Thermacell Proflex Heated Insoles in AT Boots — Review

by Louis Dawson
written by Louis Dawson
Thermacell Proflex insoles with batteries removed, red remote control.

Thermacell Proflex insoles with batteries removed, red remote control.

I know these guys who like the crisp air on 8,000 meter peaks. They bring skis sometimes too. But their feet get cold. Last winter one of those characters (Mike Marolt) told me his etail business would be selling Thermacell heated boot insoles, and that they “saved my feet and I couldn’t climb without them.” Sure, he sells the things but Mike is a straight shooter so I figured the insoles would be worth a test. Mike was right, they really do work. A few trade offs, but they’re lightweight, compact, and don’t suffer from the wire failure you can get with boot heaters with an external battery pack.

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I Heard the Arcteryx Avalanche Airbag…

by Louis Dawson
written by Louis Dawson

…and saw a demo of it as well. All I’m allowed to say is that it looks viable and quite nice, and the proto was red. I’m at the ISPO trade show in Munich, Germany. Arcteryx is next to the Black Diamond booth. Both booths this year are more of your closed variety rather than the big open floor plan of last year perhaps because they’re both on the cutting and competing edge of air-fan avalanche airbag development? Quite funny, while at the BD booth you could hear the Arcteryx airbag firing all day long, and same in reverse. Battle of the fans! Feel that breeze!

Your friendly blogger gets the story from Scarpa. New Freedom RS is state-of-art though it does have the swap sole I predicted would be gone from the industry by now.

Your friendly blogger gets the story from Scarpa. New Freedom RS is state-of-art though it does have the swap sole I predicted would be gone from the industry by now. Yes, those are weird Italian beanbag chairs. Really.

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ISPO Day 1 — Scarpa Tronic, Dynafit and More

by Louis Dawson
written by Louis Dawson
When it comes to colors, life can be boring in the U.S., but check out what was front and center at the Dynafit booth!

When it comes to colors, life can be boring in the U.S., but check out what was front and center at the Dynafit booth!

After a fun wander through Munich with Manfred Barthel (“father” of the tech binding) we located my hotel on a sidestreet. After parking in the middle of the road a few times with our flashers on, I was impressed with how polite the Munich drivers are. Funny, the only guys who knew where the hotel was were a couple of cops. Makes you wonder. Just joking. Though we did get directions from some friendly guys in a police car.

Purported to be “classic Bavarian” this is indeed a nice place, in what to me looks like a fun part of Munich — though walking exploration will have to be undertaken to prove that out. They do serve prosecco and wurst for breakfast, so perhaps that’s proof of authenticity?

In any case, Manfred delivered me to ISPO in one piece (thanks Manfred!), so I had a fun afternoon checking out a few things I know are important to you, dear readers.

First things first. The recalled Scarpa F1 Evo has a fix, but the new versions won't be available until next November. I'm not allowed to publish a photo hence the redacted image above. I can share the details verbally. As predicted, they'll have a manually locking version of the boot. It looked super solid, with a locking machine similar to the Scarpa freeride boots such as Freedom SL and the new for next season monster freeride shoe Freedom RS. They'll also sell a version with the self actuating Tronic system, only with added thickness in the plate the pushes down on the binding pins and actuates the vertical slider rod. The Scarpa guys told me most problems with Tronic happen because of mal-adjusted bindings. Whatever the case, the thicker plate will prevent the itself from sliding down in front of the pins if the ski is aggressively decambered, which results in the cuff unlocking as well as the boot getting jammed in the binding.

First things first. The recalled Scarpa F1 Evo has a fix, but the new versions won’t be available until next November. I’m not allowed to publish a photo hence the redacted image above. I can share the details verbally. As predicted, they’ll have a manually locking version of the boot. It looked super solid, with a locking machine similar to the Scarpa freeride boots such as Freedom SL and the new for next season monster freeride shoe Freedom RS (won ISPO award and does look tasty). They’ll also sell an F1 Evo version with the self actuating Tronic system, only having added thickness in the plate the pushes down on the binding pins and actuates the vertical slider rod. The Scarpa guys told me most problems with Tronic happen because of mal-adjusted bindings. Whatever the case, the thicker plate will prevent the itself from sliding down in front of the pins if the ski is aggressively decambered, which results in the cuff unlocking as well as the boot getting jammed in the binding.

