2016 Lange XT Freetour

[theetruscan]

Then why are you getting the LV? Get the reg (or a Technica) and call it a day.

Super narrow ankle. Reg is floppy, technica didn’t work at all.

[XavierD]

So make it work. You don’t really have another option unless the Lupo provides adiquate heel hold

[galibier_numero_un]

So make it work. You don’t really have another option unless the Lupo provides adiquate heel hold

The 97mm last has the narrowest heel I've found. Maybe there are others, but I haven't found any. If only Scarpa (Maestrale) had this kind of heel hold as well.

... Thom

[DGamms]

Having skied 75+ days in the XT 130 LV and trying on the XTD 120 at home, I gotta say the XTD 120 fits my low volume ankle/heel better than the XT 130 LV when using the stock liners in both...

[Breomonkey]

Am I reading this right that there are alpine blocks available for the free tours? I was loving my pair last season, but it made demos a problem. They are in storage for a move so I can’t have a look at them at the moment.

Any leads on where to track down these blocks?

Also- any word if they have expanded the women’s line down to a 23.5. My wife would love these, but 24’s are just a hair big.

[Breomonkey]

Shoot. Found another thread on here and I guess this years boot is compatible with both sets of blocks. Last years isn’t drilled for the new alpine block. A question but no guidance if old models could be modified to be compatible.

It would be awesome if someone I. A shop could have a look at both versions and get some pics.

[galibier_numero_un]

Either in this thread or the other one, I mentioned the height difference between ISO 5355 and WTR as being a few thousandths over .100".

I used my dual Pivot 14s in both alpine and WTR positions to measure this.

My thoughts are to pick up a second set of WTR blocks and shave them down on a belt sander.

Maybe I can convince my boot guy to let me check if this year's Alpine blocks differ only in hole location. He's pretty tolerant of my craziness. It would be pretty awesome if it only meant drilling 4 small holes in each boot.

... Thom

[gregL]

My thoughts are to pick up a second set of WTR blocks and shave them down on a belt sander.

Why not just go to a shop that does Cantology and have them rout the toes?

[galibier_numero_un]

Thanks, interesting thought. These are more idle, OCD musings than anything - so I can demo skis with alpine binders.

Being able to demo skis more easily could hurt my bank account, so my motivation isn't too high ;-)

... Thom

[XavierD]

Why not just go to a shop that does Cantology and have them rout the toes?

Tech inserts might get in the way?

[gregL]

Tech inserts might get in the way?

Should be plenty of plastic on the top surface of the toe lug to drop it by .1 inches . . .

[skibrd]

Why not just go to a shop that does Cantology and have them rout the toes?

How would this work with tech inserts and if this is done correctly, would it mean I can get my '16 XT Freetours into my P18s with out having to get WTR plates? Letting me get my RS 140s and XT Freetours into all of my skis? That would be pretty awesome and solve the whole WTR / DIN comparability issue

[gregL]

How would this work with tech inserts and if this is done correctly, would it mean I can get my '16 XT Freetours into my P18s with out having to get WTR plates? Letting me get my RS 140s and XT Freetours into all of my skis? That would be pretty awesome and solve the whole WTR / DIN comparability issue

I'm wrong, I just checked and grinding off 3mm (difference between the tallest ISO 5355 toe and the lowest ISO 9523 toe) would cut into the top of the tech fittings in my XT Freetours.

[galibier_numero_un]

Back to either modding last year's WTR plates or fabricating some from UHMWPE. If I get bored mid-Winter, I might play with this (and report back). I was amazed to measure so little difference between WTR & ISO 5355. Looking at it, it seems like so much more than .118" (3mm).

... Thom

[LeoK]

Hi,

i could just measure the new iso blocks out for you this week-end if you can not do so in the shop.

[galibier_numero_un]

I dropped by Larry's today to check the fit of the 17/18 sole blocks. Sometimes, I'm amazed that he puts up with me.

The short story is that even with the minor finagling required to get the 2017/2018 sole blocks to fit the 16/17 boots, the height will be wrong because too much else has changed.

I did the best I could with a cell phone camera. I tried to get the first two photos as perpendicular to the boot as possible to reduce any parallax, but the shot isn't perfect.

I used a mounting screw as a depth indicator for the first two shots (check the number of threads).

You'll note that in the first two pictures, the depth of the alpine sole block is very close to that of the WTR block. It might even result in a taller toe, but in any case, it's not the required 3mm reduction we need and it possibly worsens the problem.

I hope the annotation is clear but ask me for clarification if necessary.

