Just bought a pair today. Probably 1kg lighter than my old boots from 12 years ago. I charge hard nearly everyday of the winter and probably only ski tour 10% of the time. Custom fit, adaptable and light. Great boot.
Bought this boot last year, really happy with it except the strap. I didnt get that extra "pad" for the straps. Maybe thats something they added to this years production or something. But that would really help. I can certainly see why theyve added it. Or maybe its just missing from my box.
Hey, thank you for the review. Got a little question about the walking mechanism. When one flips it into to hiking mode it seems to leave a big open square for snow to fill in. Do you imagine that could happen? If yes, and one uses ones finger/ski pole to get the snow out of the square, but gets unlucky and packs the snow into the square, would that prevent the leaver from fully engaging? I imagine its not a big issue, but standing on the mountain and having to fiddle with getting snow out of that square does not seem like a joyfull moment.. :-) Cheers, Paul
Yeah could be a consideration. I don't think a major one as you could likely get it out easy enough, especially with a quick flick down of the mechanism it should lock in and any soft snow clear out as long as its not ice chunks. But yes it is little things like this that can add to on mtn frustration. :) I really need to go get this boot on snow to test. I might need to add in a tantrum factor for the rating!
Very informative and professional review as usual. Although you did not give the exact weight for this model I would say it is in the same class as the Nordica Strider and Tecnica Coshise. This type of boot is designed as a primarily resort boot with occasional backcountry use boot. I bought the Nordica Strider and Marker Tour F12 to get started two years ago. It only took one season to realize that a dedicated Backcountry boot like a Salomon MTN and Dynafit Rotation 10 which I got last year are much lighter and faster on the way up and really ski well on the way down. It works for me because I have several pair of boot plus my Marker Griffins with ID can be adjusted to my ISO 9523 soles if I want to switch from my Backcountry skis to a resort ski without changing boots.
Thanks Thomas! Yeah sorry did miss the weight, I think they come in at just under 1500g. :) And I would agree that they are a hybrid more so than a true AT boot. (Hence the Gripwalk soles) Great choice for your own BC boots! I love the MTN boot! So light, but still skis great!
Patriot Footbeds Just thinking that you could do a video on the difference in ISO boot soles 5355 ( Alpine) and 9523 ( touring + Grip Walk) with more Grip Walk boot soles becoming popular there will be more boot to binding adjustment issues if consumers are using older model bindings. Because I work as a binding technician this will become an issue especially when customers buy new boots then bring in their skis later for adjustment. Thanks you always do an awesome job.
Thank you for the review. I am looking to buy K2 BFC 100 heat ski boots. It will be great to hear your opinion on that boot. Review it if you can. Thank you.
Ola, great review! I'm shopping for a new boot, and came down to this one vs Dalbello Panterra 130. I already own Panterra 120 from few years back and am pretty happy with it. Would you say that this can be 80% alpine boot with the same performance as Panterra 130? I'm slowly making my way into touring, but I have my doubts about "hybrid" stuff in general. I'm 6.2/230 and ski 100+mm skis all the time, just wanna hear if these bootz can withstand the beating :) otherwise seems like an amazing boot. Cheers, Nik
Did you end up skiing in these? If so, how’d they perform? Any issues w/ leakage on the lower part as you’ve noted concern? Did the 2021’s address this issue? These boots check all the boxes for me & I’m close to pulling the trigger! Any further insight would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Scan, unfortunately I still haven't had a chance to ski these! This season was a challenging one with not many days on snow! :( By all reports I havent heard anyone talking about the leaking issue on these, but it will be in my plans as soon as I can to get these boots out on the mountain. If you do pull the trigger, I would love to hear your analysis of these! Overall I think they are a great boot from a build and quality perspective. Cheers
@@PatriotFootbeds I hear ya, mate. Right when we had a storm in Tahoe too smh. On a brighter note, looking forward to this upcoming year! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Went ahead & rolled the dice! Order is in! Went with the 2021’s! I’ll report further after a few chair lifts ;)
Hi Craig, great review. I just bought them online (26.5 size) and the feel awfully tight compare to my Nordicas Speed Machine 130 so I am planning to follow your video for the Custom Shell Molding at home since I live in the West Coast of Florida with no ski shops nearby. I never used footbeds on my ski boots before, Is there one you can recommend for the Kore 1 boots that won't add too much volume to the overall fit since the boots already feel so tight? Thanks man!
