Boots IMO

[telecrag]

Well, well, OOoops I did it again. Bought a pair of Scarpa T1s on sale. Guess what? They fit better than all my other boots. The guy in the shop took one look at my feet and said, 'Forget those, you need Garmont for wide feet like that.' I said, 'I already have some, Ill just try em on'.

So there you go. The old Garmont for wide feet, Scarpa for thin feet is crap IMO. Also I have had bad experiences with thermo mouldable liners. The Scarpas came with the standard liner, and it is comfy from the word go. My Garmont Energys and Crispi CRs came with mouldables, and IMO you can cook them till the cows come home and they will still suck. Pressure points that move, hot spots when skinning, whenever you solve one problem it creates another. IMO they were invented to keep boot fitters employed.

The good news is that the liner fits into my other boots, and changes them from foot torturing soul destroyers, into great boots.

IMO Garmont have a nice flex, Crispi are light and not quite so grunty, Scarpa have the most grunt but will take some time for the bellows to soften enough not to be a bit 'toey'. All of them fit my feet well, with the right liner.

Scarpa seem the best designed so far as thinking about it goes. Things like making sure the rivets are recessed so as not to create pressure points. Garmont seem the best designed so far as the action of the boot. Crispi fall in the middle. I was told by a Scarpa rep that Scarpa are based on the European market, and Garmont on the North American market, and that both markets require different things from their boots, so whilst they are both Italian boots (as are Crispi) he considers Garmont as American. But he might be biased.

What are others experiences with different boots? Anyone tried the Black Diamonds?

 

[piolet]

My boot experience is pretty much the normal mantra - I have wide-ish feet and find scarpa uncomfortable. Didn't mind the crispi fit the one pair I tried skiied fairly well, but I got some nasty toe pinch around the bellows... (is this common? could have just been the boot age - they were pretty beat up)
In the end, my garmonts fit me pretty well and I've grown to love my synergies - not exactly a beefy boot, but I guess it suits my style.
I disagree with your thermo mouldable theory, I baked mine and they fit beautifully from day one! They aren't really necessary I guess, as your foot would mould the liner after a little skiing, but hey - they work

 

[Ziggy]

Hmm, my plates of meat are fairly wide and have worked OK with T3s and T2Xs. Methinks Scarpa have widened their lasts perhaps.

Have you had the boots on the slopes TC? Or lounge room tested only? It'll put different demands on the fit.

You'll have thighs of steel touring on the T1s ;-}

(from Alice Springs where it's 33 degrees at 8pm and bl**dy humid).

 

[roo_boy]

Old school Garmonts fitted me really well. I hired from Wilderness Sports in Perisher & Jindabyne for years & always had comfy boots.

However the newer Garmonts are horrid for my (wide + flat) feet. Narrow in the toes & stiff in all the wrong places.

Scarpa never fit me particularly well but have always loved the way they skiied. The bellows flex on T2Xs is exactly how want all my boots to flex. Just the right amount of stiffness in the forward flex, with enough torsional rigidity to hold the skis in line.

Crispi..... doesn't matter how well they ski to me, I end up with toe pinch. Even their stiffest, burliest race boot gives me toe pinch in the store. I presume I have high toes or something odd, but cannot wear them on the slopes.

However now I want to buy some NTNs & everything old is out the window. Doesn't help that you can't buy anything but the toe destroying Crispis locally...

 

[piolet]

Hmm, my plates of meat are fairly wide and have worked OK with T3s and T2Xs. Methinks Scarpa have widened their lasts perhaps.

I think most of the scarpa's i've used, from hiring at various places around the world, have been quite dated. I can usually get my foot into a T2/T2x and find them ok in overall width, but when skiing them they cramp me up on the middle/outside of my foot - for me, this doesn't happen in garmont/crispis.

roo - I don't really know, but the NTN crispi's may not offer the toe crushing extra that they have in the past, being a total boot overhaul and all.

 

[telecrag]

I am going to try on some Crispi NTN boots next week. The liner is different to my other Crispis, so I have some hope. The liner on my current (month old) Crispis is what causes the toe pinch IMO. It developed over a short amount of time. I think that the liner pushed forward a bit from the rivet that holds the toe buckle, just enough to cause a pressure point outside my little toe. Its OK for a day, but day two it gets really sore.

One problem for me with the thermo liners is the way the tongue goes, and the fact that it is two pieces that join in the middle of the foot. IM I had a pair of Synergys and they were fine in the resort, but I got hot spots BC, and ended up with a rather large wound on a longer trip that left me hobbled (unable to wear any footwear) for a week.

Ziggy, yes I am trying them at the resort, and a little sidecountry. When I see things discounted I think, why not give it a try, its only $600. So I am just sharing my experiences. It seems obvious that everyone has different experiences, I think it is the shape of your foot that will dictate what boot/liner works for you. However I am very aware that not everyone can just buy boots at a whim to see what works, so whatever people can add here might help someone out.

I would say that if you have boots that dont quite work for you, try changing the liner as a cheap fix. Maybe, how much do liners cost? Say an intuition, and a standard liner?

 

[piolet]

I
One problem for me with the thermo liners is the way the tongue goes, and the fact that it is two pieces that join in the middle of the foot. IM I had a pair of Synergys and they were fine in the resort, but I got hot spots BC, and ended up with a rather large wound on a longer trip that left me hobbled (unable to wear any footwear) for a week.
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I would say that if you have boots that dont quite work for you, try changing the liner as a cheap fix. Maybe, how much do liners cost? Say an intuition, and a standard liner?

Yeah, I think it goes deeper than just whether or not a foot is 'wide' or otherwise...

a quick ebay glance shows some liners http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Scarpa-Universal...id=p3286.c0.m14 and the blurb states they can fit in other brand boots. I'm sure there's more out there - these are USD$115 + ship.

 

[surveyorcam]

I have had problems with two different pairs of Scarpa's and I have narrow feet. The liners always seem to have some sticky outy bit that becomes uncomfortable.
My favorite boot to date is Garmont Excursions. Really soft and comfy. I ski them at resort and in back country. Others here might say they are no good for resort skis/bindings and they are probably right.
Love comfy feet though!!