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Stiff "Freeride" /Touring boots

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Having always used stiff (flex 130+) race boots (Course falcons, Dobermans, currently Atomic CS130) I am considering compromising for a little comfort and am thinking about buying either some Scarpa Typhoons or Black Diamond Factors.

Having tried them on in a shop the Scarpas fit my feet better, but they both still feel pretty soft compared to what I am used. Does anyone know how much they stiffen up in the cold and how responsive they are to ski?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
m938 wrote:
Having always used stiff (flex 130+) race boots (Course falcons, Dobermans, currently Atomic CS130) I am considering compromising for a little comfort and am thinking about buying either some Scarpa Typhoons or Black Diamond Factors.

Having tried them on in a shop the Scarpas fit my feet better, but they both still feel pretty soft compared to what I am used. Does anyone know how much they stiffen up in the cold and how responsive they are to ski?


I ski the Tornado pro as my all in one boot. - Not they Typhoons but bear with me.

I am 6'1" and around 88kg at the mo, i ski quite aggressivly when i am "going for it" and am comfortable on all runs and terrain - less the really icy blacks.

I think the boots are great they suit my needs which is everything from crusing downs the runs slowly with my 6yr old in tow to hammering down trying to get my cranked over in the turns and are simply ace in the soft stuff.

The boots arent the stiffest AT/freeride boot out there but they are "stiff" - i cant compare them to any other boots sadly as these are the only boots that i have owned - having had a break from skiing and hired before that.

You get 2 sets of tounges with the boots - the soft white ones for touring and the stiff black ones for "freeride" - i use the black all the time. The white tounges are very soft and there is huge ammounts of flex - so i guess they do exactly what they are supposed to. When the boots have the black tounges fitted there is a huge difference, much much stiffer.

The boots are responsive enough to be able to feel and tell exactly what is going on underneath and are stiff enough to provide all the power to do what i want. They stiffen up a degree in the cold - but there is allways that feeling of slight forwards flex when you are really pushing it. The forwards flex is only really noticable when you are pushing it, latterally there is no apparent flex.

The construction of the Tornado Pro is similar to that of the Typhoon in that its not an overlapping design and the tounge pivots above the toes and has all the flex at the ankle joint. I followed the Typhoon pre release bumf etc last year and decided against getting them as a stiffer option as it seems to me that Garmont have it sewn up in AT/Freeride Stiffness dept. There is masses of comparison charts and data out there relating to the various flex ratings and comparisons between the various boots - TGR is a good place to start:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78437

There isnt much in it, Typhoon/ Tornado Pro the BDF's appear to have the edge - another comparison is here:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140428

The Tornado Pros are very comfy and first thing in the morning when everyone is struggling to pop their boots on its simply unclip pull push and pop they are on Smile

Tis about it really. Hope it helps.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
m938, if you do a search, there were a couple of threads about this around Nov/Dec 08 time
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I have Scarpa Spirit 4s. They are great for touring but do sometimes feel a bit soft when skiing aggressively. I use the black tongues all the time. CEM showed me some work he was doing on some Spirit 4s to beef up the flex. Looked pretty interesting for downhill, but I'd be concerned that it would cost some comfort when skinning.

My alpine boots are Garmont Shamans which I am very pleased with flex-wise.

Me: 6'3 90-95kg (depending on how many pies i have been eating)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks all will do a bit more research

Incidentally those Garmont Shamans...?
Are they not just a version of the old Nordica Grand Prix shell (maroon version circa 93-94) with a vibram sole stuck on? They look almost identical...
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m938, don't know about that - don't have a good enough knowledge of boots! they are a pretty simple design which suits me - not a fan of too many unnecessary bells and whistles
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
m938, Only thing wrong with my Endos is the walk mode... which should be a two way thing... on or off...and not a two stage lean in ski mode. Otherwise, the strap and the carbon backbone can make the boot pretty stiff, IMV...

They say it is like a 90 flex.... but when that strap kicks in..I just can't see that at all.... not in a million.. Puzzled Puzzled

G-fit is great so no probs..great buy
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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!
The original Nordica GP RT (which it looks like Garmont might have bought the mould for) was a classic stripped down 4 clip WC boot with zero whistles and bells.
Just tried to Google an image for comparison but can't find one. Probably find a picture of a pair on a 1994 olympic racer...
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m938, I bought the Dynafit Zzeus. They are certainly no less stiff than my old Salomon Rush 9s and fit my narrow feet better than any boot I've ever had. The effectiveness of the walk mode has transformed my comfort. So far they seem ideal for me as a wannabe powder skier who chickens out to the piste Wink
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Lange Banshee Pro 130 ? Surely a great boot if you have the right feet. Vibram sole too.
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m938, Nope, completely different boot, designed by the guy doing all the good work with Dynafit on their current range.
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