MissySki
Angel Diva
So this past weekend I participated in a women's intro to backcountry clinic put on by the New Hampshire chapter of the AMC and SheJumps. I had a fantastic time, despite the horrible rental equipment I was in. My boots were 2 sizes too big, and this made for some terrifying lack of control on skis that were also lackluster rentals. Now I want to do more, but I do NOT want to rent equipment again, especially boots! I have a pair of Rossi S3 skis that used to be my east coast powder skis, but I recently replaced them with the Black Crows Camox Birdie so I think they would make a nice light ski to mount for some backcountry exploration. I also have a pair of brand new, but a few years old, Marker F10 bindings. I figure this will be a great low cost way to start out since I already have these pieces and I don't intend to do anything crazy where I think weight needs to be of utmost importance. This is simply to allow me to get into things more, see how much I like it, do an avalanche safety class with gear I feel comfortable on, etc.
Keeping in line with this thinking, I feel that a hybrid boot would be best for me versus a touring specific boot as I'd like to keep downhill performance high on my priority list. I tried the Lange XT 110 LV Freetour boot yesterday, and it fit really well. Perhaps too well? It is super similar to my current Lange boot, which is an aggressive fit. This might fit even snugger than my current boot because it is specifically low volume. IT all felt great except my toes felt a little more crunched, but this is likely because I didn't have my footbed support. Obviously we could blow out the toes a little regardless. It meets all of my criteria, and had no pain points outside of the little bit of toe squish, let me articulate my ankle a lot in the hike mode, and has the same BSL as my current boot which would be great in case I ever wanted to ski it in any other ski I own for some reason. It has alpine soles, so would be compatible with all of my current bindings, but can also use in a more AT specific binding if I went that way in the future as well. One of the shop guys said he has my alpine boot and also the Freetour as his AT boot and loves the combo, he says they ski downhill almost exactly the same so you keep the performance.
BUT do I want my AT boot to fit so snugly??? I tried a size up and it felt comfy like a slipper, but way too big above my low low instep and let me heel lift as well.
I'm just concerned if having such a performance fit is what I want and/or need in the backcountry, or if it will be a battle with making sure everything is dialed in REALLY well to avoid pain that's much more of an issue out of resort in the middle of the woods. How do you all fit your boots for hiking? I also tried on a Fischer touring boot that was a total no go, had hot spots all over .
Keeping in line with this thinking, I feel that a hybrid boot would be best for me versus a touring specific boot as I'd like to keep downhill performance high on my priority list. I tried the Lange XT 110 LV Freetour boot yesterday, and it fit really well. Perhaps too well? It is super similar to my current Lange boot, which is an aggressive fit. This might fit even snugger than my current boot because it is specifically low volume. IT all felt great except my toes felt a little more crunched, but this is likely because I didn't have my footbed support. Obviously we could blow out the toes a little regardless. It meets all of my criteria, and had no pain points outside of the little bit of toe squish, let me articulate my ankle a lot in the hike mode, and has the same BSL as my current boot which would be great in case I ever wanted to ski it in any other ski I own for some reason. It has alpine soles, so would be compatible with all of my current bindings, but can also use in a more AT specific binding if I went that way in the future as well. One of the shop guys said he has my alpine boot and also the Freetour as his AT boot and loves the combo, he says they ski downhill almost exactly the same so you keep the performance.
BUT do I want my AT boot to fit so snugly??? I tried a size up and it felt comfy like a slipper, but way too big above my low low instep and let me heel lift as well.
I'm just concerned if having such a performance fit is what I want and/or need in the backcountry, or if it will be a battle with making sure everything is dialed in REALLY well to avoid pain that's much more of an issue out of resort in the middle of the woods. How do you all fit your boots for hiking? I also tried on a Fischer touring boot that was a total no go, had hot spots all over .