La sportiva skorpius

[NWFlow]

Anyone on these? They get great reviews , but haven't seen much chatter on them here. I'm looking to pair these with a line vision 98 for all purpose touring.

Can't try them on so gotta order blind. I have a wide forefoot, skinny ankle. Measure just over 28. Thinking if going with a 27. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

[sruffian]

I'd be interested to hear more about the pebax rnew these are made of, as well. Lot of marketing copy online, but no clear answers to the questions - how do these flex compared to normal pebax boots? Is the percentage of bio-based content closer to the 20% or 94% end of the range stated by arkema, the manufacturer?

[riff]

I’m pretty curious too; I’d like to find a replacement for my tired TLT6’s. These seem as light as I’d like to go and still avoid glued on gaters and boa shenanigans. They still seem like actual boots that might last a few seasons. I’m in the same boat, with a wide forefoot and skinny ankle and heel. I tried Alien RS’s, way too narrow and didn’t have a durable feel, although they were lovely for walking. In short, I don’t know much about the Skorpius, but if I get some I’ll let you guys know.


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[jacob_dbu]

Also interested in this...might order a pair just to see what it's about.

[NWFlow]

I got violently caffeinated and ordered a pair in 27,5 (27s were backordered). Should be here next week. I'll update then.

[riff]

Outstanding. Maybe I’ll get violently caffeinated after you report, and follow suit


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[jacob_dbu]

I got violently caffeinated and ordered a pair in 27,5 (27s were backordered). Should be here next week. I'll update then.

Where were you able to order them? I haven’t seen 27/27.5 in stock anywhere.


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[NWFlow]

Europe. Barrabes I believe will also ship to the states though.

[September]

Try skimoco. Their website indicates they have sizes.

[NWFlow]

Boots came last week and I reached the critical level of preseason angst last night to attempt a Home Molding of the liners.

I'm in a 27.5, feet measure a bit over 28.5 and i have wide (E) forefoot and skinny heels, ankles, calves. Prior to molding the boots felt decent except for some tightness across the metatarsals (standard for me). Heel hold is better than an Alien RS for me, but it's still a bit sloppy. Boots are overall fairly high-volume.

I followed my tried and true method of home bootfitting by waiting until my partner started cooking dinner to decide i needed to mold the boots IMMEDIATELY and commandeer usage the microwave to cook the rice sock. Was already in a bad mood so figured I'd do my first attempt on the more critical left boot jsut to make sure i made mistakes when it counted. Managed to totally fuck it up and put some nice creases in the liner which i frantically tried to smooth out by hand while simultaneously setting the rice sock on fire while cooking it again for the second boot. Right boot went much better except for the acrid smoke from the rice sock, so i heated the sock again and cooked the left liner a second time, releasing another wave of fetid air in the kitchen. Sweaty, and with all windows open to air out the smoke, I finished my bootfitting just in time for dinner!

I figure I've totally destroyed the liners which means they are the equivalent of 2 seasons old -- right where i want them. As an added bonus, the boots now have a distinct odor not unlike lightly burnt popcorn.

After molding the boots fit great with green superfeet. Heelhold is acceptable, if not perfect. Walk mode is amazing (coming from a Maestrale rs2.0), and the flex feels surprisingly robust and progressive in carpet testing. Will update after i've skied them.

[dub_xion]

Will update after i've skied them.

Any tours/turns on these yet? Interested! Looking at my next boot after the TLT6Ps wear out and like others have mentioned, seems the most robust, skiable option.

[riff]

Mine will arrive in a few days! Will report


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[NWFlow]

No, it's still rock ski season here, and i haven't bothered to remount the binders on my rock skis to accommodate the much small bsl on the skorpius.

I also abhor new boots and have been largely ignoring these, casting only occasional furtive glances at them and avoiding eye contact.

My main concern is still metatarsal pain (irrational since the boots feel fine watching hours of NFL with them on) and without a decent bootfitter within thousands of km I'm being extra cautious.

