Scarpa Alphas - Do they Pack Out?

[PaulB]

I've been trying on Alphas and have settled on a size that seems to be right, but may be a bit snug. Has anyone with these boots found that the liners packed out?

 

If the Alpha liners pack out as much as the ones in my T2's have, the end result should be an excellent fit, but if not, I think they'll be too tight for cold weather.

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

[salbrecher]

I'd buy the bigger size and just put an extra sock on if they pack out . It would suck to have cold feet all the time!

 

[snoboy]

[deleted in deferance to jordop's much more relevant advice ]

 

If they pack out you could get Intuition liners if you got the cash. They will be lighter and warmer, and they won't pack out too much.

 

I think you can get a deal at the factory on them, it's in Vancouver somewhere.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2003 by snoboy

[jordop]

1. Alphas are sized for every single foot size in the shells, not every two as per all others.

 

2. Ski boot inners can be as much as 10 mm thick, Alpha liners are about 1/2 to 1/3 of that, so therefore don't expect such a drastic a packing out.

 

3. The only reason BD doesn't recommend the Alphas for long term winter use is because they lack an insulating midsole. So buy the larger pair and add a footbed made out of 5mm "bivy" thickness yellow foam. Just don't put them directly into the inners or you'll end up with Ward Robinson "hamburger feet" (see Twight)

 

[PaulB]

snoboy said:

If they pack out you could get Intuition liners if you got the cash. They will be lighter and warmer, and they won't pack out too much.

 

I think you can get a deal at the factory on them, it's in Vancouver somewhere.

I called Intuition, and was surprised to find out that their climbing liners are only $120CDN. They said that using their liners would let me go with a smaller shell (as per Twight doctrine), and still have warmth and wiggle room for my toes.

 

The other surpise was that they don't recommend putting a footbed or orthotics inside their liners. Anyone have comments/experience with this?

 

[snoboy]

I would be curious to know why they don't reccomend the footbed? Maybe you could ask and let us all know.

 

I know some people don't use them, but I think since the liners are moulded with your weight on them, they will simply mould in any problems that your foot has... I have footbeds in my liners.

 

$120.

[goatboy]

I have alphas -- I like them a lot -- the insoles that came with them are paper-thin crap -- but I replaced them with "SuperFeet" insoles. I got the green (winter) insoles and have found them to be fairly warm and effective.

 

Steve

[PaulB]

So for those who are interested, here's what happened.

 

I spent the last week walking around my apartment trying out two different sizes (UK 9 & 9.5) of Alphas. The difference being that the 9 has a "9" shell and the 9.5 has a "10" shell. The idea of down sizing double boots doesn't seem to apply to Alphas, since my "street" size is a UK 8.5 (which would also use a "9" shell).

 

I took both pairs over to Intuition to see about getting a pair of their liners, and found that I couldn't comortably get a liner into the 9. The Intuition foam is much thicker than the standard Alpha liner, and the Alphas are very low volume boots. I did fit a liner into the larger shell, but the bulk of the doubled foam around the ankle made it hard to tightly lace the cuff. Not so great for front pointing.

 

So in the end I returned both pairs of boots. The 9 shell seemd like the perfect size, but was a bit tight with the standard liner. The 10 shell was comfy, but too big and sloppy feeling. Nice boots, but unfortunately they don't seem to fit my feet.

 

A 9.5 shell would have been perfect.

 

[PaulB]

snoboy said:I would be curious to know why they don't reccomend the footbed? Maybe you could ask and let us all know.

 

While I was at Intuiton, I discussed this with Robert (who was very helpful), and his main argument against having footbeds in the liners is that they take up too much space. They feel that getting the liners molded to your feet is just as effective as getting custom footbeds, with the benefit of it all being one piece.