Alfa Skaget Perform boot, first impression

[randoskier]

Well our package from Alfa with free DHL "express" shipping finally arrived after 8 DAYS! It has been in Italy for 6 of them! Don't get me started on Italy.....

These are my wife's boots. She takes a 6.5 women US size in street shoe, and she ordered the size 38 womens; which is the normal correspondence between Euro-size and her US size. This was based on Alfa's advice that stated order your normal size and if in doubt size down. They state they are sized to fit with thick socks on. Glad to have that advice from Alfa because she wears thick wool socks with a wool liner sock and would have ordered the 39.

The fit was absolutely perfect. This is a comfort oriented boot for long tours which is what it will be used for. It appears to be sufficiently stiff for tele turning in good conditions (which we almost never encounter up north!). She is replacing a pair of Crispi Svartisen 75mm boots that had good downhill control but were absolutely awful for long tours (20km+ x a few weeks), extremely uncomfortable boots.

Alfa (within Europe) offers free return DHL shipping for exchanging sizes or if you don't want to keep the product and wish a refund. That is a great policy.

This boot is light weight- 625 g (1lb 6 oz) each boot w/laces; on my kitchen scale. Her Svartisen boot is 917 g each, over 2lbs. So she is saving 292 g (10 oz) per foot Coupled with the Xplore binding this should be a killer lightweight touring set up.

We will not know for certain for sometime as we are waiting for Fischer to grace us with a pair of 169cm Excursion 88 Xtralite! Come on Fischer you can do it, come on boys....build those skis load 'em on trucks...drive!

Her initial impression: most comfortable ski boot ever. The stitching and perfectly seated tongue are typical of Alfa's high-quality workmanship.

The Xplore binding arrived in the same shoe-box but the binding box was ripped open (probably by the usual suspects- Italian Customs), it was all over the place, it seems to be all there though, screws fortunately in a plastic bag

We seem to be sending a lot of money up north to Norwegian companies this year, Rottafella and Alfa, ensuring Norway will remain one of the richest countries in the world (per capita) even after their massive oil reserves run out.

[Ira]

Thanks for posting this!

Is that the XPLORE version? How does the Alfa Skaget compare to Fischer BCX 675 (in size 39) and the Alpina Alaska 75 (size 40)? If I wear 39 for Fischer and 40 for Alpina Alaska, would the correct Skaget size be 39, or would it be 38 too?

Thanks!

[telerat]

I'll edit/copy my earlier impressions from other threads:
I have only experience with the Alfa Skaget and have tried on Alfa Guard in a shop. The Guard was roomier than the Skaget which fits me very well. I ordered both the size suggested from Alfa's chart and the size below (42 and 41) and kept the smallest (41). I can still use two pairs of socks in them, a Smartwool Trekking Heavy and Medium and get a precise fit. I'm not sure I could use much thicker socks or a thicker insole even if I sized up due to the lower height of the toe box, so if you want/need that or freeze easily, then perhaps the Vista is a better choice. The supplied insole is approximately 4mm thick in front under the toes where the volume is limited, while in the rest of the shoe I think the lacing can be used to adapt. The heel pocket is smaller than my previous boots (Asolo Morgedal) so I can feel some pressure on my heel, but it seems to work fine. The padding around the ankle joint felt excessive at first, but was nice in use. The shoe was sufficiently warm for me in temperatures down to -15°C.

The lacing on the Skaget is very good and I think it's easy to use, but I usually have no troubles lacing up any shoe. I really like the option to adjust tension both in the lower/front, middle/heel and upper/ankle. The lower is still quite stiff, so the very front seems harder to tighten up, but it's tight enough for me. I'm very happy with the boot as I think it has good support as well as good kick and glide performance, so fits my use very well. Alpina Alaska has not been efficient nor fun to lace up when I have tried it on, so I really appreciated Skaget. I don't remember which size Alaska that fit me.

[randoskier]

Thanks for posting this!

