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Thread: Scarpa Alien RS

  1. #26
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    Pretty good Q&A about sizing and punching, etc. the Alien RS here:
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
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  2. #27
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    + very nice shoe this alien, the forward flex is not far from tlt6 carbon
    - heel retention far from ideal

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by abp View Post
    Whereas most superlight boots I've been in basically relegate you to backseat skiing, the RS actually discourages being in the backseat; it really likes to be driven with an aggressive stance.
    Isn't the crazy forward lean of old-school rando boots (and bindings with tons of ramp) to blame for putting people in the backseat? Kudos to Scarpa for bringing modern geometry to ultralight boots.

    Looks like the RS could benefit from a Voile strap around the top of the boot (like a narrow Booster Strap) for guys trying to wring every scrap of performance from the boot on the down.

  4. #29
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    Welp I went and tried on a pair at skimoco the other day, they sure feel nice though I agree the noticeable lack of heel retention was sort of weird. I'm guessing baking out the liner would help that though. Anyone bake their liners yet? I am real close to just pulling the trigger on these.

  5. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbillie1 View Post
    Welp I went and tried on a pair at skimoco the other day, they sure feel nice though I agree the noticeable lack of heel retention was sort of weird. I'm guessing baking out the liner would help that though. Anyone bake their liners yet? I am real close to just pulling the trigger on these.
    Did you try your “normal” size?

  6. #31
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    yeah, it was still very loose in the heel. I also tried a size down but that would involve punching the toe and I just don’t want that aggressive a fit in a boot I’m gonna hike a lot in

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbillie1 View Post
    Welp I went and tried on a pair at skimoco the other day, they sure feel nice though I agree the noticeable lack of heel retention was sort of weird. I'm guessing baking out the liner would help that though. Anyone bake their liners yet? I am real close to just pulling the trigger on these.
    I can feel a bit of heel lift skinning with the forefoot/boa cable loose. Tightening that adjustment most of the way down fixes it pretty well, for me. I've been leaving that adjustment close to maxed-out all day, feels great. Pretty easy to micro adjust with that knob. This is using a somewhat packed down TLT6P liner (the light thin Palau), 80+ days of skiing since cooking for my TLT6P last winter, same 29.0 size in both boots. Living room tests suggest the new stock liner will have a little more thickness/volume and a little better heel hold.

    Haven't noticed too much heel lift while skiing, but all this powder hasn't been a real big test so far. I'll see what happens with the next couple days of pineapple temps and thicker grabbier snow.

    Just lucky with my foot shape, I think, but these are about the most comfortable boots I've ever toured & skied in, even with a fairly tight shell fit (14mm at the heel, spent a few hours with boots on in the living room in October debating whether to send them back for the next size up, glad I didn't) . 80K vert & 100 hours this sweet November so far, and no pain at the end of a 9 hour tour, no sloppiness, just great skiing. I put some Sole thin Davenport footbeds in last week, and my warm feet have shaped the cork to my foot a little more every day. Icing on the cake. I'm stoked.

  8. #33
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    Can anyone tell me how the Boa works internally? Is it attached to the boot shell like original Alien or does it close down on the liner as the Gignoux boot internal strapping apparently does? Pic of inside would be a bonus.
    Thanks

  9. #34
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    The wires are attached to the inside of the shell. The plastic top wire "eyelet" looks pretty fragile given the angle the wire pulls on it, I'm hesitant to really crank down on the knob. To help lock down the heel, a Voile strap above the Boa and around the back of the boot might work.

  10. #35
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    Thanks,
    Helpful.

  11. #36
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    fwiw I went with the Fischer Carbon Travers, which had much better heel hold (and overall fit) for me. they carpet flex a tiny bit softer but eh, the fit was much better for my foot and the weight/articulation were close enough. plus apparently they're very warm, which was a concern I had with the RS.

    anyway: if you have issues with heel hold but otherwise it feels decent, the carbon Travers might be your ticket. I'll post excessively about how they ski once I get out on them next week.