I'll try to get them out for a short toor in the next couple days and can post then.

[NWFlow]

Ok, ended up motivating to go out for a short ski this afternoon with the new boots, on line vision 98 skis. Only skied a couple short laps in relatively good snow, so hard to get a great feel for the boot and its limits, but my initial impressions were favorable.

Coming from maestrale's with tour wrap liner, the walk mode is impressive indeed. Totally different game. transitions are quick if you leave the power strap a bit loose for the walk up.

Skiing, the flex is a bit softer and "tinnier" than the maestrales, but was actually not as bad as i was aniticipating. It actally feels decently progressive and i wasn't blowing through the flex or anything. I tend to ski light on my feet however and ski more centered (maybe this is my ego's euphemism for backseat) though so am not as sensitive as some to boot stiffness. I ski a cochise 130 with a powerwrap for the resort for reference, so am not a plug boot guy.

I pretty much exclusively tour due to geographic distance from ski lifts. Based on the few hours i spent today, i could see these pretty much becoming my daily boot, assuming things progress well with the fit. I guess i need to ski them with a bigger ski and in worse conditions though to make a final decision.

Fitwise, things were surprisingly ok. The ankle/instep is roomy for me, however, and i'll likely need to put a modified butterfly pad on the existing liner to make it work after a few more days in them.

Overall, they are basically exactly what i was hoping for...but this is the first boot lighter than a maestrale i've been in. Also, i skied my maestrale's yesterday and those are totally hammered so YMMV vs a newer boot with a new liner. But the overall relatively modest decrease in downhill performance is more than made up for with touring comfort and efficiency.

Hope this helps someone!

[auvgeek]

My pair are at the bootfitters getting punched for width. Carpet impressions are very positive. Can't wait to ski them.

Maybe I've gone soft, but the flex feels pretty substantial and fairly progressive on the carpet. Very curious to see how they ski. Gonna pair them with the Zero G 105. I might try to stuff them into my other skis (Zero G 108 and Lowdown 90) just to see how they handle different skis. Will especially be curious if they can drive the Zero G 108. Both my other touring skis are mounted with race heels for a 294 bsl and the 27 Skorpius is 297 so it'll be close and I don't expect the release to be perfect. But we'll see.

I hate my fat feet (especially my pronounced & painful tailor's bunion), but these are closer out of the box than most other boots I've tried. I sized up to a 27 from my usual 26. My feet measure about 276 mm long.

[NWFlow]

Ive continued to be impressed with both the ski and touring performance of the boots. Fit i am continuing to work with. I probably could have sized up a bit for length, but would have been absolutely swimming in the ankle and heel area then. They are pretty high-volume overall, but i may still need a metatarsal punch.

But I can confirm a fairly progressive flex if the power strap isn't overly tight and i find the forward lean to be more than adequate.

[riff]

I ended up sending mine back today. Bummed, but after lots of pondering I couldn’t get stoked. Forward lean doesn’t adjust, so adding more spoilers is the only way to get the lean to work for me. They already weigh a bit more than my old tlt6’s and putting the extras on adds up. I’d need heel pads on the liners, more spoilers, and punches for width. I also noticed the extra weight is in the shell compared to my 6’s, probably why they ski well but I’ll beat up the light liner in a season and gain more weight going to an intuition. Overall nice boot, but I’m trying to trim some boot weight if I’m gonna drop the big bucks. Too bad. The struggle is real!


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[jacob_dbu]

I ended up sending mine back today. Bummed, but after lots of pondering I couldn’t get stoked. Forward lean doesn’t adjust, so adding more spoilers is the only way to get the lean to work for me. They already weigh a bit more than my old tlt6’s and putting the extras on adds up. I’d need heel pads on the liners, more spoilers, and punches for width. I also noticed the extra weight is in the shell compared to my 6’s, probably why they ski well but I’ll beat up the light liner in a season and gain more weight going to an intuition. Overall nice boot, but I’m trying to trim some boot weight if I’m gonna drop the big bucks. Too bad. The struggle is real!


