Punching carbon boots for length

I have skinny feet and ankles and I struggle to find touring boots that hold my feet in place adequately. I'm specifically looking for a mid-weight (~1200g) higher-ROM boot; my ideal boot is an F1 LT or XT. I'd like to ski mondo 28 but most are a little too short in the big toe. I've had 3 pair each of TLT5 (worked in 29) and now I'm wearing down my third pair of Salomon X-Alp in 28 and I'm desperate for something else to work but I've struck out a few times already.

Which light-mid weight touring boots have you punched for length successfully? Especially those with carbon fiber in the lower shell/scaffo.

Do any of these boots actually have carbon in the toe or even any carbon at all in the clog? I thought these were all just grilamid (nylon) in the clog or at least in the toe.

I am also very interested in this question/answer as I have a set of TLT8 Mtn that I need to punch for length in the 2nd toe.

worth asking your local boot fitting (assuing they are doing the work?)

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None of the carbon reinforced shells punch well for length; expect a good bootfitter to get maybe 3mm without destroying the shell (F1 LT, Zero G Peak, etc.) or refuse to do it. Most regular Grilamid or Pebax Rnew boots punch fairly well, expect a good bootfitter to get 5-7mm. The TLT5 and X-Alp fall into this category.</p>

Just FWIW, the scarpa F1 LT/XT type boots fit much smaller/shorter than the X-alp. Happily skiing a 28 X-alp and for sure need a 29 F1. Bought 28 F1s and I could barely even shell fit it with my toes flat on the boot board.

Yup for sure, F1 LT/XT are way short and really way narrow in the forefoot compared to x alp in the same size. But I&#39;ve tried skiing a 29 F1 LT (29.5? scarpa mondo breaks trigger dyslexia for me) and they&#39;re just too big all over. Too tall and I can&#39;t really keep them flexed in difficult snow or at low speeds. I&#39;m presently having the same experience in a Dynafit Blacklight; went to a 29 bc the 28 felt way too short. b=But the 29&#39;s feel too tall and maybe because I don&#39;t have enough contact with the cuff throughout the boot, I can&#39;t keep them flexed at low speeds and I really have to work to engage the flex when skiing faster out in the open. I also find Blacklights to have a dissapointing ROM.
So, Marshal--what high ROM boots work for you if you &quot;liked&quot; size 28 x alp? They&#39;re objectively lame and breakable ski boots but they fit perfectly for me and walk really well so I keep scrounging them off ebay/the dark web...

My F1 GTs are 1 mondo size larger than normal for me, and I had the bootfitter punch inward at the heels to &quot;pinch&quot; my heels in place. With that, they are great. The GT is all grilamid, not sure if the XT is the same. I probably could have gone one size shorter and had a length punch, but I like the roominess in my forefoot. The buckles on the GT/XT may hold your foot a lot better than the LT, worth a try.

I got my Aliens punched a few mm for length and they look like this: https://imgur.com/a/ihto7eE
Not sure if that counts as destroyed, I haven&#39;t used them much because the punch wasn&#39;t quite enough to make them comfortable.

@Christopher... man... sorry to say I am 100% with you in this journey. Subscribed to the thread for sure.

Presentlly, I am in a 28/28.5 x-alp with the tongue from a Procline AR modded onto it. Truthfully, I just have not been touring much this winter for a wide variety of reasons, but I am at a major impasse with touring boots. While the Xalp+ARtongue is nothing special or awesome, they meet the minimum threshold of walking good enough and skiing good enough for me. But just barely adequete fit/walk/ski is not exactly inspiring. It sounds like you are in the same bucket give or take!

As someone who can fit basically all 27.5 98/100 lasted alpine boots on the market with little work, and after trying nearly every tour boot currently on the market, I am really struggling at finding a touring boot that fits, is plenty supportive, and walks well enough. I 100% cannot get away with race fit touring boots like I used to 5-10 years ago sadly, going up in size makes for a sloppy fit, and essentially all boa boots crush my instep when tight enough to give a small amount of heel hold.

So I will probaly try the Salomon Mtn Summit next if I can find a super cheap deal over the summer, but I am sorry to say I don&#39;t have any suggestions

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by kamtron

I had the bootfitter punch inward at the heels to &quot;pinch&quot; my heels in place.

