Koflach Arctis Expe sizing question?

[Dustin_B]

I'm considering getting some plastic boots and I think I've decided on these. I have a question regarding the sizing. I normally wear a size 11.5. I tried on my friend's Arctis Expes, which are a size 11.5 and they felt big (I had on thickish socks and laced them up pretty tight). Strange thing is, he bought a half size larger than what he normally wears (size 11) and he says they fit great. What gives? Is there some trick to lacing those things up? And it appears there is no way to cinch your heel into the heel cup very well as they lack eyelets in that area. See photo here:

 

Koflach Arctis Expe

 

So my question is, if you own a pair do you have a size smaller, larger, or your normal size? The 11.5 is the only size I've tired on. Seems not many places have these in those sizes right now. (Something about a problem at the factory???) Have you had a problem with not being able to cinch your heel down tight enough?

Thanks.

 

[RichTurley]

I normally wear a size 12 and bought size 12. They fit great, never a blister. Don't know what else to say about sizing, but if you know what size you are going to buy, get them from Barrabes.com

 

Rich

[Coopah]

Dustin

I tried those boots on and felt they ran big for the size listed. FWIW - I wear a size 11 shoe and bought the Scarpa Inverno and went with a size 11.5 . With my orthotics in place, my toes don't jam up in the toe box when kicking steps. My heel does lift a bit on my right foot but I plan on getting some adhesive padding to put on the outside of the inner boot on either side of the achilles heel to help reduce that problem. my $.02

Edited May 26, 2003 by Coopah

[CrazyFlattlander]

One thing I learned about the Koflach plastic boots is that the half sizes are the same boot as the next bigger boot. For instance, a 11.5 is a size 12 boot. The only thing is that the inner boot is smaller. So, if you buy a 11.5 U.S. then you will have a size 12 boot with a 11.5 inner boot. That might be the problem. I wear a 12 and they were just a little tight. So, I got a 12.5, which is really a 13, and they are pretty big in the toe box. Sock liners and Smartwool socks help a little.

[bDubyaH]

i have a pair in size 11.5 and usually wear that size. they are too big for me, which is fine for slogging all day, but they are sloppy when the route gets vertical creates calf pump and numb toes. go to the store and pull the liner out, put your foot in the shell. get the shell that has 1.5-2 fingers of space behind your heel with your toes just barely touching the front. then you can adjust liners or get thermofits that will work best with your feet. the right shell size will help hold your heels in tight.

[Figger_Eight]

If I'm not mistaken, the Arctis Exped's are sized larger to accomodate high altitude liners which expand in thin air. If you size them the same, they'll feel a little sloppier than what you're used to for this reason.

[ryland_moore]

I always thought the size listed on the Artc Expes and other Koflachs were Euro sizes. At least that is what the label says on the back of my boot (9.5 EURO) Which is equivelent to a 10.5 boot.

[glassgowkiss]

fuck dustin don't do it!!!! get yourself a pair of scarpa alpha and fit them with intuition liners. boots are lighter then leather, warmer then arctis expedition and climb way, way better. plus you can ski really easy with short skis and AT setup. oh yea- you have to lace them only once- quite nice on cold mornings!

if you go really high get them sportiva with overboots, but they are rather heavy and cost more then a pound of heroin brown.

[JoshK]

I second glasgowkiss. Do *NOT* waste your money/weight on arctis expe so you can get a thick heavy liner that will pack out after 20 days. The intuition liners are the shit. I got them in my new tourlite mountainlites, and boot+liners weigh 4lbs 8oz, or roughly a full pound lighter than any other plastic+stock liner.

 

Not to mention that the intuition liners dry out within a few hours at night, so you won' be stuck with wet liners your entire trip. Good luck drying out those super thick arctis expe liners once they get wet.

 

 

[JoshK]

Oh, and another thing, their comment that they "perform well on vertical ice" is bullshit. When I was researching plastics, I found the kolflach were the most flexible of any plastic out there, which sucks for difficult technical ice. It's a slogging boot, plain and simple.

[PaulB]

glassgowkiss said:

....get yourself a pair of scarpa alpha and fit them with intuition liners. boots are lighter then leather, warmer then arctis expedition and climb way, way better.

I tried this, and found that the Intuition liners didn't fit very well in the Alpha's. The Alpha shells are very low volume, and the Intuition liners are much thicker (even after heating) than the standard liners. In the end, I didn't like way the combination felt.