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I think the magic of these boots (I only tried them on - didn’t ski them) is not the weight, but the fact that they have incredible ROM for a boot of the class. My estimate from carpet testing is that they’d ski similar to an F1

[riff]

Yeah, and likely better durability compared to 900-1100 gram boots with gaiters and boas. I’m already second guessing myself...


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[NWFlow]

Fwiw, I've found the forward lean to be more than sufficient and have even backed off the maximum spoiler thickness. For me the boot is soft enough that I guess I'm flexing the boot into a forward enough position (?). But I'm also not super sensitive to such things and am usually ok in fairly upright boots.

Will likely need to punch for width in the 6th toe region once I'm spending more time in them than just the couple hour tours I've done so far. Will also be switching to a more robust liner despite the weight penalty as soon as the stock liner is cashed. Even debating going with a tour wrap and taking the slight ROM penalty.

[phattypowpow]

I have about 15 days on these now and these are my impressions. Note that I'm coming from a Dynafit Mercury plus Pro Tour Liners minus power strap minus removable tongue. Overall, the Skorpius may end up being my favorite touring boot ever. What makes this boot unusual is that it's fairly tall for such a lightweight offering. This is genius IMO. Most light boots prioritize ROM and weight above all else while the Skorpius is much taller and supportive than most boots in the 1200g range. Win!

Fit:
They look really narrow from the outside but there's a fair bit of room in the forefoot. I have narrow feet but my 6th toes appreciate the space. Before cooking the liners, the instep was tight (not usually a problem for me) but no issues at all after cooking. The heels is pretty snug, though, which is good. I padded my 6th toes and instep a little while cooking, FWIW. After about 10 days, the forefoot felt a tad too roomy so I added a thin shim under my custom footbed and now it's nice and uniformly snug. The spider buckle on the forefoot works great and allows you go easier create even pressure up front.

Touring:
The ROM is huge and the boot is light. There's not much not to like. Additionally, the low profile of the boot makes walking around really easy and driving with a clutch is about the same as wearing winter boots. I also like that there is a proper ledge for crampons on the toe. Massive fail IMO on Dynafit for getting rid of that on some models (TLT, I'm looking at you).

Ease of use:
Huge win. As I said, the spider buckle up front works great and the buckle has two throws for touring and skiing. The ski mode lock is brilliant (just a latch that rotates down/up) and easy to flip with gloves on. I also love the velcro hybrid buckle on top. Set the velcro to exactly the pressure you want on each boot and never have to adjust it again (unless you want to). The strap stays in place even when opened and the fiddle factor during a tour is pretty much zero. By far the best boot I've owned for ease of transition and adjustability. Takes me about 10-15 seconds to put both boots into/out of ski mode without rushing. Just like the rest of the boot, the adjustment for forward lean is simple and effective (basically an adjustable spoiler). Personally I prefer around 17 degrees FL but I've gotten used to the 16 degrees (max) of the Skorpius.

Downhill:
Due to the higher cuff, this boot outperforms other boots I've tried in this class and is about equal to my Mercurys. The flex is smooth enough and, honestly, I wouldn't want anything more in a touring boot (I'm 155lbs so YMMV). I even removed the power strap since the wide top strap is all I need and I feel that most power straps, especially non-stretchy and/or narrow ones, end up doing more harm that good. I've started calling these my dancing shoes since I feel so agile skiing in these but I still have all the support I need.

Cons:
The only thing I'm not a fan of is the liner. It's really thin and, while it surprisingly changed the fit quite a bit during cooking, it's not all that cushy/comfortable compared to my Intuition Pro Tour liners. This is really evident on my heels which are sore after several hours in the boots - I swear I can feel the shell. Again, YMMV since I have pretty bony feet. I love everything else about this boot, though, I'm going to double down and buy some low volume Palau or Intuition liners which a boot this good deserves. Their defense, the stock liners have been warm enough for me on some pretty cold days despite their thinness.

