Getting into the boot is easy for me, I have narrow feet and wear medium-thickness to thin skiing socks, and the shell has a medium to narrow heel fit, a narrow instep and has a medium forefoot last. These problems came after moulding the liner twice and the shell once, by the way. Blisters are no fun, and while I happily bite my teeth together and continue to wear the boots I think I either will need to go with them to a good boot fitter (which, sadly, we don’t have in Vaasa) or try my hand at modifying the boot on my own and as it is made from Grilamid which tends to hold its shape once punched (unlike Pebax, another plastic which is often used in the construction of ski boots) that might be a good option too. Compeed helped in allowing me to ski the next few weeks, but even after the blister healed they were there again after a day of skiing on the next trip. But on my second ski-touring trip this year to South Tyrol and Salzburger Lungau, on the second day blisters appeared on the inside of my ankles. After hiking in Trailrunners for over seven years, climbing in Mountaineering boots for four and XC skiing in good boots since six years I haven’t had blisters anymore. There’s two things why I don’t love the boot outright: And that are the two blisters on my feet. There’s plenty of opinions on the Spectre - from people that really dislike the boot to ones that love it, and everything in between. My experience is based on skiing the Spectre with DPS Wailer 99 Tour1 Skis and G3 ION 12 Bindings. The Arc’teryx Procline Carbon Lite Ski Boot is lighter, but I haven’t used it yet. My Size 26.5 Spectres weigh with liner 1374 g, that’s 240 g for the liner boot and 1134 g for the shell. I haven’t been easy on the boots, and they have flown several thousands of miles across the globe in my Douchebag, skied and skinned thousands of meters, climbed ice in them and walked through town in them, and they still look good and only have minor scratches. The very low weight for a four-buckle boot is also a great achievement by La Sportiva. Additionally you can Micro-adjust the buckles for a perfect fit. The buckles on my other ski-touring boot don’t lay flat so these are definitely more convenient in use. The Pegasus Buckles, which are flat when open which means they don’t snag on stuff close to your feet, and can comfortably be worn underneath your pants, are great. In the box you’ll find besides the boots two optional laces which allow you to get a tighter fit of the liner on your foot, two insoles, a few patches and tools. 3 preset Forward Lean options: 10°, 14° and 18°.Normal Alpine Skiing boots miss the walk feature, and while you might be able to skin up short sections for serious ascents you want a ski boot with a walk mode.Īs told by La Sportiva, the Spectre comes with these features: The walk mode gives you freedom of movement for sliding the ski forward while you skin up, and the ski mode makes the boot stiff so you can transfer your power onto the binding and ski. It coming along to Lyngen next week, too! FunctionĪ ski-touring boot has two modes: A Walk mode for skinning up the mountain and a ski-mode to come down again. I bought the Spectre after much research last November from the Bergfreunde, and have used it ski-touring in Canada, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol since, all in all over 20 days. Happily I found after much research & pondering a boot which is light and performs great on the way up & down. But much unlike the light trailrunners I use from spring till autumn, in winter you need a ski boot. It’s a great way to enjoy the mountains in winter and has similarities to hiking. A softer foam is used at the ankle to provide more mobility when walking.Ski-touring, that’s walking - skinning in skiing terms - the mountain up and then skiing it down. The tongued liner uses a closed cell foam, similar to Ultralon, to deliver uniform density when molding. The Spectre comes with all the other things you would expect in a good AT boot – tech inserts, Vibram sole, power-strap and a heat moldable liner. They also flip open to get out of the way of the tongue so you can get in or out of the boot easier. They are micro-adjustable with a full centimeter of adjustment range – better than any alpine boot I’m aware of. It takes a bit of time to get used to snapping them on, and may cause a bit of frustration on an icy day, but for quickly switching from locked to free you would be hard pressed to improve on these buckles. That’s because of the unique Pegasus attachment mechanism that forces you to snap the beveled hook on the mating clamps which hold it there whether taut or not. By using Pegasus buckles the latch stays attached even when the buckle is open and tension is absent. Micro adjustable.Here’s the real advantage of the Spectre. Pegasus buckles stay attached when open, or cinch tight when closed.
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