Boots Between AT and Mountaineering

Hi Booker,


_ You're right, they aren't "light", just lighter than everything
else available.

Well, sorry to disagree here, but they are far from being light. Over
the years I have owned quite a number of AT boots as they evolved and
the TLT4 is right in there with the heavier ones. For the same size
(E44), my clunky San Marcos that I bought in the mid 70s weighed
nearly the same as the TLT4s, that is 66oz. In contrast, my old
leather Munari lace up AT boots from the 60s weighed 44oz and they
skied well too! The Dynafit range acquired its reputation for
lightness with the TLT3 in an era when AT boots were like concrete
buckets;, Unfortunately the TLT4 reversed that trend when it gained
weight after Dynafit started to experiment with new trends rtrying to
beat finacial collapse. That they are marketed as super light is just
a stint of advertising. The MLT4 is genuinely light, but as you say,
it leaves something to be desired with the lacing.


I use the Loden liners in mine,

There is no doubt that Loden inners ski better, but they are heavy and
if they get wet can freeze up something awful. Also, as far as lacing
goes, there is nothing worse than having to tighten up a Loden inner
so that the shell can tighten sufficiently around the ankles,
especially in bad weather. A buckle up boot with a loose Loden inner
is very much less effective than a one fitted with a foam inner.

because I think they ski better than thermoflex ones. Thermoflex
liners are great for getting lighter boots, but I do think they
give up some support compared to more traditional liners.

You are quite right. The Loden inners are tightened with laces and add
an additional and significant degree to the support, always provided
that they are tightened adequately before the buckles are (tightened).

Maybe I just don't expect much of mine, but I'm always pretty
impressed
with how well they ski.

They are very comfortable. If one can ski competently, then almost any
boot will do for AT, lateral supposrt, comfort and weight being the
principal determinants. I have skied with Swiss guides who used
nothing but Koflach mountaineering boots and their style was
flawless, equally in junk snow as on ice as on powder. But one thing
is for su The less boot one has, the harder the legs have to work
and the better the technique has to be.

_ Power straps suck, Buckles rule...

No question about that - That is why I think that their latest racing
boot is worth a second look. But as far as lacing goes, there is
nothing worse than having to tighten up a Loden inner so that the
shell can tighten sufficiently around the ankles. A buckle up boot
with a loose inner is very much less than satisfactory and this is why
I went over to foam inners.


From what I can see I think they compromise the skiing side
too much for my taste. No cuff lock and a velcro strap.


Unless carrying heavy packs, and skiing with heavy long skis, those
features can be dispensed with. Rando racers use skis so short that
only 5yrs ago they would have been considered inadequate, on their
boots they often remove the tongues for weight saving!

I think that for real AT,as opposed to off-piste skiing, the most
important attribute of a boot is to provide lateral support for
controlled edging. Everything else is secondary. Nice to have, but
dispensable, otherwise we be all touring in our heavy DH recreational
boots.


_ My primary use of these boots is for peak bagging in the spring
which generally involves climbing lot's of relatively low angle
hard snow with crampons before the sun rises, waiting on top for
the snow to soften and skiing back down.

Same here. There is some powder skiing also, but active glaciers are
treacherous places with powder and decent mid-winter weather is
scarce.

I've never tried much dirt/rocks walking
with them, but even plastic ice climbing boots aren't much fun
for that.

Glacier rubble walking is no fun in anything! In the days of leather
boots, they used to wear through the toe welt/stiching after a few
tours. The standard remedy in those days was to epoxy and fibre-glass
over the toe caps and try to get a little extra life out of them....


In general I think that if the conditions will let
you get away with it[1], you're better of carrying your boots
than walking in them.

Yes, many do that.

Cheers
Craig