Hi Matias, Great, yeah just be extra careful with moulding this one, perhaps even lower the temperature as the boot walls are quite thin. I also wouldn't recommend heating the liners. If anything use the rice method to mold them. For footbeds, the best model I would recommend is the All Mtn model. Thinnest construction for not altering volume. Hope it all goes great! :)
i am in the exact same situation, debating on buying these online, i also have Nordica Speedmachine (110's and same size 26.5) that fit great and i am wondering how these will fit with the same size, were you able to get them to fit well?
@@scottstevens3213 Yes, the Kore were a bit stiff at the beginning but after a couple of uses they were good. After the 4th used, I did the heat molding for them and now they are perfect, even better than the Nordicas 130. They are very responsive and light weight. Used them for two weeks in Vermont and Canada and didn't have any water intrusion that I could tell. I did have to adjust the size of the bindings in my skis to make it a bit smaller because the Kore boots are a bit smaller than the Nordicas. Good luck!
@@matiesco thanks for the reply, i decided to go for the Nordica Strider 120's - same boot form as the Speedmachines, i am fine with the fit and all my skis have the same size bindings so i can interchange boots with all the bindings as well, I got a new all-mountain ski that i plan to ski a lot at the resort that have the Salomon Switch bindings so i can use those skis with both my alpine boots and the AT boots when i skin.
Please don't read into the Stoke Meter! :) It certainly isn't a gauge by any standard rating system. I purely go on a vibe and don't consider other boots Ive reviewed when I make the rating.
Just took these out for the first time yesterday. Instantly excruciatingly painful. Got about 5 runs in and had to call it quits because my lower ankle bones were bruised so badly. It was absolute torture to have them on. I’m hoping I can take them back to the ski shop and see if the heat molding will solve it but I have my doubts. They’re just way too narrow and I didn’t notice this trying them on in the shop. I’m probably out $600 and have to buy different boots 🤬. The shop guy says I can’t choose a different brand of boots because my bindings are mounted to these Kore 1s. Anybody know if that’s truly the case.
That sucks to hear man! No you are not stuck to only Head or only Kore boots. All bindings will have enough forward and back adjustment for another boot. Did you go with any type of footbed? Do you have feet that pronate a long way? Did this shop do a fitting for you or just sell you a boot blindly?
@@PatriotFootbeds I told them I was interested in the boots because I liked how lite they were and have all the features you mentioned in the video. So they said you wear a 27.5 here ya go. We’ll mount your new skis/bindings according to the size of these Head boots and you can’t choose a different boot down the road because they’re all different dimensions, in terms of length. They said like 3mm difference between brands. I’m thinking that’s not much and should be able to adjust in/out accordingly.
@@PatriotFootbeds and yes my feet tend to pronate out. Especially my right after a MTB crash years back, but both ankles killed just putting the boots on this weekend. I remembered this morning I had this problem when I was a youngster with some cheapo ski swap boots and I ended up cutting a hole in the outboard side of both liners to alleviate the squeezing on my talus bone. Really don’t want to do that to brand new expensive boots though lol
@@salmonslammer9657 So you prob need to get some good support to help fix your stance. And yes a heat mould may also work well. But the key is to make sure this boot fits your foot well. It doesn't sound like they have boot fitting at the store you went to.
Just bought a pair today. Probably 1kg lighter than my old boots from 12 years ago. I charge hard nearly everyday of the winter and probably only ski tour 10% of the time. Custom fit, adaptable and light. Great boot.
Nice!
Great review, thank you. I just got a pair. We will see how it goes.
Nice
Bought this boot last year, really happy with it except the strap. I didnt get that extra "pad" for the straps. Maybe thats something they added to this years production or something. But that would really help. I can certainly see why theyve added it. Or maybe its just missing from my box.
Yeah might just be on the new model. Do you struggle to get enough tension on the old one?
Hey, thank you for the review.
