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  1. #1
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    Head Kore 1 - Head makes touring boots??

    Not sure what just happened, but I just got bootfitter-hornswaggled into a pair of Head Kore 1s, Head's 130-flex, "1500 gram" touring boot.

    Anyone else in these things???

    I had no idea Head makes a touring boot until bootfitter Corey brought it out first thing when looking at my wide forefoot, narrow-heeled foot.

    Boot is in the same category as the Hawx Ultra XTD 130, Zero Guide Pro, Maestrale RS. It was between this one and the Hawx, but this one had such a nice flex and fit so well off the rack. The Hawx felt like it better rearward ROM in touring mode, better buckles, and overall smoother tour, but the Kore fit so well and seemed like it would ski a lot more powerfully. We'll see...




    Measured size 28.5 with my digi-scale
    1270g - shell
    470g - liner (tour wrap is 225g in same size!)
    1740g - total
    + footbed.

    For comparison, I weighed by Maestrale RS2s in size 29
    1321g - shell
    304g - liner
    1625g - total

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by meter-man; 12-23-2019 at 07:20 PM.
    sproing!

  2. #2
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    I skied the Hawx XTD for 2 years as more of a touring boot and loved it. I then skied the Kore boot and have been skiing it as a one boot quiver. The Kore doesnt have quite the range of motion or weight attribute as the XTD but overall it does have a good tour mode and is light weight - and it skis damper and stronger on resort terrain.

  3. #3
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    This years version is better than lasts. I've been told they added 1mm of plastic everywhere to get rid deformation that would would happen, the flex was definitely improved whatever they did... They are just fine for a crossover boot if they fit but I wouldn't want to do big long tours on them because of the limited range of motion. To some this is a factor to others it isn't.
    a positive attitude will not solve all of your problems, but it may annoy enough people to make it worth the effort

    Formerly Rludes025

  4. #4
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    Been on these for a year of mostly resort use with a few tours. Was Mtn Labs before that. Head is a much better crossover option in my opinion. For my feet they started out very good and as the liner has started to pack my foots been swimming a little. I'm thinking about adding some liquid fit to snug them up a little. I was convinced I wanted something stiffer and narrower and tried just about everything on this year and nothing felt quit as good. That head liner is nice for sure!

    Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
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    Skied one day on them. Was able to ski it almost out of the box (just a punch for my bunions @ 1st met head) and they felt sloppy at the end of the day, so it's a very generous 100mm fit (usually I need multiple punches to test any boot that's 100mm or narrower). Good power and stability, mediocre walk mode, light enough to be competitive in the category but you'll need to have a pretty high volume foot to be happy after a week or so of skiing in them. The Head liner is cushy and seems to pack out quickly.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eluder View Post
    This years version is better than lasts. I've been told they added 1mm of plastic everywhere to get rid deformation that would would happen, the flex was definitely improved whatever they did...
    They recalled all of our stock from last year; rumor had it they used the wrong plastic on some of the boots and pulled them all to make sure (problem may have only been on the KORE 2, though).

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregL View Post
    They recalled all of our stock from last year; rumor had it they used the wrong plastic on some of the boots and pulled them all to make sure (problem may have only been on the KORE 2, though).
    Interesting. i bought the Head Nexo Lyte 120 last spring and one of the boots suffered a crack on the upper cuff. Put no more than thirty five days on these, too. I'm wondering whether or not Head used the same starting materials to construct these boots.
    Daniel Ortega eats here.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregL View Post
    They recalled all of our stock from last year; rumor had it they used the wrong plastic on some of the boots and pulled them all to make sure (problem may have only been on the KORE 2, though).
    yeah all kore 2's got "recycled" into cheap boots. I am told that this years 2 is last years 1.
    a positive attitude will not solve all of your problems, but it may annoy enough people to make it worth the effort

    Formerly Rludes025

  9. #9
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    So, after 18 days on these boots, here are some initial thoughts.

