Flex

The red herring of touring boot features. Many feel that they need the stiffest boot as possible for their needs. Whilst this is somewhat true for heavier / taller skiers who prefer to drive fatter / heavier skis at speed, a lot has to be said about the nature of the flex.

When talking about flex, we have to bring in the buzzword of the ski boot world – progressiveness. This term represents a flex that starts off relatively soft, then ramps up the deeper you flex into the cuff.

Boot plastics used within the boot has a big influence on the nature of a boot’s flex; heavier plastics like pebax and PU offer a markedly improved flex over that of lighter weight carbon fibre, which is frequently identified by a ‘brick wall’ feel to the flex. As always, there are always trade offs to be made in an effort to balance weight with performance.

Walk mode

We’re frequently seeing ski touring boots being compared to slippers, or walking boots Although these comparisons could be seen as a slight exaggeration, we get where people are coming from when they make these judgements – ski touring boot walk modes really have come a long way in the past few years.

The walk mode is simply how the boot disengages itself from a locked-out ski mode, to allow for free cuff mobility. We’ve stated the cuff mobility of each of the boots reviewed in the roundup. This is always a good indicator for how well the boot walks.

Sole

Typical downhill ski boots favour a fully-plastic sole unit. These plastic soles offer minimal friction between the boot / binding interface. This lack of friction becomes a problem on ski touring boots, where you can expect to be walking around icy / rocky features in order to reach the top of your descent.

This is where touring boot soles come into their own. Many boots come with a full Vibram (other brands are available) rubber sole that’s able to give you traction through this terrain, while other soles have a rubber / plastic mix that allow them to be compatible with alpine bindings featuring “Grip Walk” certification.

Binding Compatibility

All of the boots we’ve featured in this roundup feature pin inserts. This means they’re compatible with all the pin bindings featured in our ski touring binding roundup.

The Best Ski Touring Boots

• Head Kore RS 130
• K2 Mindbender 130
• Dalbello Lupo Pro
• Dalbello Quantum Evo
• Dynafit TLT X
• Lange XT3 Tour Pro
• Roxa RX Tour
• Salomon MTN Summit
• Scarpa 4-Quattro XT
• Tecnica Zero G Peak

Dalbello Lupo Pro

Flex: 130
Last: 98mm
ROM: 67 degrees
Weight (per boot): 1,835g (uphill), 1,990g (downhill)
Price: $799

Why we chose the Dalbello Lupo Pro: Maximum power, decent walk mode (without tongues), race-like last

MORE INFO

Look at the feet of some of the riders in the Matchstick Production hit movies and you’ll most likely spot a pair of electric blue kicks. These, the Dalbello Lupo Pro, offer some of the highest levels of performance of any freeride touring boot out there, while still packing a pretty respectable walk mode: one that’ll certainly get you to the top of some far-flung ascents, with energy left in your legs.

This is largely thanks to a three-piece design that’s been designed to provide a smooth progressive flex and also giving you the option to pull the tongue out for increased range of motion while hiking. With performance in mind, it’s also worth noting that the Lupo Pro comes with a pretty narrow last that provides fantastic levels of all-round foot hold. But, saying that, this won’t be anything new for the expert target market of this touring boot.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Dalbello Lupo Pro here

Dalbello Quantum Evo

Sizes: 24.5 – 30.5
Last: 99mm
Range of Motion: 65 ̊
Weight (per boot): 999g (26.5)

Why we chose the Dalbello Quantum Evo: Lightweight, efficient, innovative

MORE INFO

The Quantum touring boot range sits among a quiver of boots, produced by Dalbello, which perform at an impressively high level of all categories of alpine skiing. Providing ski boots for all levels – from beginner to expert and from the slalom course to the biggest booters in the park, and even the steepest of freeride terrain – Dalbello have made a name for themselves by crafting some of the finest kicks in the industry.

This boot is aimed at the skiers that want to crush vertical metres on long tours for the most part of the day, but also to crush flowing turns in the soft stuff on the way back down, without the hassle of fiddling between hike & ride modes in-between. This ski boot really is the full touring package, although they should maybe be left on the boot warmers if cruising local resort blues with the little ones.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Dalbello Quantum Evo here

Dynafit TLT X

Last: 101 mm
Cuff Range: 60°
Forward Lean: 15°-18°
Weight (per boot): 1,030 g
Price: £570

Why we chose the Dynafit TLT X: Efficient, lightweight, smooth 

MORE INFO

The TLT series has long been a staple in Dynafit’s range of ski touring boots. First produced in 2010 as the ‘TLT 5’, the TLT was one of the first touring boots to feature a single action ski / hike mechanism where a simple flip of the top cuff buckle releases the cuff while also entering it into ski mode.

