Alfa FREE A/P/S GTX XPLORE Boot Review 2022

[bgregoire]

The toe bend crease is much further forward on the Free's than on my other Alfa boots.

Hi Tom. From my extensive experience with BC and XCD boots, the forward toe bend issue you have here is certainly largely due to the fact you sized up. Comparisons with your 42s in other models will always have to be taken "with a grain of salt". In my experience, you loose too much sizing up to make it worthwhile for XCD oriented boots. The only time I would recommend sizing up would be for much more touring oriented skiing, when one wants very large boots to allow for extra warm insoles for winter camping say. Thinking "Alfa polar" or "polarizing" say an Alpina Alaska for extented winter camping. Given the Free is obviously designed for day tours packed full of downhill fun, I'd certainly prefer a tighter fit.

Good luck and have fun exploring.

[telerat]

I will claim that the forward toe bend crease is also caused by the construction of the Alfa Free; with the stiff fabric on the tongue and on the sides supporting the Boa eyelets, and with softer fabric above the toes, the shoe must bend down on the toes.

Regarding sizing; I'd use this shoe for steeper tours and would choose it more tight fitting than a less supportive XC boot used for extended hiking perhaps in colder temperatures.

I have changed my opinion on the boa closures on such a boot though; the option to quickly change the tightness looks nice and useful when changing from ascent/flat to descent, or the reverse. (I originally assumed the BOAs would be better on a lower fast xc-boot to quickly tightening it when going out.) Perhaps the BOA lacing on a boot could go around the whole shaft and tighten it up for even more support by adding more backwards stability too? Alfa Free looks like an interesting boot that can show the potential of Xplore and one way forward for more supportive XCD equipment, but I don't think I will buy it in the current implementation. I will try it on if I get the chance though.

[KDog]

Hi Tom, new guy here, (well actually I was on this forum a long time ago, but have no idea what my original login was ). I'm curious about your thoughts on the Alfa Free fitting a wide forefoot? I have the "6th toe" issue from decades of skiing and have been hesitant to go back to leather boots (or fabric/composites) because of the inability to tune fit. I'm still using an old pair of Garmont Excursions because the plastic can be punched out and liners molded.

The new Xplore system intrigues me, primarily for weight savings but I still love making turns if I see the opportunity. Current set up is the Excursions, SBound 112's and Voile switchbacks. Heavy to be sure and lately, the switchbacks have been failing to lock into tele mode in freezing weather leading me to start searching for an alternative. Would probably use an Scarpa F1/TTS system if such a thing was actually available.

Thanks and looking forward to your updated review!

[Tom M]

I'm curious about your thoughts on the Alfa Free fitting a wide forefoot? I have the "6th toe" issue from decades of skiing and have been hesitant to go back to leather boots (or fabric/composites) because of the inability to tune fit. I'm still using an old pair of Garmont Excursions because the plastic can be punched out and liners molded.

Alfa list the fit on the Free as "Normal" and on most of their other boots as "Wide", so I'm betting that the Free will be too narrow for you. In your case, I think I'd wait until you can try them on in the store and walk around a bit before purchase.

The new Xplore system intrigues me, primarily for weight savings but I still love making turns if I see the opportunity. Current set up is the Excursions, SBound 112's and Voile switchbacks. Heavy to be sure and lately, the switchbacks have been failing to lock into tele mode in freezing weather leading me to start searching for an alternative. Would probably use an Scarpa F1/TTS system if such a thing was actually available.

My Switchbacks also have problems locking into place in freezing weather. A small layer of ice forms under the cross bar and it doesn't take much to keep the toe from locking down. I often have to clear the ice with a scraper. I usually apply some glide wax to that area before I head out, but it doesn't always help. That is my one complaint with the system. The new Xplore / Free system is a step up in control over the typical soft leather boots, but it is still a passive system, and I think many people who like the active feel of the spring cartridges, would probably miss that feature. I'm hoping that the hard flexor, when it becomes available, will help in that regard, but it may not be enough for many.

[KDog]

Thanks Tom,

It doesn't appear that trying the Alfa Free on for size will happen anytime soon in my area, but we'll see.

My Switchbacks also have problems locking into place in freezing weather. A small layer of ice forms under the cross bar and it doesn't take much to keep the toe from locking down. I often have to clear the ice with a scraper. I usually apply some glide wax to that area before I head out, but it doesn't always help. That is my one complaint with the system.

