Contributions by nate.beckw1256279 (1)

Only drawback to this boot is the lack of a rocker sole. I can get over that because I'm more likely to wear tennies and pack the boots during the hiking season. As for touring, once you unlock the pivot and a few buckles, these boots were just a flexible when compared side-by-side (one on each foot) with a pair of Megarides. You can make a stiff boot flex, but you can't make a flexible boot stiff - and a stiff boot rocks for the variable backcountry snow conditions here on the Front Range. So far, so good. I matched these with some Naxos - a binding so well pivoted you hardly even need an AT boot anyway. My fit was 1 finger between the heal and the shell with my toes just contacting the front - and I'd say that's about perfect. The thermomold thing fixes the rest. A few shops wanted to put me into a 1.5-2 finger kind of fit, but in the end I think that kind of fit is more appropriate for an alpine boot with no thermomold. Feels way too tight before thermomold, perfect after. My toes do contact the front with a little pressure when touring, but boots too loose, after packing out, can produce "hammering" of the front toe, which is much worse.

Only drawback to this boot is the lack of a rocker sole. I can get over that because I'm more likely to wear tennies and pack the boots during the hiking season. As for touring, once you unlock the pivot and a few buckles, these boots were just a flexible when compared side-by-side (one on each foot) with a pair of Megarides. You can make a stiff boot flex, but you can't make a flexible boot stiff - and a stiff boot rocks for the variable backcountry snow conditions here on the Front Range. So far, so good. I matched these with some Naxos - a binding so well pivoted you hardly even need an AT boot anyway. My fit was 1 finger between the heal and the shell with my toes just contacting the front - and I'd say that's about perfect. The thermomold thing fixes the rest. A few shops wanted to put me into a 1.5-2 finger kind of fit, but in the end I think that kind of fit is more appropriate for an alpine boot with no thermomold. Feels way too tight before thermomold, perfect after. My toes do contact the front with a little pressure when touring, but boots too loose, after packing out, can produce "hammering" of the front toe, which is much worse.