The Gist
A Krypton special, said our testers. Super light, super range of touring motion, super low on the leg, super thin liner, super up-hill oriented.
Fit
The fit in the lower is very trail-running shoe like. It’s close to the foot, light and thin, ready to go. Testers scored this as a mediumish fit with a slightly snugger heel and firm feeling boot top with a Spartan liner feel that didn't add much padding to the cuff. This boot is serious about going light and going far. Casual backcountry skiers may find this boot too ascent performance oriented.
The two-buckle closure utilizes the Ultralock 3.0 cuff buckle that closes the boot and simultaneously locks it into ski mode. Testers dug that, as they have in the past, but had a little trouble figuring out the integrated tensioning system on the lower instep buckle loop. A little practice time is required.
Performance
The range of motion and touring mode ease of movement was the best of the Backcountry boots tested. The Grilamid-powered lower had a stiff and reactive feel for the snow and was responsive to foot steering movements and quick in low edge angle transitions. Testers were less impressed with the boot's leverage and power to the edge. The Titantex (a metalized fiberglass material) cuff fit quite low on the leg and was not as transmissive of edging movements as other more descent-oriented boots in the group.
Cool Features
The Speed Nose toe design eliminates the toe lug, shaves weight and places the tech fitting pivot point a little closer to the foot's natural pivot point. It also makes this boot compatible only with tech bindings and also requires crampon users to employ a specific adapter.
Kudos
Caveats