Comparison between Salomon MTN Summit and Tecnica Zero G Peak

[wilcox510]

Warning - there's a lot of nerdery below, hopefully someone gains something useful from my gear related OCD.

My beloved Zero G Tour Pros are about shot, and I'm trying to make the move to an even lighter and more touring friendly boot. I currently have a pair of Salomon S/LAB MTN Summits and Tecnica Zero G Peaks (NOT the carbon version, I don't think there are any of the carbon versions in the US yet) that I've been messing around with to see if either will work for me. For background, my Zero G Tour Pros are 25s that are stretches in multiple places to make them work. I have a very low volume foot and not many touring boots fit me well (and I like a very tight fit even in touring boots). I have a very narrow heel, kind of wide at the fifth metatarsal, but low volume everywhere. Every touring boot I've ever had has had an aftermarket liner put in right away (usually Intuition) partially to take up more room and partially because many touring boots come with garbage liners in my ultra picky opinion. Both the Salomon and Tecnicas I'm checking out now are 25s. All my carpet "testing" of the boots was with a Scarpa Intuition liner in both, the stock liner in both doesnt take up enough volume for me.

Real weights are
Salomon
1149g with liner and footbed
930g shell alone

Tecnica
972g with liner and footbed
750g shell alone

Fit
As mentioned in another thread the Salomon is very roomy. The forefoot is super wide, but its actually a bit snug on my 5th metatarsal. its loose at my heel and Achilles area. The Tecnica is notably lower volume everywhere. The heel hold is much better. It actually fits really pretty good except its short at the big toe, and as Greg Louie has mentioned somewhere along the way I believe it is shorter than the Zero G Tour Pro, and for me the problem is the carbon infused plastic apparently can't be stretched as much as other plastic, so I'm not sure if it will work or not. But the overall length between the two boots seems about the same.

Tour mode
Not surprisingly both boots have great ROM in tour mode. I do wish the Salomon "Velcro Buckle" had more range of motion when you opened it. When opened it doesn't make the cuff quite as loose as I'd like, but it doesn't seem to impair the touring ROM. The cuff buckle on the Tecnica seems to be plenty loose when open that I don't think you'd have to change the position of the cable for touring.

Flex
Both are quite stiff in ski mode. I have really skied boots in the range before, but I've tried on a lot. These both seem stiffer than anything else I've tried on thats lighter than my current boots. They seem pretty much equivalent in forward flex. I assume the carbon version of the Tecnica would be significantly stiffer laterally, but I don't know if its any stiffer in forward flex.

Random other things
The tour lever on the Salomon is a bit disappointing. There is a very small amount of play in the upper cuff when the tour lock is engaged. It clicks when you flex the boot. Not nearly as solid as the Tecnica version.

I've never love the idea of BOA on ski boots, Salomon's version doesn't really change my mind. It does seem to pull your heel back more than other versions due to the "touring belt" but Id still just rather have a light buckle.

It seems to me the carbon version of the Tecnica is likely to be just as, or more powerful, at a much lighter weight, with a more user friendly buckle system. But obviously fit is king.

So, after all my OCD nerding those are my thoughts. God, I need to get a life.

[Benneke10]

I would describe my feet similarly to yours. The Skorpius fit me out of the box with no mods. They don't walk as well as slightly lighter boots but they ski substantially better due to more progressive flex, taller cuff and better fit. I've tried everything and the only lighter boot that fits me is the Gignoux MTN, which still required an ankle strap mod to provide adequate heel hold (haven't skied em yet but I have high hopes. They are more progressive feeling than F1 LTs and similar boots).

[wilcox510]

I tried the Skorpius on once briefly. I think I remember the heel pocket being bigger than ideal and the boot board (well, I don’t think there is a true removable boot board is there?) being arch high, not truly flat, which caused pressure under my arch reminiscent of Scarpa boots from the 2000s like the Laser and Denali. Is that correct? I need to try them on again

[Benneke10]

I’ve never paid attention to the boot board, but yeah you’re right the heel pocket could be tighter but it’s better than anything else in its class that I’ve tried. The instep buckle helps a lot to secure the heel, and a thicker liner improves heel hold as well.

[wilcox510]

I ended up buying the Salomons because I was pretty sure I couldnt stretch the toe of the Tecnicas enough. Unfortunately I'm now having quite a bit of trouble with the toe of the Salomon. I didn't notice this before hand but its become very obvious after molding them, but the boot board of the Salomons (its not removable so not sure if it still counts as a boot board) has these ridiculous upward ramped things under the toes. I don't know if they are somehow critical to the structure of the boot or what, but they are uncomfortable (can feel an upward ramp under my big toe) and cause a very cramped top to bottom sensation for my big toe. I've reached out to Salomon to see if I can grind them off without compromising the boot. This is just a piss poor design. Feeling frustrated and regretting my purchase at this time.

[gregL]

I ended up buying the Salomons because I was pretty sure I couldnt stretch the toe of the Tecnicas enough. Unfortunately I'm now having quite a bit of trouble with the toe of the Salomon. I didn't notice this before hand but its become very obvious after molding them, but the boot board of the Salomons (its not removable so not sure if it still counts as a boot board) has these ridiculous upward ramped things under the toes. I don't know if they are somehow critical to the structure of the boot or what, but they are uncomfortable (can feel an upward ramp under my big toe) and cause a very cramped top to bottom sensation for my big toe. I've reached out to Salomon to see if I can grind them off without compromising the boot. This is just a piss poor design. Feeling frustrated and regretting my purchase at this time.

If it makes you feel any better, the Zero G Peak shell also has an upward curve at the toe. I removed the very thin bootboard completely and ground the nubs in the front of the shell off, still waiting to see if the tech fittings fall out. I doubt either company would approve of grinding material out of a critical area like that.

[wilcox510]

I’m sure you’re right. Thinking I should have just bought the zero G peak in a size up and put a high volume Intuition Tour Pro liner in it. Seems like you run into serious limitations with this style of boot that doesn’t really exist with the Zero G Tour Pro and similar boots, as far as stretching etc.