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Stiff Alpine Boots vs. Equivalent Freeride Boots - Could you feel the difference?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Would there be a perceptible difference when skiiing between a stiff alpine boot and a burly freeride boot with a walk mode?

E.g. comparing a Salomon S/Pro 130 with a Salomon Shift Pro 130?

And that would be for a solid skier with 200+ days on skis, but not for a professional etc.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@hold_my_biere, the biggest noticeable difference is when you try to drive a full race ski with a freeride boot, in fairness neither of those boots would really drive the race ski but the freeride boot will have a little less lateral stability because the cuff is not pinned to the lower shell by bolts, the freeride boot will for the same reasons normally come up a little softer in feeling of flex

honest answer is if you get the best fit for your foot then you probably won't even notice the differences
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thinking the same. I’m most definitely not a burly freerider but a 130 flex hybrid boot seems attractive for the decent walk mode for to and from the lifts, carrying the kids crap, whilst not being floppy and soft when skiing. Even if I’m unlikely to actually tour in it.
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@Flet©h, My partner just bought the Atomic Hawx Ultra 130. He is quite tall, but not particularly heavy and a decent skier and has been enjoying the new boots so far. The walk mode is apparently equivalent to when he's wearing snowboard boots, so that's a win, and he can tour in them if future purchases include some suitable skis.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Scarlet wrote:
@Flet©h, My partner just bought the Atomic Hawx Ultra 130. He is quite tall, but not particularly heavy and a decent skier and has been enjoying the new boots so far. The walk mode is apparently equivalent to when he's wearing snowboard boots, so that's a win, and he can tour in them if future purchases include some suitable skis.


I was eyeing these up with the BOA system. Like the look of them
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I've got a 130 flex Nordica Pro Machine, and just picked up the Hawk 130 XTD with Boa!

There's a difference in the flex feel for sure, but it's always hard between brands. Nordica is like a detuned race boot, Atomic is like a stiff pair of slippers! Very different feel but as they are not even the same brand, let alone category, it's hard to say for sure. Hard to explain as well - I laying down carves in the snowdome with no issues on the Hawks.

As for the Hawks, really comfy, walking in them (just around the snowdome and up the farmers field in 20mm of powder so far) is sublime and they are a joy. I wasn't sure about the boa, but since that shell is the best fit in that category for me I gave it a pop. Impressed so far, my usually problematic high instep is not causing issues.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@swskier, Yes, it's the BOA ones he has – his snowboard boots already have that, so he's used to the system and likes the small adjustments, even though they cost slightly more than the clip version. They didn't have it in the women's though, so no BOA for me.

@Diggery, I had to have some vertical adjustment in the Hawks, and the fitter said this was quite common but pretty easy to fix. See how you get on I guess – I was going numb in the shop, so it was obvious something would be needed.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
hold_my_biere wrote:
Would there be a perceptible difference when skiiing between a stiff alpine boot and a burly freeride boot with a walk mode?

E.g. comparing a Salomon S/Pro 130 with a Salomon Shift Pro 130?

And that would be for a solid skier with 200+ days on skis, but not for a professional etc.


FWIW I’ve got the Nordica Speedmachine 130 and bought the Nordica Stryder 130’s which are supposed to be essentially the same boot but with walk mode and Pins. I prefer the Speedmachine and hardly use the Stryders (but do also have the Zero G Tour Pros which are my preferred powder touring boots). But I don’t have to walk very far in the Speedmachines as we have a locker at the base station.
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Mrs U has the Lange XT3 130 which are apparently moulded on the same lasts as her prior race boots. She claims she can't feel any difference, except they're a lot lighter.
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The XT 130 is an amazing boot. CEM reliably informed me they're pretty close to a high performance piste boot with a walk mode as opposed to most hybrid boots out there. They sure inspire confidence when pinning it and they ain't bad at touring, either.
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Very different in feel although similar in stiffness to my spangly new Backland 120 XTDs.
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