Took them out for a spin yesterday and the report back is that this is an excellent choice for short or long range touring. Good, solid reviews all over the web that I am not going to repeat but I will mention my personal favorite touches.
My feet are difficult to fit and my alpine set up was done by a Master Boot Fitter over an initial 6 hr prd to get my foot into a 27.5 alpine boot despite my foot being size 11. I confirmed the fit w/ another Masterfit boot pro who was shocked by how my original boot fitter was able get my foot all-day comfortably into my Alpine boot. Over time and under tutelage I've worked on many boots, made mistakes and had successes as well. I tried on the Dalbello's as my primary interest was the widely reported instep comfort level of 3 piece boots. I went to a local shop w/o pro level fitters that had the Dalbello's and F/T's in stock and tried on several pairs. The Dalbellos fit the bill and the sales rep and I worked together, carefully listening to each other to attain a satisfactory initial fit w/ my custom insoles and ultra thin socks. The only heating he had to do was a punch at the base of each metatarsal L & R foot. Nice initial fit! I ordered the ISO 5355 soles as back up as I had yet to ski any GW soles.
I brought them home adjusted my Marker Tour F12's away from my Lange XT 130's (WTR soles) , and skied the Dalbello's. Heel and Instep pain.... I could barely walk after a half day of skiing. Common for me when I first bring home a set of boots. Next step for me is to heat the shell (not the liner - I keep the liner @Northern Vermont rm temp) I heated the Dalbello shells according to instructions on their website around 215 F (Range 176 - 230 F x 8 min) https://www.dalbello.it/en/my-fit/ I add into the process, a plastic bin filled w/ snow to cool the boot after 15 min. My technique involves thicker soled ski socks on, I gently close the top buckle and lock down firm but not hard, the instep and toe buckle where I had pain. Fit to perfection in the house. I installed a booster Expert strap. I took them back out another half day and Alpine skied them. No pain anywhere.
I took them out yesterday for some uphill action and not a lick of pain anywhere. The control factor was spot on for an alpine touring boot. The Dalbellos are not designed to feel as precise as my alpine boots but much softer for B/C use. I tweaked in minor and more dynamic style adjustments to accommodate the softer overall feel of the Dalbellos, the Tour F12's and very soft Line Sick Day 102's (compared to my Bones and M6's w/ metal). The setup climbed and skied to perfection and met all my criteria for a mostly resort oriented B/C setup. For deep stints into the B/C I'd only use the boots.........no Tour F12's and no Sick Day 102's....... maybe a Line Vision 108 or Moment Wildcat 108 Tour w/ a Solly Shift... or my Tele setup (K2 Backlash w/ 22Designs Hammerheads and Crispi XP boots).
The BIG surprises to me were -
1- I never had to heat the liners. That's an absolute first for me as my Masterfit bootfitters and I have ALWAYS had to heat the liners on my boots to get the proper fit w/o pain. I was amazed at how easily the new shells expand to accommodate my last and instep height.
2- The ability to EASILY remove the tongue and pack it away is a complete game changer for uphill travel. This is the MAIN reason I am STRONGLY recommending this boot. My jaw is still on the floor a day later after using the removable tongue. I just can't believe anyone would consider any other option for uphill travel. Wifey wants a set of these after watching me walk around and climb so comfortably. We ordered her a set of the Dalbello Womens Lupo 105s this morning to try out. These boots are absolute game changers on a level I can't begin to describe. The climbing efficiency and comfort almost felt like I was doing something wrong....... It didn't make sense and I'm still processing what I was feeling. The component that I have the hardest time wrapping my head around is the "heat" factor. When climbing I heat up and sweat. By not having a tongue in my boot, my feet remained cooler on a level that is hard to describe. That plus the comfort and efficiency took the experience to the next level. As a better description of the feet related heat factor, for spring skiing I almost always remove my hiking boots or sneakers in favor of Crocks for driving.
My feet are difficult to fit and my alpine set up was done by a Master Boot Fitter over an initial 6 hr prd to get my foot into a 27.5 alpine boot despite my foot being size 11. I confirmed the fit w/ another Masterfit boot pro who was shocked by how my original boot fitter was able get my foot all-day comfortably into my Alpine boot. Over time and under tutelage I've worked on many boots, made mistakes and had successes as well. I tried on the Dalbello's as my primary interest was the widely reported instep comfort level of 3 piece boots. I went to a local shop w/o pro level fitters that had the Dalbello's and F/T's in stock and tried on several pairs. The Dalbellos fit the bill and the sales rep and I worked together, carefully listening to each other to attain a satisfactory initial fit w/ my custom insoles and ultra thin socks. The only heating he had to do was a punch at the base of each metatarsal L & R foot. Nice initial fit! I ordered the ISO 5355 soles as back up as I had yet to ski any GW soles.
I brought them home adjusted my Marker Tour F12's away from my Lange XT 130's (WTR soles) , and skied the Dalbello's. Heel and Instep pain.... I could barely walk after a half day of skiing. Common for me when I first bring home a set of boots. Next step for me is to heat the shell (not the liner - I keep the liner @Northern Vermont rm temp) I heated the Dalbello shells according to instructions on their website around 215 F (Range 176 - 230 F x 8 min) https://www.dalbello.it/en/my-fit/ I add into the process, a plastic bin filled w/ snow to cool the boot after 15 min. My technique involves thicker soled ski socks on, I gently close the top buckle and lock down firm but not hard, the instep and toe buckle where I had pain. Fit to perfection in the house. I installed a booster Expert strap. I took them back out another half day and Alpine skied them. No pain anywhere.
I took them out yesterday for some uphill action and not a lick of pain anywhere. The control factor was spot on for an alpine touring boot. The Dalbellos are not designed to feel as precise as my alpine boots but much softer for B/C use. I tweaked in minor and more dynamic style adjustments to accommodate the softer overall feel of the Dalbellos, the Tour F12's and very soft Line Sick Day 102's (compared to my Bones and M6's w/ metal). The setup climbed and skied to perfection and met all my criteria for a mostly resort oriented B/C setup. For deep stints into the B/C I'd only use the boots.........no Tour F12's and no Sick Day 102's....... maybe a Line Vision 108 or Moment Wildcat 108 Tour w/ a Solly Shift... or my Tele setup (K2 Backlash w/ 22Designs Hammerheads and Crispi XP boots).
The BIG surprises to me were -
1- I never had to heat the liners. That's an absolute first for me as my Masterfit bootfitters and I have ALWAYS had to heat the liners on my boots to get the proper fit w/o pain. I was amazed at how easily the new shells expand to accommodate my last and instep height.
2- The ability to EASILY remove the tongue and pack it away is a complete game changer for uphill travel. This is the MAIN reason I am STRONGLY recommending this boot. My jaw is still on the floor a day later after using the removable tongue. I just can't believe anyone would consider any other option for uphill travel. Wifey wants a set of these after watching me walk around and climb so comfortably. We ordered her a set of the Dalbello Womens Lupo 105s this morning to try out. These boots are absolute game changers on a level I can't begin to describe. The climbing efficiency and comfort almost felt like I was doing something wrong....... It didn't make sense and I'm still processing what I was feeling. The component that I have the hardest time wrapping my head around is the "heat" factor. When climbing I heat up and sweat. By not having a tongue in my boot, my feet remained cooler on a level that is hard to describe. That plus the comfort and efficiency took the experience to the next level. As a better description of the feet related heat factor, for spring skiing I almost always remove my hiking boots or sneakers in favor of Crocks for driving.
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