Got a little question about the walking mechanism. When one flips it into to hiking mode it seems to leave a big open square for snow to fill in. Do you imagine that could happen? If yes, and one uses ones finger/ski pole to get the snow out of the square, but gets unlucky and packs the snow into the square, would that prevent the leaver from fully engaging?
I imagine its not a big issue, but standing on the mountain and having to fiddle with getting snow out of that square does not seem like a joyfull moment.. :-)
Cheers,
Paul
Yeah could be a consideration. I don't think a major one as you could likely get it out easy enough, especially with a quick flick down of the mechanism it should lock in and any soft snow clear out as long as its not ice chunks.
But yes it is little things like this that can add to on mtn frustration. :)
I really need to go get this boot on snow to test. I might need to add in a tantrum factor for the rating!
Very informative and professional review as usual. Although you did not give the exact weight for this model I would say it is in the same class as the Nordica Strider and Tecnica Coshise. This type of boot is designed as a primarily resort boot with occasional backcountry use boot. I bought the Nordica Strider and Marker Tour F12 to get started two years ago. It only took one season to realize that a dedicated Backcountry boot like a Salomon MTN and Dynafit Rotation 10 which I got last year are much lighter and faster on the way up and really ski well on the way down. It works for me because I have several pair of boot plus my Marker Griffins with ID can be adjusted to my ISO 9523 soles if I want to switch from my Backcountry skis to a resort ski without changing boots.
Thanks Thomas!
Yeah sorry did miss the weight, I think they come in at just under 1500g. :) And I would agree that they are a hybrid more so than a true AT boot. (Hence the Gripwalk soles)
Great choice for your own BC boots! I love the MTN boot! So light, but still skis great!
Patriot Footbeds Just thinking that you could do a video on the difference in ISO boot soles 5355 ( Alpine) and 9523 ( touring + Grip Walk) with more Grip Walk boot soles becoming popular there will be more boot to binding adjustment issues if consumers are using older model bindings. Because I work as a binding technician this will become an issue especially when customers buy new boots then bring in their skis later for adjustment. Thanks you always do an awesome job.
@@thomasmedeiros5722 That would be a short video haha
Another great review, I’ve learned so much from you!!
Thanks mate!
Thank you for the review. I am looking to buy K2 BFC 100 heat ski boots. It will be great to hear your opinion on that boot. Review it if you can. Thank you.
Will do! I am trying to get my hands on a bunch of boots for review :)
@@PatriotFootbeds Thank you
please review K2 Mindbender, and compare K2 Mindbender, QST PRO, and the Head kore 2. :D
Sure, have been trying to get my hands on the Mindbender boot for a little while. Will review it as soon as I can!
We sell a tooon of Mindbender boots at my shop
@@marm562 Gotta review these!
Your timing is right on, we are starting to pull in our new gear and we have a clinic w/ Salomon next weekend. You heading out to SIA this year?
Nice! Really hoping to make it over to SIA! Will know for sure by the end of this month, but really eager to get back to CO.
Any recommendations on the Head Raptor series?
Ola, great review! I'm shopping for a new boot, and came down to this one vs Dalbello Panterra 130. I already own Panterra 120 from few years back and am pretty happy with it.
Would you say that this can be 80% alpine boot with the same performance as Panterra 130? I'm slowly making my way into touring, but I have my doubts about "hybrid" stuff in general. I'm 6.2/230 and ski 100+mm skis all the time, just wanna hear if these bootz can withstand the beating :) otherwise seems like an amazing boot. Cheers, Nik
Did you end up skiing in these? If so, how’d they perform? Any issues w/ leakage on the lower part as you’ve noted concern? Did the 2021’s address this issue? These boots check all the boxes for me & I’m close to pulling the trigger! Any further insight would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Scan, unfortunately I still haven't had a chance to ski these! This season was a challenging one with not many days on snow! :(
By all reports I havent heard anyone talking about the leaking issue on these, but it will be in my plans as soon as I can to get these boots out on the mountain.
If you do pull the trigger, I would love to hear your analysis of these!
Overall I think they are a great boot from a build and quality perspective.
