Tecnica

Cochise 110 Light Alpine Touring Boot

Tecnica's famed for its stiff, aggressive, and high-performance boots, but it's tamed its hardcore impulses in the Cochise 110 Light Alpine Touring Boot. Tamed doesn't mean eliminated, though; while the Cochise has a Mobility Cuff ski and hike switch that offers up 23 degrees of cuff rotation for easy hiking and smooth skinning, it's still make with a snug and precise 100mm last, solid 110 flex, and stiff Triax 2.0 plastic that you can drive hard without worry. Triax is also super light, so the Cochise won't feel like an ankle weight when you're slogging up a long skinner.

You probably won't be slipping the Cochise on and off a lot during day-long tours, but Tecnica equipped it with a Quick Instep panel, a soft plastic piece right at the shell overlap that makes the boot easy to get on in cold pre-dawn parking lots. It doesn't affect skiing performance, though, with three buckles and a 45mm power strap to lock the Cochise down for precision and power. The Quadrafit Ultrafit liner can be heat-molded for increased comfort and a better fit, and a shock-absorbing insert in the heel helps smooth out rough terrain and take the sting out of hard landings. Tecnica also made the included tech soles easily removable, so you can swap them out for traditional alpine soles if you're going to be spending time ripping the resort.