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Walk 500 Miles, and More — Women’s La Sportiva Sytron Review

by Manasseh Franklin April 3, 2020
written by Manasseh Franklin April 3, 2020
The La Sportiva Sytron -- a boot that can double duty for long mountain missions or skimo training days.

The La Sportiva Sytron — a boot that can double duty for long mountain missions or skimo training days.

I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more… Too often when ski touring, but most especially when training, that song gets lodged in my head. Only I sometimes replace “miles” with “feet”, vertical feet, as I hamster up a slope, rip skins, ski down, skin up, repeat.

This winter I walked many of those vertical feet in the La Sportiva Sytron, a lightweight ski mountaineering shoe designed for maximum uphill efficiency but also decent downhill performance. Here’s my take after a long winter of training days.

Perhaps thanks to my German engineer predecessors, I’m intrinsically drawn to models of efficiency particularly when it comes to lightweight gear for moving farther into the mountains. Training is fun and all, but it’s essentially done in the service of being fit for bigger days and longer objectives when snow conditions allow. So I was particularly excited to get my foot into a boot that had similar ambitions — light enough for routine skimo training and rec racing, but substantial enough to take on some big objectives. Enter, the La Sportiva Sytron.

Last spring, Alex Lee gave an initial take on the Sytron. I’ll add to that with a long term view specifically oriented to lighter skiers like myself (I tested the women’s version which is the only women’s specific race-weight boot on the market. The liner is lower volume than the men’s, though the differences are otherwise negligible).

The boot

The Sytron is a minimal two-buckle touring boot with a claimed weight of 660 grams for a 25.5 (the 25 came in a little heavier at 710g). It features a Grilamid shell with carbon reinforced cuff, internal gaiter and Sportiva’s Spider Buckle Evo closure system. The 75 degree range of motion topped off with a beefy but lightweight La Sportiva Grip Guard sole give it an elegant burliness that promises capable efficiency. Sounds promising.

The boots pack a lot of features into a light package, including burly soles, forward lean options, and efficient closure systems. The color is cute too.

The boots pack a lot of features into a light package, including burly soles, forward lean options, and efficient closure systems. The color is cute too.

The La Sportiva Sytron is situated in a healthy class of ski mountaineering boots including Alien RS, Atomic Backland UL and the Dynafit PDG 2. While not designed explicitly for Rando racing, these boots can easily cross over into rec-race territory but not be pigeonholed into spandex missions only.

Features

The carbon enforced Grilamid shell is stiff, abruptly so. I was happy to really push into it on my first few days out and feel it solidly beneath my shins. The flex certainly isn’t progressive but is something to lean into that doesn’t fold over. Four forward lean positions, (14 — 20 degrees), provide a surprising number of options to customize the performance of what otherwise is a minimal boot.

La Sportiva provides its own wrap liner that cradles the foot and ankle and is finished with a water resistant upper and velcro closure. I liked the shape and extra security of the velcro, but otherwise I found it to be a bit thin and cold. During the early days of skiing and fitting the boots, I often felt like my heels and toes were actually rubbing against the plastic shell through the liner. Not surprisingly, the thin liner scores low on warmth.

La Sportiva's wrap liner. A bit thin and cold for my taste.

La Sportiva’s wrap liner. A bit thin and cold for my taste though I like the velcro closure.

At 75 degrees (35 in the back, 40 in the front), the range of motion closely resembles what you would have in a running shoe — that is, totally unrestricted movement. Prior to this boot, I hadn’t realized just how much resistance other touring boots have, even with wide ROM. The Styron gave a new definition to mobility, and it was particularly noticeable while skinning across long flats and slight downhill sections. With the right fit, it has potential as a truly all day, all terrain mountaineering shoe.

The Spider Buckle Evo system and CavoBike Lever mechanism are two of my favorite features. The Spider Buckle equalizes pressure across the forefoot, providing a comfortable uniform snugness I’ve not experienced in either single buckle closures or boa systems. The CavoBike walk-ski mechanism makes transitions a breeze; it looks cool too. Simply set the top buckle (via a string closure, not my favorite feature as it was prone to shift around and get caught up in the plastic), leave open for touring and flick closed to ski. Switching the buckle closed initiates the walk-ski lever on the back of the boot so you can easily transition in a single fluid motion.

The spider buckle evo closure lends to a snug, even-pressured fit that's easy to open up for touring and clamp down for skiing.

The spider buckle evo closure lends to a snug, even-pressured fit that’s easy to open up for touring (shown here) and clamp down for skiing.

The Cavo-bike lever mechanism -- easy up for walk mode...

The Cavo-bike lever mechanism — easy up for walk mode…

...and down for ski mode.

…and down for ski mode.

Fit

With its 100.4 last, the boot fit my 99mm wide foot just fine across the top and sides. Unfortunately that’s where the out of box comfort stopped. I shell sized correctly for 25 size but something in the taper of the toe box made for a particularly challenging fit. My big toes on both feet constantly felt crunched, though my little toes had enough room. I also experienced painful rubbing on my heels, likely due to slight protrusions that have formed over years of skinning.

Several boot fitting trials and errors ensued. A standard heat mold was the first step, with toe caps and a foam wedge to take pressure off my left heel. After several weeks of hoping I’d better the fit just by wearing the boots frequently, I attempted punching the toe box. That still didn’t quite do the trick and with the 2020 Elk Grand Traverse looming, I was ready to take invasive measures. An aggressive punch fully opened up the toe box, and was followed by another heat mold with double toe caps. Finally the boots were dialed (just in time for the GT to get cancelled, alas). Fortunately the Grilamid is easy to work with. (Note: this is quite different than Alex Lee’s fit experience. It’s worth reading his review for another take).