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Scarpa F1 Evo Recall — Every Boot to be Returned for Refund

by The Editors Of Wildsnow
written by The Editors Of Wildsnow
Scarpa F1 Evo to be retailed 2014-15 comes in at claimed weight of 1,130 grams, size 27. Features 'Tronic No Hand' mode changer, more.

Scarpa F1 Evo is in a voluntary recall.

We’re sorry to have to bring this news, but at least Scarpa is dealing with what in my view is a pretty rare problem, but nonetheless a serious problem if it happens, in a mature and aggressive style that bespokes their commitment to quality. An interesting issue with this will be the fact that a lot of people really like the Evo ski touring boot, and have no problems with it, one wonders if getting all of them returned will be possible.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
SCARPA Voluntary and Precautionary Recall of F1 Evo ski boots with Tronic System

Feb. 2, 2015 – SCARPA has elected to voluntarily recall all F1 EVO ski boots.

SCARPA is asking all retailers and consumers who have purchased Fall 2014 F1 Evo ski boots with the Tronic System to cease using them immediately and return them to SCARPA as soon as possible for a refund.

It appears that given a rare combination of conditions and circumstances, the boot may unexpectedly switch from ski mode to walk mode, which increases the skier’s likelihood of falling.

For North American consumers, please cease using the boots immediately and return them as soon as possible to the point of original purchase for a refund. For North American dealers, please cease any further sales of the boots and contact SCARPA at (866) 998-2895 to set up a return and refund.

Thank you in advance, and SCARPA apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused our customers or retailers.

For backstory, please see our WildSnow Scarpa Tronic posts.

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Atomic Backland Boot — Wow, Finally Some New TOURING Gear

by Louis Dawson
written by Louis Dawson

The cry rings out over the ski industry. Freeride baby, it’s where the money is!

Enough! I say…

Quite refreshing to visit our Austrian friends at Bergsteigen.com and check out an in-the-flesh pair of the new Backland Carbon SKI TOURING boot. Essentially, Atomic took the best from their competitors, added some spice, and look what happened.

We think this shoe is super nice, though we’ll of course need to do some major testing before we give it the total nod. Meanwhile, here are some photos. Oh, the size 25.5 at the Bergsteigen office weighs 1058 grams per boot, 984 without the removable tongue. Last is officially a “98 mm” but we think they look a bit wider than that. Word from Bergsteigen is they could be a bit warmer and easier fitting in the forefoot area than some of the other low volume touring boots on the market.

The color is right, the weight is right, the last looks a bit wider in the forefoot, the removable tongue got some frowns; are there not enough boot tongues scattered about the Alps already?

Atomic Backland Carbon ski touring boot without removable tongue. The color is right, the weight is right, the last looks a bit wider in the forefoot, the removable tongue got some frowns; are there not enough boot tongues scattered about the Alps already? Interesting to consider that Salomon and Atomic are essentially the same company and the boots are made in the same factory by the same people. Expect to see this boot with a Salomon logo?

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Show Season — La Sportiva New Boots &1 Kilo 96 mm Ski!

by Louis Dawson
written by Louis Dawson
La Sportiva Sideral 2.0 has over-the-top graphics and perhaps matching performance.

La Sportiva Sideral 2.0 has over-the-top graphics and perhaps matching performance.

The annual “season of gear” will close soon, bookended with the OR show in Utah and ISPO Munich. I’m staying in Europe for ISPO. Lisa and a gaggle of WildSnow guest bloggers will cover OR. The blogosphere is already fraught with previews, but along with the rest of the blogsters we might as well pant over the new gear like overheated dogs on a hot summer day in Munich.

La Sportiva in particular has nice new ski touring goods. I’ll visit them in Italy just before ISPO for core details about how this stuff is made and who makes it. For now, check it out and watch your shopping list magically expand.

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