Excursion Boot Modifications ?

[Salto]

Thanks for discussion. I’ll report back on tinkering. I have the exclusions and they are worth dealing with in most harder snow for the flex and comfort on the up.

Here are pics from Wednesday typical tour on this gear.l to liven up this thread.

[lowangle al]

It looked like a good day to stay below treeline and let em rip. There is a lot of fun to be had below tree line.

I've been skiing that same set up this season. Did your skis come mounted with the X2s, mine have the regular SB.

[Lhartley]

Thanks for discussion. I’ll report back on tinkering. I have the exclusions and they are worth dealing with in most harder snow for the flex and comfort on the up.

Here are pics from Wednesday typical tour on this gear.l to liven up this thread.

Hey Salto, did you get these ultravector\x2 from that large lot on ebay by any chance?

[Salto]

Yes, I think they came from that lot through an eBay seller. I sent them a message and asked for a discount. Got them about 15% less than advertised price. Not bad. They are sun faded and rust on edges and bases, but doubt they saw any skiing. Bases were perfect and spring cartridges did not have a single scratch. I am happy with them.

[JB TELE]

I agree that the T2s offer a lot more downhill control. If the OP is dealing with wind blasted alpine crust, he could also consider getting a skinner ski. I've skied voile hypervectors with t4s and that combo was too wide with those boots for firm snow. If he can find some of the old k2 telemark skis with a 70 waist, those work pretty well for firm snow. They are a lot more stable than most of the XCD skis that people like on here. There are also some brands making ultralight backcountry downhill skis with 70-80mm waist widths. Going skinnier makes the skiing a bit more challenging and its not any better in weird variable chunky and breakable crust snow, but you can get them on edge and hold them on edge on firm snow with t4s or even stiff leathers. That would result in a setup that is much better in touring performance than t2s with wide skis. Unless you are skiing rock hard wind crust and then descending into deep powder in the trees. That has happened to me a few times, its really hard to pick a setup for that.

[satanas]

FWIW: I hated the T2X (too heavy, stiff and restrictive) and tried to soften the forward flex by fitting an Excursion tongue; it sorta worked but I still didn't get on with the boots. Then I tried fitting a taller, stiffer tongue and a rear spolier to the Excursion, but doing this did nothing to fix the lack of lateral/torsional stiffness on wider skis; it did make touring clunkier though.

The best lightweight solution that gives good control that I've found is a light AT boot with a carbon cuff.

[Salto]

Howdy.

Yes, my surplus skis came with the x2. It’s a bit more active than the hardwired I have skied in the past.

Hi got out on some old crappy snow over the weekend on month pass. Last snow was two weeks ago. Great unconsolodated snow on top if you could find fresh lines. Where previously skied it was frozen chunch. Boys performed pretty well. The taller stiffer liner is a game changer and revitalized these boots. They may not be perfect on tuff snow, but tgey do. They are so comfortable and light on the up, I’m gonna keep giving them a shot.

I got miedjo and evo’s for when I know I’m skiing steep.

The ultra vector X2 and excusions are getting the call for a hit trip tomorrow!

Merry Christmas, Jefe