Alpine Touring vs. NTN (and perhaps other options) - looking for thoughts on a new setup

[Montana St Alum]

@Montana St Alum, are you still using the TX Pro / Meidjo setup, or have you moved on to something else?

I'm going to stick with this set up. So far, it's working really well. The only change I made was to go to the heavy spring rather than using the two springs it comes with simultaneously. Those seemed to compress down within a couple dozen days of skiing. The single heavy spring seems to hold its shape/length better. Even with the heavy spring, I have the binding set up with minimal resistance.

[Stephen]

It looks like I have pretty much hijacked this thread, from my original Slippery Slope thread.
I think @westslope came to the conclusion on Page 2 that AT gear might be his best option, so I’m going to just roll on here.

I am pretty ignorant on the evolution of Telemark boots, unaware of the struggles many have gone through to find the right equipment, the hopes people have for Scarpa releasing a new Telemark boot, and have just been looking at what is currently available. Basically, for boots, that would be: T4, T2, TX Pro.

I found a thread over on Backcountry Talk that gave me some background on the history and thinking on boots.
https://www.backcountrytalk.com/forum/b ... thing-soon

I now appreciate where @Nick BC is coming from with the TX recommendation.
It sure sounds like the TX is about were I would like to be.
The T4 seems a little light.
The TX Pro seems like a nice boot, but heavier, stiffer and less ROM than necessary / desirable for probably 80% of the time.
The T2 seems like a more appropriate boot, except lacks releasability and is likely the end of the line for 75mm.
BUT, I walked around the shop with a T2 on one foot and the TXP on the other, and the T2 caused me pain at the top of my instep / bottom of my ankle. The TXP was perfectly comfortable for me in that area.

If the TX was still available, that would probably be my choice, but it’s not.

As for bindings, people seem to be real happy with the M3 and it’s light.

And the V6 seems good.
There’s just no “right” answer for BC / non-BC.
There’s a price to pay either way.
For me, the convenience of the BC seems like a worthwhile tradeoff for diminished slide.

I’m still open to thoughts if anyone wants to chime in.

[Montana St Alum]

I’m still open to thoughts if anyone wants to chime in.

I was going to suggest a quiver.....but maybe 2 quivers would be better!

[Nick BC]

@stephen Not sure of your boot size but these came up on Backcountry Talk.
https://boise.craigslist.org/spo/d/bois ... 58701.html

[Stephen]

@Nick BC, wow, so close! I’m just fitting in a 30. Those would have been perfect. Thanks for passing along.

@Montana St Alum, I found a great thread over on Backcountry Talk, that makes me realize I’m going the Swiss Army Knife approach. Nothing right or wrong in that — I don’t really want to invest 2X$ in multiple setups at his point.
https://www.backcountrytalk.com/forum/b ... oads/page2
@xmatt half way down page 2.

[Montana St Alum]

@Montana St Alum, I found a great thread over on Backcountry Talk, that makes me realize I’m going the Swiss Army Knife approach. Nothing right or wrong in that — I don’t really want to invest 2X$ in multiple setups at his point.
https://www.backcountrytalk.com/forum/b ... oads/page2
@xmatt half way down page 2.

Really, for your application, the Swiss Army knife approach makes sense. You need the versatility. I used to have several Swiss Army knives! It's amazing what you can make work. There was a point where my only pair of skis, for everything lift served plus considerable amounts of Utah backcountry was a 185cm pair of Armada JJ's at 116mm underfoot with Axl's and T2 Eco boots and skins. More like a Swiss Army chainsaw, but it worked for me for 2 seasons.

[fgd135]

My T2 liners had to be heated to fit, which is how they are designed. Right outta the box they didn't fit very well. Maybe that's why the ones you tried on were pinching, certainly the boot salesman mentioned the liners?
After the liners were properly heated and fitted by the shop technicians, they're just about perfect...
I hope it is NOT the end of 75mm, as I still have a stable full and in fact have no plans to change any of it. Probably a tele dinosaur, but I'm very pleased overall with performance, and still see several excellent bindings for sale currently.

[Montana St Alum]

My T2 liners had to be heated to fit, which is how they are designed. Right outta the box they didn't fit very well. Maybe that's why the ones you tried on were pinching, certainly the boot salesman mentioned the liners?
After the liners were properly heated and fitted by the shop technicians, they're just about perfect...
I hope it is NOT the end of 75mm, as I still have a stable full and in fact have no plans to change any of it. Probably a tele dinosaur, but I'm very pleased overall with performance, and still see several excellent bindings for sale currently.

Yeah, they're pretty easy to thermofit at home also after they pack out. If you have them done at REI, I believe they will redo them if needed for free.
The only trick to it is to create enough room in the toe area. I put cotton between my toes and have a cut out sock that just covers the toes under a very thin sock. That creates a nice roomy toe box. I couldn't get the Crispis to have much heel hold down, no matter what. Thankfully, they still make the T2 Eco!

[Stephen]

Well, I didn't mean dead, as in Monty Python dead!

Or even irrelevant.

Just parroting the thoughts I have encountered suggesting development in this area is fairly mature, and new development in Telemark bindings may likely be along other branches of the tree, such as NTN, for example.

@fgd135, yes yes on the liners.
I tend to think of them more in the foot area, but I suppose heat mold might take care of the tongue area.
If you ever get a chance to compare that area (instep to ankle curve) of the T2 and TXP, you will see that the TXP has a rounder shape, in both axis, than the T2.
So, I just felt more confident that the TXP was going to fit well.
Plus, and again, I wore one on each foot, walking around for quite a while (walk / tour setting), and really could not feel that much difference, although, I think I did feel the back top of the cuff more on the TXP, which might limit stride uphill...

After some research, the impression I get is that the TXP is a better resort boot, and the T2 a better tour boot, and if the goals / terrain / conditions / skill permit, the T4 an even more tour-friendly boot.

[satanas]

Re boots: FWIW and YMMV - I've skied BC (mostly Salomon, RIP), original T2, original T3, T4, T2X, Excursion, NTN v1 (briefly), and Dynafit TLT5P (AT). The Dynafits are lighter than any of the 75mm plastic tele boots, have much more ROM(!), give more control, and the bindings are significantly lighter. More recent AT boots have been tweaked further while OTOH there have been zero new tele boots for 10+ years AFAIK. NTN gives decent control, but the boots and bindings are heavy, and ROM at the ankle is poor compared with AT. Scarpa are allegedly working on a new, lighter tele boot, but even rumours about these are scarce; and Scarpa apparently recalled the prototypes that were out there for further revision a few months ago - or at least that's what I heard. Those boots are probably still at least two years away from production too, so I won't be holding my breath.

At present it's possible to get very competent, lightweight AT gear (with proper release if that's desired), which in my experience is faster uphill, downhill and on the flat than any plastic tele gear. Unless you're dedicated to the telemark turn then IMHO AT is the more sensible choice at present, or else BC (or perhaps Xplore, once it exists?) for XC touring and maybe XCD. Hopefully the new Scarpa NTN boots will level things out somewhat, when/if they ever arrive.