Scott S1 130 Carbon showing how the tongue opens.
The boot crew at Scott must have opened their minds by reading French philosophy, I mean REALLY opened their minds, as they certainly went off the farm with this one. A “clamshell” boot that opens at the front and rear isn’t a new concept. (A modified “rear entry” cuff system, if you will.) But to the best of my knowledge this type of shell design in a dedicated ski touring boot has not been attempted for decades.
Front lean lock shifting to touring mode.
Rear, look ma, no leanlock! Super stiff forward, as to be expected with no rear lean lock a bit of give to the rear but not anything significant. In fact, I’d call the rear flex “progressive” as compared to the ultra rigid front flex. I know that sounds odd, but I didn’t notice it while skiing, only while carpet testing. In terms of flex I’d say these match up with other “130” boots I’ve fooled around with, perhaps slightly softer.
Carbon rigidity is important at the toe box, since the tongue is supported by the pivots in that area. Note that you can’t do a width punch in this co-molded area of the boot. All Scott boots have a fairly wide last (they’re based of the former Garmont lasts) so a width punch will probably be a rare need. They’ll also sell a non-carbon version of this boot, which will be easier to mod but I suspect might be noticeably softer.
The nicely made liner is the correct height in relation to shell, but didn’t fill up the cuff for my skinny legs without excessive buckling.
I had to really yard on the buckles to close up around my leg. In real life, I’d have to do some boot fitting mods to fill up the volume. Average to large boned folks won’t have this issue.
Upper buckle is combined with power strap, it all hooks to his downsized ladder. Overall buckle situation with this pre-production version is fiddly; I’m told that’ll be improved, but if you shop for these boots be sure to give them a thorough carpet test that includes real-life buckling. Making up for that, you’ll find that with the swing-out tongue and impressive cuff travel, entry and exit could be the easiest you’ve ever experienced.
What’s odd is that I still felt quite a bit of forward resistance in touring stride. In my opinion, if the tongue is supported with this “strut” front lean lock in downhill mode, why not hinge it more freely?
Front lean lock buckled and ready to ski.
Another view.
Scott S1 130 Carbon best feature? Fully removable and replaceable sole, user serviceable. The beauty of this is they could supply different sole options. Such as a super light for pure ski touring, a thick beefer for folks who chew their boots up on rocks, and even a “WTR” for those of you who eschew tech bindings for frame or alpine.
I’m not sure how much weight the sole option adds, clearly, not much. Thus, this could be something they could add to other Scott boots such as Cosmos.
So, the Scott designers clearly went off the farm. Question is, did they move to another farm, one where guys with white coats bring you meals and you have to pay to get out? Nope, I think they’ve got a viable concept here. Overall, Scott S1 130 is easily the most innovative ski touring boot I’ve seen in some time. That is, in public, anyhow (smile). The swap sole is killer. If they free up the tongue a bit so it hinges better in touring mode, the front lean-lock could be a smart solution to the eternal dilemma of “tongue boot touring stride resistance.”
Weight, one boot, 28-28.5 BSL 316, 52 ounces, 1478 grams.
More coverage of Scott boots for 2017-2018
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.