~1300g boot thread

[wilcox510]

I put a lot of this in the Head Crux thread, but since I'm also ranting and whining about things in general in this category thought I'd post it here.

I have been trying to see if I can get the Ridge to work, but there is a lot of volume in the ankle and heel and the shell isn't very punchable. I'm waiting to check out the non Pro version of the Ridge. Depending on who you believe, its either just grilamid lower and fiberglass reinforced cuff instead of carbon reinforced, or possibly grilamid and fiberglass throughout the entire shell. So you might be able to punch it (which is apparently nearly impossible with the Ridge Pro) , which is what I normally do, including my Zero Gs. Supposedly only a slight bit softer. No one has any yet.
https://skimo.co/dynafit-ridge-boots

Does anyone have experience directly comparing the current Maestrale RS and the last version of Zero Gs as far as skiing stiffness/power and touring (I can figure out fit myself)?. My biggest question/concern is that the Maestrale cuff is significantly lower than the Zero G. I would assume this translates to less power... It seems like the Maestrale has better touring ROM.

People have talked highly about the Quattro recently, but I have zero interest in a gripwalk sole boot. What I don't understand about Scarpa lineup is if the Quattro tours so well and is almost the same weight as the Maestrale, seems like the Maestrale needs to be replaced with something lighter. They just did this overhaul on the Maestrale last year, but didn't really make much of an improvement. It seems pretty outdated now. The F1 is also very outdated. The closure system kinda sucks (the BOA doesn't do shit) and they cuff closure doesn't open enough to allow for full ROM of the cuff. Scarpa has been focusing on the very light and very heavy ends of the spectrum and ignoring the middle ground for a while.

[mr_pretzel]

If the quattro interests you the maestrale is basically the same boot with a vibram sole and less buckles. Just go down a size for the same shell size as the quattro.

Also I punched the ridge pro without issue, but depends how big a punch you need I guess

[kamtron]

New maestrale RS walks way better than the old. Almost no friction. You can think of it like a quattro with a thicker liner/diff fit (shell apparently the same but sized up for same mondo) and no gripwalk.

Stiffness is great for my purposes

[Qilimanjaro]

I couldn't fit my high-ish instep into Quattro, was fine in Maestrale of the same BSL. Additional 2 cents

[wilcox510]

If the quattro interests you the maestrale is basically the same boot with a vibram sole and less buckles. Just go down a size for the same shell size as the quattro.

Also I punched the ridge pro without issue, but depends how big a punch you need I guess

Where did you punch it? I'd need a big toe punch, which some have said is basically impossible and is considered at least very challenging on other carbon infused shells like Aliens.

[mr_pretzel]

Where did you punch it? I'd need a big toe punch, which some have said is basically impossible and is considered at least very challenging on other carbon infused shells like Aliens.

Ankle and styloid, I could see big toe being an issue tho, it’s stout up there.

[mr_pretzel]

I couldn't fit my high-ish instep into Quattro, was fine in Maestrale of the same BSL. Additional 2 cents

Same bsl or same size? The lower clog is exactly the same between the boots but a 25.5 is 290mm in the quattro and 298mm in the maestrale. The liner on the maestrale is also way thicker.

[Qilimanjaro]

Same bsl or same size? The lower clog is exactly the same between the boots but a 25.5 is 290mm in the quattro and 298mm in the maestrale. The liner on the maestrale is also way thicker.

I tried 265 quattro (300 bsl) and 260 maestrale (298 bsl as you've said). Quattro was a non starter, maestrale felt great out of the box

[wilcox510]

any thoughts on the cuff height of the Maestrale? Am I overthinking the significance of the notably lower cuff height compared to the Zero G?

I love the way the Zero G skis, it just doesn't tour well... And sounds like this years version isn't really much of an improvement. They improved the touring ROM in the forward direction, which I never thought was a problem, it seriously lacks and rearward ROM...

