Alpine Touring Gear

Have an urge to join the fast growing AT trend?  Check out a detailed look at some of the current offerings.

By AJ Johnson

La Sportiva Spitfire Boots

Like many AT boots on the market, the SpitFire is designed to excel in multiple areas. Light enough to be used for rando racing, it also gets the job done for touring when lightweight and speed is your goal.

To put the boot on, it is easiest to pull the liner out, put it on first, then slide into the shell. The liner itself has a single cord that starts at the foot and wraps around your foot so you can pull it as tight as you’d like. This liner is thermo-moldable, but even out of the box it felt comfortable for me. The shell is constructed of Grilamid.

Once in the boot, it is a matter of clamping down the two buckles, and cinching down the optional booster strap at the top. The bottom buckle tightens two cords across the forefoot. There are three positions to choose from to get the fit where you like it. The top buckle is a bit cumbersome to operate for the uninitiated. Involving a Velcro strap and cam, it requires some work to dial in, but once you have it dialed and have used it few times it becomes very easy to use. The key here is that this buckle, called the Cam Closure System also acts as the walk/ski mode. Rather than a lever at the back, simply undoing this top buckle puts the boot in to walk mode.

This is one of the lightest AT boots I’ve worn. My size 27.5 weighed in at only 1065 grams. With only two buckles there is little hardware to add extra grams. Using what they call the EZ Flex system in the tongue, which is made of Pebax, the boot has built in flex up front. While I did not get the opportunity to travel uphill in the Spitfire, simply walking around it exhibited plenty of flexibility.

But a boot has to perform on the downhill as well. Of course it doesn’t drive like a four buckle alpine boot, but for a boot this light it is surprisingly stiff. It has three settings of forward lean, 12, 14 and 16 degrees. Skiing on a pair of AT skis with 88mm underfoot, the Spitfire was plenty of boot to maneuver the skis around. You need to give it some extra direction and see each turn through its entirety so be ready to stay focused through each turn.

As randonee racing and backcountry touring gain popularity, the Spitfire will fill the niche of dedicated racers that venture into the backcountry for training and fun. It performs well at two seemingly opposite tasks of being light and stiff. Hats off to La Sportiva for thinking about the true use of this boot and the needs of the skier.

Black Diamond Factor Boots MSRP $770

Part of the Power Freeride series, the Factor 130 has received only a minor tweaking for this season. Which makes sense since it was a great boot from the start. The liners sport some new construction methods and the flex has been slightly modified, but other than that this remains a workhorse boot ready for anything.

These boots slipped on easily and I found instant comfort. The 102mm last gave me plenty of room through my forefoot. In the back, the Factor has a narrow feel that holds your heel in place nicely. Out of the gate I was impressed, but for even more specific fitting, the liners are moldable. The power fit liner has plastic reinforcement in the tongue and is the stiffest offered by BD. Once in, the BOA closure system takes care of cinching everything down. A 3 to 1 closure system wraps everything around your calf. Dialing in the feel is so simple and easy you can’t go wrong. Once in, four buckles and a top power strap lock you in.

On the snow these boots excel. Every movement is transferred into motion with precision. The increased forward stiffness from the Triax Pro Frame means the Factor is a boot that responds with minute input. Need to carve a high-speed arc? No problem. Hitting a mogul run and need to keep it short and quick? Sure. Getting bumped around in the crud, these boots will drive you right through it. I rode a pair of 102mm underfoot skis in varied conditions and at no point did I need more boot. If you like to ski big skis, I mean 120mm and up, this won’t leave you wanting more. Skiers can adjust the forward lean between 14 and 22 degrees to let you fine-tune your ride. I had mine set up with the alpine blocks, but there are tech fit binding blocks as well.

For side country excursions or a short tour to some great snow, the Factor 130 offers plus and minus 10 degrees of motion in walk mode. That’s just enough to get you where you need to be. At nine pounds even for a size 27, they are lighter than they look and are within in the range of reason for a boot in this category.

The side country is calling and you need the gear to access it then perform in it too. The Black Diamond Factor 130 is designed specifically with that in mind. An amazing combination of fit, comfort, stiffness and range of motion, it’s a boot that can truly do it all.

Black Diamond Verdict Skis MSRP $ 729.00

The Verdict has been in the Black Diamond line up since 2005 and after seven years it has only gotten better. From the start this ski was designed as the do it all ski - just light enough for some touring but also stiff enough for the occasional inbounds day. It still provides the same versatility, just in a new and improved package.

There is no shortage of technology poured into the Verdict - and for good reason. If you want a ski to do well in all conditions, it’s going to need plenty of features. A full-length camber, semi-rocker tip, new construction method, lightweight paulownia wood and Titanal sheets all come together to make this a versatile and fun ski. My pair was 180cm and had dimensions of 134-102-121.