    My foot: medium slightly wide forefoot, low instep, narrow heel, narrow ankle, long toes (it's true, but only relevant for the boot length). Of the many boots in the category I considered in this category: Maestrale RS2 (in a smaller size than the one I have now...), Zero G Guide Pro, Hoji Free, Mtn Lab, Dalbello somethings, Hawx Ultra XTD 130, etc., the best fits for my foot were the Hawx in a 29 (29 was just a hair long and too much volume; my heel and instep would have preferred the 28, but my toes would have hated me on touring days) or a Kore 1 in a 28 with some stretching of the toe box forward for more horizontal room. I went with the Kore because the flex felt soooooo good.

    Use: 90% touring; 10% resort/side. Well, that was my intended use anyway. But, as discussed below, they ski so well on the hill, I barely miss my alpine boots! Plus, the touring here in California was awesome in December, but we went through a dodgy period following New Years... So, I haven't toured as much as I'd like. To date, 12 days resort (Squaw, Alpine, Mammoth), 6 days touring.

    Setups skied: Backland 107s with Tectons; Rustler 11s with Shifts.

    Touring: walk mode is decent, smooth and free-flex. ROM has room for improvement, particularly in the rearward range. Forward ROM is great, but rear ROM stops maybe at vertical or 5* shy of vertical (forward of vertical). As a result, my toes definitely get crunched on flats. But I don't notice the rear ROM as soon as I start going the tiniest bit up. To get the full free flex, I need to fully unbuckle (from the ladders too) the top buckles, and loosen the booster strap. The boot is comfy, so I can tour fine without undoing the buckles from the ladders, just would have less ROM. My max days have been 5000 ft vert, so nothing big yet. That will be the real test.

    Comparo: Compared to the Hawx, my RS2s, and RS1s, the touring is not quite as good. I'd say 85% if I had to quantify it.

    The Hawx and RS2 ROM is much better in the rearward direction (maybe 10* back of vertical?) and has a smoother stride. Hawx buckles are really nice too - no need to undo the clasp from the ladder. Nice booster. Liner feels okay - not a throwaway but not amazing.

    Leakage?: I've noticed that the front overlap of the boot, near the toe, seems to bow up, particularly when buckled tightly, creating the potential of leakage at the toe. I've seen one complaint about leakage. I have not done much touring in them to date, but have yet to suffer any leakage (entry of snow/water into the boot via that "open" overlap). Will update if and when I do....

    Sole: Gripwalk. Need more time on steep and firm before I can evaluate. I've only ever heard 9523 soles (awesome) or alpine norm (hairball). These seem closer to 9523 in function, but not sure yet.

    SKIING: holy shitballs, yes! Same weight as my RS2s, lighter than my RS1, ski 75% better.

    Liner: heavy as fuck. Can inject some heel juice to tighten up the heel and ankle volume. Haven't done it yet, but that would make that liner last longer. Practically a resort liner in how it skies. Plush. Hasn't packed out as quickly as I feared. Still tours pretty darn well. Warm. I also have some Tour Wraps I'm going to throw in over spring.

    I do notice that the buckles tighten up the boot significantly, and I need to unbuckle them faster than on my alpine boot. Not sure if that's the lightweight material, the fact that the shell material is really thin, or what. Notable.

    Power strap is the best velcro power strap I've used. on all my alpine and touring boots, I have swapped out stock velcro for Boosters, but I'm leaving these. They have a FAT rubberized thing (a "Power Plate") that goes over your shin and makes it smooth and tres powerful.


    DID I MENTION THE SKIING? These things rip. The main time I miss my alpine boots is landing airs, particularly on firm snow - you can feel the much lighter materials don't quite have the shock-absorbing suspension of an alpine boot. One day, I skied 30,000 vert at Mammoth on hardpack groomers and some hard and later soft bumps. I barely noticed I had touring boots.

    Comparo: I never enjoyed a resort day on my RS2s; tolerated, yes. RS1s were worse. So, yeah, these Kores rock.


    SUMMARY: unknown dark horse that is surprisingly solid as a touring boot. As compared to the RS2, it skis down WAY better, and tours a touch worse. The only time I might prefer the RS2 is on a multi-day tour. KORE rocks! Having never looked at Head products before, I will look at all their gear more closely in the future...
    sproing!

