I bought a pair of these to do both downhill and touring. I did not realize that they didn't have a rockered sole. When I got them, I was like "so what?" But on my first outing with them into the backcountry, I realized how uncomfortable a non-rockered sole is for walking in anything but soft snow. These boots are heavy, too. I would more or less classify them as a downhill boot with a walk feature, not a real AT boot.

This boot is good, but it took some learning and getting used to. First, alot of people think this boot puts you way in the backseat automatically. Most of these people often aren't aware that they are in the rearmost of two foward lean settings which are adjusted by leaning forward or back with the switch in walk mode, and then locking in. If you are in the back position, you feel like you're standing almost straight up, and can never seem to get forward. In the front position, this boot has a similiar forward lean to a tecnica race plug. With a .5cm lifter under the heel you can achieve a downright racelike stance. The only problem is that with the boot in the forward position the boot is noticeably softer, esp at warm temperatures since the stiff tongue won't provide as much resistance. In cold temperatures however (as with many other boots), this thing is impressively stiff... I feel it is comparable to a the 130 race plug from tecnica (bu I also have a booster strap on my tornado pro)

a few words of caution about sizing: it's hard to know if you have the right size with this boot until it's baked. Im a 27.5 in most boots, and the 27.5/28 (same shell in the tornado btw) felt way too small unbaked, so I went with the 28.5 tornado. After baking it felt good, but now it's starting to get packed out. I feel like I could have achieved the same comfortable fit with the 27.5/28 after baking but wouldn't be packing out quite as quickly... but then again my feet are always warm even on -20 degree VT/NH days in these boots, probably because of the extra room... so proceed carefully here; maybe go big for comfort and warmth, or small for a more performance feel... if you go big I feel like you won't get the same edging ability because your foot will swim in the boot a bit more.

finally on the uphills do yourself a favor and just take the tongue out completely (don't even bother with the touring tongue). if you go to the hassle of changing the tongue between tour and ski, just keep the ski tongue in your pack, and tour tongueless. by doing this I've been super comfortable and in control while skinning mellow skin tracks or climbing hairy mixed ice/rock/steep snow. it's a bit of a pain to get the tongues back in, but a pain i think is well worth the effort.

all in all, i like the boot. it would be 5 stars if it had dynafit compatibility even considering the wierdness/learning curve i described above.

Revisiting my earlier review, after many more days on these boots. Bottom line, heavy and uncomfortable for touring, too soft and not enough forward lean for the down. This is really a flimsy touring boot without the benefit of a good walk mode, lace up liner, and rocker lug sole, it tours bad. For the down, it not stiff enough, and will always put you in the back seat. Everyone I know that has these thinks they're too soft. Everyone I see skiing them is in the back seat. They might fit well in the shop, but they perform poorly.

First off, know that these boots run large. I wear a 10.5-11 street show, a 27.5 in head alpine boots, and I had to get the 26.5 in this Scarpa. My first impression skiing these boots in bounds was "holy crap I can't get out of the backseat"... It was scary, even with the forward lean adjusted all the way forward.
After some research (no thanks to the manual) I found that these boots have a walk, and TWO forward lean positions. You must be flexing the boot hard forward while flipping the switch, to lock into the forward position. After finally getting them dialed in I found them acceptable in terms of lean. Even with the stiff tongue they are, not nearly as stiff as my head rs100 with intuition liners, and this demands a different less aggressive type of skiing. For touring, I found the softer touring tongue to bind and bite into my shins, so I have to leave the stiff tongue in for touring.
Note that this is my first pair of AT boots, and I come from a racing background, so take that into consideration.

I ordered a pair of these and before I even took them to the slopes I noticed a tear in the black plastic flap that attaches the lower buckles to the boot shell. Since sending these back to BC (who, by the way, were superb with making the return) I've noticed this same design on other Scarpa boots. I will never buy a pair of Scarpas that has this design [flaw]. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that Scarpa, whose products are generally stellar, manufactured such a weak piece of plastic on a pair of their $600+ boots. I went for the Hurricanes instead and have been incredibly satisfied...if you've got the few extra bills, go up a notch.

Never having been a skinny skier I didn't know what to expect with Scarpas. Much to my surprise I couldn't tell the difference between them and my Technicas. Great comfort and exception responsiveness. There was a learning curve on the forward lean: Take the liner out, turn the screw to the max, and watch the gizmo move. That being done mold the liners, put in the stiff tongue and let 'er rip. These boots work great in my alpine Markers and so so in Dukes and Jesters. Out of the box the heel is just a little think, after walking in them it evens out. The walk mode makes the trek to the lifts pain free and skinning with the Dukes is a delight. Word to to wise: They are generous in sizing. I tried 28.5 as are my Technicas and went down to 28, could use a 27.5. Scarpas are sized on whole size differance in half size is all in the liner. Great product.