Concerns:
I don't have a great track durability track record with La Sportiva products and I'm hoping the Skorpius will be the exception. There are a lot of bits that work great and simply but I'm hoping that they hold up over time. I have many hundreds of days in my Mercurys with zero failures so the bar is pretty high (I've bought/sold many others but kept coming back to the Mercs). Potential weak points:

- The spider buckle cable, especially the kinked end which slots into small holes in the shell. Lightweight and works great but will it last?
- The cuff on the shell is pretty thin and there are 3 sections that overlap. You need make sure that pieces overlaps correctly and would be wary of them trying to eat each other if you got it wrong.
- The top buckles fastens onto a small protruding knob on the upper cuff that allows the buckle to stay fastened in both ski or tour mode. Works fabulously but you'd be pretty sad if the knob broke off during a tour. Worst case, you could replicate the strap in the field with a voile strap. I think the chance of the ski mode lever failing (rear support) is extremely low, though, and that's would probably be worse.

So, yeah, I'm a fan. I've been looking for a taller and more supportive light boot for years and this one ticks all the boxes for me on paper in the field for me - at least so far.

[tgapp]

^^ this sounds like the exact boot i need, thanks phatty for the detailed review

if anyone has a pair in 27 OR a LaSpo pro deal and wants to hook a mag up i would be eternally grateful

[Ryan.Tyler]

^^ this sounds like the exact boot i need, thanks phatty for the detailed review

if anyone has a pair in 27 OR a LaSpo pro deal and wants to hook a mag up i would be eternally grateful

Did you ever pick these up? Reviews are pretty minimal online.


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[grinch]

I have about 15 days on these now and these are my impressions. Note that I'm coming from a Dynafit Mercury plus Pro Tour Liners minus power strap minus removable tongue. Overall, the Skorpius may end up being my favorite touring boot ever. What makes this boot unusual is that it's fairly tall for such a lightweight offering. This is genius IMO. Most light boots prioritize ROM and weight above all else while the Skorpius is much taller and supportive than most boots in the 1200g range. Win!

Fit:
They look really narrow from the outside but there's a fair bit of room in the forefoot. I have narrow feet but my 6th toes appreciate the space. Before cooking the liners, the instep was tight (not usually a problem for me) but no issues at all after cooking. The heels is pretty snug, though, which is good. I padded my 6th toes and instep a little while cooking, FWIW. After about 10 days, the forefoot felt a tad too roomy so I added a thin shim under my custom footbed and now it's nice and uniformly snug. The spider buckle on the forefoot works great and allows you go easier create even pressure up front.

Touring:
The ROM is huge and the boot is light. There's not much not to like. Additionally, the low profile of the boot makes walking around really easy and driving with a clutch is about the same as wearing winter boots. I also like that there is a proper ledge for crampons on the toe. Massive fail IMO on Dynafit for getting rid of that on some models (TLT, I'm looking at you).

Ease of use:
Huge win. As I said, the spider buckle up front works great and the buckle has two throws for touring and skiing. The ski mode lock is brilliant (just a latch that rotates down/up) and easy to flip with gloves on. I also love the velcro hybrid buckle on top. Set the velcro to exactly the pressure you want on each boot and never have to adjust it again (unless you want to). The strap stays in place even when opened and the fiddle factor during a tour is pretty much zero. By far the best boot I've owned for ease of transition and adjustability. Takes me about 10-15 seconds to put both boots into/out of ski mode without rushing. Just like the rest of the boot, the adjustment for forward lean is simple and effective (basically an adjustable spoiler). Personally I prefer around 17 degrees FL but I've gotten used to the 16 degrees (max) of the Skorpius.

Downhill:
Due to the higher cuff, this boot outperforms other boots I've tried in this class and is about equal to my Mercurys. The flex is smooth enough and, honestly, I wouldn't want anything more in a touring boot (I'm 155lbs so YMMV). I even removed the power strap since the wide top strap is all I need and I feel that most power straps, especially non-stretchy and/or narrow ones, end up doing more harm that good. I've started calling these my dancing shoes since I feel so agile skiing in these but I still have all the support I need.

