Alien Rando Race Boot – Gear Tidbit from Scarpa

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

Hey all you Wildsnowers, I was out getting the goods for the last seven days and am trying my darnedest to whip up a trip report to break our rather lengthy string of gear posts. Meanwhile, I just had to get these slick photos of Scarpa Alien up where we could all enjoy and discuss. More, words from a Scarpa representative with the details. Jury is of course still out, way out, since we’ve not been able to give these boots any sort of Wildsnowing. So please be aware we present this as a first-look, not a review or test (really, just a continuation of our trade show coverage as the Hagan post below is as well).

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Federico, You’re Not Allowed To Read This (Homebrew TLT5 Lean Lock Mod)

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

Shop for Dynafit TLT Performance backcountry skiing boots.

Saga nutshell: While perfect for many folks, Dynafit TLT5 has too much forward lean for me. I thus had to change the lean angle because these are beautiful boots and I want to feel beautiful while I ski them.

At first, the idea of modifying the lean lock of the Dynafit TLT5 boot really turned me off. Mainly because of the time it would take (along with the possibility of messing up a thousand dollar pair of shoes). Instead, to reduce ramp and and thus reduce forward lean I was considering shimming up the toe unit of all my skis/bindings. Shimming would have been ideal in terms of ergonomics, but did I really want to be re-mounting everything I’m skiing on, and having to suffer while doing ski demos due to the “ever changing angle syndrome”? Nope. Instead, four hours of shop time yielded a set of modified lean-lock plates that reduced cuff angle 3 degrees (that may not sound like much, but as a percentage it is quite a bit and noticeable). The moment I’d finished this mod I uphilled about 2,000 vert then made a nice run down that included groom and chop in equal doses. Ahhhhhhh, perfect. Yes, get everything tuned and the TLT5-P boots truly do perform at around a pound less weight per boot than most other options.

TLT5 lean lock backcountry skiing.

Homebrew lean lock plate installed in TLT 5-P backcountry skiing boot. Click image to enlarge.

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Tecnica Ruined my Workbench — Review, Cochise Backcountry Freeride Ski Boot

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

Shop for Tecnica Cochise backcountry skiing and freeride boots.

Que Macho (or in Apache as Cochise would have perhaps said, “Ik aa’ye iidenka ashii nadndaal. ei nanlwogo aniile shiiyii’ii.Â, look it up), Tecnica has upped the anti with their tech compatible freeride backcountry skiing boot series. The shoes are named after competition rodeo bulls, one of whom is named after the Apache warrior/leader who’s become part or our western legend. All good, but can a boot named in honor of bulls and fighters hold up to the WildSnow tech fitting ANSI approved tractor pull?

Tecnica backcountry skiing boots.

Results of tractor pull powered by my ANSI approved pry bar -- it looks like answer to above question is YES. Tecnica's version of tech fittings stayed true, force I applied ripped binding out of workbench it was screwed to with extra long screws. The boot fitting deformed a tiny amount during this extreme test, but the force I applied was in my opinion way beyond anything it would receive in normal skiing. Thus, I give this a 100% pass as well as a thumbs up for Tecnica's extra effort at making their fittings ultra reliable for big skiers with big boots and big skis.

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Scarpa Factory Tour – Part II – Plastic

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

(Montebelluna and Asolo Italy, January, 2011) Watching Scarpa leather boots being made was like being in the Ferrari factory and seeing them stitching seats by hand. But ski boots are really what I’m here to see and they’re injection molded. Checking out the plastic process is a bit more sterile than soul leather, though no less interesting.

Scarpa’s plastics work is done in an older building which was their original factory in Asolo, Italy. Not a bad arrangement, as the injection molding is a much more hands-off process than leather boot making (though a fair amount of hand work does ensue after the parts are made.)

Backcountry skiing boot molds.

Interior portion of an F1 boot mold. Word is these molds cost around $100,000 euros each. Considering each size of boot requires a different mold, wow. As that money has to be made back with profit over the lifespan of a boot model, one can see why ski boot prices stay high.

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Dynafit TLT 5 Performance Boots — Ask Mom

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

Sometimes, after going to the trouble of getting a boot working for myself, I wonder if I was simply born NOT to ski. Over many years of trying I’ve only found a few boots that fit me out of the box. Dynafit? We’ll, they fit probably the same percentage of the population as any other boot brand does, but I’m in the minority that cannot just step into a Dynafit and go. Even so, Dynafit makes such sweet boots. The Green Machine, yes. Earlier TLT models for efficient climbing, yes. Original red Dynafit touring boots of the mid 1980s, yes. This season’s TLT 5 Performance, yes. Regarding the latter, check out this conversation with my boot coach:

“But, Mom, I want to be a Dynafitter.”

TLT5 Dynafit boot, with auxiliary tongue (which I'm not using) to the left. Intuition Pro Tour liner and relocated lower buckle.

TLT5 Dynafit boot, with auxiliary tongue (which I'm not using) to the left. Intuition Pro Tour liner and relocated lower buckle.

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Evolution of the Evo — New Dynafit Boot

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

While overall the world of ski boot making does seem a bit stagnated, when it comes to making individual products that compete in a given arena, it may only look boring on the surface. Consider the Dynafit Evo. While visiting Dynafit in Montebelluna Italy this past January, I was blindfolded then led to the inner scriptorium of their boot creation department. Not doubt they sterilized the place of models still in development (bloggers, we’re like vultures), but they had all the cool Evo and Zero series proto patterns laying around, and were willing to talk about boot making as long as my notebook paper lasted.

Dynafit Evo boot, Mario Sartor

Back in 2005 when parent company Salewa decided to launch Dynafit bigtime as a 'vertical' product line, they knew they needed boots that worked. Before then, it had been hit and miss, with a few winners (TLT), but losers such as Aero. So what they did was go out and find one of the best boot designers in Montebelluna, and hire him. Mario Sartor is his name, and he's been designing ski boots since working on various Garmont alpine models in the early 1970s. Yep, that book on display is a 1974 Garmont catalog, and Mario is responsible for nearly everything in it. What a contrast, on the left are developmental parts for the new 2011 Dynafit Evo boot, probably the most high-tech and lightest weight shoe they've ever produced.

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