Gear Review | La Sportiva Skorpius CR

First impression

The boot is of course very light and its construction initially looks almost like a ski touring boot. However, the high-quality and not really ultra-lightweight liner, for example, shows that the Skorpius is definitely aimed at normal ski tourers. Another interesting feature is the locking mechanism that fixes the shaft in downhill mode. Here, the lever is closed sideways and thus remains very stable despite its simple construction, meaning that movement of the shaft is practically impossible in downhill mode. Adjusting the front buckle by moving the cable in the shell takes a little getting used to - certainly not something you want to do at the summit. Careful adjustment of the boot at home is therefore recommended.

It is also worth mentioning that the Skorpius fits into the Trab TR bindings by default, making it one of the very small group of ski touring boots that can really be used with any touring binding. Furthermore, the Skorpius' carbon-reinforced shaft is made entirely from bio-based plastic - to my knowledge, this is not the case with any other ski boot.

Testers and test conditions

I'm a good 180cm tall and weigh about 75kg. I ski a lot, mostly on ski tours. I'm mainly interested in downhill skiing, so I almost always use wide skis and relatively stable boots. I usually use the Scott S1 Carbon or the Scarpa Maestrale RS, but I also have a Scarpa F1 in my wardrobe, especially for long spring tours. I mainly tested the Skorpius on a Downskis CountDown 104 L with Dynafit Radical 2.0. I've been testing the boot since Christmas and have completed almost all my ski tours with it since then. At first it was mostly settled powder, which unfortunately turned more and more into hard snow. Recently, however, there was some fresh snow again and so I was able to test the boot in real powder.

Descent

Of course, it was to be expected that the Skorpius would do well on the ascent, but things get more exciting on the descent. Especially with rather wide and long freeride skis, the lightweight should be challenged.

Overall, the boot performs really well here. In good, even snow, i.e. powder, firn or evenly hard snow, it works really well and I hardly miss my heavy freeride boots. The boot provides good control over the skis and also allows a fast skiing style. The flex is not incredibly hard, but very decent for such a light boot and above all quite even. The only thing that takes some getting used to, at least for me, is the relatively upright angle of the boot, which can only be adjusted to a limited extent.

The situation is somewhat different with more unpleasant types of snow, such as uneven crusts, heavy, damp snow or even broken harsh snow. Of course, skiing here is generally less fun, but it is precisely then that I notice the somewhat softer nature of the Skorpius. I still make good progress down the mountain, but it does get tiring. With the Skorpius, I simply have to use a lot more strength to get the ski round the corner in difficult conditions than with my Scott S1, for example.

Conclusion

The boot performs well on the descent, but with difficult snow, wide skis and tired legs, you have to realise that it is a light and ascent-oriented model. But the ascent is really good.

All in all, a boot for very ascent-orientated freeriders who are usually out and about in good snow quality. Alternatively, of course, for more ascent-orientated ski tourers who ski narrower and lighter skis.

Advantages & disadvantages

+ Lightweight
+ Great on the ascent
+ Decent downhill performance
+ Good inner boot
+ Inserts suitable for trotting
- somewhat awkward adjustment of the lower buckle
- Relatively upright shaft with limited adjustment options

Details

RRP €579,-

• Pebax®-Shell™: Made from super lightweight Pebax® Rnew® bio-based with carbon reinforcement to reduce the overall volume and weight of the shoe while maintaining structural solidity. Close-fitting and high-performance shape. Resistant, even at low temperatures and excellent flexibility

• Pebax® cuff: Pebax® Rnew® bio-based upper, reinforced with carbon and exceptional flexibility of 68° for maximum freedom of movement. Fast and safe movement in any situation is guaranteed. The removable spoiler allows the angle of movement to be additionally adjusted

• EZ Flex™ Overlap Tongue: Shoe tongue made of Grilamid® with movement insert between upper and lower part and overlap system for a customised fit. The ankle has enormous freedom of movement on both steep and flat terrain

• 2BT Tech Last™: the anatomical inner shape sits perfectly on the foot and offers maximum comfort and precision

Here is the link to the La Sportiva website with further information.

The boot was provided to PowderGuide free of charge by the manufacturer for testing. Find out how we tested them in our test statement.