Uphill performance

By mid-March this winter, I had logged well over 100,000 of those vertical feet I was singing about, much of it done in the Sytrons. Despite the tricky fit, I often chose them over other touring boots because the uphill efficiency was so superior. Between the low gram weight and high range of motion, the Sytrons make ascending easy — without thought, I can efforlessly lengthen my stride, swing around for kickturns, and generally have every kind of mobility I could ask for. The Grip Guard soles do their job for rock scrambling as well and the traditional toe can accomomdate a semi or full crampon.

Downhill performance

For their weight and construction, these boots ski well. While I have most consistently paired the Sytrons with 65mm race skis, I’ve also had a few bigger days out with next year’s Black Diamond Cirque 78s which shows promise for a spring mountaineering match made in heaven (or, Europe, rather). I haven’t pushed into any wider widths yet, though suspect the boot could drive well into the mid-80s (Alex Lee concurs in his review, as he used the boot to push an 88 underfoot ski).

I appreciate the stiffness of the boot despite its lack of progressive flex. At 120 pounds I’m a relatively light person and a light skier. Bigger, more aggressive skiers may find themselves flexing through the boot, but I found it ideal for the kind of performance I was seeking. The forward lean options have allowed me to play with different adjustments. I’ve settled on 16 degrees and enjoyed skiing all sorts of conditions including powder, crud, bumps and groomers. I’m excited to employ the Sytrons full time once corn season comes around (or the Coronavirus threats subside, whichever comes first).

For the ski mountaineer and lightweight tourer looking for an efficient, light boot, the La Sportiva Sytron is a great option. In terms of uphill and downhill performance, it certainly measures up among other boots in its class. And did I mention how efficient it is on the uphill? Let the vertical feet go on.

SPECS
Sizes available: 23.5 – 26.5 (half sizes, women’s version)
Weight: 660g (half pair, size 25.5)
Shell: Grilamid
Cuff: Carbon reinforced polymer (Grilamid / Carbon)
Liner: Sytron Boot Liner
Forward lean: 4 positions (14 / 16 / 18/ 20)
Range of motion: 75 degrees (35 back / 40 front)
Buckles: 2 — CavoBike Lever Pro™ / Spider Buckle EVO™
Last: 100.4mm
Compatibility: All “tech-style” bindings only
Sole: La Sportiva Grip Guard™ (complies with ISMF standards)
Shop for it.

2 comments
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2 comments

Robin April 6, 2020 - 1:32 pm

Manasseh, thanks for the review. I enjoy your contributions to WildSnow 2.0. I concur with your impression regarding the impressive balance of uphill travel and downhill performance of these boots and am happy to see they’ve held up to the mileage you’ve put on them. Note I am a relatively lightweight 70kg male, a cruiser rather than a shredder, and go around jumps rather than over them. At 62 it’s a bit of the old age and treachery angle, to boot (smile). My experience with their performance mirrors yours, and the review by Alex Lee last spring. One quirk I’ve noticed is the tendency of the lower portion of the cord in front of the upper cuff to work its way underneath and behind the cuff on the climb, which requires repositioning with a bare finger to bring it back in front of the cuff to enable the cuff lever to lock at the summit transition. I’ve modded a cable tie loop around the lever side of the cuff to anchor a retaining band around the cord to prevent this. Then a simple flip of the cuff locking lever with a mitten without raising the pant leg to expose it maintains speedy turnarounds and the intrinsic advantage of a simple two buckle boot. Perhaps others have better solutions. Before the Sytron, I put several seasons on the Syborg. In comparing the two, I note the Sytron toe box is significantly shorter in height (~1cm), requiring a thinner sock and thereby providing less temperature tolerance. For days in the single digits I use a rubber-rand overboot. I’m not surprised you needed to expand it for fit. Even though I have the same size 27.0 for both boots, the first time I put on the mail-order Sytron I thought I’d made a mistake. I’d like to see that remedied in future versions. The Sytron shell gaiter is quite the entry struggle. Is it holding up for you? It seems a bit of overcompensation for the Syborg zipper that requires delicate handling. I like the spider buckle although have a pressure point on my foot under the rivet – Gary Smith had some good suggestions on possible solutions for this issue in the comments on his Skorpius review where it has the same feature. Other than being available only in half sizes and color scheme, are there any other differences you’re aware of for the women’s v men’s boot? The Sportiva website has limited information. Skimo.com is more informative in speccing the Sytron liner for women and Palau liner for men. Or as my wife says maybe I missed something with my typical “man-glance”. Sorry if this is viewed as poaching with a male perspective – I’m thinking this may be a future boot for her too. Sportiva continues to impress with its ongoing fountain of boot creativity.

Manasseh April 7, 2020 - 2:27 pm

Robin: glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the boot as well. I too have had some issues with the string creeping around, though your mod sounds like it’s worth a try. So far no problems with the gaiter; my gripe with it is more on difficult exits than entries. As for the different between women’s vs men’s, according to back and forth with PR, the only major difference is the women’s liner is lower volume, particularly in the heel cup. Otherwise its the usual things you pointed out: color scheme and sizing. I’m curious to see how it continues to wear and hold up over seasons to come and may at some point try a different liner. For warmer spring skiing though, it seems like it’ll do fine.

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