Lots of Pros, but also some cons

By Jonathan S. Shefftz Ranked #11 - Alpine Touring Boots August 29, 2009

Pros:
-- Extremely light.
-- Bellows help a bit for skinning and general tromping around.
-- Stiff enough for skiing on a wide range of conditions, albeit with a skilled skier on reasonably light skis.

Cons:
-- The need for a bellows shim complicates the use of ski crampons. It can be done, but you need to put more thought into what kind of shim system you're going to use.
-- For me, personally, the lack of a forefoot buckle combined with my low-volume foot means that I can't get a very tight fit.
-- Although the combo walk/ski switch and upper cuff buckle is kind of neat-o, and saves oh-so-valuable seconds in rando races, if it breaks on a multi-day expedition, ya got problems...

What I've therefore done with my pair is totally strip them down to make them pretty much the equivalent of this pair:
http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorgear/Scarpa-F1-Race-Alpine-Touring-Boot/SCR0092M.html?RSC_ID=WR_SCR0092
As such, the skiing performance is way worse, but with rando race skis, they're good enough. (Pic is skiing August untracked powder on Rainier's Paradise Glacier.)

View Details: Scarpa F1 Alpine Touring Boot

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes | 0 No