  10. #10
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    Who "buckles the toe tightly"? The only point of the toe buckle is to water seal the shell and let you out of the boot.

    Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanCH View Post
    Who "buckles the toe tightly"? The only point of the toe buckle is to water seal the shell and let you out of the boot.

    Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
    Probably depends on the the boots yer in, and the exact location of the front buckle/vs the front of foot, but, I like to crank 'em down in techy, billygoat terrain so the ski boots have the feel of tightly laced rock climbing shoes...better immediate ball of foot feel of the front of the skis for insta pivots, jump turns, feathering the edges while slarving around rocks, etc... For normal skiing, I don't really buckle them with much tension.
    Master of mediocrity.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by IanCH View Post
    Who "buckles the toe tightly"? The only point of the toe buckle is to water seal the shell and let you out of the boot.

    Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
    lol, that's what you got out of the review?

    ANSWER: I, apparently, buckle my toe "tightly" - cause I like to get tight. Not deathgrippy, but tight, yo. TIiiiiIIIIGHT
    sproing!

  13. #13
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    Meter-man have you tried the Tour Wraps yet? From what I can tell via some google searching, it looks like the biggest difference in weight between these and the Atomic XTD is in the liner. Shell is pretty comparable. Dropping another 245grams per boot could be really nice for bigger vert days if it doesn’t screw up the skiing too much.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimmiepoison View Post
    Meter-man have you tried the Tour Wraps yet? From what I can tell via some google searching, it looks like the biggest difference in weight between these and the Atomic XTD is in the liner. Shell is pretty comparable. Dropping another 245grams per boot could be really nice for bigger vert days if it doesn’t screw up the skiing too much.
    Not yet. IF we have a spring snowpack here in Cali, I will try em out and report back.

    I was surprised the Kore 1 shell is lighter than my Maestrale RS2s. Doesn't tour as well, but skis wayyyy better.
    sproing!

  15. #15
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    I just pulled the trigger on some Kore 1s on Ebay a couple days ago. Still awaiting shipment but hoping to get some days on them before the end of season. I was looking at all the same boots you were and happened to stumble across these and couldn’t pass up the deal. Strange how little press these boots have gotten.
    I’m sure they will tour better than my BD Factor’s that I’ve got now, but I’m still chasing buddies wearing lighter gear like the Scarpa F1s. I care more about the ski down than the climb up though.

  16. #16
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    So, I thought I would revive this thread in case anyone out there is looking for touring gear for this upcoming season as these boots can sometimes be found for a steal due to the fact that they aren’t as well known.

    I’m really happy with these boots so far. I’m using them with Black Crows Atris skis mounted with Shifts as a 50/50 rig. The boots ski like alpine boots, but are reasonably lightweight. I’d say the articulation is the weakest point, but if I feel like I need more, I just unbuckle them and I can get pretty much all I need. I climbed Mt McLoughlin in these (about 12 miles RT and about 5k vert) and up to the Hogsback on Mt Hood (about 4.5K vert) both of these required skinning part way and boot packing part of the way with crampons. If you are gonna have a 1 boot quiver these would fit the bill. Really curious what these would be like with intuition pro tour liners as that would bring their weight in line with many other dedicated touring boots. Overall they get a thumbs up from me and I’m hoping to put a bunch more laps on them this winter!

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimmiepoison View Post
    So, I thought I would revive this thread in case anyone out there is looking for touring gear for this upcoming season as these boots can sometimes be found for a steal due to the fact that they aren’t as well known.

    I’m really happy with these boots so far. I’m using them with Black Crows Atris skis mounted with Shifts as a 50/50 rig. The boots ski like alpine boots, but are reasonably lightweight. I’d say the articulation is the weakest point, but if I feel like I need more, I just unbuckle them and I can get pretty much all I need. I climbed Mt McLoughlin in these (about 12 miles RT and about 5k vert) and up to the Hogsback on Mt Hood (about 4.5K vert) both of these required skinning part way and boot packing part of the way with crampons. If you are gonna have a 1 boot quiver these would fit the bill. Really curious what these would be like with intuition pro tour liners as that would bring their weight in line with many other dedicated touring boots. Overall they get a thumbs up from me and I’m hoping to put a bunch more laps on them this winter!
    Thanks for the revive here! Foind a pair online for a great price. Was just on McLoughlin last week with my kids. Winter is in the air.

