equipment

ISPO Report 2018 | Ski touring boots & bindings

Innovations for downhill-oriented ski tourers

by PowderGuide • 01/30/2018

As in previous years, there are many technical innovations in ski touring boots. More and more manufacturers are coming onto the market with ever lighter models that are still very suitable for downhill skiing. One of the most interesting new models, the Hoji Pro Tour from Dynafit, won an ISPO Award but could only be admired in reality to a limited extent due to the lack of a Dynafit stand.

The bindings were a little quieter this year, and the most interesting innovation was also missing here. As Salomon (like its sister company Atomic) is also not exhibiting at ISPO this year, the promising new "Shift" was unfortunately only represented as the winner of an ISPO Award.

Bindings

Almost everyone now has pin bindings on offer. However, as the largest manufacturer (Dynafit) and the manufacturer with the latest craze (Salomon) are not represented at ISPO, there is little to report here.

As numerous manufacturers now rely on the "Grip Walk" standard for shoe soles, binding manufacturers are fortunately also following suit. For example, the popular Look Pivot 14 is now available with a Grip Walk-compatible toe instead of a WTR toe.

As already mentioned, Salomon was not represented and the Shift was only on display at the ISPO Awards. The Salomon Shift is the first market-ready binding in which the pins are only used on the ascent and the boots are held by binding jaws on the descent, similar to an alpine binding.

BAM

We were of course a little disappointed when we didn't find any series bindings at the BAM stand, but somehow we almost suspected it. The guys are "on it", not much is missing, and who knows, maybe we'll even get a test binding from PowderGuide before the end of this season. We will definitely let you know when the friendly start-up company starts series production and will keep our fingers crossed until then.

Marker

With the completely newly developed "Alpinist" pin binding, Marker is taking a step further in the direction of ascent-oriented ski touring. As the "counterpart" to the Marker KingPin, the Alpinist is intended to score points with its low weight (245g without stopper, 335g with stopper), numerous features and high robustness. The Bavarians use a high proportion of long-fiber carbon for the toe piece in order to achieve the best possible stiffness. The rotatable rear jaw impresses with two climbing aids (5° & 9°), a 15mm adjustable length adjustment, vertical and horizontal release options and the option to ski in flex mode with a "real" 0° incline. In long, flat passages, this is a big advantage compared to other pin bindings. The 38mm wide bore pattern of the front jaw is identical to that of the KingPin and enables good power transmission to the ski.
The Alpinist will be available in two different versions: DIN 4-9 and DIN 6-12. The crampons (sold separately) are identical to those of the KingPin. Marker quotes a retail price of 300€. You can find out more about the binding in our PartnerNews.

Fritschi

The Swiss company continues to rely on its freetouring bindings "Vipec Evo 12" (pin front and rear jaws) and "Tecton 12" (combination of pin front jaws and rear jaws, which engages in the inserts but has no real pins). Compared to last year, however, there were no major innovations here either.

ATK

A completely new binding was on show at ATK: With the 280g (incl. stoppers) lightweight "CREST", the Italians are launching another lightweight pin binding on the market, which, similar to other models from this manufacturer, is reduced to the bare minimum and is more suitable for speed tourers. The ski stoppers are available up to a width of 120mm and are already included in the scope of delivery.

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Ski touring boots

In recent years, most of the innovations in ski boots have taken place in the ski touring boot sector, and this will not change next season. The manufacturers are expanding their range of touring boots, and there were also some interesting models for the readers of PowderGuide, who are normally more downhill-oriented.

Dalbello

After Dalbello presented a whole range of Lupo models last season and promoted them heavily in a large-scale public test, the boots remain unchanged for 2018/19.

Dynafit

An interesting boot from Dynafit is coming next season with the "Hoji Pro Tour". Not only is it only necessary to flip a lever to switch from ascent to descent (and vice versa), thus eliminating the need for conversion - we also find the low weight, especially in relation to the stiffness, and the innovative solution for blocking the walking mode, which should prevent any play in the blocked state, interesting. The ISPO jury also took a similar view and awarded the Hoji Pro Tour the ISPO Gold Award, although the boot was not exhibited at ISPO and we were unfortunately unable to take a closer look at it.

Fischer

Fischer follows suit with the Ranger Free in the "freetouring" segment and presents a stiff touring boot with tech inserts in the weight class of comparable models from other companies. The Ranger Free weighs 1540g and has standard features such as a Vibram sole and a well thought-out liner. The last width is 99mm. There is a harder model with a flex of 130 and a slightly softer model with a flex of 110. The walking mechanism, which is activated by moving a lever on the side under the top buckle, is technically interesting. We have already seen the Ranger Free being used by a few Fischer athletes and the feedback so far has been consistently positive.

Full Tilt

It's been a long time coming, but after several years of development, Full Tilt presents the "Ascendant", the first boot with walk mode. Similar to the Dalbello Lupo, the tongue can be removed for the ascent. The Ascendant is very downhill-oriented, which is also underlined by its weight, which can no longer be described as ultra-light (by today's standards), but here too, experiments were carried out with different materials in order to save a little weight compared to pure alpine boots. The boot, which makes a robust impression, is based on the newer shell shape that is also used for the Descendant and should therefore also have a 102mm last width.

Lange
Lange will release a Richard Permin special model in the well-known XT series, which is specified with a flex of 140. This means that they are at least ahead in terms of hardness in the area of boots with ascent mode.

Rossignol
Rossignol is relaunching the "Alltrack" series, which has rarely been seen in our latitudes to date. In future, the models will finally come with tech inserts, and they have also lost some weight without sacrificing downhill performance.

Scott
At Scott, the S1, which barely made it onto the market this season, will go on sale next season. The innovative concept remains interesting and we are looking forward to the first practical tests.

Tecnica
Tecnica has given the successful Zero G series a comprehensive update. The top model is now called the Zero G Tour Pro. Carbon is processed in the upper of the boot using an injection process, making the boot both stiffer and lighter (weight now 1320g). The walking mode has been completely revised and is now reminiscent of the systems used in the Atomic Backland or Arc'teryx Procline. In addition, there is now a continuous Vibram sole (the previous model had a recessed area in the middle) and revised buckles, which should be even easier to use. The Velcro strap on the shaft has been replaced by a somewhat higher-quality version with a kind of ratchet closure.

The smaller siblings of the Zero G Tour Pro are the slightly softer Zero G Tour Scout and Zero G Tour models. Apart from the carbon mix on the shaft, they have the same features as the Zero G Tour Pro. The women's models Zero G Tour Scout W and Zero G Tour W are the equivalents of the men's models mentioned above. In the women's models, the shaft end is designed slightly differently and the inner boot is particularly adaptable in the calf area to accommodate the typically slightly lower, female calf base. There is no women's version of the "Pro" model, as apparently not enough women buy such a stiff shoe. Perhaps it's a chicken and egg problem?

The downhill-oriented Cochise series remains unchanged apart from a revised powerstrap.

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ISPO Report 2018 | Ski

PowderGuide • 01/28/2018

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ISPO Report 2017 | Ski touring boots and bindings

Lorenzo Rieg • 02/05/2017

As in previous years, a number of innovations from the booming ski touring sector were presented at ISPO 2017. Both the "classic" ski tourer and the "modern" freetourer are addressed. And the ever-growing sector of piste tourers and ski tour racers will also be provided with new equipment. We took a look around the trade fair and provide an overview of new ski boots and bindings that will be of interest to freeriders and downhill-oriented ski tourers.