Atomic Backland XTD 120 - new for 2023 - 24 season

[LeeLau]

Got the bushing repair kit from Atomic and easily installed. This solved play.

Concluded Backland XTD review and will hit publish on it after 38 days.

It tours well but it skis about as well as a 1100g boot (ie Scarpa F1). Laterally stiff but softish foreaft. Which begs the question as to why not get a 1100g lighter boot all thing seeing equal? Also when you ski it in slush your feet will get wet.

So is this boot the answer because of fit? Ie that it fits wide feet so well?

[whatsupdoc]

^ Great question.

When you say F1 are you referring to the regular F1? Scarpa has so many F1 derivatives these days. On the Scarpa website they list the standard F1 at 1260 g in a size 26.5/27. Atomic lists the XTD 120 at 1380 g for a 26/26.5. So what do you get for that 100+ g?

When compared to an 1100 g boot like a Dynafit Blacklight, I'd say the advantages is that the Backland XTD is less harsh. It might not be much stiffer in fore/aft flex but I would agree it's stiffer laterally than fore/aft and it feels smoother and less harsh than the 1K class boots (which I don't have a ton of experience with admittedly). That lack of harshness is less of a difference as the comparative boot gets heavier.

The walk mode is awesome, I'd say it walks a little better than the regular F1. A bit more ROM and a bit less friction.

And yes, for high volume feet it fits nicely out of the box, which I personally appreciate.

Other minor advantages - reliable buckles, easy transitions (the power strap has a quick release pull and then you just open the top buckle and flip the walk mode), and you get full ROM when you just flip open the top buckle (as opposed to the F1 which you need to adjust the velcro which is why frorider developed his Strap Off). Also, the stock liner is pretty nice, nicer than a lot of stock liners that aren't Intuition IMO.

[abcdethan]

I haven't skied the Atomic Backland XTD 120, but I did ski the Transalp Pro boot, which based on the reviews is similar in terms of walkability, weight, and flex. It wasn't stiff, but the extra weight and mass did help drive a wider ski (106 waist) with way more confidence and precision compared to the Salomon MTN Summit boot that I also ski with. For a 95 waisted ski, the boots mattered less.

[LeeLau]

^ Great question.

When you say F1 are you referring to the regular F1? Scarpa has so many F1 derivatives these days. On the Scarpa website they list the standard F1 at 1260 g in a size 26.5/27. Atomic lists the XTD 120 at 1380 g for a 26/26.5. So what do you get for that 100+ g?

Correct - my F1 is the blue uppers with orange soles circa 2018. Fits me beautifully. Walks really well. Weighs approx 1280 g iirc so that squares with what you said.

For 1100g boots I had a Dynafit TLT5 P Carbon but it did ski pretty poorly so I totally connect to what you just said re the quality of how the Backland XTD skis

[LeeLau]

And the review

https://www.newschoolers.com/news/re...ng-boot-review

[arild]

And the review

https://www.newschoolers.com/news/re...ng-boot-review

Great review! I like mine, as a counterpoint to PU racey boots with zipfits weighing almost double, but then again, I have no experience with lighter boots at all.

Also cool to see you have an outlet in newschoolers, always appreciated your thoughts on gear. [emoji846]

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[arild]

Had a slushy spring ski day. Liners and socks were soaked. Anyone else had issue with water ingress past the gaiter?

None, if anything, they're too proofed from water ingress. No breathability. I stay warm, though they do need airing out and some hot air after a day out.

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[LeeLau]

Great review! I like mine, as a counterpoint to PU racey boots with zipfits weighing almost double, but then again, I have no experience with lighter boots at all.

Also cool to see you have an outlet in newschoolers, always appreciated your thoughts on gear. [emoji846]

Sent fra min LE2123 via Tapatalk

Thanks. Twig at Newschoolers is quite supportive of backcountry + there's a surprising amount of readership via NS. They're hands off editorial wise so allow me to dork out on technical details

[arild]

Thanks. Twig at Newschoolers is quite supportive of backcountry + there's a surprising amount of readership via NS. They're hands off editorial wise so allow me to dork out on technical details

Sounds perfect, happy for you. I guess the NS peeps are where we (mags) were at 10-15 years ago, growing up and all. Like skitalk is pretty much where we'll all end up.

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[Claymore23]

If anyone is looking for a size 29.5, PM me. The fit just didn't work for me. For reference, Lange XT3's fit with minimal work. XTD's were just too loose in the heel pocket.

