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gear reviews

Gear reviews | Fitwell Backcountry Boot

scarpe italiane!

by Patrick Wehowsky 03/01/2017
Alongside classic snowboard boot manufacturers such as Deeluxe or Northwave, the Italian company Fitwell, known for its mountaineering boots, was long unknown in the snowboard sector. This changed abruptly about 4 years ago when the first pictures of a crampon-compatible snowboard boot from Fitwell made the rounds in the relevant forums.

Why - some readers may justifiably ask - is there only one test to read now? One answer is: The ways of marketing are unfathomable and sometimes come to nothing. Another, more functional answer is: Because the boot is one of the few snowboard boots that has a proper mountain sole and has pretty much everything a touring boot needs.

First impression

Wow, the boot feels high-quality. The zebra look may take some getting used to at first, but you soon get used to it in everyday use. Very good quality at first glance, you can tell that someone knows their footwear trade. To be honest, that's what I expected - if the Italians can't do it, who can? The first time you put them on your feet, you start to doubt whether you're really serious about snowboarding. You feel like you're standing in concrete. Phew, this is by far the hardest snowboard boot I've ever worn.

Tester and test conditions

I'm 173cm tall, weigh 70kg and have been riding splitboards for a long time. I have used the Fitwell both in the area and on (multi-day) tours. From broken snow to artificial snow slopes to the beloved powder, everything was there in terms of snow. I have uncomplicated feet about 27 cm long, which normally leads to shoe size 27 or 42. With Fitwell, I have a size 28, which can be problematic with larger shoe sizes.

Test report

The shoes weigh approx. 1400 grams per shoe in size 28 and are therefore on the heavy side in terms of weight. Heavy duty, so to speak. With a different inner shoe - more on this below - I get 1300 grams per shoe, which is acceptable.

Outer shoe
My shoe has a sole length of 295 mm in size 28. The lacing (normal laces) works without any problems, the hooks in the upper area are easy to lace up (hooks are not bent too far) and the clamp blocking for the lower shoe area does what it should.the workmanship is first class and no real signs of wear can be seen even after approx. 40 days of use. The white stripes in the zebra look have turned a little yellow due to a few muddy expeditions - who cares? Otherwise, everything is piccobello.

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Inner shoe
The inner shoe also has a high-quality finish. It is also one thing above all - as hard as steel. I made a short video to illustrate the flex behavior in comparison to a ski touring liner and an old Deeluxe liner to demonstrate the hardness.

Fit
Apart from the enormous stiffness, the boot fitted me well right from the start. After the first one or two tours, I sometimes had blue shins and blisters, but I thought that would go away with time. In addition, for whatever reason, I slipped around with the inner shoe in the outer shoe, which I've never had in any other shoe before.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the problems didn't go away over time, which led to me using a different inner shoe on a trial basis. BINGO! From now on, no more blisters, no more slipping and great flex behavior. When analyzing my problems, I noticed one aspect, at least as far as the blue shins are concerned: The original inner shoes finish at almost the same height as the outer shoes and also have a very hard finishing edge, which results in an unpleasant "edge pressure". The other inner shoes I used were significantly higher, so these problems no longer existed here.

I often wore the shoes with my Salewa basket crampons and the shoes fitted much better in the crampons compared to my previous shoes. The stability was "mountain shoe-like". I have not personally been ice climbing with them, but there are pictures on the World Wide Web that prove the - limited - suitability in this mountain sports segment.

Ascent characteristics
On the ascent with the splitboard, it is noticeable that the edge hold is significantly better due to the firm shoe and the torsion-resistant sole. Long steps are almost impossible with the Fitwell, as the back of the boot is relentless. In principle, you could also ride it without a highback, I'd say.

In combined terrain, the boot also impresses with its strong grip, decent climbing capabilities and a good fit for crampons. Not to mention the qualities on slippery valley station stairs....

Downhill properties
"It's all about the down" says the softbooter to the hardbooter and means the incomparable softboot feeling downhill. The Fitwell Backcountry in its original configuration (with Fitwell liner) is clearly too hard for me and therefore painful. With all other liners, however, the downhill feeling is good. I personally don't mind the higher stance due to the Vibram sole compared to other snowboard boots. I then used the Fitwell not only on tour but also in the area due to its good flex behavior with the new liner.

Conclusion

With a different liner, the Fitwell Backcountry is an easy-to-ride, high-quality snowboard boot that can confidently cope with all the demands placed on it by the high mountains. It is in its element both in combined terrain and with crampons.

If you are looking for a stable, durable touring boot especially for alpine projects, the Fitwell Backcountry is the right choice. Although it is slightly heavier than standard snowboard boots, its durability and good climbing performance make up for this by far.

Advantages and disadvantages

+Durability
+Quality of workmanship
+Vibram sole
+Easy lacing
-Innersoles very hard, didn't get softer even after a few days
-Weight

Details

Weight: 1270g per shoe (manufacturer's specification for size 42) - Reweighed 1400 grams
Mondopoint sizes = EU 26.0 = 39.5 | 26.5 = 40 | 27.0 = 41 ½ | 27.5= 41 | 28.0 = 42 | 28.5 = 43 | 29.0 = 44 29.5 = 44 ½ | 30.0 = 45 | 30.5 = 46 | 31.0 = 46 1/2

Here is the manufacturer's website with further information.

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

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

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