Rossignol XP 12 XPLORE boot

[boby13]

What is your favorite boot right now- the Alaska XP?
And what do you think about the Alaska XP vs Alfa Free?

Yes the Alaska XP is the one I like the most. The Alfa free is a lot of fiddling around... to kick and glide, you need to loosen the upper part. Its hard to have both boots at the same looseness... lots of fine tuning to do.

And sorry for the tread jack Fledersau, my first nnn bc boot was a rossi X10 wich look a lot like the XP12. I have a low volume foot and the boot was way to loose in the front. I Like to have a little pressure on top of my feet.

Un jour je vais déménager dans ton coin, vous avez toujours plus de neige que chez nous

[fledersau]

Haha, Don't worry about the threadjack. I think Xplore boots are more than ever a question of the system with the binding. And especially this boot seems to be so rare, not alot of people skied it before, and unfortunately i don't have any other XPlore boot to compare.

But compared to the X10, the XP12 is way stiffer. Not only the sole, but the upper as well.
I'm looking forward to try on the Pioneers or the Alaska's when they'll be available.

Ouais, j'attends patiemment pour un genou à guerir et la neige qui rapproche... mais au camp mercier il semble d'en avoir en masse...

[fledersau]

I have 2 more outings and a comparison to the Alfa Skaget.

I think the X12 fits the Xplore Sole quite well. It is a quite stiff boot with the stiff XPlore sole, so downhill control is the best i have ever tried. fun to engage telemark turns.
Fore aft movement. The upper part of the boot flexes nicely forwards and the sole seems to break in a little bit. But that boot has a impressive backbone that goes up quite high. That restricts stretch movement on the forward foot on really long kick and glide (or car driving if your seat is low), but just a little bit. But on Downhill it is really fun to have this added stability, you can almost lean back in the boot to get more floatation or hop over some small branches. I dnid't use the hard flexers yet for longer descents.
On the fit departement, i have the 43 which has the perfect length but a huge Volume. I added a second, flat Insole and think it still is quite big in volume but comfy for my wide foot.

I never had problems with the pins, when getting out and back in, i even had my boots a little bit underwater at -8 Celsius and had no problem to reenter the binding afterwards.

Comparison to Alfa Skaget Perform:

While i didn't skied the Skaget i had in on my foot for about 1hour inside a shop and compared it directly with my XP12.
The XP12 and the Skaget have about the same hight. But the Skaget is much softer on the upper, i think the XP12 is better for downhill controll while the skaget is better for walking and has a super lacing system and fantastic heel retention, but the XP12 isn't bad either. The sole of the unused Skaget was a little bit stiffer than the XP12, but i think that is due to the fact that it wasn't skied yet and maybe the lower part of the boot is a stiffer.
On the fit front, The Skaget (Which i tried in size 42) has about the same inner length than the 43 Rossignol but is much narrower and lower volume, even with my additional insole on the XP12.

Now i see the snow falling and i'm looking for some good skiing this weekend in Lanaudiere before a nice Hut to Hut trip in Gaspesie next week.

[satanas]

But going down steep icy and crusty slopes (no telemark turn), I taking the xplore/alfa free combo! I know its hard to believe but an alfa free fully tighten feels like you're stuck in a cast. The cuff forward flex is way stiffer than on my Garmont Excursion.

^ Very interesting! However, what I'm more curious about is the available lateral support - how does that compare with an Excursion or anything NNNBC, etc?

Thanks.

[GrimSurfer]

Hi there,

I'm a new member, but already got a lot of information at tipps from the forum here, so i'd like to contribute something.
I know Rossignol doesn't get much love around here but lack of choice had me buy the Rossignol XP 12.

The double quick lacing helps to individually adjust tension on the upper and lower part of the foot.

Just read your excellent post… it triggered some thoughts (other than this boot being a respectable alternative to other brands).

The leopard spot pattern reminds me of Edith Prickly on SCTV (played by Andrea Martin).

Double lacing system…. THIS is a great idea. (I know it isn’t a new one but bear with me…)

The biggest downside of the Alaska is the lacing system. It’s hard to keep the laces over the toe box tight when hooking the laces over the cleats higher up on the boot. The overall friction in the lacing system makes it hard for pressures to equalize… though it eventually happens after the first few km on the trail.

This is probably what Rossignol found in testing for the XPs.

So I’m going to try to apply a two lace system to my Alpinas, using the nylon loops in the middle of the boot as the staring point for the top laces. I have a pair of screw in speed lace grommets somewhere (used in the past on running shoes and hiking boots).

More to follow… still waiting for the return of skiable snow in my location … sigh.

[JohnSKepler]

What is your favorite boot right now- the Alaska XP?
And what do you think about the Alaska XP vs Alfa Free?

Yes the Alaska XP is the one I like the most. The Alfa free is a lot of fiddling around... to kick and glide, you need to loosen the upper part. Its hard to have both boots at the same looseness... lots of fine tuning to do.

Have you used the Alfa Free? I’ve not found anything you said to be the case. It doesn’t flex like my Alaska XP bellows but I don’t fiddle with it. After I’ve been out for a half-hour or so I tighten them up but that’s pretty much it. To be fair, I don’t use it like my Alaska, it’s more a tour for turns boot but as far as requiring constant adjusting it beats the heck out of laces.