Is that the XPLORE version? How does the Alfa Skaget compare to Fischer BCX 675 (in size 39) and the Alpina Alaska 75 (size 40)? If I wear 39 for Fischer and 40 for Alpina Alaska, would the correct Skaget size be 39, or would it be 38 too?

Thanks!

Yes the Xplore version. My wife has not skied them yet but from simple observation- this boot has far less ankle support than an Alaska (I have the Alaska), and I am not familiar personally with that Fischer boot. I don't think the Skaget is downhill oriented more for long comfortable touring. It is really light and comfortable. She is still searching for her Fischer skis! I got mine today after a really long search!

[telerat]

My wife has the Alpina Alaska 75 in size 37 and it doesn't seem more supportive than my Alfa Skaget in size 41, but different sizes makes comparison hard. I will try on the Alaska again in a shop if I get the chance. The leather of the Alaska looks slightly thicker, and it also has a membrane and insulation, so the internal lining feels thicker and warmer. The leather around the ankle joint bulges out on Alaska to make place and feels sturdy, while Alfa has extensive padding internally and the leather is a bit softer, so there might be a difference. When laced up it feels quite sturdy and much better than my old full leather 75mm Asolo Morgedal while still retaining xc comfort. I'm still bummed that the Alaska XP became lower and loosing height and an eyelet on the shaft. I do hope that Alpina comes with a Xplore boot more akin to the Alaska Heat or Alfa Free. We'll see how the Alpina Pioneer turns out and if Crispi joins on Xplore.

The lacing om Skaget is a dream compared to Alaska, quick to tie and easy to adjust, and also possible to get so tight that my foot starts to tingle. I do prefer the rubber rand on Alaska as long as it stays put, to the lower sewn rand on Skaget.

My Skaget is much lighter (715 gr per boot) compared to her Alaska 75 (890 gr. per boot). The specs I have found lists Alaska 75 at 1075 gr. and Alaska BC at 975 gr. both per boot in size 42. I assume the weight difference is partly due to the steel reinforcement of the 3-pin holes. I think the listed weight for Skaget on Alfa's website is wrong (865 gr. in 43) and it should be quite a bit lower.

[randoskier]

My wife has the Alpina Alaska 75 in size 37 and it doesn't seem more supportive than my Alfa Skaget in size 41, but different sizes makes comparison hard. I will try on the Alaska again in a shop if I get the chance. The leather of the Alaska looks slightly thicker, and it also has a membrane and insulation, so the internal lining feels thicker and warmer. The leather around the ankle joint bulges out on Alaska to make place and feels sturdy, while Alfa has extensive padding internally and the leather is a bit softer, so there might be a difference. When laced up it feels quite sturdy and much better than my old full leather 75mm Asolo Morgedal while still retaining xc comfort. I'm still bummed that the Alaska XP became lower and loosing height and an eyelet on the shaft. I do hope that Alpina comes with a Xplore boot more akin to the Alaska Heat or Alfa Free. We'll see how the Alpina Pioneer turns out and if Crispi joins on Xplore.

The lacing om Skaget is a dream compared to Alaska, quick to tie and easy to adjust, and also possible to get so tight that my foot starts to tingle. I do prefer the rubber rand on Alaska as long as it stays put, to the lower sewn rand on Skaget.

My Skaget is much lighter (715 gr per boot) compared to her Alaska 75 (890 gr. per boot). The specs I have found lists Alaska 75 at 1075 gr. and Alaska BC at 975 gr. both per boot in size 42. I assume the weight difference is partly due to the steel reinforcement of the 3-pin holes. I think the listed weight for Skaget on Alfa's website is wrong (865 gr. in 43) and it should be quite a bit lower.

Size 37? My wife has a brand new (with tags) pair of Garmont Veloce plastic 75mm boots that are size 38 Women but were too tight for her size 38 foot- 500 kr. and I will be in Trondheim Vaernes Airport next month. If you have any interest let me know I will send you pics.

