Rossignol BC X5

I rented these at REI after my first few rentals at an XC center. I found them to be a pretty good, forgiving BC boot for beginners and intermediate XC skiers. They are warmer than they appear and provide a decent mount to the ski.

I used them with Fischer BC Country Crown skis and used them in both set tracks at a center and also off-track in a state park, following snowmobile trails, fire roads, old rail beds and singletrack. I used them in a fresh 8-inch dumping of snow and was out for 5+ hours. My feet were comfortable the whole outing with just SmartWool skiing socks on.

I wish I could have found these boots when I bought my package. I found them to fit me much better than the Alpina 1550 (too much volume and uncomfortable) and Salomon boots (too loose and sloppy). The only boot I found to be better was the Fischer BCX 6, which is a much warmer boot, with a power strap to tighten the ski up for hills.