Scarpa Freedom SL 2013 Review – Teton Tested

For the 2013-14 season, Scarpa's Freedom SL boot is the signature of their Freeride line, being their heaviest duty alpine touring boot. It seems that the Freedom line simplifies Scarpa's offerings basically supplanting the Mobe, Typhoon and Hurricane Pro, which got high marks from TGR's Associate Editor, Ryan Dunfee. The Freedom line consist of the Pebax Freedom SL, Freedom SL Women's and the PU plastic Freedom and Freedom Women's. Reviewed here is the Freedom SL with the highest-end Intuition thermomoldable liner in Euro-tastic shades of neon-green and yellow and flaunting hints of magenta and aubergine. 

My test pair of Scarpa Freedom SL's was a size 27 with a BSL of 304mm. Weight was 1888g with insoles (higher than the 1790 claimed). Construction-wise, the Freedom SL makes no bones about its intent; with a HUGE power strap and HUGE buckles, everything on this boot tells the eyes it's geared for the downhill. 

The Freedom SL is designed as a standard looking 4 buckle overlap boot. The walk mode is designed to be rigid and also certainly looks beefy. There's no walk mode bar, so theoretically there is less to go wrong and less to flex. Instead, one metal piece engages on another metal piece. 

The singularly hideous Scarpa Freedom SL fortunately skis and tours much better than it looks

Scarpa's patent-pending Ride Power Block (above) is one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that head-slapping creations. Unlike other walk modes, the Ride Power Block completely disengages from itself, so that when you are in walk or tour mode, the system is completely friction free (unlike pretty much all other systems which have a bar of some sort, through which a pin inserts in a hole, or some variation on that theme). On the flip side, when you put the Ride Power Block in ski mode, two pieces of very stout metal interlock with each other in an L-shaped design so that you get close to fixed-cuff stiffness in a boot that will actually tour and walk well. 

5:28 of Scarpa, some Italians, and Chris Davenport trying to convince you why this thing is the best boot ever.

Freedom SL has Carbon Core Technology. There's two aspects to this fancy marketing speak. The first aspect is that Scarpa designed a carbon fiber frame in the boot to aid in stiffness & power transfer. This frame runs under the foot, the length of the foot, and is co-molded into the lower boots. The boot is actually injected and molded around that carbon-fiber frame. It's not readily apparent so there's no in-your-face black carbon weave but if you pull out the liner and look in bottom of the shell, you can see the top of that carbon fiber frame. This technology is also patent pending.

The swappable boot soles also bolts into that same carbon fiber frame - also to aid stiffness. But it also improves the torsional stiffness. Most other companies that offer an interchangeable sole system are screwing those changeable sole blocks into plastic on the lower boot. While this works, there's a lot of inherent slop in that design that results in loss of power transmission to the ski edge. What Scarpa has done is create an interchangeable sole block system that bolts through the carbon fiber frame, so it has the secondary purpose of increasing power transfer by reducing slop in the interface between the lower boot and the interchangeable sole. In the case of Scarpa's design, there's also a metal plate built into the sole block, and they are using metal hardware that's bolted through that metal plate in the sole block and then through the carbon fiber frame on the lower boot to a second set of metal hardware on the inside of the boot. The upshot is that it's a very stout system with none of the slop that has been seen to date in these kinds of systems. This is very important because, if you look at these designs, all of the power transfer actually takes place on the sole block rather than on the boot shell, so creating this stouter connection to the boot is hugely important in improving power transfer. 

You need to remove the red plastic piece at left to get these into a binding, so please don't be that guy trying to slam your new boot into your alpine binding with that thing still on. Elsewhere on the lower shell you can see the manly, beefy buckles that Scarpa installed on the Freedom, but as you can see, the buckles are riveted into the shell - so it will be a pain to replace buckles without drilling out the rivets.

The Scarpa Freedom SL certainly is well thought out and has many other features worth further mention:

• Included with the Freedom SL is an Intuition-made Freeride Speed liner. That liner weighs 330g and seems most like the Intuition ProTongue liner (reviewed here) but with concessions to tourability. I'ts noteworthy in that it's designed to accommodate footbeds; take out the plastic footboard and you're down to the strobel board.

• Replaceable DIN soles are rockered, which makes them comfortable for walking. The alpine soles are naturally flat. The soles screw into metal inserts in the boots, which means they truly can be swapped out an infinite number of times without worry.

• Buckles are beefy and are riveted. Big beefy buckles are good for optics; riveted hardware are a morale boost for those who remember the Maestrale's magically loosening hardware. It's more of a downer for those who love to modify and mess around with their boots but that's why the Creator gave us dremel tools, one supposes.

• You can move the rear spoiler up and down also by messing with allen keys. You can also use included shims on the flat bootboard to provide more heel lift.

• Speaking more to customizability and adjustability, the Freedom SL's forward lean adjusts by messing around with blocks. It won't be easy to adjust in the field unless you like fiddling with allen keys in the cold. Although forward lean can be adjusted from 10 to 18 degrees, I left mine at the factory-set 14 degrees.

