Ultimate alpine TOURING boot?

Lowell, you might have to build them yourself.

<br><br>Yeah, this is mostly daydreaming.  Actually, I modified the Dynafit Mountain Lites I bought last fall to get part of the way there. I chopped off the spoiler, shortened the laces, and put the quick-cinch lace on the cuff. If I could scrounge up some buckles to replace the lower lace, I'd be quite satisfied. (The lower shell is so stiff that it's hard to tighten the forefoot using the lace.) The flexible bellows would be nice, but I can live without that. I'm pretty happy with my Mountain Lites at this point, but I can imagine better (hence this post).<br><br>I certainly understand what Jan is saying about being reluctant to forgo the spoiler. Like I said, the idea of this boot is to more evenly balance between touring and downhill performance. Most of the time, most alpine tourers today aren't looking for that. We want better downhill than touring performance and are willing to live with the results. But sometimes I get real pleasure out of slipping into a pair of mountain boots for a tour. It's like "Aaah, I can move in these..." The trick is that I have to descend slower and with less abandon.<br><br>With our modern, more shaped skis, using the spoiler is even less necessary than it was in the past. When you're on your feet on modern skis, there's no need to pressure the tail of the ski at any point in the turn. You really want to pressure the tip slightly. So the spoiler becomes a tool for recovering from mistakes--a very handy tool, I agree. But I think you can achieve the same level of control by just slowing down a bit.<br><br>Oh well--this is all just rag chewing on a rainy day when my son is home from school.  

Lowell, you can easily get buckles from Black Diamond. I imagine they'd be quite easy to install. <br><br>As for the F1 cuff lock mechanism, it can't be THAT hard to remove the aluminum lever and install a smaller lock system. Maybe just a plastic lever that prevents rearward movement, like on Scarpa's T3? If you have the guts to start drilling holes in a pair of $500 boots, I'm sure one could come up with something interesting.

Lowell,<br><br>Dave Page in Freemont put a pair of buckles on my Asolo leather telemark boots. I am sure he could put them on yours or give you the advice on how to do it yourself. He has made many such modifications.<br><br>Now that I have taken the plunge and bought Garmont AT boots this year, I read your post with great interest, because tourability and hike-ability in the current AT and plastic tele boots is one reason that I have stayed away from the plastic boots. I do have Scarpa plastic mountaineering boots and knowing how they walk, I could tell when trying to fit the ski boots years back that they would take a very distant second place. Also, seeing so many pictures from postings and descriptions of skiers carrying their ski boots has been very disheartening. <br><br>I fear walking the five miles to Ruth or the Rainbow in these boots, but time will tell whether or not I reserve these trips for my leather gear. I try to travel as light as possible yet maintain self sufficiency for a night or two stay out, if needed or planned. It bugs me that I might have to get a larger pack or carry a larger load just because I might have to carry an extra pair of footware.<br><br>I think that your idea is a great one, it just takes the vision of someone with the need and desire to do it. I truly believe that the boot market is primarily driven by the masses of those who will mostly use the gear at lift service sites (Shockingly this is most evident by the current telemark gear. Gosh the thought of people having to carry their tele boots on their back during the hike bugs the heck out of me!) On the other hand I do believe that a tourable/walkable boot is acievable that can ski well. If you get the formula right and pass it along to enough people who modify the boots to reach that goal, my guess is a boot maker might take notice. It seems to me that more flexibility in the typical hinge (including a liner that is not too stiff to interfere with the hinge) and a removable cuff/liner that integrated properly could do the job. I can imagine a cuff that telescopes up an inch or two in the downhill mode and then can be dropped back down in walking mode.<br><br>Alan

I try to travel as light as possible yet maintain self sufficiency for a night or two stay out, if needed or planned.  It bugs me that I might have to get a larger pack or carry a larger load just because I might have to carry an extra pair of footware.<br><br>...<br><br>On the other hand I do believe that a tourable/walkable boot is acievable that can ski well.  If you get the formula right and pass it along to enough people who modify the boots to reach that goal, my guess is a boot maker might take notice.

<br><br>A few years ago, two friends and I extended the Ptarmigan Traverse on skis from Dome Peak to Holden. Two of us used mountain boots and hiked down the Railroad Creek trail in them. The third skied in Dynafit TLTs and carried tennis shoes for five days just to avoid hiking out in his boots. If I had used regular AT boots I probably would have done the same. I hate hiking in them.<br><br>To be honest, I doubt that manufacturers will go out of their way to provide a really walkable alpine touring boot. There's negligible demand for them. I once thought that randonnee racing might lead that way, but I no longer think so. Rando racing is pretty much straight up and straight down. The racers don't spend enough time on low angle terrain to give an advantage to a really walkable boot.<br><br>This discussion has inspired me to tinker with my boots more. I called up Life-Link and ordered a pair of TLT instep buckles, which should fit my Mountain Lites, since the lower shell is the same. I'm sure I can find somebody to install them. I'll let you know how they work.

A walkable touring boot might well exist already. Have you considered something like this?<br><br> <br><br>Russel Rainey says they tour like a pair of Asolo Extremes (leather). <br><br>

<br><br>To be honest, I doubt that manufacturers will go out of their way to provide a really walkable alpine touring boot. There's negligible demand for them.

<br><br>I tend to agree. Most of the excitement in AT gear seems to be aimed at stiffer, higher, more descent-oriented footwear (ie Adrenalin) as most of the fresh market seems to be people looking to sacrifice little or no downhill performance with their touring gear. I hear of people all the time who are looking to "improve" the performance of MegaRides/G-Rides and Denalis/Matrices by adding stiffer tongues or riveting on extra plastic panels and who are amazed that I'm skiing mid-fat skis with F1's.<br><br>Edited to add: I had Jet Stix.<br><br>Edited again to add: Actually a removeable spoiler is not a bad idea.<br><br>