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Boot weight?

Slim

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@PowHog , do you mean which flex the Zero G Tour Pro has? It is listed as 130, but of course all know how much that means....
It is medium width and low instep. Should definitely be high on your list.

The new Fischer Transalp is a fairly wide last(reportedly), so probably not a good fit.

According to the interview with Hoji on Blister, on of the changes to the new Dynafit Radical replacing the previous Hoji Tour, was higher instep. So, if you can live with the speed nose, it might be worth trying the Hoji tour on, although it might be too the forefoot.
And certainly the Hoji free, (which is what @Rod9301 got), which has a bit narrower last (claimed).
 

PowHog

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@PowHog , do you mean which flex the Zero G Tour Pro has? It is listed as 130, but of course all know how much that means....
It is medium width and low instep. Should definitely be high on your list.

The new Fischer Transalp is a fairly wide last(reportedly), so probably not a good fit.

According to the interview with Hoji on Blister, on of the changes to the new Dynafit Radical replacing the previous Hoji Tour, was higher instep. So, if you can live with the speed nose, it might be worth trying the Hoji tour on, although it might be too the forefoot.
And certainly the Hoji free, (which is what @Rod9301 got), which has a bit narrower last (claimed).

Yes meant the Zero G Pro. Have a low instep so the change on the Radicals would not work in my favor.
 

Rod9301

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Out of curiosity, which flex boot did you have on the G Zeros? I heard the Hojis fit larger feet better so this might be an issue for me.

My feet are really smallish (sub 100 width, low instep) and I experience a lot of trouble with boot fitting. Definitely want a full Vibram sole, no Gripwalk. The new and upcoming Fischer Transalp definitely caught my attention.
Zero g was 130.
 

PowHog

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Since I am in the market right now I did some research which I can share fwiw. Most weights are for the 26.5 size.

Data given are weight, flex, boot sole

Scarpa Maestrale RS/XT 1450/1490g 125/130+ Vibram
Dalbello Pantera 120/130 1720g 120/130 Gripwalk
Technica Zero G Tour Pro 1320g 130 Vibram
LaSportiva Vega 1400g 125 Vibram
Salomon S/LAB MTN 1570g 120 Vibram
Salomon Shift Pro 1630g 130 Gripwalk
Scott Voodoo 1834g 130 ? Vibram
Scott Superguide 1415g 125 Vibram
Scott Freeguide 1455g 130 Vibram
Dynafit Hoji Free 1550g 130 POMOCA
Dynafit Radical Pro 1400g 120 Pomoca
Fischer Ranger 130 1600g 130 Gripwalk
Fischer Transalp Pro/Tour 1280/1330g ? Vibram

Trying to stay below the 1500g mark but I'd agree that a good fit, walking mode and sufficient stiffness for the down outweight the benefits of a 100 or 200g weight saving. My old touring boot comes in over 1900g so anything will be an improvement.

Regarding downhill performance I found it doesn't really matter to me when skiing groomers or soft snow but can see the benefits of a lighter boot when bushwhacking in the side-/backcountry in rotten snow.
 
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Noodler

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Since I am in the market right now I did some research which I can share fwiw. Most weights are for the 26.5 size.

Data given are weight, flex, boot sole

Scarpa Maestrale RS/XT 1450/1490g 125/130+ Vibram
Dalbello Pantera 120/130 1720g 120/130 Gripwalk
Technica Zero G Tour Pro 1320g 130 Vibram
LaSportiva Vega 1400g 125 Vibram
Salomon S/LAB MTN 1570g 120 Vibram
Salomon Shift Pro 1630g 130 Gripwalk
Scott Voodoo 1834g 130 ? Vibram
Scott Superguide 1415g 125 Vibram
Scott Freeguide 1455g 130 Vibram
Dynafit Hoji Free 1550g 130 POMOCA
Dynafit Radical Pro 1400g 120 Pomoca
Fischer Ranger 130 1600g 130 Gripwalk
Fischer Transalp Pro/Tour 1280/1330g ? Vibram

Trying to stay below the 1500g mark but I'd agree that a good fit, walking mode and sufficient stiffness for the down outweight the benefits of a 100 or 200g weight saving. My old touring boot comes in over 1900g so anything will be an improvement.

Regarding downhill performance I found it doesn't really matter to me when skiing groomers or soft snow but can see the benefits of a lighter boot when bushwhacking in the side-/backcountry in rotten snow.

I was able to get my Fischer Ranger 130 down to 1460g by replacing the stock liner with a Palau and using Downunders for the footbeds.
 

PowHog

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I was able to get my Fischer Ranger 130 down to 1460g by replacing the stock liner with a Palau and using Downunders for the footbeds.

The numbers above are stock so currently the best comparison available since liners and foodbeds are often pretty individual.

in the meantime upon request I got a feedback from Fischer on the new Transalp. They say the flex isn't definite yet but should be around 100 - which would be way too soft for my taste. Looks someone on TGR has tried an initial Transalp Pro and wasn't exactly raving about them. Also the width and high instep wouldn't be a good fit at least for my feet.
 

Noodler

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The numbers above are stock so currently the best comparison available since liners and foodbeds are often pretty individual.

in the meantime upon request I got a feedback from Fischer on the new Transalp. They say the flex isn't definite yet but should be around 100 - which would be way too soft for my taste. Looks someone on TGR has tried an initial Transalp Pro and wasn't exactly raving about them. Also the width and high instep wouldn't be a good fit at least for my feet.