• On the carpet the Freedom SL's range of motion seems ordinary at 27deg (- 7 backwards, 20 degrees forward) but then it doesn't purport to be a rando race boot or even an all-around touring boot. Paper comparisons put it underwhelming next to the gold standard of the Scarpa Maestrale RS (40 deg) or the Dynafit Vulcan (60 deg). It does line up expectations-wise against other contemporaries like the Technica Cochise or the Black Diamond Factor, which have comparable walk mode ranges of motion. Having said all of the above, the on-snow walkmode performance of the Freedom SL is so extraordinary (read on for that) that it illustrates the crudeness of armchair, internet boot testing as opposed to actually trying the boot in the snow.

The boot interior is clean like a standard four-buckle boot. The spoiler is adjustable, and the plastic boot board is flat and removable, providing room to squeeze a custom footbed into your liner.

The Scarpa Freedom SL has a dramatically more anatomical fit then the older Scarpa Freeride boots, which sometimes felt like airplane hangers and needed shims to take up space. Unlike the Maestrale RS, Maestrale and other Scarpa boots where I've not needed punches, the Freedom SL's toes felt constricted despite cooking the liners. With a stated 101mm last, my classically flat Asian feet should have been fine, so the digital calipers came out and the forefoot was really measured to be 98mm. Please confirm in the discussion if you have different measurements. 

Here are other comments on the Freedom's fit:

• The Freedom SL has more room over the instep than the Maestrale RS, so those with high arches won't get that crushing feeling.

• Forefoot volume is on the mid to lower side. Definitely look to cook your liners and, as above, perhaps punch for a bit more width.

• I don't have the Freedom SL women's boot but some will ask. That boot is lower in the back, but otherwise the shells are identical other than color.

• The Freedom SL Women's shell goes to a size 22; the smallest boot made in this class. So in Scarpa terms, that boot will come in a size 21.5/22 (U.S. 5) which is much smaller than most manufacturers build ski boot shells. It's a true performance option for people with smaller feet.

Lee Lau does his best Chris Davenport impression in the new Freedom SLs in the backcountry around Whistler.

I weigh 160 pounds and ski mainly in the Coast and Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia. My skiing is usually in high moisture-content snow. Accordingly, my preference is for bigger skis and relatively stiff boots. 

The Scarpa Freedom SL exposes a quandary for boot manufacturers. Quite frankly, it's not super impressive on the showroom floor. It seems to fold forward more than one might expect for such a beefy boot. The walk mode doesn't feel all that great. All that is revealed to be deceptive, since it's on snow that the Freedom SL really shows it mettle. But there's not much one can do about that. Not every consumer has access to demo boots. Not every shop can carry demo boots. Buying boots via keyboard and on spec is a fact of life. These are just ruminations in the end and someone with a much higher pay grade will have to figure out how to educate consumers. Onto the review.

Unsurprisingly, the Freedom SL skis exceptionally well. It has a beautifully progressive flex. I'd go as far as to say its flex is almost alpine boot-like in the smoothness and power transmission. With these boots, the abrupt jerking expected when bottoming out most alpine touring boots is dramatically apparent in its absence (note that there are no flex limit stops in the Freedom SL's interior). The Freedom SL is laterally stiff; throw it around edge to edge and that's where it comes alive. Although I am skiing it in the 14 degree lean, I'd expect that those that insist on skiing backcountry pow full-speed-ahead racer style will appreciate the response when you set it to the 18 degree lean. 

Fine, the Freedom SL is an excellent downhill performer, but you expect that out of a boot in this category. What took me aback was how well the Freedom SL toured. The Power Block walk mechanism was singularly effective and truly illustrated just how much friction there is inherent to the traditional walk bar mode to the extent that I expect this walk mech to start appearing throughout Scarpa's line. 

The Freedom SL still isn't particularly light, so you won't find too many people rocking the Scholler one-piece sausage suit rando-racing this thing around the Spearhead traverse in one day. However, if you removed the basically useless forefoot buckle and stuck a lighter liner in it you'd be looking at  about 1700 grams per boot. That kind of weight weeniness, remarkable walk mode ability, and replaceable soles suddenly makes this a boot that people looking for a durable boot (I'm talking multiple seasons) that can truly handle any type of condition with long approaches would consider.

As I've had just eight days days on this boot, my impressions are largely preliminary and still little better than superficial. Obviously little can be said about wear and tear and long-term durability. The second and third buckles do contact each other in walk mode but the scratches are superficial. The walk mode fittings on the upper boot cuff buckles could also be longer. I'd actually unlatch the upper cuff buckles just to take full advantage of the Freedom SL's generous walk mode.
Check in on the
Scarpa Freedom SL discussion thread in the TGR forums for general spray and impressions about long term use. 

If you need a fairly beefy boot with replaceable, interchangeable soles that will work with tech, frame style and alpine bindings, the Scarpa Freedom SL should be in the conversation. I predict it will be the boot of choice for patrollers, sled-tourers, and tourers who scramble lots of rock and scree (and therefore trash boot soles). I've always said that alpine touring boots are about compromises. While the Scarpa Freedom SL will never be fighting it out with Nordica's Doberman for the title of the manliest stiffest boot, it has the best walk mode of any fairly stiff boot with interchangeable soles I've ever tried. In my opinion the Freedom SL sets a high bar for other boot manufacturers to follow in its category. 

Pricing is $769 for the Freedom SL and SL Women's and $599 for the Freedom. Note that the Freedom SL comes with tech soles (called Mountain Plus Soles) and the Freedom comes DIN-standard alpine soles (called Mountain Piste Soles). If you need soles, pricing is $69.99 US for the tech soles, and $39.99 for the DIN soles.