Boot suggestion? Larger toebox than Atomic Backland but similar weight

[steventy]

I'm narrowing in on a new touring boot. As for priorities: I want it to be light. I hate jamming my toes while touring. I don't care very much about downhill performance.

The top contender is the Atomic Backland Carbon 28/28.5 with the liner swapped out for a size 28 Intuition Liner.

My feet measure 28.3, aren't particularly wide (103) and I've got "roman toes" according to this graphic:
http://www.storypick.com/wp-content/.../04/toes-1.jpg

I can get two fingers comfortably behind my heel in the shell test but this boot still feels short for me. Pressure on my toes as soon as I put it on and stand up. It won't be an issue when strapped in and skiing downhill but I can see it being a problem while skinning.

I'm wondering if there are any other similar boots that might be better starting points. I've looked at a few size 29 shells but they all seem like they will be too big (e.g. 2.5 -3 fingers for the TLT7). Are there any boots in this class that have a "small 29" or a "large 28.5" (particularly in the toe box,) that are worth taking a look at before I commit to punching these?

[whatsupdoc]

Did you cook the liners yet with toe caps? It's hard to imagine your toes will be hitting the front of your boots with a 2 finger shell fit.

[gregL]

I'm wondering if there are any other similar boots that might be better starting points.

Scarpa F1, Dynafit TLT6 (2016 and 2017 versions, now only available in "Mountain" but can be found in last season's black and orange "Performance" version with the same fit), and Dynafit TLT7 all have more spacious toe boxes than the Backland boots. However, the Backland series can gain quite a bit of forefoot width with the Memory Fit heat molding process. I've punched a number of Backlands and TLT6's for toe length but depending on how thick your fingers are (two of mine = 30mm) I doubt you actually need more length.

[gregL]

PS The liners are extremely thin in all of these boots, and the amount of heat moldable foam in the toes is zilch, so a toe cap isn't going to generate much if any extra length. Making the front of the toe box wider for your blunt "Roman" toes is a job for your bootfitter.

[steventy]

Thanks for this feedback. I did the mold with a toecap. Sounds like a boot fitter will be able to make these work and I shouldn't size up.

I haven't been able to find the F1 (in Vancouver.) I'll see if I can try the TLT6 (will have to be the blue/yellow Mountain CR) before committing to these.

[Graham]

Footbeds, and blow the shit out of the toebox via boot fitter = done.

[Lindahl]

I'm narrowing in on a new touring boot. As for priorities: I want it to be light. I hate jamming my toes while touring. I don't care very much about downhill performance.

The top contender is the Atomic Backland Carbon 28/28.5 with the liner swapped out for a size 28 Intuition Liner.

My feet measure 28.3, aren't particularly wide (103) and I've got "roman toes" according to this graphic:
http://www.storypick.com/wp-content/.../04/toes-1.jpg

I can get two fingers comfortably behind my heel in the shell test but this boot still feels short for me. Pressure on my toes as soon as I put it on and stand up. It won't be an issue when strapped in and skiing downhill but I can see it being a problem while skinning.

I'm wondering if there are any other similar boots that might be better starting points. I've looked at a few size 29 shells but they all seem like they will be too big (e.g. 2.5 -3 fingers for the TLT7). Are there any boots in this class that have a "small 29" or a "large 28.5" (particularly in the toe box,) that are worth taking a look at before I commit to punching these?

If your toes are jammed up against the front, with a 2 finger fit, your heel probably isn't fully set in the heel pocket (you might have heels wider than the designed last). You should really heatmold the shell before judging the fit. Like everyone has said, go see a bootfitter.