Skiing inbounds on a cloudless day with constantly falling snow I encountered packed snow, icy patches pocked with soft piles, poorly formed moguls and a few turns in dust on crust. In each of the conditions the Verdict was up to the task. I found it especially adept at busting through crud at high speeds. The 102mm underfoot provides a big enough platform to drive through and the semi rocker tip never felt floppy as it plowed ahead. For the backcountry skier, this is perhaps its best trait. You never quite know what you’ll find on your tour, so having a ski that can plow through rough patches is key.

When carving the packed runs, the upturned tip made turning easy to initiate while the full camber made each turn predictable and smooth. Not every day has you breaking trail to reach fresh powder, some days are spent on hard pack or groomers. That’s not the end of the world, and the ABS Sidewall lets you put these on the edges and slice down the mountain at will.

Another key for an all-around ski is having the right mix of stiffness and flexibility. A key component to its performance in the crud is the firm feel through the entire ski. The Verdict now uses a new construction called 3-D Metal Sandwich. Titanal sheets (used only in the Verdict and Zealot) are machined into the ski along with three layers of fiberglass, each oriented differently. On the snow, this gives the Verdict a fluid feel and quick but predictable feel. At higher speeds while curving long turns these planks exhibited a smooth and progressive manner. Helping dampen the ride is a layer of rubber under each edge. Hitting the occasional bumps there is enough flex that I wasn’t thrown around or jolted. At 102mm underfoot it should float in reasonable powder, unfortunately my testing it was limited to edge-deep powder, so I can’t report on the Verdict’s pow performance.

The weight is kept down by the use of a paulownia wood core. At 9lb 8oz for the size 180cm I was on, it certainly isn’t the lightest ski on the market. If you are as concerned about the down as you are about speed the weight penalty is worth it. Heck, you could ski this inbounds and not be giving much away to a dedicated resort ski set up.

If you like to get out in all sorts of conditions but don’t have the pockets for a full quiver of skis, check out the new Verdicts from Black Diamond.

Garmont Delirium Boots MSRP $ 769

Call it what you want, slack country, side country, or off-piste, but skiing what was once out of bounds has become more popular than ever. With that popularity has been a rise in the need for a different set of tools to access these sections of the mountain. Again, call it what you want, but the Garmont Delirium boot is one of the tools to consider for your excursions under the ropes.

The shell is a mix of Pebax and Polyurethane (PU). The PU sections are clear, giving it a different look without being flashy. Four buckles and a top cuff keep you bolted in. Adjustments are made by hook placement and twisting the latch to extend or retract it. The buckles, if damaged, are easy to replace with simple screws. My pair had the alpine sole installed, but it can be swapped out for an AT tech fit as well. This gives the Delirium an incredible range of usages. The ski/walk switch in the back puts the boot in the mode needed.

It took me a bit of work to get into my size 26.5, and I could probably done with a 27. I found that a bit odd as it built on a 103mm last. Likely this was due to the boots being cold. Still, I did cram my foot in and once my ankle was through I found copious amounts of room in the forefoot. Unlike many other boots that pinch my feet, I found my toes happily wiggling around. Through the ankle though, they felt tight. More so in the front along the shin while the heel didn’t quite feel snugged in tight. Up top along the upper buckles and cuff the feel is rock solid. The cuff is a bit taller than other boots, a feature that added to the comfort. The liner can be tweaked by a lacing system and is heat moldable for a custom fit.

After stomping into my bindings the Deliriums started performing immediately. Garmont claims the Delirium has a flex rating of 130, and I’m inclined to believe that. Going fast and carving tight lines, the Delirium won’t be the weak link in the chain. My set up had the alpine blocks in them, you can switch to a tech-fit block to work with an AT binding as well. While my skis were 90mm underfoot the Delirium can handle much bigger. The tongue has a smooth power transfer curve and is plenty stiff. My only complaint would be that my heel never slipped around, but it didn’t feel completely locked in either. This may not be the case for others as fit is very subjective.

While I didn’t get a change to do any touring in the boot, it will have a limited range. The price you pay for the stiffness and responsiveness for the down is a loss of performance while touring. Rearward flex is limited to roughly 90 degrees while forward flex is crunched by the reinforced tongue. The other penalty you’ll encounter is weight - these boots are heavy. If speed and agility is your goal, this is not your boot. If, however, you will be doing short tours to find epic snow and want something you can ski inbounds as well, the Delirium may be your best choice.

The Delirium is a boot that can perform in different conditions and meet the demands of just about any skier. The fit profile is a bit different with a lot of room in the toe but less through the ankle, but the liner can be custom molded to create a precise fit. For any skier looking for one boot to ride the front side and occasional side country excursion, look closely at the Delirium.

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AJ Johnson tries his best to put the multi in multi-sport. Growing up playing sports as diverse as soccer, running, BMX, tennis and running gave him a love of simply being active. After 10 years in Colorado where he trained as a professional triathlete, skied, mountain biked, hiked and generally enjoyed all the high country has to offer, he and his wife moved to southern California. Since then he has added stand up paddling and surfing to his repertoire.