[iriponsnow]

Hey,
I posed this question in it's own thread, but didn't really get a clear response. With the rise of MNC bindings, what is the collective stance on 1300 gm boots inbounds? I ask bc I do a lot of walking about / coaching / lo tide dad stuff that I really think I'd be happier in my Trans Alp boot 90% of the time. If I really wanted / needed to charge, I have alpine boots that I could just adjust the skis to. For background, I am 99% Alpine, 1% resort touring and have a distant tele / TR9 coaching boot skillz. If I could ski a megawatt with both those boots, I have to think that a modern tour boot would not be horrible. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Hey,
I posed this question in it's own thread, but didn't really get a clear response. With the rise of MNC bindings, what is the collective stance on 1300 gm boots inbounds? I ask bc I do a lot of walking about / coaching / lo tide dad stuff that I really think I'd be happier in my Trans Alp boot 90% of the time. If I really wanted / needed to charge, I have alpine boots that I could just adjust the skis to. For background, I am 99% Alpine, 1% resort touring and have a distant tele / TR9 coaching boot skillz. If I could ski a megawatt with both those boots, I have to think that a modern tour boot would not be horrible. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

I skied in nothing but touring boots from 2012 to 2023. From Dynafit ZZero to Scarpa Freedom and Freedom RS, to Scarpa Mobe, to Scarpa 4Quattro (the stiffer one). I had perfectly dialed in semi-plug boots before this and they skied like a dream. But I fell in love with the lightness and walkability of the touring boots. We did a lot of impromptu slackcountry at Magic back when it snowed and not needing to fuck around with changing boots/skis was great (mostly had Tour F12s or Barons on my skis back then - they all have MNC alpine binders now). I thought the 4Quattro was going to hit all the marks...really light, great ROM, stiff, tight as hell (in a good way). Then milestogo gifted me a pair of perfectly fitting Lange RX and when I skied them back-to-back with the 4Quattros and I realized what I was missing all these years.

But I don't have the same use case as you're looking at. I doesn't snow enough to do much slackcountry in SoVT any more and my skiing is 95% inbounds lift-served with a few resort laps for fitness (or to go see the eclipse last year after Magic closed) and maybe a Chic Chocs hut trip every few years. I think you'd be very happy with the 4Quattros. You won't mistake them for your real boots but for what you'll be doing most of the time, you'll be happier in them than a 10 pound racing shoe. Did they have issues with the walk mode mechanism breaking? Yes, but I believe this year's version has a beefed up interface. I only skied mine for about 10 days before selling them to someone on here and there were no signs of plastic fatigue on either boot. What I didn't like about them was the lack of progressive flex (forward). When I leaned into them, it was like crashing into a bridge abutment. True alpine boots have a completely different feel that I prefer now.

[Ørion]

Every single thing in skiing is a compromise between two metrics and 1300g boots are no different in that matter.

It's the nature of the beast, you'll be giving up something and the question is if what you gain is worth it. They still won't ski nearly like a dedicated alpine boot.

If you're looking for mostly walking comfort and the occasional dip into sidecountry, I'd look at models that are effectively converted alpine boots and still fully PU or equivalent plastics. You're compromising a little on durability and power initiation but the experience otherwise will be much more similar than this class.

[kamtron]

^ precisely

[LeeLau]

@iriposnow. All the things other said and doing a lot of inbounds on 1300g boots introduces a lot of wear and tear.

[~mikey b]

read that again kids

say it out loud





no one boot will do it all

and

touring boots are not meant for every day resort use

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

But @Iriponsnow already owns both Transalps and alpine boots right? So, the easy answer would seem to be: try it a few times. If you like it, great. If it sucks, go back to the alpine boots.

[iriponsnow]

Thanks all: I'm working with a few ski manufacturers who are interested building skis more suited towards MNC bindings. For these purposes, I have Tour boot @ 1300 grams, GW boot at 1700 grams and a DIN consumer plug at 2300 grams. My initial thought is that the mount needs to be for the GW/DIN shell that is lil longer and then the Tour boot tends to be further forward as a more centered stance is called from.

[mr_pretzel]

Carpet testing new ZGPT vs old model with same broken in old zero g liners.

Fit feels the same as my punched out boot, great lol. New space is just around the pinky toe squaring out the footbox. Instep might feel a little higher on the new boot but it’s marginal. Don’t think it will be an issue for people.

New forward lean is awesome. I have the Raide forward lean mod and the stock lean now feels very close to this, I thought maybe the updated lean was overhyped but they actually did great. Maybe they bought Concierge’s mod lol.

