Factor vs Radium

[jasonsalvo]

As a longtime Megaride sufferer, I was pleased to see the new boots this year. I went to try them on today, and what I found was very interesting.

The Radium is much stiffer than I anticipated and the Factor is less (though still stiffer than the Radium). I also tried on the Zzeus, but it inexplicably hits the shins below where it should (stupid). The Method is not stiff, unfortunately, and my foot is too thin for the Skookum.

So it was down to the Radium and Factor. My hope was that the Radium would be stiff enough to be my only boot and power my 190 Gotamas. I don't think they are. My other hope was that the Factor wouldn't be ridiculously heavy and be light enough to not make long tours annoying. I don't they they are, but maybe.....

So here's the question: Has anyone out there skied the Radium or toured in the Factor? How did the Radium ski? Do you think the Radium is stout enough to be an everyday boot? Do you think the Factor is a good enough touring boot to make summer volcano skiing not sucky?

Oh, by the way, I am 5'11' 160, and I am a (hard to come across as not a douchebag here) very good skier. I probably ski 40-50 days at the resort and another 20-30 days touring. I ski a 190 gotama inbounds and I tour on a 181 Mt. Baker (which I do not like) w/ dynafits.

Thoughts? Ideas? Derision? Snide comments?

[wilcox510]

I can't answer your question, but how do you think the Radiums compare to the Megarides in fit, stiffness, and tour mode?

[Wetdog]

Well I haven't skied it either, and probably most people haven't because they were only really available for magazine tests and such last season. Maybe a few retailers tried them, but I have had trouble getting feedback. I have an interest in the Radium as well, and I am thinking of going Dynafit this year for my touring set up, and am looking for a light yet burly touring boot that could potentially do side country on my 190 Gotama/Freeride combo and still be light enough to tour well on a dedicated, light, Dynafit touring setup.

The staff at the Escape Route in Whistler that were familiar with the Radium had good things to say about it from that perspective, but, while having tried them on, none had skied it.

The Factor seems like it was intended more for a sidecountry setup. They weigh the same as my Endorphines and, while my Endorphines easily drive my Gotamas, Explosives and Legend Pros, though not a nice as my Lange Freerides, they are a bit heavy for touring long distances in. I think the Factor, being the same weight as the Endorphine would count it out in a dedicated touring rig for doing the touring you mention, though they probably would drive your Gotamas nicely. The question you have, as do I, is would the Radium, because it sure seems like a nice Dynafit touring boot that would be quite a bit superior to the Megaride while still being in the same weight range.

[LeeLau]

Silly aside but why no love for the Scarpa Skookum? I have a Megaride foot and fit a Skookum just fine.

[Cheesestoff]

Lee,

My feet sound similar to Jason's, whenever I put my feet in a scarpa the front half of my foot is swimming and I can just about rotate my foot in the liner, even with my toes touching the end. apparently the skookum uses the same last as the spirit series.
Having said that, next time i'm in the city i'm going to take my insoles down with me and see if they help. I'd love to fit the skookum as it potentially offers everything... lightweight, modifiability, stiffness... I'm holding off to hear more on snow reviews before I pull the trigger.

[LeeLau]

Chris - the Spirit 3 and Skookum last are the same. Why don't you try my Spirit 3s? I know the Skookum didn't fit you well but we didn't get you in a good liner that was cooked for you

[verbier61]

unfortunately it's second hand opinion, but the one I know who used the radium told me they are as soft as his megarides......

[verbier61]

...... while his axon are WAY stiffer

[jasonsalvo]

The problem with the Megaride, in my opinion, is lateral stiffness more than tongue stiffness. I took the black tongue from the Spriit 4 and put that, along with an alpine liner, into my megarides to improve the stiffness. Still, I feel like I need to crank on the buckles to make it stiff enough and then my foot just goes dead.

As far as the 25 minutes I spent in the Radium went (for whatever that's worth), it had a feel much more like a soft-ish downhill boot. The forward flex seemed similar to the forward flex on my megarides (with the stiff tongue), but the side and back flex was way stouter. Also, the forefoot seemed wider, which made the buckles on the forefoot tighten around my instep rather than crushing it.

As for the factor, it was heavy but felt more secure. that BOA system is peculiar. It's a great idea, but I'm suspicious of how long that kind of system will last before breaking.

[jasonsalvo]

Oh, also, Fit = similar but with a wider forefoot. Stiffness = more. Tour mode = hard to answer because I didn't tour in them, but it seemed fine.

The tour mode on the Factor was impressive. Just flipping the switch to tour made the boot surprisingly comfy and loose - no unbuckling required. On the other hand, who cares about touring with buckles buckles? Realistically, I see that as a switch to flip before getting on a lift when your feet are cramped, sort of like what you normally do with your buckles.

[gunniride]

Sounds like you have the long tour boots taken care of- old megarides. Why not get a stout boot that you use the vast majority of the time, while saving the megarides for the long days. My guess is a heavier, stiff boot would be so much more efficient for the ski down, it would be well worth it- even from an energy comparison. I feel like I get so much muscle fatigue using soft Denalis, even Alpine boots are near worth it for the trade off.

Factors or Axon. After 10-12 days on them you probably would be in shape and never think of using the megarides again.

[cowdog]

Any thoughts on how the Skookum compares the Factor or Axon in terms of lateral stiffness, ability to drive larger, stiffer skis, and so on. The Skookum appears very similar to the spirit4, to my reading. Also the new Scarpa Typhoon looks interesting, although no dynafit.

[LeeLau]

The Skookum is much stiffer then the Spirit 4. I can't compare it to the Axon or Factor

[cowdog]

Thanks Leelau! Given that the spirit 3 is a good fitting boot for me, that's good news.

