Just back from Meadow Hut in the Esplanades. One guy had 188s mounted with Voile Switchbacks (mine are set up for lifts, boot tracks, etc.). I have seldom seen a telemarker rip like this guy could, with such control and speed in big powder. He had no qualms about the weight, and based on his style and mode of attack, I decided my earlier remark about not touring on these, may be off the mark. They are heavy, but as others have said here, the shots may justify the slogs.

I'm using a pair of these as essentially an alpine boot, and I'm pleased with them. Coming at it from an AT skier's perspective, why not use a lighter weight boot than a normal alpine boot, my size 28's weigh exactly the same as my Spirit 3's (ca. 1750 gms), unless you are racing or a total speed freak, the reduced weight and greater comfort makes sense to me. A boot tech told me the flex was 80, not super stiff. They run pretty true to size, as others have said. I have a skinny foot, but these are a lower volume boot than my Spirit 3's, which I have shimmed out (didn't need to shim the Hurricanes). BTW I'm riding BD megs with Jesters under these, and there's no lack of control even with the huge boards. They walk OK considering the cuff has no selectable walk mode, but if you tweak the rake and the canting, walking in these is comfortable enough. One last thing, the rando soles provided as a swap for the DIN soles are OK for AT plate bindings, but you can only safely use the DIN bindings the boots have on them in the box if you are using alpine bindings. My ski tech read me the riot act about this and I had to change back to the DIN soles to stay inside the release spec limits.

We hit Teton Pass in epic conditions on 02/19/09 and I boot tracked Glory hauling Megs with Jesters. I wouldn't recommend AT bindings on these, they're too heavy for slogging - but for boot tracking or riding lifts for big pow they are an excellent choice. We dropped 35 degree shots in 3 feet of blower and the Megs made light work of it, I ran away from my crew using conventional light AT rigs (Dynafit + various skis), even though one of those guys out skis me on a regular basis. They work OK in less deep snow but these are essentially a board for big days after big dumps.