Fischer Ranger Free 130 - anyone ski em yet?

[XavierD]

Unless you actually look at them next to a dynafit titan. Aside from being a four buckle boot with tech fittings, i don’t see the similarities

[Solesides]

Four buckle beef boot, replaceable soles..aside from the walk lever being on the cuff below the buckle, they seem exactly like a Titan. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[el hefe]

^^^ I think this could be said for most "crossover" touring boots these days??

[blackalps]

^^^ I think this could be said for most "crossover" touring boots these days??

yeah, don't see the point that's trying to be made here.

FWIW, for anyone considering these boots, the flex is softer than the Cochise. I'd say the 130 Fischer is softer than than 120 Cochise.

[XavierD]

yeah, don't see the point that's trying to be made here.

FWIW, for anyone considering these boots, the flex is softer than the Cochise. I'd say the 130 Fischer is softer than than 120 Cochise.

Having skied both, and owning the 120 Cochise, I disagree.

As to titan comparison, the same could be said for the Lange XT,Rossi Alltrack LT, preciously mentioned Cochise, and Head Kore, as well as the K2 pinnacle and obsolete Scarpa Freedom and which happens to be the only one which weighs as much as the Titan and is the only other one requiring you to swap soles to work with 5355 or tech.

[el hefe]

FYI - ordered 130's and they won't be in until dec 1.

[epic]

I skied the Ranger 130 for half of last season. It's my first "touring" boot. It's touring boot to me anyway, I normally ski the Podium 150. Obviously the boot is really light. My first boot made from Grilamid, I was concerned about the ability to punch it, that was not a problem at all, it punched easily and the punches held over the summer so that's nice. It skis well, I mean it's not the Podiums, but it is impressively stiff. I never did tour on it, so I can't say anything about that. Getting some Shifts and a pair of Fischer Hannibals this winter so I will be changing that.

[kid-kapow]

anybody ski these back to back with xtd 120s?

i am debating which of the two aforementioned boots that should go into my quiver number two (geographically separated quivers - do not want to drag equipment back and forth) as a one boot quiver.

I already have some spare xtd130 liners that could make xtd120s ready to rock right out of the gate for both resort riding and touring, but as i am loving my Fischer RC4 130s I am a bit keen to try Ranger 130s - even if it might necessitate buying some pro tour liners for them at some time. What to do, what to do eh.

main criteria is charging, second is walkability. Both are light enough as is.

i really quite like xtd130s with pro tours, even if i prefer the feel of rc4s over them. I will probably try my xtd130s with pro tongues for resort blasting this year as i already have the liners and think that they will constitute a major upgrade for resort riding - if i can make them fit (the liners are bulky as hell).

[el hefe]

Just got these fitted. Pretty good out of box, very impressed with stock liner. I have pretty skinny ankles and calfs and these fit very well.

Flex feels great and walk mode ROM is hudge! Skiing this weekend so will report back.

[kid-kapow]

thanks - already decided to give them a go instead of doing the sensible thing (getting some xtd120s). Love my rc4s so i am hoping these will be as good.

[el hefe]

Wow, great boot!! Skied hard 3 days straight in pow and pillows and I love them.

Feel incredibly light and they fit my feet perfectly. Walk mode lever worked well and ROM is excellent. I did not even have to loosen buckles or strap at all when switching, they are very comfortable.

Only negative is the softness of the plastic in the mid foot area. They are pretty fubared from 3 days of sled skiing. Will have to put some sort of protection in there.

[johnnyg82]

I found them narrow in the toe and fat in the ankle. FWIW Tecnica Cochises and Nordica Speedmachine's fit me perfect.

Nordica Striders have the same last as the Speedmachines, and replaceable soles.

[swissiphic]

Wow, great boot!! Skied hard 3 days straight in pow and pillows and I love them.

Feel incredibly light and they fit my feet perfectly. Walk mode lever worked well and ROM is excellent. I did not even have to loosen buckles or strap at all when switching, they are very comfortable.

Only negative is the softness of the plastic in the mid foot area. They are pretty fubared from 3 days of sled skiing. Will have to put some sort of protection in there.

