great boot

By Debbie Ranked #17 - Alpine Touring Boots February 4, 2009

FIT: My foot is very average, probably a bit on the narrow side, especially through the heel. These boots have a good fit -- like the Salomon Idol 8. The salesman told me that BD had Salomon make the boots for them, but who knows if that's true. I have to say the fit feels almost exactly the same. The boots are wide in the toe box, but this is a plus for a couple reasons -- your toes have some room so they don't get as cold, and also there's plenty of room to place a toe heat pad in there. I wear a 7.5 and took a 24.5 in these. Another feature that sold me on these boots is that they're cut a bit lower, maybe an inch shorter than other boots. That fits a woman's calf muscle MUCH better. Many boots are really only smaller versions of men's boots and they rise too high for a woman's calf muscle. These are significantly better and make walking easier.

FLEX: Easy for walking, yet solid when you lock them down. Two lock-down settings at 17 and 21 degrees, flex rating is 100. They feel stiffer to me than other Randonee boots, but I'm not sure they're 100 - that seems a bit high because I can flex them okay and I'm used to an 80 flex boot. One thing that makes these easy for walking and skinning is that the boot liner has a wire lacing system. You can "tighten" it like a shoe string via a single little rachet knob on the side. This allows you to totally loosen the liner when you're walking or skinning, and contributes significantly to the good flex -- great design feature!

SKI MATCH: Since they are a more solid Randonee boot, I would recommend a heftier ski to match. Most of the Randonee-Tele skis are thin and flimsy for lighter weight while touring. These boots are similar to Alpine downhill boots so I paired them with a Salomon Lady Freeski and Marker Baron binding. It's a little heavier set-up, but I'll tell you, my downhill control is outstanding -- it's like I'm on alpine skis. It's perfect for skinning up groomed areas for an aerobic workout -- the descent on groomers and icy snow is well-controlled. The strength in these boots is a good match for a more solid ski or a larger, wide powder ski.

CONSTRUCTION - buckles are firm and solid, not flimsy like many boots.

OVERALL: really a great boot. I'm very happy with them.

View Details: Black Diamond Shiva Alpine Touring Boot - Women's

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