Nordic Touring Boots

Reviewed by Gareth Davies

Ultimate off-trail x-country boot.

I have been an avid nordic skier for more than 30 years. My everyday skiing is off-trail x-country through rolling terrain (with the occasional steep climb and decent). Although I appreciate 75mm telemark equipment when I truly need it; I find it agonizingly inefficient compared to NNNBC for most of the skiing I do. Recently I have struggled to find the perfect boot. I have tried the Rossi BC line; like it; but not enough support. I have been using the Fischer BCX6 for two seasons; love the performance; but they hurt my feet.

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Reviewed by John Ouellette

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.

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Featured review by Mikko Leinonen

Good value for money. Good overall boots for rolling in fells.

Bought these boots to replace 20-year-old Asolo telemark boots. My usage is around 75% of skiing and 25% of downhill so the flex is perfect for my rolling in nearby fells. Now after <100 km of skiing these boots are breaking in properly. Heel keeps in place quite well after switching to waxed laces instead of cotton ones. Coldest temperature of using these boots has been around -10° Celsius and no frostbites with one liner sock. Sizing: My shoe size is normally EUR 42,5 to 43 but after reviews I ordered size EUR 42 and that's a perfect fit with one sock.

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Reviewed by BigRed

A solidly built, high-end NNN-BC boot that delivers on both touring and turning performance. The 2-buckle, hinged plastic ankle cuff boosts downhill control. A good choice for messing about in the Vermont woods or Norwegian style hut-to-hut touring with summits on the side.

Back in the '90s, as plastic boots were rising to their current dominance in the backcountry ski world, I was a regular on rec.skiing.backountry, an online bulletin board for back country skiers. I was then and remain a proponent of the NNN-BC (New Nordic Norm-Backcountry) boot-binding system as a good choice for a brand of backcountry skiing that involves a mix of kick-and-glide touring and downhill skiing in more or less friendly snow conditions. I got into a few online arguments over the pros and cons of the system, with one user arguing that no “serious” skiers use NNN-BC.

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Reviewed by Luis T

Good quality and insulation with decent ankle support.

I have been using this boot for classic Nordic skiing during the last 6 years. I wanted to try the sport and found this boots to be a good deal with a set of used skis and I have been hooked since then. This is a well made entry level boot with a good amount of insulation and sturdy sidewalls to protect your feet against packed/ice snow that can rub against your feet. I have used them in groom tracks and in open country and they always perform well in terms of insulation and keeping my feet dry.

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Featured review by Beungood

Used these for some cross-country skiing at Windblown XC center. It was the first time out this year and one of the few places skiable here yet. The boots were incredibly warm (it was 18 degrees) and the boots worked great. Good kick and glide and very comfortable. Also managed some powder across a lake and a few steep downhills. Boots are able to put a good amount of pressure on the skis and allow good turning.

A VERY WARM and supportive boot that will allow you to focus on having fun making good turns. This boot is a good boot for XC/Backcountry skiing and will have the power to drive skis up to 69-78mm. I have used several different brands and this is the warmest and most supportive of all. I've used them with Magnum BC bindings mounted on Atomic Sierra skis (69mm shovel) and for low angle skiing and turning these are a blast. Not too heavy climbing but supportive enough they let me rip some turns.

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Featured review by Beungood

Great balance of warmth, support stiffness and waterproofness! A great do anything system boot to explore the backcountry or rip up the groomed cross-country centers.

I needed a sturdy pair of backcountry skiing System boots to replace my two-year-old Fischer BC x6 boots that delaminated at the sole after only two years.  It would be a tall order since when first tried the Fischers were very warm and supportive and stiff enough to drive turns on medium width BC skis. As soon as I tired these on I was impressed at how comfortable they fit and also on how well constructed they were. The outer cordora does a good job at keeping out snow and wetness and the Thinsulate kept my feet very warm.

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Reviewed by Siltloam

These are warm, easy-to-use cross country ski boots for women. Simple design and comfortable to wear all day. I love the Quicklaces for getting on the trail quickly.

Durability: I bought these very lightly used and wore them all season (2 - 4 days every week we had enough snow). They've held up great so far. Warmth: Oh Thinsulate, you get me. The salesman told me that Salomon recognized that women's feet get cold quicker than men's, so they made these extra warm. I can't say that while I had them on, I thought "Wow! These are really warm." In fact I never thought about the temperature of my feet at all. That is a huge win for women with cold feet! Even in my beloved snow boots, my feet always eventually get uncomfortably cold.

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