  12. #37
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    I would like very much to hear your thoughts on the Travers.
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
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  13. #38
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    Boa pix.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  14. #39
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    Scarpa Alien RS

    Quote Originally Posted by plugboots View Post
    I would like very much to hear your thoughts on the Travers.
    Just took my first lap on em tonight. Skis were Down CD102Ls, bindings were Speed Rad toes and race heels (Kreuzspitze SCTT), 1585g/ski with clamps on my kitchen scale. Skis are 179cm, 120 x 102 x 107, 41m radius. Snow was either settled pow or very tracked out pow (I went to a popular and accessible sidecountry area and one of the few spots in the Wasatch with coverage right now)

    First impressions: out of the box, 1075g/boot with liners in (27.5). The "duck foot" stance makes the toe and heel welts look a bit funny, I didn't notice it much either while walking around or skinning though. They are sharp looking, seem well made, and carpet flex a little softer than my TLT6Ps w/tongues in. They fit my green aluminum CAMP crampons, fit is a little weird but I think it’s fine. They came with the "official" red thingies on the tech toes, and a certification for Marker Kingpins.

    A note on fit: I was in TLT6Ps before, but a shell size too big (a 28.0) as I believed at the time of purchase that I wanted the roomier fit for touring. They weren't huge, maybe 1.5 finger shell spacing, but bigger than I want these days. I put a lot of miles/vert on them, raced in them, and generally liked them, but someone on fleabay paid more than I did when I bought em, so it was upgrade time. I was curious about the new generation of light kinda "race plus" boots anyway. The Scarpa Alien RS in a 27 fit alright, with a very loose heel and a bit of that weird pressure on the top of my foot that all Scarpas seem to have. The TLT7Ps I demoed fit me badly, very wide toe box, weird stubby big toe area. I guess everyone thinks their feet are "normal" but I'm a pretty standard 9.5, feet on the narrower side. I also don't know all the foot terminology but happy to measure my feet if it's helpful lol.

    They are a revelation on the skintrack... put my TLT6Ps to absolute shame, and quite a bit better than the TLT7Ps I demoed the other day. I was effortlessly getting 5-6" additional stride per step (I pay attention to what part of the binding/boot/etc gets to the tip of the behind ski when skinning). ROM was seriously unreal, super smooth. They claim 80º and I believe it. They walk almost like a pair of street shoes. For booting, being able to throw the buckle but stay in walk mode is kinda nice, I imagine that being helpful front pointing with crampons. The downside is it is 2 levers instead of 1, which admittedly does annoy me a little. I cannot rave enough about how these things skin. I've never used full on skimo race boots, but these absolutely knock the shit out of my TLT6Ps, which I felt were pretty good on the up. The forward and backward ROM is nuts.

    Coming down: switch to ski mode and they felt really solid. Had no problem throwing around the 102Ls, they skied indistinguishably from my TLT6Ps. I wasn't pressing it on groomers so maybe there is a minor difference in flex, and it was just a single ~1500' run, but I couldn't tell the difference in performance.

    Also they are WARM! It was around 15F tonight and my feet were not only adequate but downright toasty, and I do tend to get cold feet.

    I am suuuuper stoked on them so far. Saving ~half a pound per foot, giving up no discernible downhill performance, going up an order of magnitude in uphill performance AND adding warmth compared to my TLT6P?? Hell yeah.

    If they fit your foot and the Aliens don't, take a serious look at the Carbon Travers.
    Last edited by mbillie1; 12-08-2017 at 08:15 AM. Reason: more info

  15. #40
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    just skied a dozen days with the alien rs. on voile wsp for uphilling at the resort and long traverses, and g3 zenoxide 93 for skiing CO pow. these are stiffer, lighter, warmer, and more comfortable than my tlt6's and quicker and easier on the transitions with the heel throw and boa. 5*, would ski again.

  16. #41
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    I wish I could rationalize a set of these. They look like an awesome light boot.

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by John_B View Post
    I wish I could rationalize a set of these. They look like an awesome light boot.
    I got a pair of F1s last spring that have fit perfectly and skied great from day one. Still, I've gone back and forth on replacing them with the RS 3 or 4 times now.

