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Old News – New News – Carbon News

Bookmark and Share            By Lou

Hanging out with Polly & Andrew McLean and their two kids this morning, then headed into Salt Lake City for Outdoor Retailer tradeshow. Polly is looking good soon after bringing young Stella into the world. I’ll bet mom is ready for another 24 Hours of Sunlight. That couldn’t be a hard as childbirth, right Polly (grin)?

Ok, OR time. So how about we begin with some gear stoke?

Nothing like doing some carbon sequestering with your ski boots. Yeah, last winter most of you probably heard about La Sportiva’s possibly ground breaking carbon AT boot. But I thought it worth getting a summer reminder blog post up as this shoe looks REALLY nice. Perhaps I’ll fondle it today at the show, meanwhile, a teaser…

La Sportiva Stratos carbon ski touring boot.

La Sportiva Stratos carbon ski touring boot.

Check it out here.

Posted by Lou on July 21, 2009 | Filed Under Boot Reviews 

previous post: New Zealand!
next post: OR Show – Day One Highlights

Comments

8 Responses to “Old News – New News – Carbon News”

  1. ScottP July 21st, 2009 6:19 pm

    Not that there’s ever a chance I’d get one of these, but I notice that the boot is only available in sizes up to mondo 29. La Sportiva also has the bad habit of not producing climbing shoes in sizes about euro 45. Odd, considering so much of their market, especially in Europe, is taller than 6′ and requires larger footwear.

  2. Randonnee July 21st, 2009 9:49 pm

    Hmm, drool. Bet I could use that boot to turn either my Seven Summit in all conditions or Manslu in powder. I am thrilled that the technology is advancing right along with my Age… : )} !

  3. Jack July 22nd, 2009 1:28 am

    Lou, tell us, please, how it works, this new boot, carbon and all. Skin and ski it. Break it and fix it. Blog it!

    Until then, how’s that NZ boy with his down under pow?

  4. colinsamuels July 22nd, 2009 5:23 am

    hi Lou from the Alps!
    You need to check out the rage boot here in the Alps:
    http://www.pierregignoux.fr/
    top ex-racer/engineer, Pierre Gigneux has come out with an improved version this spring of his already well received Carbon boot XP.
    very expensive: 1200 euros..
    but they say it is the lightest and stiffest boot on the market.
    Site has english version.
    I have not tried these but they are getting big response on French blogs.
    Maybe the Sportiva’s “borrowed” some of the XP concept, just as Scarpa did with th F1’s, which were a blatant copy of Pierre Gignouxs race prototypes which he and his then partner Stephan Brosse, used when they dominated the ski-alpinism circuit some years ago.
    Cheers
    Colin

  5. Lou July 22nd, 2009 7:10 am

    I’ll definitely do all I can to give those things a shot! NZ is going great for Louie, he’s mainly up at Cheeseman ski field living the good life. A TR from him is buried below this post…

  6. Lou July 22nd, 2009 7:14 am

    Pierre must have a lot of fans and friends! I’ve blogged about his boots here before, and they do look nice and were of course ground breaking. But like many innovators, if he has an idea that works he is sure to get imitated and perhaps even improved on.

  7. Mark July 22nd, 2009 7:56 am

    Quite possibly the finest looking boot ever. It is fast even while motionless.

  8. Grant July 23rd, 2009 1:05 am

    Can confirm that the “new” and improved “XP 444 Ultimate” is just that!
    Pierre is a genius, and is not just limited to amazing carbon boots. Can’t give details, but …………..
    Talking with those that have used the La Sportiva, the ski/walk mechanism is not so flash. Guess they should have just did what Scarpa did and fully copied Pierre’s design ;-)

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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