New Nordic touring boot?
- bgregoire
- Posts: 1511
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
- Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
- Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
- Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
My Crispi guess:
Lofoten is the more "downhill" version of the Nordland
jus as the
Svartisen is the more "downhill" version the Stetind.
Lofoten is the more "downhill" version of the Nordland
jus as the
Svartisen is the more "downhill" version the Stetind.
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM
- Johnny
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2256
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
- Location: Quebec / Vermont
- Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
- Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
- Occupation: Full-time ski bum
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
??!?!?!lilcliffy wrote: 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...!
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
- Johnny
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2256
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
- Location: Quebec / Vermont
- Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
- Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
- Occupation: Full-time ski bum
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
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 wrote:Or should I just get a replacement Alaska?
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
- lilcliffy
- Posts: 4114
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
- Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
- Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
- Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
- Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
Well that is quite an endorsement my friend! Hard to ignore!Johnny wrote: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 wrote:Or should I just get a replacement Alaska?
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
- Johnny
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2256
- Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
- Location: Quebec / Vermont
- Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
- Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
- Occupation: Full-time ski bum
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
Sadly for me (and my credit card), I will never be able to go back to leather boots weighting more than 725g...lilcliffy wrote:Well that is quite an endorsement my friend! Hard to ignore!
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."
- lilcliffy
- Posts: 4114
- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
- Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
- Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
- Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
- Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
- Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
I contacted Crispi about these two boots a couple of years ago.bgregoire wrote:My Crispi guess:
Lofoten is the more "downhill" version of the Nordland
jus as the
Svartisen is the more "downhill" version the Stetind.
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...
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
- bgregoire
- Posts: 1511
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
- Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
- Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
- Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar
Re: New Nordic touring boot?
Interesting! Thanks for that info. Make the Lofoten that much more interesting!lilcliffy wrote: 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.
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.
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM