New Nordic touring boot?

[bgregoire]

My Crispi guess:


Lofoten is the more "downhill" version of the Nordland

jus as the

Svartisen is the more "downhill" version the Stetind.

[Johnny]

I must say I am not crazy about them...
I would rate them as a significant step down from the Alaska in terms of support and power transfer...

??!?!?!
Of course they are not Alaskas. Alfa have 3 boot models stiffer than the Kikuts. Not sure why you were expecting the same support as the Alaska from a soft boot? Sole stiffness of the Kikut is 3/5, while it's 5/5 on the Alaska..

I can't tell how much I LOVE the Kikuts, so much that I am buying a second pair... But yes, they are quite cavernous, made for much colder climate than what we have here... (read thicker/more socks!)

I will never understand why people are always looking to go for the stiffest they can find... Did you ski them? They are simply *amazing*... "Yes, the Alaska is stiffer. But stiffer doesn’t mean better."

Cliffy, you should really try NTN, you would love it...!

[Johnny]

Or should I just get a replacement Alaska?

Personally, I would throw away ALL my whole boot collection, including my five pairs of Alaskas, for one single pair of Alfa Guard. This purchase was life-changing for me.

[lilcliffy]

Or should I just get a replacement Alaska?

Personally, I would throw away ALL my whole boot collection, including my five pairs of Alaskas, for one single pair of Alfa Guard. This purchase was life-changing for me.

Well that is quite an endorsement my friend! Hard to ignore!

[Johnny]

Well that is quite an endorsement my friend! Hard to ignore!

Sadly for me (and my credit card), I will never be able to go back to leather boots weighting more than 725g...

[lilcliffy]

My Crispi guess:


Lofoten is the more "downhill" version of the Nordland

jus as the

Svartisen is the more "downhill" version the Stetind.

I contacted Crispi about these two boots a couple of years ago.

I was told that the Lofoten is the Stetind with the added hardware.
The Svartisen is a different boot.
Gamme the Elder's test from UTE magazine confirmed that the Stetind and Svartisen were quite different.

The Lofoten is no longer posted on the Crispi site- I wonder if it didn't sell?

My impression is that the Stetind and Alaska would be quite similar in support and flex- however the Stetind has full grain leather to the top...

I really don't know which one to choose...I am drawn to try the Svartisen, but I don't know about the longterm durability of all the plastic straps...

Based on Gamme's test- the Stetind is more supportive than the Svartisen without the plastic straps...

[bgregoire]

I contacted Crispi about these two boots a couple of years ago.

I was told that the Lofoten is the Stetind with the added hardware.
The Svartisen is a different boot.

Interesting! Thanks for that info. Make the Lofoten that much more interesting!

I would not base the availability of a Crispi boot by the model shown on their italian website alone. I believe they offer different brands in different countries, or at least, not all distributors carry all the models.