Scott Cosmos 3 Ski Touring Boot – Review #1

Cosmos 3, I like the black-white design with red accents. Scaffo is Grilamid, cuff is carbon infused Grilamid. Note the power strap, the pass-through buckle made of thin wire is actually a spring that provides some give and enhances progressive flex, ingenious.

Cosmos has what we call a “tongue shell” construction, meaning the boot opens by hinging a third shell section forward out of the way. We also call this type of shell a “3 piece” or “cabrio.” The other type of shell is the “overlap” which is made with two pieces, the lower of which has flaps that close the boot. Cabrio is easier to get on and off, easier to make, and has a different feel than an overlap. Cabrio boots can conceivably be made stiffer than an overlap by using the tongue as a stiffener, but doing so can result in compromised touring performance. The two types of boots are an eternal dilemma, especially if you’re comparing an overlap vs Cabrio without any weight advantage of one over the other. In that case, fit would probably rule, though the often sweet downhill flex of an overlap boot can be a tempter. The two types of boots can end up fitting quite a bit different.

Cosmos cuff is carbon infused plastic with obvious struts to stiffen the flex. When I battened down the hatches I found them to be quite stiff, probably around what people would call a 125 flex.

Liner has good height above shell. Cabrio tongue has good height as well, as does the rear. We’d like to see the sides a few millimeters taller at the cost of a few grams.

Check out the beefy mount for the lower lean lock anchor. Across the industry, beefing up this area is proving to be a good way of making boots feel stiffer without a huge weight penalty.

Many external lean locks have just a slot that engages a horizontal pin. Such have proven to be ok, but why not a little insurance against the lean lock getting banged and disengaged while you’re skiing the Instagram Couloir? Cosmos boasts this little hook to keep your good side up, for touring mode it disengages when you pull the string.

Cuff articulation rearward, not a skimo race boot but good enough. Liner combined with Cabrio do somewhat reduce real-life articulation. As with any boot, if you’re concerned about exact feel during touring, a carpet test is mandatory. Larger skiers can easily overcome various sorts of flex resistance, while smaller skiers can be much more sensitive to things like how the liner articulates.

Liner has a flex zone, but it’s not very pronounced.

I like liner laces. Optional here of course, but they’re not an afterthought, they work.

Best ski boot liner lace cord lock I’ve ever used.

Back to the shell, spoiler is ergonomic, shaped for your leg.

As soon as they try to make the tongue stiff enough to help with downhill skiing, you notice it reducing your stride while touring. I experimented by cutting out the small living hinge area to ease the flex a bit. Helps, but doesn’t seal over the lower shell opening as well. Solutions for this exist, such as variations of a two-piece tongue. I’d like to see that sort of thing on the Cosmos (it’s had this type of tongue since version 1).

Dynafit certified 1st generation tech fittings. Our favorite at the front, but we’d like to see the heel fitting through bolted to the shell.

Yes Virginia, 4 buckles. The toe buckle just seems so 2003 and really doesn’t do much except compress the tongue down uncomfortably on top of my foot. I’d probably remove it if these were my daily driver ski touring boot.

Scott Cosmos boot shell break sizes. Click to enlarge.