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    I love my family. Kids are the best.
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  18. #18
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    Head Kore 1 - Head makes touring boots??

    Awesome, glad it helped and hope you enjoy them. I was hunting for Atomic Hawk XTDs when I came across the Head Kore’s. I ended up paying about 1/3 of what I would have for the very popular XTDs!

    Have you skied McLoughlin? It’s a slog but that NE bowl is fantastic!

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimmiepoison View Post
    Awesome, glad it helped and hope you enjoy them. I was hunting for Atomic Hawk XTDs when I came across the Head Kore’s. I ended up paying about 1/3 of what I would have for the very popular XTDs!

    Have you skied McLoughlin? It’s a slog but that NE bowl is fantastic!
    I have not yet... usually hit Crate Lake in the winter and Shasta in the spring... time to hit that up!

    Did you experience any leakage in those boots? I read some folks were getting wet feet.
    I love my family. Kids are the best.
    http://www.praxisskis.com

  20. #20
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    Head Kore 1 - Head makes touring boots??

    Love Shasta in the spring too. Such a long descent when there’s snow all the way to Bunny Flat!

    I didn’t notice my feet being any wetter than any other boot I’ve owned, but I tend to get sweaty feet while skinning/boot packing so it’s kind of hard to tell for sure. Haven’t skied them on a really cold day yet.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by meter-man View Post
    Not yet. IF we have a spring snowpack here in Cali, I will try em out and report back.
    Buuummpers so Meters can tell us if this is the holy grail with a tour wrap in it. What say ye buddy??! Getting out up there at all?

  22. #22
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    Can anyone comment on this version of the Kore 2? https://www.evo.com/outlet/alpine-to...RoCsVUQAvD_BwE

    Unsure if that is the model with the plastic issue or not. When I have tried on Head boots they fit very well out of the box, and that is a nice deal on the Kore 2. I am only 150 lbs so 120 flex would be fine. Looking for something with a little roomier fit than the Atomic Hawx XTD 130s i am in right now, that I believe I could make work, albeight with a bunch of shell work that I am not looking to take on.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by dub2 View Post
    Can anyone comment on this version of the Kore 2? https://www.evo.com/outlet/alpine-to...RoCsVUQAvD_BwE

    Unsure if that is the model with the plastic issue or not. When I have tried on Head boots they fit very well out of the box, and that is a nice deal on the Kore 2. I am only 150 lbs so 120 flex would be fine. Looking for something with a little roomier fit than the Atomic Hawx XTD 130s i am in right now, that I believe I could make work, albeight with a bunch of shell work that I am not looking to take on.
    All the KORE boots with the plastic problem at evo got shipped back to Head.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by WhetherMan View Post
    Buuummpers so Meters can tell us if this is the holy grail with a tour wrap in it. What say ye buddy??! Getting out up there at all?
    Sorry for the delay...but....I am selling these boots.

    They ski really really well, but I toured in my RS2s again (since they weren't selling), and found that I much preferred touring in them. Given that I almost never ski "sidecountry," I am going to go back to a more dedicated touring boot.

    Never did put the Tour Wrap in the Kore, since they skied so well. My main complaint about touring (only average rearward ROM) would not be improved substantially by the Intuition so I decided to not bake it.

    To be clear, I think this is an awesome boot, especially as a sidecountry/one-ski-quiver type boot. It fits great. But it didn't work perfectly for me and massage me while propelling me up the skintrack on a cloud of unicorn farts, so I'm selling. Clearly, I have exacting and absurd standards.
    sproing!

  25. #25
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    The og boot was a train wreck, has anyone skied the new kore 130 GW?

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