Ultimate alpine TOURING boot?

Lowell, very interesting, thanks. But do you think they really tour (i.e., skin) that much better than the TLT4? My understanding was that the lower/softer/flimsier upper cuff on the MLT (relative to the TLT) was more for climbing, rather than skinning. With the TLT4 in tour mode and the top buckle completely open, doesn&#8217;t that provide sufficient range of motion for skinning?<br>And the buckle you retrofitted in just on the lower shell, right, to get a better fit? The wrap-around upper cuff still has just laces, but you *decreased* the height of the rear cuff behind that?<br>(Sorry for so many q&#8217;s, but kinda hard to envision w/o a pic.)<br>BTW, I&#8217;ve heard that swapping in a typical thermoflex liner unfortunately hurts the skiing performance significantly, since it doesn&#8217;t have the same rigidity as a traditional sewen liner.

Jonathan,<br><br>You might want to go back and read some of the previous posts in this thread and, particularly, look at the drawing on page 1.<br><br>As I think I explained previously (maybe not) the key difference between my modified boot and a TLT4 is the ability to flex the ankle backward (i.e. point your toe). This is a very real difference when you are touring on low angle terrain. It makes no difference when you are climbing steadily. I appreciate this difference on ski traverses and cross-country tours.

Yes, I did, but I just wanted to clarify what is still on the wish list vs. what has actually been implemented (which appears is everything but the bellows - pretty hard to retrofit that!).<br>I never really thought about how much the rear cuff on the TLT4 (even when fully unbuckled and in walk mode) interferes with a full xc stride, but then again, it has to be a drawback compared to my Salomon Raid, and even more so compared to a xc classic race boot (which would be the ultimate benchmark for tour-ability). Sounds like what you've achieved with the rear cuff interference is something roughly halfway in between the TLT4 and the Raid.

Dynafit MLT users, how is the MLT as a mountaineering boot? For french pointing, front pointing, walking? I don't really care how they ski. I am wondering about getting a pair so I can use my dynafit binding mounted touring skis as approach skis and save weight over a set up with my plastic mountaineering boots/silveretta binding/touring skis. I would stay away from the MLT's if they compromised mountaineering perfromance relative to my Lowa Civetta plastic boots.

Dynafit MLT users, how is the MLT as a mountaineering boot?  For french pointing, front pointing, walking?

<br><br>With the modifications described in this thread, my MLT's walk about as good as my Scarpa Invernos. They probably don't flat-foot as well because the ankle is stiffer laterally. I have not used them front pointing yet but they should be fine for that. I took the MLT liners out and put my Inverno liners in. They walk better that way because the MLT liners have a spoiler.<br><br>If you're planning much rock climbing or scrambling, they may not be the best choice because you may gouge up the Dynafit sockets. The sockets would also be a hindrance if you ever tried to jam the toe of the boot in a crack or something--they might be slippery.

ajjenkin took some video last Tuesday while we were skiing at Mt Baker. I was giving my customized MLTs another try. Due to my dialup connection (sloooow) I haven't looked at it. But Tony suggested I post it here to illustrate skiing in mountain boots.<br><br> www.angelfire.com/folk/ajjenkin/DSCF1657.AVI