Tecnica Cochise Pro Light, overall beautiful construction with plenty of beef.
Tecnica Cochise Pro Light available at our favorite etailer.
Take an alpine boot and make it tour. After testing Tecnica’s freshman Cochise backcountry skiing boot last winter, then getting a first look at this season’s version, I can say yes, they did that. In this case, mass is reduced by pairing the shell with a simple but nicely constructed Palau liner, along with a slightly lighter buckle configuration and a few other things left out of the mix (such as the mostly decorative plastic spoiler on the regular Cochise). As usual, we’ll be testing a limited quiver of boots this winter, and these most certainly will be in there. Check out a first look.
(Note that Cochise is also sold in the “Cochise Pro 130” version with a 98mm last ,(i.e, plug version of the 100mm Cochise/Dragon). This boot has a stiffer liner and alpine soles with no tech fittings. For an overview of the full Tecnica freeride-backcountry line, click here.)
Per last season, Cochise sole block is attached via T-nut backed fasteners, as well as slipping on to shaped sole fittings. We've seen other boots this beefy, but nothing better. Movement is minimal, but there.
T-nuts. Not exactly rocket science, they simply work.
The usual tech fittings for Dynafit and other types of tech bindings. I bench tested these and they appear to be nicely designed (sometimes we've run across ones that are sticky or don't even release.) Note how use of the older style fitting allows plenty of sole materal. Fitting location is marked on top of binding shelf with small icons (these could be larger and more obvious).
Tech fitting in heel of Cochise ski mountaineering freeride boot. We removed these last season and discovered they're quite beefy. Nonetheless, seeing these in a boot this big makes one long for tech 2.0.
Rare in a touring capable boot, Tecnica's last includes room for a boot board -- wonderful for tuning fit and performance.
Overlap cuff ski boots can be difficult to enter and exit; having a buckle that hinges does help when you need to open up the flaps.
Cochise Pro Light continues the interesting cuff buckle configuration consisting of a beefy power strap and one larger buckle. In many cases, two buckles _and_ a power strap can be a bit much so we like the simplicity of this rig. Cuff is plenty tall, around the same in rear as most other touring boots, but much higher on sides. In our experience, higher cuff can feel much stiffer, but also offer less comfort in touring mode. Cuff alignment rivet is present, good, but the opposite side rivet is now permanent instead of removable. That's good for reliability but a bummer for boot fitting and mods, as easily removing the cuff makes life much better if you need to hack on your boots.
Cuff in downhill mode has classic lean angle. Walk-ski latch is solid with no perceptible play.
Rear cuff angle in tour mode is essentially vertical. A few more degrees rearward would be nice.
Cochise Pro Light liner is made by well known Palau company, orange area is a flex zone that adds quite a bit of comfort over a stiffer liner.
Cochise add-on kit includes rear spoilers and duck-bills to add some space and stiffness to tongue. All these stick on with hook-loop fastening. Quite nice, especially with the minimal Palau liner.
Tongue duck-bill stuck on with hook-loop adds liner beef and takes up space.
There you have it. Looking for an attractive side-country option or a touring boot with beef?
Available at our favorite etailer.
100 mm last
Size evaluated 28.5, BSL 330
Total weight of one boot, 63.2 oz, 1788 gr
Shell weight 56.5 oz, 1602 gr
(See our weight chart for comparo)
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.