... Thom

Here's the 17/18 sole block mounted to my 16/17 Freetours:




Here are the stock 16/17 sole blocks:




The front holes line up:




With the 17/18 block mounted, there's a space near at the front of the boot:




The 16/17 boot with both sole blocks:



A little better focus:

[gregL]

Thanks for documenting this, Thom - we were told in clinic that the 2018 alpine sole wouldn't work with the 2017 boot, but it's good to see the problems in the form of photos.

[Breomonkey]

Lange should have made these compatible with both standards out of the gate. Kind of frustrated, mostly because I have the old model. Guess I should be happy they fit so great and just go ski or keep swapping the clamps out to newer versions.

And thanks for documenting with all the pics!

[galibier_numero_un]

Annoying from the perspective of ski swaps & demos, but yeah, I love these boots.

... Thom

[skibrd]

Tired to work with my boot guy about figuring out a way to force the OG XT Freetours into an alpine binding. When flat, you can see the difference in height between an alpine boot and the XT Freetours. Interesting is when the XT Freetour is rocked to where the AFD plate is flat on to ground, the height is the same as an alpine binding.

[galibier_numero_un]

I trusted the Look engineers to have figured this out, so I fit the boots to my Dual Pivot 14 WTRs in order to determine the difference between the Alpine and WTR setting.

The Dual Pivots have two fixed positions. Something like Wardens with their infinitely adjustable toe won't tell you what you need to know.

I removed a sole block and stacked business cards between the AFD and the boot. I measured the card thickness with a dial caliper for each position (Alpine, WTR).

I was surprised there was so little difference in thickness.

One option is to buy a second set of sole blocks, grind off about .118". Check frequently so you don't overshoot the mark.

I *think* there's enough material in the sole block to remove while still retaining structural integrity.

It's probably something a boot guy wouldn't want to take on due to potential liability however.

I like the approach of rolling my own, 'coz if you screw up, you can start over. It's obviously cheaper but it's labor intensive.

I dumpster dove at a local plastic shop and have several thicknesses of UHMWPE so I'll eventually roll my own, but it's not a priority at the moment. All my bindings are either tech, or WTR compatible. My only need for this is for ski demos, so doing the mod could end up costing me money. I'll take photos if I get motivated to do this.

... Thom

[skibrd]

I trusted the Look engineers to have figured this out, so I fit the boots to my Dual Pivot 14 WTRs in order to determine the difference between the Alpine and WTR setting.

The Dual Pivots have two fixed positions. Something like Wardens with their infinitely adjustable toe won't tell you what you need to know.

I removed a sole block and stacked business cards between the AFD and the boot. I measured the card thickness with a dial caliper for each position (Alpine, WTR).

I was surprised there was so little difference in thickness.

One option is to buy a second set of sole blocks, grind off about .118". Check frequently so you don't overshoot the mark.

I *think* there's enough material in the sole block to remove while still retaining structural integrity.

It's probably something a boot guy wouldn't want to take on due to potential liability however.

I like the approach of rolling my own, 'coz if you screw up, you can start over. It's obviously cheaper but it's labor intensive.

I dumpster dove at a local plastic shop and have several thicknesses of UHMWPE so I'll eventually roll my own, but it's not a priority at the moment. All my bindings are either tech, or WTR compatible. My only need for this is for ski demos, so doing the mod could end up costing me money. I'll take photos if I get motivated to do this.

... Thom

From what I can tell, the only difference between the two is the angle the AFD plate is at in comparison to the lip on the toe.

I think you only need to grind down the first 3/4 of the current AFD plate, the rest is behind the contact point on Look AFD plate. I'm considering filling the voids inside WTR sole (if you take the sole off you'll see the voids) with JB Weld or West Systems epoxy, then taking a planer to the bottom of the WTR sole until it matches the angle needed.

Thoughts? The other option is sell last years boots, and get this years, but that sounds expensive.

[gregL]

The other option is sell last years boots, and get this years, but that sounds expensive.

. . . at Thom's regular hourly rate, he'd be ahead if he'd done this a few weeks ago . . .

[DGamms]

Again, you guys sure you aren’t overthinking it? I have at least 75 days on my 2016 Freetour XT 130s in old STH 14s that are not technically WTR compatible. Never had a prerelease, never been injured by lack of release when I needed it.

I skied the Park City terrain park today (in part because we have no fucking snow) with that exact set up. It held me perfectly for my ugly 180s, 360s, and rail slides. It released when I would come up short on the spins and land perpendicular to the fall line.

[swissiphic]

What did you do the dial in the boot/binding ramp angle after the grinding the sole of toe area mod? Or was the resulting increase in toe drop advantageous?

Tired to work with my boot guy about figuring out a way to force the OG XT Freetours into an alpine binding. When flat, you can see the difference in height between an alpine boot and the XT Freetours. Interesting is when the XT Freetour is rocked to where the AFD plate is flat on to ground, the height is the same as an alpine binding.