We’ve covered the expansion of Atomic’s ski touring boot line — in somewhat breathless “PR” style. Time to get a little deeper: part 3.
My test pair of Hawx Ultra XTD 130 comes in at 1434 grams per boot in size 27.5, BSL 312 mm. That’s pretty good for an overlap boot with WTR sole. That said, this clearly doesn’t meet my ultra biased and “controversial” criteria for a “ski touring” boot (I’d want to see a few hundred grams less), but these are legit “130 flex” boots that boast Atomic’s easily molded “Memory Fit” shell plastic and user renewable cuff pivot. So, they’re worth looking at if you’re into freeride touring or want a boot that might cross over to moderately aggressive resort days.
I’m in the middle of testing the Hawx and eventually passing to another evaluator, so this is more along the lines of a “second look.” We’ll do a “real” review at some point, but that could be more appropriate early next fall in anticipation of them being available in retail. Likewise, we have a pair of Backland Ultimate here as well (see below), which I’ll briefly cover here then hit in another post eventually.
The party line as promulgated in Austria. Memory Fit shell plastic really is terrific stuff. You can “punch” the heck out of a boot by adding spacers to the heat process, though doing so requires some experience. More easily, you can throw these on a ring press and get crazy with very little angst. But you have to watch it or you’ll end up punching too far.
Atomic flex machine data, interpret as you will. Judging from my experience with other boots it makes sense.
Denser plastic pads in the WTR sole make for good performance with a variety of bindings. But be advised these are not swap soles.
Sole compatibility chart.
I can not say enough positive about the serviceable cuff pivots that Atomic came up with for the Backland and now Hawx. So many benefits.
Friction reducing bushings, wear prevention, removal of cuff for intense fitting projects. Only question is how strong these really are compared to conventional cuff rivets. For all I know they’re super strong, but they need snow time while used in a stiffer boot.
Nylon shoulder bushings comprise most important parts of the cuff pivot system. A neck is molded into the boot shell that the bushings fit over. We have a strange feeling we could mod this system to work with other boot brands and models. Research is ongoing.
A 14 mm spanner (and torx driver) comes in the box with the boots, for removal of the cuff pivots. If the boots are moderately used you might never have reason to use this tool. On the other hand, terrific seeing attention to what’s been an issue for literally decades.
The reason for belevin’ — in removable cuff pivots, anyway. In this case, I popped the cuff off so I could work on the scaffo without battling plastic.
Lineup looks sweet. Left to right: Hawx 90 XTD (women) is a medium flex price-point,
PU cuff. White with purple cuff is another women’s model, XTD 110 sourced from a stiffer Grilamid cuff. Black with blue trimp is the Ultra XTD 100, a less expensive men’s boot with PU cuff. White boot to right is the XTD 120, still with PU cuff but stiffer. Flagship men’s boot is of course Ultra XTD 130 to right, all Grilamid. Various liner options contribute to differentiation.
Atomic ski boot liner options.
We don’t usually fool around with price comparos, since everything eventually goes on sale or is even initially sold at discounts. But I thought this chart at least helps shoppers start thinking about the pricing of ski touring boots.
Ok Virginia, on to the ‘real’ ski touring boots. Or perhaps beyond real? Indeed, Atomic’s now venerable Backland boot has proved to be a worthy contender in the ‘one kilo’ class that we feel comfortable promoting for most backcountry skiing. New for 2017-2018, the wizards of Altenmarkt came up with a little slipper they’re calling Backland Ultimate.
An ultra stripped down version of backland, Ultimate is intended for activities such as hobby skimo racing and fitness resort uphilling (‘Endurance Touring’ in Atomic’s corporate language). My 28.5 pair are 775 grams each. I gave these a good multi-day test. Uphill the Ultra was of of course a joy. Addictive. Kudos to Atomic for taking it to the limit, yet boots like this are an acquired taste. In my case, Ultimate is too soft and low-cut to give me what I want on the down — I prefer a few hundred more grams and more boot. On the other hand, if you’re shopping for this sort of boot Ultimate will be available in the fall and it’s made with that easily punched Memory Fit plastic. I love that stuff. My pair of Ultimate were slightly too short and way too narrow in the front. I punched at least an extra centimeter into the width with about 20 minutes of work. They now fit almost too good.
A significant weight saver with the Backland Ultimate is the thin and downsized sock liner. I found these to be rather interesting. They’re tough to put on, but are indeed comfortable without a tongue or wrap to contend with. They appeared to breath a bit. My test pair liners needed to be thicker clearly do not include much higher density foam nor any significant reinforced areas. If these were my daily driver shoes I’d perhaps swap to an aftermarket inner of some sort, but the stock liners worked well enough for my test days.
Sock liner is not much different from wearing two pair of thick socks and no liner. I must have chicken DNA as my lower leg bones simply never fit ski boot cuff diameter, and in this case I’m not sure how to pad out the liner.
One other thing, next season all the Atomic ski touring boots with external lean lock have have adjustable forward lean. Flip this small steel backing plate behind the lean lock and you gain or lose 2 degrees.
Conclusion: Management at Atomic told me their boot product line comprises about 30% carryover from previous year, 30% significantly improved products, and 40% new. Apparently the folks at Altenmarkt took a break from obsessing on crystal globes and red plastic, to make a big part of that 40% their ski touring boots.
Hi Lou,
Size Numbers – direct from Atomic to WildSnow
Hawx Ultra XTD
Size MP BSL Last-Width
22.0 – 22.5 262 90
23.0 – 23.5 272 92
24.0 – 24.5 282 94
25.0 – 25.5 292 96
26.0 – 26.5 302 98
27.0 – 27.5 312 100
28.0 – 28.5 322 102
29.0 – 29.5 332 104
Backland
Size MP BSL Last-Width
22.0 – 22.5 248 90
23.0 – 23.5 258 92
24.0 – 24.5 268 94
25.0 – 25.5 278 96
26.0 – 26.5 288 98
27.0 – 27.5 298 100
28.0 – 28.5 308 102
29.0 – 29.5 318 104
30.0 – 30.5 328 106
Backland Ultimate
Size MP BSL Last-Width
23.0 – 23.5 248 90
24.0 – 24.5 258 92
25.0 – 25.5 268 94
26.0 – 26.5 278 96
27.0 – 27.5 288 98
28.0 – 28.5 298 100
29.0 – 29.5 308 102
30.0 – 30.5 318 104
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.