This clever style lives on in Dynafit’s latest iteration of the TLT series, the TLT X. It has been totally redeveloped for this season, a move that has resulted in an extremely streamlined boot that looks set to be one of the best designed boots in the competitive 1,000 gram touring boot category.

Who Is The Dynafit TLT X For?

All of the above combines to produce a boot that’s extremely capable on the skin track. The single action ski / hike mode makes for really simple transitions without, thankfully, becoming an absolute menace on the downhill. Dynafit are really showing their experience in creating lightweight, yet capable, touring boots with the new TLT X. We like it a lot.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Dynafit TLT X here

Lange XT3 Tour Pro

Sizes: 24 – 29.5
ROM: 51 degrees
Flex: 130
Weight (per boot): 1,646g (26.5)
Price: £450

Why we chose the Lange XT3 Tour: Powerful, close fitting, solid walk mode

MORE INFO

Coming with a 99mm last, four-buckle traditional design and a 130 last, the Lange XT3 Tour Pro has been designed with expert backcountry skiers in mind. The boots are more than capable of driving a wide range of skis at speed through all types of tricky conditions and, thanks to the addition of a decent walk mode, you’ve got the option to explore descents beyond the resort boundaries.

If you’re looking for a ski touring boot that’s as close as possible to a full-on alpine boot, then the Lange XT3 Pro should be at the top of your ‘must demo’ list. The combination of a close fit and high responsive shell construction blended in with touring-friendly touring features gives you a pair of boots designed to provide maximum comfort on all but the longest backcountry days.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Lange XT3 Tour Pro here

Scarpa 4-Quattro XT

Flex: 130
Last: 100 mm
Cuff Range: 61°
Forward Lean: 15°, 17° & 19°
Weight (per boot): 1,500g
Price: £650

Why we chose the Scarpa 4-Quattro XT: Four buckle, GripWalk, powerful 

MORE INFO

Scarpa joining forces with Bode Miller is a bit of a match made in heaven, isn’t it? On paper this combination is a pretty hard one to beat. We’re talking nearly 100-years of ski boot making heritage from Scarpa mixed in with one of the most successful American downhill skiers of all time.

One of the first products to come out of this partnership is the new Scarpa 4-Quattro XT. It’s a four buckle boot that brings together all the downhill knowledge from Bode (he’s known for ripping GS gates on an old three-piece Full Tilt boot) to create an extremely lightweight ski touring boot that upholds some best in class downhill performance.

Who Is The Scarpa 4-Quattro XT For?

In blending their boot making experience with the knowledge of Bode Miller, Scarpa has managed to produce a quiver killer boot that can do the lot. From big backcountry missions to laying trenches in the resort, you can be confident knowing you’ve got an extremely capable touring / downhill boot strapped to your foot with the 4-Quattro XT.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Scarpa 4-Quattro XT here

Tecnica Zero G Peak

Last: 99
Cuff Range: 75°
Forward Lean: 13 & 15°
Weight (per boot): 980g (26.5)

Why we chose the Tecnica Zero G Peak: Lightweight, efficient, downhill-capable 

MORE INFO

Salomon’s got the MTN Summit, Dabello has the Quantum Evo range and now, Tecnica has crafted this masterpiece of a boot: the Zero G Peak. 2022 certainly is the year for the downhill capable 1,000 gram (and, in this case, sub-1,000 gram) ski touring boot with many of the usually alpine-specific boot brands pouring their vast R&D resources into this quickly expanding ski mountaineering category.

So this is the new Zero G Peak. It comes in two different versions, the Zero G Peak Carbon and standard Zero G Peak. The difference between the two, as the name suggests, is the use of carbon in the cuff and an additional Recco reflector for the carbon version. We’ve got hold of the standard Zero G Peak, so let’s take a look at how Tecnica managed to get this downhill capable touring boot down to that 980 gram sweet spot.

Chosen for our Ski 100 – Take a closer look at the Tecnica Zero G Peak here

You May Also Like

The Mpora Backcountry Ski Guide

The Best Backcountry Skis

The Best All-Mountain Skis