Skimo boots for Ice Climbing
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This past season I wore the Scrapa F1 Lt's and had a great time in them. I would love to get into an even lighter boot for longer missions. Interested if anyone has used skimo style boots ice climbing. Ex Scrapa Alien 1.0 or similar. If it at all helps, most of the ice climbing in the boots will be up on Mt Washington/ Baxter State Park/ Katahdin so not on the extreme hard end of the scale but enough that ice tools and crampons are going to be needed. |
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I climbed M5 and WI4 in arcteryx proclines this season. They climb amazing. Definitely beats lugging in a second pair of boots!! Never had problems with cold feet even on all-day multipitch missions. I don’t think arcteryx sells these anymore but lightly used pairs come up on the secondary market from time to time. |
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The Procline is heavier, has less ROM, and skis downhill way worse than the Scarpa F1 LT, or worse than any boot that i have owned. It was purpose built for this application but one of Dead Bird's greatest misses. The OP is going to have trouble beating the weight of the F1 LTs by much, and the problem with race weight ski boots is your feet might be cold on those NE climbs listed. Sizing up a little to fit an Intuition liner is a decent solution. |
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How do the F1 LT’s climb? Also how do they ski? I’m interested in picking up a pair. |
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Rexford Nesakwatch wrote: Personally, I like my Procline boots. Changed out the stock liner for an Intuition liner for better fit and less stiffness. They don't ski particularly well, but they work fine for driving relatively short approach skis. They are really a climbing boot that skis a bit, rather than a ski boot that climbs. It's a better alternative to my leather boot/Silvretta binding solution. |
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Having used various versions of ski boots and ski touring boots on ice climbs for decades, I'd guess just about any fairly rigid boot will climb ice well. When my sons were learning ice climbing as middle-schoolers, I wasn't about to drop hundreds of $$$ for each of them for "ice climbing boots" that would fit them for one season at most. They learned to climb in their downhill ski boots, and my youngest was leading WI4 by his junior year of high school. If the skiing is anything more than just "track" skiing, I'd go with a boot that skis well for you, and you'll likely be happy. Dont expect ski boots to perform well on any but the easiest mixed climbing, though! -Haireball |
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Curt Haire wrote: Do you ever bother to read the OP's question before regaling us with back in the day stories? The OP has a current best-in-class 1,000 gr ski boot with great ROM that he used for a season and is looking for an lighter pair, and you popped by to add no relevant info. I'll definitely take the story of your kids over schooling us on straight shaft tools and warthogs, so it could have been worse i guess. |
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Yeah, honestly… the F1lt is what most people will say is the sweet spot for touring, weight, and climbing if they fit. You’re unlikely to conjure magic. |
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Hey Spencer, I think you're spot-on with your thinking. I have two models of Scarpa Alien (the RS and a regular, non-carbon Alien), and they're freakin great for climbing as well as lightweight touring/long days. As with all ski boots, as I'm sure you found with your F1s, ya might need to finagle with your crampon's front bail or even get a different bail, to ensure good fit. But for uses like you're describing, I find the Alien to be fantastic. They climb really well (in walk mode, obv, tons of ankle flexibility, feels like wearing a sneaker -- granted, I never really liked stiff climbing boots to begin with), and so for moderate things with longer approaches, or if I just want to approach on skis, they don't hold me back a bit. Some people climb and ski super hard in them, too (these guys are on another level, but still). They're not quite as sensitive as my ice boots, so for hard mixed or something, sure, they're not quite as good, but for what you're describing I bet you'd be psyched. They're so light, I love 'em. Good luck! |
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Jack Bushway wrote: I’m far more interested in uphill compared to the downhill. But I skied in them both with an 80mm underfoot and a 96mm underfoot ski. It handled both well. Skied, mt Washington, BC in Colorado and Norway with the F1 LTs and love them in all uses. Climbing in them was great exact it does lack some sensitivity but clearly it’s a ski boot not a climbing boot. I just want to use 80mm underfoot skis all season. I’m in New Hampshire and I have no need for anything wider given how I ski and what I want to do. |
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Not sure how the F1 LT stacks weight wise against the Fischer Travers series but I have no complaints or downsides for climbing or skiing with the Fischers. I love them. Paired with Snaggletooths, that fit like a glove, they’ll climb anything |
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Having climbed in both the F1LT and Alien 1.0, the aliens climbs much much better than F1LTs. They feel more like a phantom tech with their completely uninhibited ankle articulation. |
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Austin Mallet wrote: I imagine you are on skinny skis? 80-85 underfoot? |
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Spencer, if I understand your question correctly, you are asking whether a skimo race boot will be warm enough for cold ice climbing? Of course the answer is personal, but on a relative scale, the liners on skimo race boots are about 1/4- 3/4 of the thickness of beefier AT boots, so you will loose warmth. So, I’d say, if you are on the edge of cold feet now, don’t do it. Like Rexford says, sizing up to fit a warmer, full height liner would be an option, to keep your warmth. It will add some weight, but of course the shell is still lighter. I did this for my daughter. Got her the Backland Ultimate (Atomics ‘citizen race’ boot) sized up one size and used a variety of full thickness and height Intution liners (mostly Scarpa because they were cheap) over the years. How much weight you save will depend on how high end you go with the boots. You might want to talk to skithewhites. They do some skimo race stuff, and are in NE, so they might have tried this out, And here is a quote from skimo.do: “Is the Alien liner similar to the Tour LT or is it a bit thinner? 3/1/2023Answer from Emmett I Ben,The Alien is a good bit thinner through the calf, a bit thinner in the ankle, and pretty similar in the toe box.” https://skimo.co/scarpa-liners?option%5B715%5D=31409&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhsqYgKOfggMV80lHAR3mmgEHEAQYASABEgL7OfD_BwE |
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Another vote for Scarpa. I think the F3 is where its at, personally. Folks have durablity issues with arcteryx? |
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Mark Pilate wrote: Any modifications you needed to do to the snaggletooths to fit? Just a longer bar? Looking to fit a pair onto F1 XTs |
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Another vote for the arcteryx proline. I've climbed WI5 and skiied a bunch in them and found them pretty good for both, all things considered. I even took them to ski some moguls in Tahoe last season and thought it was fun! (I am a mediocre skier.) Of course you can't expect Lamborghini performance in a Fiat 500, but very fun nonetheless. Are there better boots out there for this dual-purpose? Probably - I've never tried the F1 LT or Alien, but mine do well enough that I don't see any need to splash a bunch of cash for an upgrade. You can buy prolines online nowadays pretty cheaply. |
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Stiles wrote: I warranteed a pair because the zipper on the gaiter broke. My second pair have seen very little use. I’m not much of a skier so I can’t really comment on how hard they charge, but I used them on a 6 day traverse last winter, with a few no fall zone descents, and they were adequate. They climb ice and rock like a hybrid mountaineering/ski boot though. Decent for what they are, but I don’t think I’d ever be super comfortable on anything difficult. |
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Kelly Cordes wrote: I have to agree with what kelly says. The F1 line is excellent and the alien line is even better. I have the Alien 1.0 and I think that they are even lighter than my Phantom techs... Ski boots are also really stiff... and will work extremely well with crampons like blue ice harfang techs and Petzl crampon dart strings. |