Comments on: Tecnica Agent AT — Backcountry Skiing Boot Review

By: Alex C

Alex C — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:35:05 +0000

Does anyone know if there were any changes made to this boot for the 2010 model (other than the graphics)? The one reviewed here appears to be the older one. I’m considering buying a pair because they fit better than anything else I’ve tried on, but I’m concerned over some reviews that say they’re too soft. Thanks.

By: Lou

Lou — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:52:37 +0000

Hi Vanessa, thanks for the kind words. Those books are a labor of love and it’s been great to have contributed them. I’m more likely to do guidebooks on the web now, or just let the cloud take care of it… I’m trying hutski.com but it really doesn’t seem to be needed… we shall see.

yeah, Agent is Struktura, perhaps with some small changes.

By: vanessa

vanessa — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:59:05 +0000

I just want to say that I ski the Lowa Struktura and think they’re great. If the Tecnica boot really is just the Lowa struktura with Tec graphics that’s awesome. Is the boot stiffer than the old struktura or about the same? I found the liners to be slightly heavy in the stock struk but replaced w/ intuition the weight is a little better. Hiking 14er’s and skiing as much bc as possible NEVER hurts in these boots and I’ve overnighted in the bc wearing them until I crawled into my tent w/o problem. They are soft so if the stiffness hasn’t been beefed up for the agent this may be a concern for some, however I’ just a girl:) so for me they ski great! 5′6″ 125 ski a 25 shell.
Lou, Love your Wild Snow book and all the great guides you’ve put out!!! Thank you for taking the time.
Vanessa

By: Jim in the Midwest

Jim in the Midwest — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:14:04 +0000

I love my Agent AT’s (although sometimes when I am having a rough go I shout out “Lowas don’t fail me now”). That being said, I understand the concern about lack of tech compatibility. I’d be interested in the same thing Dave mentioned, the ability for a tech toe fitting.

So, how did I go the Agent AT with Barons route when I was starting down the path of gotta have Garmonts and Fritschi because that’s what Coombs used? In some of Lou’s binding reviews, I believe there is mentioned the concept that if one is going to spend most of their time in a resort environment with occassional treks out of bounds, the Marker Duke is a good choice. In my case, that led to the Baron (lighter, and I don’t need the high DIN) without a need for tech compatibility.

9 out of 10 boot fitters in the Midwest have absolutely no idea that Garmont, Scarpa, BDEL, Dynafit, etc. exist. They all know and/or sell Technica. Kind of a sad excuse, but if one wants local support of the boot where I’m at, the options were limited. As an aside, one will get strange looks around here if you walk into a ski store and say “Hey, you guys got any skins?”.

Lou mentioned “if the flex and fit of the Agent work for a given skier, and they don’t use tech compatible bindings, and they happen to get the deal they want …”. The truth is, my setup is one big compromise that works for me. I like equipment that leans toward AT because I think that is the way it should be, as a kid I did both cross country and resort skiing and I don’t like the encumbrance of “pure Alpine”. I have 50 days of skiing this year, primarily on the ice sheets in Wisconsin and the obligatory family trip to Colorado. If there is snow on the ground at home, I spend two hours every evening skinning through the neighborhood. So –

The Agent AT’s are:
- Comfortable, I can run in them after the kids and wear them all day long. Skiing, walking, skinning, running, all day long.
- Flex fore and aft well, if you have the Marker setup you can get good stride length out of the Agent AT without freeing the heal if you … well, for some reason don’t feel like taking your boots out of the bindings at that point in time.
- For my needs, extremely light. My Agent AT/Baron/167 Coomba setup is lighter than my wife’s Head boots and K2 One Luv skis setup.

I understand the concerns when they are compared to the offerings with tech compatibility. But in summary, I believe they provide a solid option for those of us who, in a similar manner, believe Marker Duke bindings more appropriate for their needs .

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:14:33 +0000

I skiied Agent AT all last year and really enjoyed it. It was light, and easy to tour, yet stiff enough to ski the resort. Also very comfortable, and never had trouble with only 3 buckles.

The only negative was on one boot the pin that the tour/ski lever clips into bent. I was worried about gettting stuck far from home after that, and went to the Radiums “industrial” locking instead this year.

Great boot overall, just wish the locking mechanism was a bit beefier.

Charles