Received the new Fischer Ranger Free 130 boots today. In size 25.5, I measured the following:
Shell (no bootboard) = 1181g
Bootboard = 42g
Liner = 355g
Total weight (stock) = 1578g
My Palau Power LT liner w/ firm foam tongue mod = 190g
Downunders footbed = 40g
Fischer Ranger Free 130 (25.5) w/ Palau liner = 1453g
So the Ranger Free 130 at 1453g is a 320g savings over my Fischer Curv 130 that I had been using. The difference of 320g is really noticeable just walking around my house. I'll take them out for lap on Friday morning to see how the weight savings impacts my LL lap.
What's more impressive is the fit and function of this boot. It actually feels a bit narrower than my other Fischer and what really surprised me is that the Palau liner dropped right in to the new the boot. Because they're both Fischer boots and use the same construction design, the current Palau liner molding is matching up well enough that I won't need to re-mold and lose volume and warmth in the liner (which is what happens when you heat a thermoflex liner again).
The boot feels plenty burly flex-wise and all the pieces and parts have some nice thought put into how they operate (the buckles, the walk mechanism level, the power strap). I did find that all the screws on the boots were a bit loose, so I tightened them all up.
So with this boot sitting at 1453g, for me to even consider going to a different boot for touring would mean venturing into the sub-1200g weight class to make it worthwhile. Maybe the new Fischer Transalp Pro (published as 1280g for the 26.5) would still make the cut, but I'm certainly suspicious of how well they'll ski compared to the Ranger Free 130. This Ranger Free feels like a real alpine boot just flexing it in my house. I'm really hoping it skis well...