(This is part 4 of my La Sportiva visit. See parts A, 1 and 2.)
Italy is about shoes. The most common thing you see in Italian store fronts is shoes. Nearly every ski boot in the world is made in Italy. The country even looks like a boot on the map. Northern Italy is also about mountains, Alps, Dolomite. So if you’re going to run a climbing shoe and ski boot company, do it in Italy; do it since 1928; do it right. That’s the La Sportiva business plan. Check out my factory visit this past January.
Your friendly blogger at La Sportiva. They built this new facility just a few years ago. Dolomite mountains rising above Val di Fiemme.
The company was founded on a simple patent for leather boot lacing.
This is the model for the lacing system from the 1920s. The name Sportiva dates back to 1929 when Narciso Delladio, a craftsman from Tesero, Italy built wood clogs and leather boots in the Val di Fiemme next to the famed Dolomite mountain range. In the 1940s Narciso developed an innovative lacing system that remained a design reference point for many years. It actually resembles the modern ‘power strap’ used on most ski boots.
Original Italian patent.
Early trade show. Somewhat different these days!
Before rubber soles were made for mountain boots, you had either slick leather or hobnails. The choice was obvious but hut floors suffered.
Modern Vibram sole used on La Sportiva mountain boots boasts lugs that are shaped to absorb energy as you fly downhill on a 3,000 vertical meter trail run in the Dolomite. The idea is to use the sole rubber as a better shock absorber instead of adding layers of foam (more grams weight) to the midsole.
In the early 1950s, Narciso’s son Francesco built a new advanced workshop near Tesero (in the same valley, see map below) where he produced leather ski boots. The La Sportiva brand was what you’d call “national” by the end of the 1960s, with perhaps a few boots being exported to North America. Later, the third generation of the Delladio family shifted the business to its “modern” focus on climbing boots and shoes, and now again to ski boots, with the recent addition of clothing and skis to create a complete line with unique Italian design flair.
La Sportiva did make beautiful leather ski boots into the early 1960s. When the plastic revolution happened, injection molding was centered in Montebelluna, Italy south of here. At that time La Sportiva was choosing to focus on mountain boots and climbing shoes after a brief early attempt at plastic ski boots.
La Sportiva ski boots from the early days. Yellow plastic boot was their only injection molding product and was dropped in favor of climbing footwear. Their timing was pretty good, as rock climbing experienced a boom in popularity beginning in the 1970s. La Sportiva built their brand on the sport, with notable success.
One of the early La Sportiva climbing shoes.
La Sportiva’s shift back to ski boots came with the introduction of their beautifully crafted full carbon Stratos skimo race boot in 2009. After that they proceeded with a full line of injection molded ski touring boots with the recently introduced 2015-16 models being an obvious progression in quality and innovation.
Stratos parts are made elsewhere, then hand assembled at a dedicated workshop at La Sportiva HQ.
Craft work on the Stratos. Your pair? Got duemila?
Most interesting new item on the boots is a toe fitting that’s said to work in standard tech binding fashion as well as with the Trab binding. I found that a bit hard to believe but bench testing showed that it could happen if everything is just right. As we always recommend, release checks on the bench will tell the tale.
Some of the La Sportiva ski boots 2015-16: Spitfire, Sideral, Starlet.
Summary of La Sportiva ski boot line:
Stratos — Ultra light and ultra expensive, carbon race boot. One-motion change between walk and downhill modes. About 555 grams per boot in size 27.
Syborg — Grilamid plastic version of Stratos, about 800 grams per boot in size 27.
Spitfire 2.0 — Influenced by skimo racing and the Stratos project–external lean lock and ‘one motion’ type closure. A sweet option for speed touring.
Sideral 2.0 & Starlet 2.0 — All around ski mountaineering and ski touring boot. Grilamid scaffo and ‘one motion’ closure system that’s more internalized than Spitfire. Three optional cuff lean settings.
Spectre & Sparkle — Some of the lightest boots you can find that can still be called out for “freeride touring.” Scaffo and cuff exoskell both made with stiff Grilamid. Other than the improved instep fit over original version, no changes for 2015-2016. A very successful boot that’s in high demand.
Two most important things for this coming season. 1.) The boots are claimed to work with both tech bindings and Trab bindings. 2.)The last of the Spitfire and Sideral is said to be more friendly.
Boot torture testing machine. A cynical journalist might wonder if they just turn this on when bloggers are on the premises, but it looked legit.
Climbing shoe assembly line. They make zillions.
Leather cutting is laid out by hand for the most efficient use of the best material. Apparently only a human mind can do this.
Another view of the factory.
Strict air quality regulations both inside and outside result in impressive air treatment systems. Too bad the trucks on the Brenner are not held to the same standards.
Like I said, a zillion climbing shoes.
And now the reward for a long day of gawking. We hit another restaurant that the locals knew would be brilliant. This one kept the farm-to-table local produce idea going strong with yet another world-class Italian meal.
I stuck with a classic but oh-so-modern concept: hunk of aged beef on a sizzle platter, roasted vegetables on the plate. Mom, I ate the whole thing. Tito was truly award winning, and looked quite popular. Best wishes to them.
Look for town of Cavalese on map below. That’s where I stayed while visiting La Sportiva. The factory is a short distance to the east from Cavalese.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
