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I'm wondering with all the question of boots if a good alternative would be a Tele boot. I just split my first board and put plate bindings on and thought I would ride my mountaineering boots. They are simply too low to facilitate riding to my standard of control. I'm a solid board rider who uses Burton Step ins, so the release mechanism problem was one I considered. Reading here makes it more unlikely to ride those. I just went to a local ski shop and tried to convey what I wanted, a hard boot that was supremely flexible and comfortable. The boot must be walk able, good for skinning and take a crampon for some mountaineering distractions. The guy recommended I try a tele boot. I tried on a pair of Garmonts with the Gfit liner and they were as comfortable out of the box as my burton step in boots, no more bulky, have a lace up liner, infinite buckle tension options and a walk/ride switch. I tooled around for an hour in the shop with them on and got no noticable discomfort and still considered these as light or lighter than my burton step in snowboard boots as well as similar in comfort and feel to my already well broken in boarding boots. The only thing I could not tell is if the sole was truly rockered, or not, like the AT boots are. The soles were great for climbing, and my crampons even fit over the duck billed toe area to lock nicely in place. Anyone riding such a setup? Tele boots with the voile plate binding? Anyone use their tele boots for light mountaineering and/or crampon use? Thanks for your wisdom.

I have not ridden my tele boots, but want to. A few problems: The Voile Mtn plates do not fit over the duckbill. Voile used to make a tele plate, but discontinued it. As far as crampon use, some report issues with trying to use the front points and interference from the duckbill.

So, with that said, instead of trying Tele boots, lighter, flexier AT boots could be the right answer for you... Or maybe not. But, if I didn't already _own_ a pair of Tele boots, I would be looking at the Scarpa F1, the Garmont Mega-Light or others in that class.

Thanks,
Shep

An A/T boot would be a better option, IMHO. You could grind the duckbill mostly off of the Tele boots, but unless you are getting a screamin' deal, I wouldn't do it.

I'm not sure if it is really a screaming deal or not, but I got a pair of twice used Lowa Struktura EVO's for $150. They are three buckle, have a walk/ride switch, lace up liner and power booster strap. The liners are gore-tex, so I'm sure they are not heat mouldable, but I will check on that. Anyway, they are AT boots. That is what I wanted, a pair that was not too expensive in the event that the one boot for all (skin, ride, climb, crampon) idea goes to hell then I'm not out a paycheck or something. I will let everyone know how I like the boots...or don't. I have already adjusted my plate bindings and crampons to fit these. Their bail grooves are actually a bit closer together than my mountaineering boots. That surprised me, but I guess I'm easily surprised.

Don't know much about the Lowa's but it does sound like a good boot for what you're looking for. As I've said, I'm interested in this sort of setup, but it'll have to wait until at least next season when I can do more riding.

Hope it works out for you!

Shep

Anyone know a good source to get a heat moldable liner for Lowa Struktura EVO AT boots? The liners in them are gore-tex, which may be good for really wet trips, but I think the moldable ones are know to be a better fit, warmer and more comfortable. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I actually did not get to ride this weekend and ended up putting these AT boots on and walking at a very comfortable pace on my treadmill. I only logged 2.5 miles, had no real comfort issues and actually wore my weight vest for some added benefit. I hope not to have to do that type of work out much more, must go to snow.

Don't know of a source, but Intuition are one of the more popular style. It's the same liner you get (got?) in Scarpa Tele Boots. The front cuff wraps around so it adds some stiffness. Dunno if this is the style of the Lowa liners but if not, it could make it less comfortable to hike in.

Shep

Hi Mumbles, mold the liners only in the case you feel uncomfortable in your new boots. Try them before, I mean ride them, you can mold them whenever you want. When you mold the liner, it perfectly takes the shape of your foot, which is good if you have some point of hard pressure on it, but the liner itself looses its overall softness and thickness.
I often ride with A.T. boots Garmont Megalite , I didn't mold them and have no problems at all.

I know this is a rather old post, but I thought I'd try to add something to it.

After a bit of a struggle to get my splitboard set up the way I wanted it, I'm finally feeling pretty excited about it. I ran into a lot of dead-ends and mis-information before getting to where I am now. If you're wondering about using tele boot for your splitboard hopefully some of this will help.

What I learned along the way:
1. Tele boots will not work with the Voile Mountain Plate Binding
2. Voile Tele Plate Binding is no longer in production, but you can find them
3. My soft boots are not fun to tour in and for me my boot aren't stiff enough to really feel responsive on the way down
4. Tele plate bindings are not the cure all, but for me and my foot issues I love the security my tele boots give me

So with a lot of what seemed like banging my head agaist the wall, I'm now a happy girl. My current setup consists of a 161 Mojo, tele plate bindings and Garmont Venus with the g-fit liners.

I moded a pair of scarpa t2 boots before i knew anybody else had tried tele boots. this is my current setup.Best of all worlds, light relatively soft compared to AT boots ive tried and far more control in split mode.

Vapor,

What bindings are those?

Im assuming DIY.....?

Correct affix. the slider plate is standard with a bit added on to make a locking pin but the rest was self fabricated. Not a good picture showing the setup but i've just split a board and it should be finished in a couple and i'll post in the mod section.