[telerat]

.. My wife has a brand new (with tags) pair of Garmont Veloce plastic 75mm boots that are size 38 Women but were too tight for her size 38 foot- 500 kr. and I will be in Trondheim Vaernes Airport next month. If you have any interest let me know I will send you pics.

Thank for the offer. She already has Crispi CXP that are a bit narrow in the top as she has a very large/wide calf muscle though, so a lower boot like Veloce or CXA/4 may be better. I don't think we're interested anyway, as she avoids piste skiing and has Excursion boots that she prefers for the little skiing she does on telemark equipment.

Regarding the main topic. I managed to test the Alfa Skaget, Guard, Kikut and Outback, Alpina Alaska XP as well as Alaska BC and 75 mm today side by side in a shop. My observations are: Skaget in 41 fits me, while in Alaska I need size 42. Alaska is narrower in the forefoot, and possibly slightly too narrow for me, while Skaget fits nicely. The inside of Alaska is more comfortable due to thicker lining, while Skaget is fine with thicker socks, but you can feel the hard outer leather in thinner socks. The shaft on Alaska feels more sculpted, has more uniform padding thickness and feels comfortable right away, while Skaget has thick/extensive padding around the ankle joint on the inside that feels a bit uncomfortable at first, but my experience is that it is nice in use. I have earlier stated that the Guard was much more roomy than Skaget, but that may have been due to me trying size 42. Kikut fit nicely in size 41, while they didn't have Guard in size 41 and the women's version in 41 was far too narrow for me.

Regarding support I was surprised to find out that in my size Alfa Skaget seemed to have some _more_ support than Alpina Alaska; The leather on Alaska (any version) deformed easier and more than Skaget, making edging of a ski harder. The sole of the Alaska XP felt slightly softer than Skaget when flexed on foot/floor, but both were much stiffer than the BC and 75mm versions of Alaska and the rest of the boots. The Xplore boots were less comfortable for walking around the shop, and thus for hiking I assume. This is getting close to a review, but I'll wait until I have a steeper and longer tour with the boots.

It was nice trying all the shoes and comparing in shop. I hope there will be an Xplore version of Outback, as well as some lower, even lighter Xplore boots with a softer sole for more xc oriented tours, as I think it is a more user friendly system than NNN-BC (if the durability is proven). Rottefella may try to market it as a higher performance system though to keep prices high, and thus consciously or not keep BC alive as a cheaper alternative. I think Xplore has the possibility to cover all NNN-BC use, as well as higher and more supportive boots for steeper skiing (xcd).

[randoskier]

Takk! Good info.

I am very curious if the Yeti Extrem insulated gaiter will fit on the Skaget and not interfere with the side of the binding. Hers are away getting re-randed in Britain because she was kicking steps on a sheer ice slope under an STF cabin which alleviated some frustration but does not help your gaiters or your duckbill...split the toe of the rand on one gaiter and they re-rand in pairs. Hope to have them back in a couple of weeks.

The Xplore binding is already selling (on-sale) for 109 EUR in Slovenia, but they will not ship outside of the Balkan countries. I think the retail price next year my be around 150 EUR everywhere in Europe. I thought about driving over and buying some but I will not change over to Xplore until next year. My wife got her Xplore from Alfa with her boots.

I had to get my wife's skis in Norway, quite a buying process- I found this year's model (Excusrion 88) on sale for 3500 NOK about 70 EUR more than in France (out of stock there), went to order it- they only take Klarna which is a Scandi-thing not many people elsewhere use it. Now I am buying it from another Norwegian webshop (these sites are mostly Swedish but use .no for Norwegian customers). I had to buy last years model at 3900 NOK! Looks like this will go through, but I have to send them to the Snaasa Man! They will not deliver outside of Scandinavia.

Looking forward to Trondelag. Hope the conditions firm up, my friend at Gjevsjoen sent me a video of his snowmobile crossing over to the Swedish side of the lake yesterday- there was about 20 CM of water and slush on top of the ice. What is the Norse term for water on the ice? -the water above the frozen ice