemplating getting the boots.
And using intuitions. And a booster strap. And getting a reinforced tongue.

Pretty much how I feel about the boot, less dramatic and no reinforced tongue though.

My guess is that your feet are different than Pauls and that his tight spots are different than yours, hence the different fit impressions.

The unmolded Backlands and Labs felt similarly tight on my feet FWIW.