  18. #43
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    Somehow I missed the pics. Thanks Thousand-Oaks!

  19. #44
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    ^^^^ Same here. But the F1's don't have any extra room for me, and it sounds like the RS's are smaller. I'd need to size up. Not sure the fit would be good enough. In any case I'll wait until I can get a pair cheap.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbillie1 View Post
    Just took my first lap on em tonight. Skis were Down CD102Ls, bindings were Speed Rad toes and race heels (Kreuzspitze SCTT), 1585g/ski with clamps on my kitchen scale. Skis are 179cm, 120 x 102 x 107, 41m radius. Snow was either settled pow or very tracked out pow (I went to a popular and accessible sidecountry area and one of the few spots in the Wasatch with coverage right now)

    ..............................

    .
    Great write-up

    What I would like is someone to compare the Alien RS, the Carbon Traverse and S/LAB X-Alp. Maybe the Salomon is on the heavy side for such a comparison, but since I tried them I don't want to got back to my TLT5P...

  21. #46
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    Punch

    Anyone tried to punch these so far?

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moralkaka View Post
    Great write-up

    What I would like is someone to compare the Alien RS, the Carbon Traverse and S/LAB X-Alp. Maybe the Salomon is on the heavy side for such a comparison, but since I tried them I don't want to got back to my TLT5P...
    Agreed on the write-up, I forgot to thank mbillie the first time around. (Those are the 3 boots written on my desk calendar, also, BTW.) I forgot about being able to flip the buckle, but keep in walk mode. There are times I would like that.
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
    I'm not a part of a redneck agenda

  23. #48
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    ^ no problem, I have some more days on em now including 1 resort day, mostly out of curiosity. I've also toured with em on my "heavy" setup, G3 Manhattans + Radical STs ~2500g/ski including bindings if I remember accurately. They push the Manhattans around fine in the BC, a not-huge but definitely noticeable difference in stiffness (less) than TLT6Ps w/tongues skiing inbounds. This was groomer cruising only, early season beatering, on my "big" skis so I wasn't really annoyed, it just required somewhat more balance.

    I'm very happy with them. Gonna walk around a sketchy foreign-to-me snowpack in em this weekend up in Idaho but my ~6 or so days on them so far have been great. Only time I wanted "more" boot was in some fairly heinous wet heavy mush, and it was at least half wanting "more" ski as well.

  24. #49
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    Quick tip for new RS owners: step into your binding and adjust the forward lean to your liking before heading out on your first day. The factory setting is VERY upright and makes for an unfun descent if your tech bindings don't have much ramp.

    They are fantastic on the up, looking forward to the down after being adjusted.

  25. #50
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    Got a pair of these a couple weeks ago and have a day trip and an 8-day traverse on them now.

    As others have said, these things are really light and tour really, really well. In walk mode, they feel like a pair of lightweight, mid-height hiking boots. I have a pair of xc boots that do not tour as well as the Aliens. On carpet, they flex considerably stiffer than TLT6P's without tongues, and pretty similarly with tongues. I think the TLT skis a bit better for sure, but the walk mode is not even a fair comparison. Flipping between walk/ski is pretty damn effortless, and combined with a pair of waxless skis (Vector BC), I'm cruising all over the place without even thinking much about terrain or transitions. Skiing through grabby wind-affected snow with a full overnight pack, I did not quite have the GoPro and selfie stick out, but I think these boots do more than could be reasonably expected for something <1,000g.

    Downsides: the liners. I started noticing places with significant wear on day two, and now have one liner with foam starting to disintegrate in one spot. I think liberal use of tenacious tape will let me get about a season out of the liners, and that will be it. Fortunately the shells haven't shown signs of falling apart yet, but I am suspicious now. The little stickers covering screws on the insides of the shells started coming off after about 6 hours of skiing, and I think all of them have fallen off my boots now. Also, the lever on the back of the boot extends pretty far down, so these are not compatible with a lot of crampons (Petzl Leopard seems to fit well).

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