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Never occcured to me that you could do an inward punch.&nbsp; Being &#39;blessed&#39; with a high instep, wide forefoot and narrow heels this sounds like a very good idea to discuss when getting my next pair of boots fitted.</p>

I was pretty skeptical, but the tech was experienced with it and I had heard good things from friends who got the same treatment. It is definitely noticeable; she did a good job.

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@Benneke10 That is typically what happens - the carbon strands separate in unpredictable ways and create a ripply effect before you can get the length you want. At this point the shell is weakened by voids in the plastic, making further punching pretty risky.</p>

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Christopher3000

I have skinny feet and ankles and I struggle to find touring boots that hold my feet in place adequately. I&#39;m specifically looking for a mid-weight (~1200g) higher-ROM boot; my ideal boot is an F1 LT or XT. I&#39;d like to ski mondo 28 but most are a little too short in the big toe. I&#39;ve had 3 pair each of TLT5 (worked in 29) and now I&#39;m wearing down my third pair of Salomon X-Alp in 28 and I&#39;m desperate for something else to work but I&#39;ve struck out a few times already. Which light-mid weight touring boots have you punched for length successfully? Especially those with carbon fiber in the lower shell/scaffo.

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Thanks Marshal. My condolences! I think I am going to give it a go with these Blacklights a bit more as I bought them retail at Skimo.co and have now used them. I have thought about trying the new salomon as the heel and ankle feels good and instep pressure feels plausible, but they too just generally feel big all over. I wonder if they would work in a 27...Dibs on any 28 x-alps that come out of the woodwork; although I feel like I am taking my life in my hands everytime I rattle down a hiking trail or hit variable snow at speed in them.

Have you tried Dynafit Ridge? The fit feels ok in 28 but I can&#39;t bite the bullet on a boot that bulky.

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/77656067 Arcteryx version of the Xalp. No idea how similar/different the lowers fit. Happy to pick it up and ship it for you, if desired. PM me if so.

Sadly for me, the Backlight and Ridge both crush my instep via boa buckles. I am 1/2 tempted to try one, remove the boa, and retrofit the instep buckle from the X-alp on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal Olson

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/77656067 Arcteryx version of the Xalp. No idea how similar/different the lowers fit. Happy to pick it up and ship it for you, if desired. PM me if so. Sadly for me, the Backlight and Ridge both crush my instep via boa buckles. I am 1/2 tempted to try one, remove the boa, and retrofit the instep buckle from the X-alp on.

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My friend removed the boa on his F1 LT and replaced it with a voile strap https://www.instagram.com/p/DDDUJELT...en&img_index=4

Christopher3000 - they don&#39;t advertise it but Skimo.co accepts returns on used items within 30 days of purchase

@Benneke -- JIMMINY CRICKETS! That looks awesome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marshal Olson

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/77656067 Arcteryx version of the Xalp. No idea how similar/different the lowers fit. Happy to pick it up and ship it for you, if desired. PM me if so.

Sadly for me, the Backlight and Ridge both crush my instep via boa buckles. I am 1/2 tempted to try one, remove the boa, and retrofit the instep buckle from the X-alp on.

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I am in SLC. I will have to think about those proclines! Can you comment on ski performance or durability tradeoffs btw procline and x alp?

I can’t 100% say… but the carbon cuff / walk mode etc is the exact same. The orange profiles just have a taller internal gaiter and the lower may be slightly different (?). The dark blue (AR) proclines have a tongue and that makes the boot ski quite a bit better (I have one modded onto my x-lap thanks to westoxified).

MO do not know if you’ve seen this: https://the-high-route.com/modifying...idge-pro-boot/

Those of us who cant figure out a touring gotta unite!

I too have had length and fit problems in touring boots, closest I’ve gotten is my skorpius cr ii. It might be giving me heel spurs tho…


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Thanks @Marshal. I&#39;d forgotten about proclines. That AR did seem like a pretty good boot. I&#39;m going to go meet that guy tomorrow.

@PoppaWorm I would love to wear Skorpius, seems like the best skiing <1300g touring boot. And while they are often recommended for low volume feet the fit seems bizarre to me and I think there&#39;s no way I could wear them. Heel pocket is especially bad and the forefoot retention feels like its two sizes too big.

@christopher3000 that might be why my heels are bothering me in them.

The skorp Boa system seems like it tightens very “blocky”. The sensation is similar to clamp tightening on the foot as opposed to a retention system tightening in two axes and drawing the heel towards the pocket of the boot. That voile strap mod has me dreaming of messing with my boots. I have a Salomon summit no one wants to buy, maybe I should experiment.


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