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The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Baruntse Dbl boot Liners?

Over the last couple of years I have been looking hard at all the available double boots for fit and performance. In my opinion the best dbl boots don't generally come with the best inner boots. The most well known after market liner, the Intuition leaves a number of things to be desired in a climbing boot. No wonder as they are ski boot liners first and formost. It is however a great inner boot if you want to ski in your Spantiks. Production inner boots that are suppose to be easily heat fit like a good ski boot liner aren't. That can result in your feet suffering no matter what kind of foot you have.

The best of the current inner boots that I have seen is a foam inner that is nylon lined on both the inside and out and made by Palau in France.

www.palau-boutique.com

Lucky La Sportiva decided to use the Palau liners for the Baruntse. I've used the Palau/Baruntse liner in my Spantiks and now again in the Scarpa Phantom 6000s. I think the Baruntse liner is better/warmer that either boot's original liner. The Palau liner is warm, but not overly thick. It is very easy to dry out, as there isn't much nylon to absorb water. They are easy to heat form by any good ski boot fitter and even easier to lace up. They are the lightest inner boot I have weighted including the Intuition or 6000's liner. The nylon lining on the inside and outside of the Baruntse inner boot makes them easy on and off in the mountains and durable compared to an all foam inner boot. Purchased directly from La Sportiva NA they are $120 a pair plus shipping. A direct comparison to everything else easily available on the winter boot market shows no down side that I can see, including the retail price.

http://www.sportiva.com/products/cat/A


Pictured here with a pair of Spantiks.




>







Spare Baruntse liners were not available last season. In limited numbers and sizes they are available now. If they don't have your size you can also get a pair put on back order by calling Rebecca.

Oct. 6, 2010
> Dane,
> Thank you for your email! We do have the Baruntse liners in size 45. We
> are in the process of updating our website and currently do have the
> Baruntse liners in stock. The cost is $120 plus shipping. I would be
> happy to place an email/phone order for the Baruntse liners. Let me know
> what you would like to do.
> Cheers!
> Rebecca Carroll
> Customer Service Representative
> La Sportiva N.A., Inc.
> 3850 Frontier Ave - Suite 100
> Boulder CO 80301
> 303.443.8710 ext 13
> www.sportiva.com

4 comments:

Edvin said...

How do they compare in warmth compared to the original Spantik inner? I also guess you could step down a size or a half in the outer boots?

Dane said...

I think the Baruntse liner is actually warmer than the Spantik liner. I am positive they fit me better after heat forming. Much much easier to lace and get in and out of while actually using them. I stayed with the same size (45) in outer and inner boots for the Spantik and Barunste as well as the 6000.

Not sure what to recommend or if I would recommend going to a smaller shell. They aren't that much thinner inside the outer boots and seem to be very similar in over all volume. The 6000 has the least amount of inner volume bewteen the three shells. Baruntse and Spantik seem very close internally. But hard to tell as I never did get a molded fit on the Spantik inner.

Brad said...

Dane-

I am trying to decide between the Baruntse and the Spantiks have read all your posts regarding these boots. As of the writing of this question I have a pair of both in my correct size. Out if the box the inner of the Spantik fits more like a slipper and the toe box overall feels just roomy enough. Overall a pretty good fit. With the Baruntse, the liner seems much roomier and the boot seems to push down on my outside right toes only (my slightly larger foot) a tad, which seems weird; enough to make me wary. My question is this: How much will heat molding the Baruntse liner matter? Will they swell much to be more slipper like and is there a good chance the toe area will reduce in volume so there is more wiggle room? I realize you can't know exactly how my feet feel, but any advice is much appreciated.

Dane said...

Baruntse liner will generally fit anyone/everyone better than the Spantik but it takes a professional boot fitter and his equipment to do it right.

But by all means buy the one that you think will work the best for you.