looking for tele boot info

[420skier]

Hay I am looking for a pair of tele boots this year. I just whant to know what to look for in one. I have worked in a skishop the last three years that only sells downhill equipment and have been riding the nordica Beast. Because of the fit the shapes my foot. It happend to be one of the lower volume boots we carry unlike salomons which are huge. I love this boot and just want to know what would be compairable in performace for tele.

[Will]

Go to telemarktips.com and see what they have to say in their forum. They have lots and lots to say on this topic.

This article might prove helpful as well.

In short there are three main boot manufacturers for tele. Scarpa, Crispi, & Garmont. Scarpa and Garmont are the most popular. All the companies make boots that fit a little differently. Folks say that Scarpas are better for 'low volume'/skinny feet, but I have skinny feet and wear Garmonts. Go figure...

As for what sort of boot you want, if you're riding in-area only you'll probably want one of the bigger, stiffer boots: T1, Syner-G, or CXR. Stiffer boots are harder for some to learn in though, some beginners have a hard time flexing the back boot enough and thus cannot properly weight the rear ski. That's why I'd point you away from the stiffest of the stiff (really not that stiff compared to alpine boots) such as the T-Race, Ener-G, or CXU.

The best advice though, is go to a store and try on at least one boot from each manufacturer. Once you do that you'll know what fits and your choices will be simpler. Also keep in mind whether or not you'll want some thermo liners. Most folks seem to like them (warmer, lighter, better fit), but they do up the price a bit.

[Greydon Clark]

Yeah, what he said. Three companies making two stiff boots each. Kind of nice not to have a lot of choices.

I like the T-1 and would not recommend going softer.

[3pin]

if you're coming from an alpine background, go big unless (absolutely unless) you want them strictly for lighter backcountry and touring. i don't get why most alpine crossovers buy syner-g's and t2's. i've seen more people have problems learning to tele because of weak gear than because of strong gear. if you can deal with alpine boots, any stiff tele boot will still be a godsend.

syner-g isn't a big stiff boot. if you're looking for top-tier, look t-race, t-1, ener-g, and cxr/cxu. most of it comes down to fit, but if fit's cool, that's the ranking in terms of power, or near enough. ener-g/t-1 are pretty close, but the crispi's definitely have the softest flex across any given category of boots.

what will said about fit is very important though. go try some stuff on.

[homerjay]

I'd like to echo the above comments and add that with the addition of thermo liners coming standard in the larger class boots (T1/Ener-G/CXR), the weight penalty of running large boots is much much smaller.

[420skier]

thanks you guys. I wouldent go by a boot with out trying them on and with out trying on sevrel pars..The information you gave me does help sort things out abit... I also have abuddy who happens to be the same size as me and is giving me his old boots which are some kind of garmonts, not shure what model but I will figer that out soon. have a good one. thanks.