How about a slip on plastic guard made of shaped crazy carpet material? only 4.99 at crappy tire, bought one today for a ski skin mod project.

How 'bout a pic of yer boot showing the wear and tear? I can fire up a rough proto/concept idea for ya today if interested.

[el hefe]

cmcrawfor has glued mtn bike tire to his zero g's with good results. Going to try that.

[swissiphic]

cmcrawfor has glued mtn bike tire to his zero g's with good results. Going to try that.

Cool, yeah after some consideration, was thinking along the same lines. Gotta coupla old fat bike tires and did a rough measurement, looks good.

[Huskier]

Carpet-testing them head-to-head vs Mastrale RS 2.0, Salomom SLab there seemed to be a noticeable amount of friction through ROM in walk mode. Felt like the liner may be stiffer, may be the source of extra resistance. n=1. Comfy though.

[el hefe]

How about a slip on plastic guard made of shaped crazy carpet material? only 4.99 at crappy tire, bought one today for a ski skin mod project.

How 'bout a pic of yer boot showing the wear and tear? I can fire up a rough proto/concept idea for ya today if interested.

Here is cmcrawfor's fix. Looks pretty good. They were getting chewed on the sled. I actually went right through the shell on first gen cochise in this area so hoping this works. Should be easy enough to replace if/when required .

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[GoldenBC]

yeah, don't see the point that's trying to be made here.

FWIW, for anyone considering these boots, the flex is softer than the Cochise. I'd say the 130 Fischer is softer than than 120 Cochise.

I would disagree. Carpet testing the Cochise 130 and the Fischer Ranger 130, the Ranger is way stiffer. The Cochise has a much softer beginning of the flex and it progressively gets stiff. Quite a nice feel. The Fischer felt higher and stiff right at the top.

[kid-kapow]

you know that feeling when you have ordered something, and then the shop fails to deliver on it without letting you know before you get the shipment? I won't be riding Rangers this year after all.

Oh well, xtd130s are fine as well.

[brraaap802]

My 16 year old charges hard on a pair and loves them. Uses both in big mountain and in park. Was on the Podium race boot as well prior to these so definitely appreciates something that doesn't destroy his feet. These obviously aren't a race boot but still pretty solid. They seem super light as well.

[rob stokes]

Here is cmcrawfor's fix. Looks pretty good. They were getting chewed on the sled. I actually went right through the shell on first gen cochise in this area so hoping this works. Should be easy enough to replace if/when required .

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Fail, should have used a Minion DHF.

What did you use for the glue? Hows it holding up? My boots are chewed up from sleds and want to do something similar on my next boots.


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[SkiLyft]

Bump —

Who else are skiing these? Stepped into a pair at my LSS. Fit super well.

Specifically the Ranger Walk (130)

https://www.fischersports.com/ranger-130-walk-dyn-1462


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[Jeb McHardman]

I skied the Ranger 130s for about 50 days (50/50 touring/inbounds) during the latter half of last season. I think they're a great boot. I have relatively narrow feet and they fit me very well, especially after 2 sessions with a bootfitter. I think they're light enough for long-ish tours (10-15 mi, 4,000-7,000'), though I find myself reaching for my Zero G's for truly long days. I also find them to be plenty stiff, though the flex pattern is different than what I'm used to--there's very little between zero flex and full flex with them (so "linear" rather than "progressive," though I think these terms are kind of meaningless...). My only concern so far is durability, as I noticed I already tore some chunks off the soles, and the walk mechanism seems potentially fragile.

[el hefe]

This will be my 4th season on them and mine are holding up well. I did have to get new vibram soles but otherwise I don't see the need to replace them. Best boot for me yet in 20 years of ski touring. I actually like sledding in them too, blows the minds of my snowboard buds.

[troth]

I have been using these only as a touring boot and I like them better than the Salomon MTN boots I used for a few seasons. I think the ranger skis better and they both are pretty similar on the uphill for me. I did replace the liner on both boots with an intuition wrap style liner which I also think helped the downhill performance.

I would say if they fit you well they are a solid pair of boots.