[Yukonrider]

Just got done with a 5 day hut trip in mine.

One thing of note is the stock liners dry out excruciatingly slowly. My buddies intuitions would be dry in about two hours of near wood stove spacing. Mine would take all night to dry (and a few days not even fully dry) with on wood stove drying position.

Besides that they ski fine, and tour great, I would probably buy another pair

[Yukonrider]

Got the bushing repair kit from Atomic and easily installed. This solved play.

How did you do this?

[LeeLau]

How did you do this?

Fix it? Or install the kit? The review shows what the kit looks like

[Yukonrider]

Fix it? Or install the kit? The review shows what the kit looks like

I'm sorry, where did you go/who did you call to get the kit?

[kid-kapow]

And the review

https://www.newschoolers.com/news/re...ng-boot-review

yikes!

[LeeLau]

I'm sorry, where did you go/who did you call to get the kit?

ah no problem. Atomic dealers can get the kit which is a package which had the bushings, etc. Can't post pics still :< or I'd show it

[LeeLau]

yikes!

Ok I'm curious - is that a yikes good or yikes bad. It's just an opinion so don't be afraid to disagree

[kid-kapow]

Ok I'm curious - is that a yikes good or yikes bad. It's just an opinion so don't be afraid to disagree

A good yikes - honest and thorough reviews explaining both the highs and lows of a given product is sadly not always the norm.

The yikes was more specifically aimed at the conclusion, which is not excactly a ringing endorsement

[LeeLau]

A good yikes - honest and thorough reviews explaining both the highs and lows of a given product is sadly not always the norm.

The yikes was more specifically aimed at the conclusion, which is not excactly a ringing endorsement

Thanks! I've always tried pretty hard to be super thorough to perhaps being overkill (nerdy?) but also fair to the extent possible. And if there's an issue, to give the company a chance to have a chance to address the issue.

Being a pretty big fan of Atomic I do think they make fundamentally good well thought out gear, Just because the boot might not hit my sweet spot doesn't mean it won't hit the numbers for someone else.

[Yukonrider]

Well I went in to my dealer to get my new pivots. They tried to charge me $80 ($20 per pivot, cant get the plastic wear bit separate). After some push back I got them to submit a warranty claim, but being a "wear part" I don't expect much.

This is probably the final straw for these boots, Having to pay $80 every 20-25 days for new pivots is just not a good long term solution.

Along with the aforementioned (by Lee) issues I think next year I will at least try on some new boots and see how that goes. The Atomic toe box doesn't seem to agree with my feet, and the liner is quite difficult to remove and replace with the way the gaiter works. And you must remove the liner to dry the boots because without a proper boot dryer the liner takes forever to dry.

[kamtron]

$20 for a set of 4 would be reasonable when you've bought an $800 boot (for 40% off in a spring sale, of course)

[sf]

Is it in any way reasonable to charge the customer for repairing a ski boot after 20-25 days of use?

[LeeLau]

Is it in any way reasonable to charge the customer for repairing a ski boot after 20-25 days of use?

I don't think so. Especially for something that expensive. Sorry to hear Yukon

[Samski360]

Is this cuff pivot issue unique to the backland XTD or does it apply to other boots in the family? Hawx, MTN Summit, etc?

[onenerdykid]

Well I went in to my dealer to get my new pivots. They tried to charge me $80 ($20 per pivot, cant get the plastic wear bit separate). After some push back I got them to submit a warranty claim, but being a "wear part" I don't expect much.

This is probably the final straw for these boots, Having to pay $80 every 20-25 days for new pivots is just not a good long term solution.

Along with the aforementioned (by Lee) issues I think next year I will at least try on some new boots and see how that goes. The Atomic toe box doesn't seem to agree with my feet, and the liner is quite difficult to remove and replace with the way the gaiter works. And you must remove the liner to dry the boots because without a proper boot dryer the liner takes forever to dry.

Is this cuff pivot issue unique to the backland XTD or does it apply to other boots in the family? Hawx, MTN Summit, etc?

The Frictionless Pivots are sold/packaged as a complete set for one boot (2 sides, for a half pair), so you shouldn't be charged per side of each boot (4 separate pivot charges)... something seems a little off with how they priced it if that's the case. Was the $80 for just the parts or parts plus installation?

We been using this exact hardware set since 2015, across all touring concepts from Backland to Hawx Ultra XTD. There have been no changes.