Cons:
The only thing I'm not a fan of is the liner. It's really thin and, while it surprisingly changed the fit quite a bit during cooking, it's not all that cushy/comfortable compared to my Intuition Pro Tour liners. This is really evident on my heels which are sore after several hours in the boots - I swear I can feel the shell. Again, YMMV since I have pretty bony feet. I love everything else about this boot, though, I'm going to double down and buy some low volume Palau or Intuition liners which a boot this good deserves. Their defense, the stock liners have been warm enough for me on some pretty cold days despite their thinness.

Concerns:
I don't have a great track durability track record with La Sportiva products and I'm hoping the Skorpius will be the exception. There are a lot of bits that work great and simply but I'm hoping that they hold up over time. I have many hundreds of days in my Mercurys with zero failures so the bar is pretty high (I've bought/sold many others but kept coming back to the Mercs). Potential weak points:

- The spider buckle cable, especially the kinked end which slots into small holes in the shell. Lightweight and works great but will it last?
- The cuff on the shell is pretty thin and there are 3 sections that overlap. You need make sure that pieces overlaps correctly and would be wary of them trying to eat each other if you got it wrong.
- The top buckles fastens onto a small protruding knob on the upper cuff that allows the buckle to stay fastened in both ski or tour mode. Works fabulously but you'd be pretty sad if the knob broke off during a tour. Worst case, you could replicate the strap in the field with a voile strap. I think the chance of the ski mode lever failing (rear support) is extremely low, though, and that's would probably be worse.

So, yeah, I'm a fan. I've been looking for a taller and more supportive light boot for years and this one ticks all the boxes for me on paper in the field for me - at least so far.

Good review and comparison! They sound like a the option for me.

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[phattypowpow]

Update:

After a few more weeks, my initial impressions are holding up. Love the boot, hated the stock liner. My heels were getting abused and so I ordered a Intuition Pro Tour LV (low volume) and a Palau Tour Lite Pro EVO as a replacement. I was originally shipped the non-EVO version of the Palau which was comically thin and floppy. The EVO version had more volume than the stock liner but not quite as much as the Intuition. After some living room tests, I decided to go with the Intuition and return the Palau. They were similar but the Intuition was a bit snugger up front and I had a weird pressure of the side of my instep on the Palau which probably would have gone away with cooking. I did like the upper cuff of the Palau, though, which made the Intuition look a little clunky.

Several tours later, the Intuitions are winners and I'm quite happy with the fit and performance. I didn't even cook them and they've more or less molded to my foot now. Heel pocket and forefoot feel good and the performance is about the same as the stock liner (which was surprisingly good), maybe slightly better. I ran into another guy in the Tetons this weekend with the Skorpius. I told him he was the only person I'd seen with the boot but he said that they were a thing down in SLC. He also mentioned that his stock liners were falling apart and wanted to know which liner I replaced them with.

One of the things that the Skorpius has made me appreciate is forward ROM. Rear ROM is useful for walking but for skinning, it's all about the forward ROM, it seems. I almost never need my high heel riser anymore and I'm not fighting the boots on kick turns and even normal skinning. The forward ROM, more than the weight savings, is what makes this boot so much nicer to tour in than my Mercurys or Hawx Ulta XTD. It's similar (but maybe not as extreme) as the feeling between a touring on tele binding and pin binding - so much less resistance!. The Pro Tour liners (tongue) do not inhibit this much, if at all, either.

So far, everything is holding up well although I did put some gorilla tape over the edges of the softer yellow plastic below the cuff, just to be cautious.

Recap: amazing boot, crap stock liner. Kind of a unicorn boot that, for me, is the best compromise available between touring and downhill performance. As always, YMMV.

Shameless plug: the Stellar (female Skorpius, size 26) that didn't fit my GF's foot is still for sale in Gear Swap.