Winter OR Round-Up: Scarpa Freedom SL Ski Boot

www.scarpa.com
Partnering with Chris Davenport, one of the most accomplished big mountain athletes skiing today, Scarpa will release a line of ridiculously nice, new free-ride boots next season.  The Freedom SL ($750) is the Cadillac of the line, weighing in at three pounds and 13 ounces, with an interchangeable metal sole system that’ll let you step into any kind of alpine or AT binding. The four-buckle boot will have a new shell mold and construction to reduce the overall volume, and a carbon-fiber core adds stiffness to this otherwise soft boot. The ski/walk mechanism (which hinges at the back of the boot) provides 27 degrees of movement, with seven degrees of resistance and 20 degrees of forward flex. That means you can hike uphill unfettered—you’ll even appreciate the flexibility when you’re hoofing it from your car to the ski lodge. The boot will also come with Scarpa’s heat-moldable Intuition liners, some of the lightest and most comfortable on the market. Oh, and the graphics for each boot are unique, which may appeal to some free-riders more than all the tech specs we love!