My old pair isnt too beat, but still take it with a grain of salt. The new boot is a bit stiffer and collapses less with forward flex. Again not a huge difference but welcomed improvement.

Walkmode: immediate difference in friction, new boot is much smoother and effortless through the range of motion. This was the biggest difference versus the ridge pro in my opinion. Rearward range is the same, this never bothered me but I don’t use risers so maybe that’s why. Forward motion has welcomed improvement and is smoother all the way to end range, huge boost in performance for me, the new boot has a real fighting chance against the ridge pro in my opinion with this new range if the zero g fits you better. The ridge pro is still quite a bit smoother and has significantly more rearward range and a bit more forward.

25.5: old shell: 1098g, new shell 1020g
Old liner: 198g, new liner 225g

[North]

^^^What's your take on the fit of the new ZG vs Quattro? I haven't been interested in a Scarpa boot in 10yrs but that Nico vid and good feedback here has me curious. Current ZG works quite well on my foot with the exception of a bit of extra space in the instep that I shim for.

Heel hold and instep room would be the two fit comparos I'm most interested in. I have memories of my 1st gen Maestrales crushing my instep, but that could've been a result of overtightening the buckles in an attempt to deal with the bucket like heel hold.

[mr_pretzel]

^^^What's your take on the fit of the new ZG vs Quattro? I haven't been interested in a Scarpa boot in 10yrs but that Nico vid and good feedback here has me curious. Current ZG works quite well on my foot with the exception of a bit of extra space in the instep that I shim for.

Heel hold and instep room would be the two fit comparos I'm most interested in. I have memories of my 1st gen Maestrales crushing my instep, but that could've been a result of overtightening the buckles in an attempt to deal with the bucket like heel hold.

I can ski both but the quattro is much lower volume in every way. Much lower instep, much tighter and lower toebox and overall width is lower. Ankle space is lower and to me the boot seems to have a much shorter internal for the similar BSL (the 290mm/25.5 quattro is way smaller than the zero G and if I was going to go back to the Quattro I would upsize to the 299mm/26.5 shell)

Plastic on the Quattro is super easy to punch tho if you need specific spots of work.

[North]

Thank you, very helpful. Sounds like I should prob stick with the ZG. It's already quite good. I'll likely try on a Quattro, but would only go for it if the fit was pretty solid to start. I used to race in plugs, but chasing incremental boot performance through numerous fit adjustments just isn't something I'm into these days.

[abcdethan]

My old pair isnt too beat, but still take it with a grain of salt. The new boot is a bit stiffer and collapses less with forward flex. Again not a huge difference but welcomed improvement.

Walkmode: immediate difference in friction, new boot is much smoother and effortless through the range of motion. This was the biggest difference versus the ridge pro in my opinion. Rearward range is the same, this never bothered me but I don’t use risers so maybe that’s why. Forward motion has welcomed improvement and is smoother all the way to end range, huge boost in performance for me, the new boot has a real fighting chance against the ridge pro in my opinion with this new range if the zero g fits you better. The ridge pro is still quite a bit smoother and has significantly more rearward range and a bit more forward.

How is the flex of the Ridge Pro measure against the new ZGTP in ski mode? I have the older ZGTP and I'm considering the ridge because in a brief carpet test, it walks so well.

[mr_pretzel]

How is the flex of the Ridge Pro measure against the new ZGTP in ski mode? I have the older ZGTP and I'm considering the ridge because in a brief carpet test, it walks so well.

My moded ridge pro is quite a bit stiffer than the ZGTP forwards and it is stiffer rearward and I assume laterally like all hoji lock boots. A stock ridge with just the one velcro strap is probably 5% softer than the ZGTP.

[~mikey b]

https://youtu.be/CmPADyeSwIM?si=wf2aRfKJm92Qxi7S

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

https://youtu.be/CmPADyeSwIM?si=wf2aRfKJm92Qxi7S

While I like a lot of Dave Searle videos, the boot series is pretty bad.
part 1 starts of by saying PU and PA are common plastics for boots, and PU is know for being temperature stable..
It is supposed to be about different boot categories, but then it invents a new category, between resort boots and hybrid boots, and calls it “A-T” . Disregarding that AT is exactly the full name for the activity/gear for ski touring.
Part 2 (the one linked above), doesn’t provide any information.