These Dancing Shoes Can Ski — La Sportiva Skorpius CR Review

by Gary Smith
written by Gary Smith
With a few mods, the La Sportiva Skorpius CR is a strong contender for the elusive quiver of one boot.

With a few mods, the La Sportiva Skorpius CR is a strong contender for the elusive quiver of one boot for a lighter guy like myself.

Not-too-light is right for versatility

Two seasons ago I went to a two touring boot approach — the Scarpa Alien RS for fast days with faster friends on light skis, and the Hoji Pro Tour for normal strong pacing and pushing a bigger ski. This approach worked well and opened up the quiver a bit, but, as picky as I am with boots, it was a ton of effort. It also required adjusting my style depending on the boot of the day. I decided to replace the two-boot system with a long term test of the new La Sportiva Skorpius CR this season, hoping to go back to a single boot for all but resort and resort accessed backcountry. The Scarpa F1 has been the best single touring boot quiver for me in the past. Could the Skorpius be the next one?

Doug danced around in the Skorpius CR before there was any snow on the ground and gave us his initial impressions. Aaron Mattix has also covered the less stiff La Sportiva Solar extensively now. Here’s my take, including some modding and plenty of on-snow performance.

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La Sportiva Solar — Updated Review

by Aaron Mattix
written by Aaron Mattix
Powder dingo approved plastic origami power.

Powder dingo approved plastic origami power.

One year later: mods and thoughts on the La Sportiva Solar

How much boot do you need, really? The La Sportiva Solar (and its carbon cousin the Skorpius) present a strong argument that the average ski tourer could be well served with more of less. While not quite full on ski-mo weight weenie light, the impressive lack of heft to these boots combined with the range of motion, speed of transitions, and decent downhill performance nails La Sportiva’s stated goal of a “lightweight touring boot for general backcountry skiing.”

I started skiing the Solar midway through last season (read the initial WildSnow review), and they have been my go-to boot for this season of local tours, resort laps, and a recent hut trip. The massive articulation (68 degrees) has been a revelation in uphilling comfort and performance for me; almost eliminating my use of risers, and makes every other boot I’ve had on my feet feel clunky by comparison. The Swing Lock deploys rapidly, and even with the upper cuffs buckled, and heels locked in, the range of motion on flat exits almost rivals that of my tele setup.

The two buckle closure system makes for rapid transitions; particularly since the upper buckle / velcro strap arrangement is low-profile enough to open and close under ski pants. The lower spider buckle arrangement has proven to be susceptible to ham-fisted operation. It broke at the upper guide, then around the plastic rivet. Both instances occurred when I tried to swing the instep buckle from completely open to fully closed in one motion, instead of closing each stage of the buckle separately, which insures that the cable is properly set in the guide before the final pressure is applied.

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Touring Boot Recall — Fischer Travers CC

by Manasseh Franklin
written by Manasseh Franklin
The Fischer Travers CC recall states that the boot "may crack after frequent use and the carbon cuff can break under continuous heavy load."

The Fischer Travers CC recall states that the boot “may crack after frequent use and the carbon cuff can break under continuous heavy load.”

Fischer issues voluntary recall on Travers CC

Attention readers who purchased the Fischer Travers CC touring boot available to buy since 2018. Fischer recently issued a voluntary recall for the boot, citing that the boot “may crack after frequent use and the carbon cuff can break under continuous heavy load.”

The statement continued:
Breakage is caused by continuous high stress in the ski mode. This creates high tensile force which impacts the assembly area of the ski/walk-lever and can lead to cracks under constant load. If a crack has started on the upper cuff, further cracks can materialize under continuous load and/or can ultimately lead to a complete breakage of the cuff. In case of a sudden and unexpected breakage of the cuff, the user is at risk of crash and injury due to loss of cuff stability.

To eliminate safety risk to the user, Fischer is immediately recalling all TRAVERS CC delivered to-date. Our high-quality standards and our sense of responsibility have prompted us to take a proactive approach with this recall to further ensure the quality of our products in every respect, and to rule out any safety risks.

Example of a cracked cuff, provided by Fischer.

Example of a cracked cuff, provided by Fischer.

What you should do

If you have one of the boots in question, that is all sizes of Fischer Travers CC stamped with art. no. U18519 (visible on the inside cuff), Fischer asks that you do the following:

To see if your boot is affected, check the inside cuff.

To see if your boot is affected, check the inside cuff.

All consumers of the touring ski boot model TRAVERS CC should immediately contact their respective dealer for the purpose of returning the ski boots. In the course of the return, either the purchase price will be refunded or – if the consumer agrees – the boots will be exchanged for a substitute Fischer touring ski boot model, which will be available for delivery starting at the beginning of March 2020. All returned ski boots are to be sent back to Fischer Sports GmbH, Service Department.
All unsold TRAVERS CC dealer inventory must be returned to Fischer Sports GmbH, Service Department, free of charge.