[boby13]

But going down steep icy and crusty slopes (no telemark turn), I taking the xplore/alfa free combo! I know its hard to believe but an alfa free fully tighten feels like you're stuck in a cast. The cuff forward flex is way stiffer than on my Garmont Excursion.

^ Very interesting! However, what I'm more curious about is the available lateral support - how does that compare with an Excursion or anything NNNBC, etc?

Thanks.

It has more lateral support than any nnn bc boot or 75mm leather boot that I've tried.

Compared to an excursion, the boot is much lower cut, so it doesn't have as much support.

[boby13]

What is your favorite boot right now- the Alaska XP?
And what do you think about the Alaska XP vs Alfa Free?

Yes the Alaska XP is the one I like the most. The Alfa free is a lot of fiddling around... to kick and glide, you need to loosen the upper part. Its hard to have both boots at the same looseness... lots of fine tuning to do.

Have you used the Alfa Free? I’ve not found anything you said to be the case. It doesn’t flex like my Alaska XP bellows but I don’t fiddle with it. After I’ve been out for a half-hour or so I tighten them up but that’s pretty much it. To be fair, I don’t use it like my Alaska, it’s more a tour for turns boot but as far as requiring constant adjusting it beats the heck out of laces.

Yes I have the boot and I use them to tour for turns as well. Its just that I usually bend over 4-5 times at the beginning of a tour just to dial in a perfect and even looseness to my upper boots.
I guest I'm a little picky with my boot tension

[fledersau]

UPDATE:
I had finally the chance to try the boots with the XPLORE system on a 4 day hut to hut trip in Gaspesie national park in Québec. What a great experience.

Kick and glide:
Everything was fine, but a NNN BC boot kicks and glides a little bit better.

Going up:
The boot performed well, the heel riser of the XPLore binding works great with the boot, even if the feel is kind of bizarre if you are used to climging aid with hardboots. Sometimes i asked myself if the ski is harder to squash to flatten the ski for grip with the XPlore sole.

Going down:
That's the biggest surprise, for probably the cheapest XPlore Boot, the XP-12 was great. On the 2nd day we had more than 30cm of fresh snow without any traces and on the downhill i was able to make telemark turns and have fun with the bumps. Even without the hard flex and with a 60 liter backpack. I felt better on this than on a Garmont Excursion with G3 Targas and old skis... on the last day we had a really long moderately steep downhill on a skidoo trail, snow was fresh but a few skidoos passed. I tried the hard flexer on this descend. I was able to easily turn inside the tracks and even the traces of the ski do skis didn't put me off trail. I'm really surprised by the stiffness of this boot and i'm looking forward to take them for a day inbound and see how they perform...

Comfort:
With my second insole, i felt comfortable. The heel pocket is big. My heel lifted slightly when walking and when in downhill mode with the hard flex it lifted a little bit more. I think putting the last hole of the lower lacing part would help to place the heel firmly. but the rest of the boot is really comfortable.
While my feets stayed dry during a long and humid snowfall day, even with a little river crossing, i think it isn't one of the warmest boots.

Verdict:
I think this boot is really good bang for the buck. I'd really be curious to try some Alfa Frees or Alpina Pioneers to compare downhill performance with the XP 12. But i think it's a great boot if it fits you and you can look beyond the hideous design.

[GrimSurfer]

UPDATE:
I had finally the chance to try the boots with the XPLORE system on a 4 day hut to hut trip in Gaspesie national park in Québec. What a great experience.

Kick and glide:
Everything was fine, but a NNN BC boot kicks and glides a little bit better.

Going up:
The boot performed well, the heel riser of the XPLore binding works great with the boot, even if the feel is kind of bizarre if you are used to climging aid with hardboots. Sometimes i asked myself if the ski is harder to squash to flatten the ski for grip with the XPlore sole.

Going down:
That's the biggest surprise, for probably the cheapest XPlore Boot, the XP-12 was great. On the 2nd day we had more than 30cm of fresh snow without any traces and on the downhill i was able to make telemark turns and have fun with the bumps. Even without the hard flex and with a 60 liter backpack. I felt better on this than on a Garmont Excursion with G3 Targas and old skis... on the last day we had a really long moderately steep downhill on a skidoo trail, snow was fresh but a few skidoos passed. I tried the hard flexer on this descend. I was able to easily turn inside the tracks and even the traces of the ski do skis didn't put me off trail. I'm really surprised by the stiffness of this boot and i'm looking forward to take them for a day inbound and see how they perform...

Comfort:
With my second insole, i felt comfortable. The heel pocket is big. My heel lifted slightly when walking and when in downhill mode with the hard flex it lifted a little bit more. I think putting the last hole of the lower lacing part would help to place the heel firmly. but the rest of the boot is really comfortable.
While my feets stayed dry during a long and humid snowfall day, even with a little river crossing, i think it isn't one of the warmest boots.

Verdict:
I think this boot is really good bang for the buck. I'd really be curious to try some Alfa Frees or Alpina Pioneers to compare downhill performance with the XP 12. But i think it's a great boot if it fits you and you can look beyond the hideous design.

Awesome post. Sounds like a great adventure.

Happy you found fresh powder… it’s pretty rare this year (even in the right places).