Yes, I know about the problem you describe above and do the same with some paste wax. The current issue is that the hooks that come out from the riser and hold down the bar when you flip the switch won't extend. It must be an internal freezing problem because bringing them inside overnight alleviates it. The switch has no tension to it when frozen, but snaps into place and the hooks extend when warm. I haven't torn it apart yet to see whats going on inside.

The new Xplore / Free system is a step up in control over the typical soft leather boots, but it is still a passive system, and I think many people who like the active feel of the spring cartridges, would probably miss that feature. I'm hoping that the hard flexor, when it becomes available, will help in that regard, but it may not be enough for many.

I started telemarking back in the late 70's well before cables and don't really need them to initiate a turn, but they are of course necessary on the Switchback to hold the boot in the binding. I LOVE the free pivot of the Voile, which is why I put up with the weight! The XPlore system looks very interesting to me! Looking forward to more reviews as people early adopt!

[satanas]

Hello there. I'm interested to see the reviews as the boots become more available and people get to use them more. From past experience I know Alpina boots don't fit me due to excessive volume everywhere, and the Free are listed as "regular" rather than "wide" which is all to the good; I have narrowish feet. Here in Oz leather boots get soaked then freeze solid which often leads to frostnip which is another reason to avoid the other Xplore boots; the BOA closures, and the extra stiffness for our frequent ice cannot hurt either.

I'm thinking that if what people have been saying is true these might make a useful step between track boots and lightweight AT boots, and make T4/Excursion class boots redundant, handy since they're dying out anyway. On the other hand, it seems to me from reading the forums here (and at TTips before it died) that many Americans seem to ski only on powder, and thus get away with much lighter boots than are needed to hold an edge on more compact snow - or ice. (We don't really get powder here.) I'm hoping people will chime in about where they ski, and will be particularly interested to see reviews from the east coast and Pacific northwest.

[Tom M]

I've been impressed enough with the performance of the Free's that I mounted up a set of Voile Objective skis with the Xplore bindings and took them out yesterday for a little downhill fun on a hill that I normally ski with my T2's and Hyper V6's. The best part about it was that I broke the skin track to the top of the hill the day before on my V6's so the uphill and downhill performance was very fresh in my mind and the conditions were similar. Long story short, there is no free lunch. I had fun on both outings, but in very different ways. As you might expect, the big guns were drudgery on the approach and uphill and hard charging on the down. The Free's were light and nimble everywhere. They were capable on the down, but I just didn't have quite the confidence on the Free's as the T2's. So where do the Free's fit in my quiver? They will work quite well in the "middle ground", skiing terrain that most XC skiers avoid because it is too challenging. This is the same terrain that AT skiers avoid because it is "too boring" (I hear that a lot). In essence, it is the terrain that I enjoy the most, because it is generally safe and still challenging on light gear. The biggest benefit is that since both ends of the spectrum avoid the terrain, I have it mostly to myself.

This photo is from yesterday, skiing the Frees / Xplore / Voile Objectives. The track next to me is from the previous day skiing the T2's / Switchback X2 / Voile Hyper V6's. The image is distorted because it is a frame grab from my 360 camera.

This is a better shot of the slope.

[satanas]

Thanks Tom - about what I was expecting. As an aside, how do think the Objectives would go with lightweight AT boots and bindings?

If anyone has any comments about Xplore + Free on ice they would be appreciated, but I'm guessing sore feet compared to anything plastic.

[Tom M]

Thanks Tom - about what I was expecting. As an aside, how do think the Objectives would go with lightweight AT boots and bindings?

The Objectives were designed for that combo. As a side note, Voile won't warrant the Objectives mounted with any binding other than AT.

[satanas]

Yes, I understand the Objectives (and perhaps all current Voile skis) are only potentially warranted with AT bindings, but what I don't know is how they ski; AFAIK none have yet reached Australia. We do get some of the other models like the Vectors and V6 but not those. FWIW, I have v1 Vectors (great skis) and I think Voile's idea of "performs well on ice" or of what constitutes firm snow might be somewhat different from mine, not really surprising given where they're from and the sorts of snow I expect they normally see. Warranty isn't likely to be much of an issue here anyway as the cost of returning skis for inspection would be prohibitive in any case.

Since the Objective doesn't have either a huge amount of sidecut or a very wide tip, it should perhaps be reasonably okay for actual touring, depending on how well it does various things.