According to a rep we spoke with, Fischer will be issuing the Travers CS model as replacement

You can find additional information by contacting Fischer:
Infoline +43 7752 909 – 2533 (Monday – Friday 08:00 a.m. – 04:00 p.m.)
Email: service@fischersports.com

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SCOTT Freeguide Carbon Ski Boot — First Look

by Manasseh Franklin
written by Manasseh Franklin
The SCOTT Freeguide Carbon touring boot: the product of 1.5 years of development, 12 prototypes and more than 150,000 meters of ascent and descent.

The SCOTT Freeguide Carbon touring boot: the product of 1.5 years of development, 12 prototypes and more than 150,000 meters of ascent and descent.

Freeguide touring boot with big mountain ambitions

In foyer of the charming Auberge De La Maison — a rustic lodge nestled in a maze of cobblestone streets at the base of Mount Blanc in Courmayeur, Italy, an unveiling was underfoot. A black box sat on the cobbled wood floor of the dimly lit room, beside a roaring fire in a stone hearth. In the box was the first major boot innovation from SCOTT over the past decade. The Alps, a long-standing proving ground for steep skiing mountaineers and the home of SCOTT, were the ideal setting for an introduction to the latest addition in the ever growing segment of freeride skiing: the SCOTT Freeguide carbon touring boot, new for 20/21 .

Let there be no doubt, free ride skiing is having a moment. With the widespread embrace of Shift and Tecton bindings (with more innovations in beefier touring/freeride options underway), an emerging class of slightly heavier, stiff all mountain skis and a cultural pivot toward the pursuit of human powered big mountain skiing, ambitious ascents and descents are the focal point of many hard charging skiers.

SCOTT has long been a fixture in the touring boot world and the Freeguide builds on that reputation with a light (ish) three-buckle charger, its stiffest, most performance oriented touring boot yet. I was able to get my hands on the boot during a recent SCOTT event in Courmayeur. Unfortunately they did not have preproduction sizes small enough for me to ski it, so I instead got to pull it apart and ask questions to the folks behind it. Here’s the scoop.

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Hoji Pro and Free, Not So Identical Twins?

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson
Free on the left. Visually similar with one glaring exception.

Free on the left. Visually similar with one glaring exception: Hoji Free has a DIN shaped toe while Hoji Pro boasts the much touted and ever reviled Speed Nose.

Side-by-side comparo of the Hoji Pro and Free

“Twins; God’s way of saying one of you is a rough draft.” I’m not sure the human twins I know would appreciate that little meme, or perhaps it is “twin humor” I don’t quite get? In any case, I thought it applied nicely to gear with similar names and designs, and our constant struggle to parse out the differences. In this case Hoji Pro and Hoji Free ski touring boots. Is there a rough draft in the pair? Read on.

First, if there is any endless issue with ski boots, it’s “last width,” that ethereal non-standard way of explicating a boot’s roominess on your foot. Free is noticeably lower volume, both in width and height. In fact, Free has an entire refrigerator less volume, much less than the numbers would indicate. It’s specified as a 102 mm last (verified by Skialper magazine Buyer Guide 2020), while the Pro is listed as either 103 or 103.5 (depending on your source, and measured as 103.5 by Skialper). Let’s be generous, and say the difference is a Godzilla sized 1.5 millimeters, or the width of 15 sheets of average printer paper (yes Virginia, I measured). Or more practically pictured as a boot fitting project: 4 layers of Gorilla tape.

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La Sportiva Skorpius CR — First Look Review

by Doug Stenclik
written by Doug Stenclik
New for 2019-20, the La Sportiva Skorpius CR

New for 2019-20, the La Sportiva Skorpius CR

Skorpius CR: A touring boot with race ambitions

What’s in a name? The new Skorpius CR from La Sportiva gives the impression that putting on these boots will turn me into a transformer in a superhero movie. But, would Skorpius be the hero or the villain? Hero, we should hope though I suppose villains have their place on the podiums of randonee races as well as anyone else.

Potentials of good and evil aside, the claimed 1000 g (though we weighed as 1185 g) Grilamid/carbon constructed boot could in fact transform the average ski tourer into a randonee racing machine. Or just a more efficient ski tourer. That is, after all, part of the boot’s intent. La Sportiva calls the Skorpius CR “a lightweight touring boot for general backcountry skiing” that’s also suitable for the dabbler in randonee races. The boot shares the same shape and geometry as Sportiva’s 2018 Solar (Stellar for women) with the upgrade of carbon reinforced cuff and shell. With a 68 degree range of motion, it’s clearly oriented to efficiency uphill, but gets an upgrade in stiffness (rated 100 vs. 90 for the Solar) to accommodate heavier, more aggressive skiers on the down.

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