Guest WeatherCam Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 My situation is that I am an experienced snowboarder - but do tour bigtime - I have bought the Deeluxe touring approach skis (90cm long) that have the Dynafit Tourlite binding on the front - with these skis you have to buy the Deeluxe snowboard boots that have the Dynafit lugs for the bindings in the front of the toes. These worked very well. However, we are making a big trip to Norway touring later in the year - and I have some questions. As all you guys know there are hard shell snowboard boots, but these have a very narrow sole and are not suitable for walking or attaching crampons - the Deeluxe snowboard boots are good, but are not stiff and will not take crampons - we are investigating whether a soft alpine touring boot would be good for snowboarding - as we can use snowboarding hardplate bindings for the boots - I need to use the Dynafit brand of boot as they are compatable with the ski bindings....any comments out there from anyone would be appreciated - hey when I first started snowboarding some 15 years ago I learnt in my saloman ski boots!!!! REgards WC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Raichle SB121 with vibram soles I have no idea if you can still find them, but they are great, crampons fit on them like gloves, and they are flexible enough (they are the last version of the raichle touring boot that evolved into the snowboarder to the sb121). Ebay.de has plenty of them check also your ebay there. Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WeatherCam Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 so you think that Alpine Touring boots will be flexible enough for general mountain free riding then - and what would you reccomend for a good all round binding to take these then? One question, if they are good, why don't more people go down that route, how do they compare with a full on hard boot for snowboards? Regards WC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Those boots are a generation away when it comes to real carving and power carving, they are soft and the plastic bends a lot when carving hard. They were the kings of the hills in the 1990-1993 years and many competitors used them. Now they are a good choice for riding a powder board with hard boots, because they have a flexy feel that makes it better than lets say modern deeluxe. The sole itself is a real mountain vibram sole, not tiny little pads of rubber. I ride mine on my swallowtail boards with TD1, and the great thing is that the vibram allows for a lot of lateral movements. Last week end I was (lucky me) in Verbier, Switzerland in a meter of fresh pow on my 2m swallow, and I fell hard because a small road was crossing the pow track, and I fell on the nose, hopefully in that case the front binding opened and saved my knee. The vibram got so compressed the binding got loose. Downside of those boots > a bit on the heavy side Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 I used to use Dynafit Tourlite boots for carving. They worked fine. Not quite as much support as SB boots, but plenty good. These were the old style. I bought them in '89 and used them until maybe 1994-5 when I switched to Raichles. Only problem was that I broke 2-3 tongues between hiking up Tuckerman Ravine and riding down. The new TLT 700s look like they'd work fine. Also the Scarpa Denalis if they work with your bindings. Either would work fine with non-step-in snowboard bindings. They probably don't have as much lateral flex as some snowboard boots, but I'm sure it will work. Have fun out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 I've fit up my stepin crampons, Black Diamond switchblades, on my SB series and they seem to stay put on the boot. I've not tried ice climbing in that setup but for general glacier travel I wouldn't have any qualms using 'em. If you are using a wider board the toe overhang is less of a problem w/ ski boots. I rode a Sims all mountain board this way for a couple of years, using Burton rental plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon G. Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 I use these exclusively for on and off piste. In powder, trees and soft snow I keep them in walk mode and tighten the buckles only enough to keep my heel in. I have used them for four years, on split boards and solids, and love them dearly. The only modification other than riding them loose is I swapped out the tongues from an older, softer pair I had. Check the Couloir magazine website forums for more detailed info on this kind of stuff, there has been a lot of discussion lately on this topic. http://www.telemarkskier.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=1 Scarpa Lasers are a bit stiffer, but would work too, I bet. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 you still ride at Stevens?? I haven't seen you in 2 years. Still would like to get together and ride sometime. Possibly when I fix up another splitboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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