My post was more about the fact that Fischer didn't put a very lightweight stock liner in the Ranger 130. Many touring boots are already using a thermoflex type liner, but Fischer did not on this boot. So any touring boot where there isn't a thermoflex as stock has the potential for a significant weight drop if you're willing to swap in a thermoflex liner.
 

ted

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Out of curiosity, which flex boot did you have on the G Zeros? I heard the Hojis fit larger feet better so this might be an issue for me.

My feet are really smallish (sub 100 width, low instep) and I experience a lot of trouble with boot fitting. Definitely want a full Vibram sole, no Gripwalk. The new and upcoming Fischer Transalp definitely caught my attention.
The Salomon Arcteryx Xalp clones are low volume/low instep.
 

Slim

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Yep, exactly what @Noodler says, it really pays to compare shell weights separately.

Blister and Wildsnow tend to list these, skimo maybe also?

For example, my Technica ZGTP are very light for how stiff they are.
Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD show a lot higher weight.
But when you look at the shell weight, you find the actual difference is quite small, because the Hawx uses an extra beefy liner, while the liner in the ZGTP is so light and thin, it even weighs less than the liner of the ~1100g Scarpa F1Light!

Or another example:
My daughter has the Atomic Backland Ultimate. Very light boot.
Part of the way it manages to be so much lighter (besides carbon cuff and minimal closures) is that it sizes down one shell size from the other Backland boots. This means, the same lower shell weight quoted is for 1 size smaller than for the other models = lighter. And the reason they do this is to use a super thin sock liner = further weight savings.
(And the shorter boot walks better, and thinner liner helps provide more support from a soft shell, it’s not just about weight savings).
 

Slim

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@PowHog , note that some of the boots you listed (Slab Mtn/Arc’teryx Procline) are not compatible with Shift bindings.
Agree with @ted , it is very low volume, although the low instep didn’t bother my daughter(super high instep) because there is no tongue. The toe box is very low though.

Don’t forget the Dalbello Quantum and Quantum free.
 

PowHog

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@PowHog , note that some of the boots you listed (Slab Mtn/Arc’teryx Procline) are not compatible with Shift bindings.
Agree with @ted , it is very low volume, although the low instep didn’t bother my daughter(super high instep) because there is no tongue. The toe box is very low though.
Don’t forget the Dalbello Quantum and Quantum free.

The Quantum looks as if it doesn't even have a shell in front of the tongue or above the instep. Or are the pictures delusive?

@Rod9301 Does the Hoji Free come with a thermoflex liner?
 

Rod9301

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Excellent liner,i have 40 days on them and they have not packed in at all, and very comfortable
 

CascadeConcrete

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Out of curiosity, which flex boot did you have on the G Zeros? I heard the Hojis fit larger feet better so this might be an issue for me.

My feet are really smallish (sub 100 width, low instep) and I experience a lot of trouble with boot fitting.

I'll preface this by saying the only way to know for sure is to try everything on yourself. That said, I just tried both of these boots (among a bunch of others), and ended up buying Zero Gs. For reference, my foot is probably even lower volume than yours (I have to be careful with width even in ~98ish consumer race boots). There really aren't any touring boots on the market for truly narrow feet, but the Zero Gs are a decent fit. They lock my heel down quite effectively so far. There is a bit more room in the forefoot than I'd prefer, but as I said, there aren't really any truly narrow touring boots. And I suppose a little extra room isn't the worst thing in the world as your feet swell on long tours.

I tried the Hoji Frees and felt like I was swimming in the 102(?)mm last. The walk mode felt better than the Zero Gs in the store, although not a crazy difference in my opinion. Maybe different out on the actual skin track. They were noticeably heavier, but who knows how big a difference it makes when you don't have the boots side by side to compare. But the fit killed them for me. Ymmv.

I'm coming from some Dynafit TLT6s that were both a size or two too big, and I assume wouldn't ski all that well even if they fit properly. The ones I had certainly were rather poor performers on the downhill. The Zero Gs are only 100-200g heavier, and I only seem to notice the weight difference if I have them side by side. The TLTs absolutely walk better, but the Zero Gs are still quite useable. We'll see how they feel on some longer tours this spring. And as for the downhill? Night and day. Part of it is just that they actually fit... But the boots are also just stiffer and more responsive, not just in the forward direction, but they're massively more responsive laterally, and have noticeably more rearward support if you get bucked into the backseat. I had to be super conservative with my skiing in the TLTs. But, while not quite an alpine boot, I don't feel like I'm giving up a ton with the Zero Gs. I can still ski mostly how I want to ski in them.
 

PowHog

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@CascadeConcrete Thank you for your insight and comparison. Guess I will wait until fall and try on a lot of different boots first even if I might end up paying full retail.

The often heard claim you can make almost any boot fit these days may be true for people with close enough to 'standard' foot dimensions but definitely not for folks like me who significant deviate from that. Aside from that you might end up shelling out the $$$ you save up front or even more.
 

Slim

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The Quantum looks as if it doesn't even have a shell in front of the tongue or above the instep. Or are the pictures delusive?
Correct, the Quantum doesn’t have anything on the top of the foot, like most boots in the 1kg category. The Quatum Free I believe is similar, but haven’t seen one myself yet, so could be mistaken.
 

Noodler

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Just an update that I did a full ski day at Loveland on my Fischer Ranger 130 with the Palau liners (a 1460g setup) and was really impressed with the performance of these boots. I could easily see myself skiing these on inbounds days and for touring duties, so it truly is a hybrid. It also gives me some confidence that for pure touring duty I think I could, and should, go lighter. It's been a learning experience... :)
 

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