I have tried on the Factor but have some initial worries about the fit for my feet and also did not have a favorable first experience with their liner/BOA system. Unless there is a significant functional/performance gain I favor simplicity.

[wilcox510]

Its very surprising to me that anyone could fit in both a Megaride and any Scarpa boot without much modification, the Scarpa forefoot is just huge in volume. Anyways, I found the new liners in the Skookum to be weird, they seem very low cut, they look like they are inches lower than traditional wrap type Intuitions.

[LeeLau]

Wilcox - I put my own Intuition liners in the Skookum as per my wildsnow review. That helps a lot. Also note the new Intuition plug liners are to be delivered with the Skookum. I've got plug liners sitting at home and they're just as high as the Intuition wraps

[jasonsalvo]

Scarpas always feel like the arch is on the wrong side of the boot. Otherwise, the Skookum would probably be ahead of the Radium in the 2008 "Race to be My Boot."

Why not get the Factor and use my Megas for long tours? Because I dislike skiing the Megaride. It's too flimsy in all conditions but untracked or corn. And the skiing on long spring/summer/fall tours generally involves such nastiness as suncups, ice, crud, crap, mank, and loose older women.

[gunniride]

Why not get the Factor and use my Megas for long tours? Because I dislike skiing the Megaride. It's too flimsy in all conditions but untracked or corn. And the skiing on long spring/summer/fall tours generally involves such nastiness as suncups, ice, crud, crap, mank, and loose older women.

The "nastiness" side of BC skiing is precisely the reason a stiffer boot is appealing. I recently picked up a cheap pair of Dynafit Zzero 4 U boots and plan to stick a stiff Spirit 4 black tongue on them. I'm sure hoping the temp sensitivity of the plastic is noticable, because they feel a little like chewing gum in the living room. Crazy as it sounds I actually threw one shell in the freezer, and indeed, the poly plastic stiffened right up...

Not that I'd advocate that boot though. The Axon or factor might be the best bet if money were not an issue.

Lee Lau - when you say the Skookum is a much stiffer boot than the Spirit 4, did you ever try skiing with the black tongue in the 4s? When I tried them on in the store (though the scarpa fit was poor) the 4s with black tongue were hands down the stiffest of all of them.

[rug wheelie]

If you can live without dynafit compatability, the Garmont Argon is stiffer than the Radium. I tried them all on at OR but didn't get a chance to ski in any of them.

[LeeLau]

Lee Lau - when you say the Skookum is a much stiffer boot than the Spirit 4, did you ever try skiing with the black tongue in the 4s? When I tried them on in the store (though the scarpa fit was poor) the 4s with black tongue were hands down the stiffest of all of them.

Yes - I even got to try them all on snow. The Skookum with the orange touring tongue was as stiff as the Spirit 4 with the black tongue. The skookum with the black tongue was too stiff for me - i could barely feel the skis. See my review for more background on that.

[summit]

I found the Factor's tour mode truly impressive. I'm looking for an upgrade from my modified Spirit 3s. The Factors felt incredible.... like a mid-stiff alpine boot... although I'd have to use intuitions and not their liners because of the instep and shape.

I haven't tried on Skookums yet though.

Wonder how heave the factors are compared to Skookums.

[Cheesestoff]

Backcountry magazine says the skookum is 7lbs 11 oz and the factor is 9lbs 2oz... a significant difference. I mentioned it in another thread, but the tour mode on all the overlap boots (zeus/radium) felt awesome, mainly because the tongue isn't restricting your movement.. then again I undid the buckles as I always do when touring. However the factor/method weren't as good as the other two when it came to stride length... the BD boots upper shell stops at vertical, not a big deal when climbing, but not as good for flat approaches when you have a long stride. That said a boot that weighs over 9lbs probably won't get used for many long flat approaches.

[wilcox510]

Some observations from trying on boots today... As Cheesestoff said, the tour mode on the Factor is impressive as far as hinging forward, but it doesnt hinge backwards much at all. The tour mode on the Zzeus is amazing forward and backwards. Factor is definitely the stiffest of the boots I tried on, feels like an alpine boot (though certainly not like a Lange 130 flex boot). Method is significantly softer. I think the Zzeus is stiffer than the Method. I couldn't tell much weight difference between the Method and Factor, although the Factor had the DIN soles and the Method had the AT soles (possibly the AT soles are heavier?). Zzeus was probably the highest volume, but both it and the Factors are higher volume than my Megarides. They didnt have any Radiums in my size. Rambling done...

[summit]

7#11oz vs 9#2oz...

1.5# lighter for the Skookums... that's a HUGE vote for the Skookums... then again i'll still have spirit 3s

BSL for a 27.0 Factor is a ridiculous 318mm... if the 26.5 Factor is not 306mm or less then I'll have to go Skookum because I'm not remounting all my skis so I can use a Factor.

[harpo-the-skier]

7#11oz vs 9#2oz...

1.5# lighter for the Skookums... that's a HUGE vote for the Skookums... then again i'll still have spirit 3s

BSL for a 27.0 Factor is a ridiculous 318mm... if the 26.5 Factor is not 306mm or less then I'll have to go Skookum because I'm not remounting all my skis so I can use a Factor.

26/25.5 Factor/Method is either 307 or 308 for the DIN sole. Might be different with the Dynafit AT sole. What bindings do you have that you are worried that the Factors won't fit into. The Comfort and Vertical ST/FT can adjust for three whole sizes. I would actually try the factor in your bindings before counting them out. Or are you worried about where your foot is relative to the center of the ski?