Skis well, tours ok

By Mark Parrett November 14, 2011

Last year I was on the Scarpa Mastrale and I have never toured in a boot that does so well on the uphill, but the Mastrale was 1) too narrow for my foot and 2) really, really soft for the downhill. So, I went to the Quadrant this year. Strengths are the ski mode - this boot comes pretty close to most companies' freeride touring offerings, but it is a bit lighter and has a bit more articulation for the skin track. I have no problem driving really big skis with this boot. The tour mode is just OK, however. Unlike the Mastrale or the Dynafit TLT, you can't open these up and feel like you're wearing tennis shoes on the hike up. For me, most tours are less than a half day so that was ok. Also worth noting is that the stock liner in this boot is absolute junk. I really hated it and thought I hated the boot until I threw an intuition Protour in there, which stiffened the boot and provided for a much better range on the walk up.

View Details: Black Diamond Quadrant Alpine Touring Boot - Men's

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