Cheers
@@PatriotFootbeds I hear ya, mate. Right when we had a storm in Tahoe too smh. On a brighter note, looking forward to this upcoming year! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Went ahead & rolled the dice! Order is in! Went with the 2021’s! I’ll report further after a few chair lifts ;)
Hi Craig, great review. I just bought them online (26.5 size) and the feel awfully tight compare to my Nordicas Speed Machine 130 so I am planning to follow your video for the Custom Shell Molding at home since I live in the West Coast of Florida with no ski shops nearby. I never used footbeds on my ski boots before, Is there one you can recommend for the Kore 1 boots that won't add too much volume to the overall fit since the boots already feel so tight? Thanks man!
Hi Matias, Great, yeah just be extra careful with moulding this one, perhaps even lower the temperature as the boot walls are quite thin. I also wouldn't recommend heating the liners. If anything use the rice method to mold them.
For footbeds, the best model I would recommend is the All Mtn model. Thinnest construction for not altering volume. Hope it all goes great! :)
i am in the exact same situation, debating on buying these online, i also have Nordica Speedmachine (110's and same size 26.5) that fit great and i am wondering how these will fit with the same size, were you able to get them to fit well?
and actually my Nordicas have packed out quite a bit in only a few years.
@@scottstevens3213 Yes, the Kore were a bit stiff at the beginning but after a couple of uses they were good. After the 4th used, I did the heat molding for them and now they are perfect, even better than the Nordicas 130. They are very responsive and light weight. Used them for two weeks in Vermont and Canada and didn't have any water intrusion that I could tell. I did have to adjust the size of the bindings in my skis to make it a bit smaller because the Kore boots are a bit smaller than the Nordicas. Good luck!
@@matiesco thanks for the reply, i decided to go for the Nordica Strider 120's - same boot form as the Speedmachines, i am fine with the fit and all my skis have the same size bindings so i can interchange boots with all the bindings as well, I got a new all-mountain ski that i plan to ski a lot at the resort that have the Salomon Switch bindings so i can use those skis with both my alpine boots and the AT boots when i skin.
How is shift better than this one which u gave 9.5?
Please don't read into the Stoke Meter! :) It certainly isn't a gauge by any standard rating system. I purely go on a vibe and don't consider other boots Ive reviewed when I make the rating.
Just took these out for the first time yesterday. Instantly excruciatingly painful. Got about 5 runs in and had to call it quits because my lower ankle bones were bruised so badly. It was absolute torture to have them on. I’m hoping I can take them back to the ski shop and see if the heat molding will solve it but I have my doubts. They’re just way too narrow and I didn’t notice this trying them on in the shop. I’m probably out $600 and have to buy different boots 🤬. The shop guy says I can’t choose a different brand of boots because my bindings are mounted to these Kore 1s. Anybody know if that’s truly the case.
That sucks to hear man!
No you are not stuck to only Head or only Kore boots. All bindings will have enough forward and back adjustment for another boot. Did you go with any type of footbed? Do you have feet that pronate a long way? Did this shop do a fitting for you or just sell you a boot blindly?
@@PatriotFootbeds I told them I was interested in the boots because I liked how lite they were and have all the features you mentioned in the video. So they said you wear a 27.5 here ya go. We’ll mount your new skis/bindings according to the size of these Head boots and you can’t choose a different boot down the road because they’re all different dimensions, in terms of length. They said like 3mm difference between brands. I’m thinking that’s not much and should be able to adjust in/out accordingly.
@@PatriotFootbeds and yes my feet tend to pronate out. Especially my right after a MTB crash years back, but both ankles killed just putting the boots on this weekend. I remembered this morning I had this problem when I was a youngster with some cheapo ski swap boots and I ended up cutting a hole in the outboard side of both liners to alleviate the squeezing on my talus bone. Really don’t want to do that to brand new expensive boots though lol
@@salmonslammer9657 Yeah that's not great. And you can for sure adjust bindings. What brand of bindings did you go with?
@@salmonslammer9657 So you prob need to get some good support to help fix your stance. And yes a heat mould may also work well. But the key is to make sure this boot fits your foot well. It doesn't sound like they have boot fitting at the store you went to.