 Poster: A snowHead
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I've been pondering new boots for a while... well, about 3 seasons at least. My old Langes finally gave up last season so I decided to invest this weekend.
Now, I had been thinking about cross-over alpine/touring boots such as the BD Factors, but in the end I decided to go for regular alpine boots and then consider getting "pure" touring boots for touring. So after stomping around Bartletts in a variety of footware for the afternoon I am now the very happy owner of a pair of Raichle Flexons (they say Full Tilt Classic on the outside, but they still say Flexon on the inside, and I kept calling them Flexons in the shop and they knew what I meant, so there:-).
So, this is fine, I have a fantastic pair of alpine boots and I'll buy a pair of touring boots at some point before the spring; I'm more than happy to do the odd short skin in alpine boots in the mean time.
Then I saw this: http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=73576 ... interesting... Then I tried on my new boots (for only the 3rd time today) and left the top buckles undone and I think they would go uphill without killing my feet. OK, the cables and the power strap flap about a bit so something would have to be done, but it seems to me they would work. So... my question(s)... has anyone toured in Full Tilts / Flexons? Do they work, or am I being a bit mental? And as per that thread above, has anyone dared vibramize a perfectly good pair of alpine boots - if so was it a wise choice?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sah, the legendary "Blurred" on TGR has actually modified his FTs to have a tech inserts for touring.
AT boots and Alpine boot are ALL a compromise in one way or another. If you are happy with the (slight) weight increase and the reduced range of motion over typical AT boots then you should have at it. I hear nothing but good things about their downhill performance.
Go do some more squats...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Nice! Thanks parlor, & altis. I'll put off buying the pure tourers then and give these a go. If they work OK going up I might have to look at getting vibrams on them too... not sure I'm going to go the tech route though. Tech bindings scare me a little bit to begin with, home made inserts is a step too far for me.
As for weight, I just checked on the kitchen scales (!), these are actually about 200g lighter than the BD Factors (per pair). OK, pure touring boots would be less, but the Classics are just under 2kg each which is pretty nifty (size 27.5).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Tour up to 1 1/2 hrs skinning/hiking on my FT Morrisons, no probs realy, they're certainly light enough compared to regular alpiners!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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sah, We Vibram up plenty of alpine boots and loads of Full Tilt/Flexon. No problem, just need to beware of binding adjustment, but with the right tools, nah bother.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, well, I'm in Chamonix in January, if I have time I might pop in... any idea of the price?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Wow, looks like a very neat job and that price is pretty good. I'll drop you a mail off line to book them in if I decide to go for it. Is there any benefit in doing them from new, or would it be just as easy to decide later after I've skied them for a while?
Out of interest, if the overall height is maintained at the DIN level can these be used in regular alpine bindings still, or is it touring setups only? I ski on touring bindings anyway, but from those photos it looks like the boots would fit in a regular binding if needed.
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We can mill them after for Alpine Din, usually we leave an extra 2-3mm for wear (disclaimer to be signed), if used, the Outsole can be re planed to clean to accept better the glue and Vibram. We're on a project with Vibram right now to build up a sweet after market Touring Sole for Alpine boots, prob not ready for a year or two, watch this space.
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