These Boots — SCARPA F1 Ski Touring
Sarah Uhl
Happy feet.
These Boots.
I can’t get Nancy Sinatra’s song out of my head. “These boots are made for walkin.’” This year more than any other, my ski boots have elicited a uniform Pavlovian response: pure happiness. We all have had ski boots that make us cringe when we pull them on — but we know their performance or their lightweight nature will make ‘em worth it in the end. These boots, Scarpa F1, are not like that.
Scarpa F1 just works, and when your ski touring boots are working, you are going places. This past winter they provided me with one 5-star experience after another. And it’s not just that they were great for going uphill, downhill, and everything in-between, it’s that they led me to such a diversity of highs. As much or more than how my F1s pushed snow around, I associate these boots with all the fabulous people I’ve been touring with this year and all the incredible places I’ve seen because they carried me there.
These boots have stayed on my feet while drinking beers on the deck of huts after a full day of touring, while après skiing after big in-bound ski days, and when we are back at the trailhead sitting on the tailgate in perfect afternoon sunshine. I’m reluctant to take them off actually — partially because they really are that comfortable — but largely because I don’t want the finest moments of my winter to be over.
To linger in my ski boots just a little bit longer after a perfect day in the alpine is like licking the spoon covered in your favorite cake batter. To wring out that joy-drenched cape we wear during our best moments spent outside skiing with friends is what fuels us for the more regular parts of our lives, and what leads us to the next magical moment in our ski boots.
Is this a review? Yes, so I’d better come up with something less worshipful. That’s hard. The only real complaints I have about my F1s are that the tongue has trouble staying in place and the lightweight hard-shell plastic is kind of sharp. It wears away a portion of the liner every time I put them on. Ok, back to the worship.
Another reason why I’ve been wearing them nearly non-stop for five months: Somehow these boots have become a symbol for me this season — an indicator that we can make our lives whatever we want them to be — and having a sport like skiing as a mechanism to get out there is all you need sometimes. My Scarpa F1s have joined me for solo walks in the winter woods and have transported me out of a stressful work day and onto a sun-lit skin track with a close friend.
These boots have taken me to the top of Colorado’s Highlands Bowl to hand out free coffee, tea and cookies on Valentine’s day.
These boots have charged uphill at twilight with new friends on spontaneous hut trips.
These boots have climbed to the summit of mountains just to paint the scenery with another mountain artist.
These boots have shred pow like a monster and these boots have preferred to just sit on the porch and drink beer with friends.
Somewhere along the way, my now venerable Scarpa F1s even gained a dedicated perch in the center of my living room to dry out between all these adventures.
These boots make me happy and I tend to trust that something good is going to happen when I’m wearing these boots.
Scarpa F1, made for walking, and more.
“Tester” profile, Sarah Uhl:
Height/weight — 5’5’’, 125
Previous boots — green SCARPA Gea
Ski level — intermediate/advanced — stoked!
Years skiing — 7
Percentage terrain skiing — 60% backcountry — 20% uphilling — 20% resort
Where — mostly Colorado Rocky Mountains
Skis — Black Diamond Carbon Convert, 165cm
Boot fitting Sarah’s boots at Cripple Creek Backcountry.
(WildSnow Girl, Sarah Uhl, may not have been Rocky Mountain born but she has found her heart here. When she is not climbing mountains or foraging medicinal plants she welds words and mixes paint to tell stories of the beautywild. Examples of her fabulous artwork here.)
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Comments
11 Responses to “These Boots — SCARPA F1 Ski Touring”
I’m not sure if that was a review or a poem, but it sounds like those F1s are pretty dialed!
Pushing the envelope of “reviews!”
Comfort is key.
Best thing on the internet that I’ve read in a while.
That put a smile on my face! I feel the same way about my Scarpa Maestrale RS’s, when I see them in the cupboard I think of all the great places they’ve taken me, challenges they’ve met and good times with friends. When I pull them on I think adventure ahead!
What Sarah said! I’ve using the F1 since early December 2016, mostly around the Tetons, at least several days a week. The small power strap combined with the power strap/buckle provide a great range of stiffness and progressive flex. The range of motion and weight make these boots a good option for shoveling and walking the pooch. The BOA lacing helps make the fit super fine. The F1 is my all time favorite AT boot!
I have to second the love for my new F1’s. They are light and agile, so they make climbing enjoyable (coming from a stiffer, heavier boot). And on the way down they have enough stiffness and flex to really drive my 109 wide skis. I had them out yesterday for a Father’s Day tour, and it occurred to me that Scarpa has hit the perfect balance between uphill and downhill capabilities.
This report might not sound like a review but my experience with F1’s after 2 seasons in consistent with Sarah’s joyful description
This report might not sound like a review but my experience with F1’s after 2 seasons is consistent with Sarah’s joyful description! They are that good for me too!
Correction to prior post.
love the review sarah! do you find that you ever max out and hit the BOA with the top half of the boot while skinning?
I am considering new ski boots – Scarpa F1. I have Atomic Backland size 26.5 and I would like slightly more space. Scarpa shell size is the same for 26.5 and 27. What is the difference in liners? Is it additional insole in the liner 27 or it is different liner thickness?