Saas Fee mini-report

Ace wrote in
:

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 12:52:39 GMT, Greg Hilton wrote:

The question isn't so much about fit, but about the pros and cons of
touring boots or similar - I know many guides, including some of the
ones that can ski, use touring/mountaneering boots all the time, but
I'm not sure if it'll ruin my skiing.


Ah ok! Your shells are 7 years old, past few years they have been able
to keep lateral stiffness in boots for carving and added soft plastics
in other areas, so maybe modern, step down from race boots would suit
you now?

Some additional info there, ta. Pretty much what I was thinking, but
didn't know about construction changes. Still tempted by some of the
touring-type options, mind.


I missed the beginning of this thread, so sorry if this is irrelevant or
has already been said, but since I ski in touring boots it may be
helpful...

THere's quite a range of possibilities, basically trading weight against
stiffness. I use Scarpa Denalis, which are amongst the stiffest (and
heaviest) randonée boots, and I find not a huge difference in control
from downhill boots. When I got them I thought I'd be using them
occasionally, but I never went back to the downhill boots afterwards.

Pro: obviously, if you want to ski fulltime on a touring setup (I do),
there you go. Plus they are incomparably more comfortable than downhill
boots for walking around, climbing, etc. They're lighter to carry as
well.

Con: a little less control than downhill boots - I found I adjusted in an
hour and never noticed the difference again, but if you're a racer your
experience might differ. You have to be aware that they have Vibram
rather than a flat area on the sole for the AFD (this is less of a
problem as more bindings have a movable AFD), and the toes are too high
for some bindings (a few years ago Salomon Driver were OK, Rossis were
not); these last two points are significant if you rent skis.

Jeremy