equipment

Splitboarding with hardboots?! - An experience report

An overview article for the ascent-oriented splitboarder

by Anselm Köhler • 04/13/2017

the assembled candidates — The assembled candidates

Anselm Köhler

Anyone who thinks they can simply go splitboarding with hard-shell boots is mistaken. A functioning AT setup, as it is called in modern German, still requires a lot of trial and error as well as a certain amount of motivation to tinker in order to find the individually functional settings.

Why should you switch?

This question is definitely justified and is not only controversial but also emotionally debated (http://splitboard.com/talk/topic/la-sportiva-sideral-boots/#post-658600). Since Karakoram, Spark and co have revolutionized the splitboard (binding) market dominated by Voilé, you can go on tour adequately with your skiing colleagues. A soft boot splitboard setup still costs more than a standard ski touring equipment, but you now get a sophisticated system in return. If you want to save money, you can slowly find good second-hand offers on the relevant internet sites.

A major drawback of such a soft boot setup is the ascent weight per foot. On the part of the manufacturers, lighter splitboards (e.g. through the use of carbon) are an answer to this problem.

In contrast, parts of the splitboard community are focusing on boots and bindings. Splitboarders now use lightweight ski touring boots, Dynafit Tech bindings for ascending and put the bindings in their backpacks for descending. This makes enormous weight savings possible. I personally save almost 1 kilo per foot with the hard boot setup. Do you need more reasons? Not necessarily, but there are plenty of them.

Better edge hold on the ascent thanks to the very direct Dynafit-Hardboot connection,
longer stride length thanks to a better pivot point,
more grip on demanding icy summit ridges, easy crampon mounting.

Short: Hard boots are for ascent-oriented splitboarders - the powder hunter who generally only tackles short ascents will be satisfied with a soft boot setup.

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Binding

Until a few years ago, only the Voile Mountain Plate was available off the shelf. This is a simple stirrup binding that was screwed onto the slider. Slider? These are (were) these aluminum profile rails onto which you screwed your normal soft boot binding back then. There were also some handicraft projects in which the old raceboard binding was used. This is what my first steps with hardboots looked like 8 years ago.

They came to a premature end at 3500m on Mont Blanc and proved that you can still ski one-legged from there to Chamonix.

In recent years, two more lever bindings have come onto the market with the Phantom Alpha and the Spark DynoHD to meet the increasing demand from ascent-oriented splitboarders. The Phantom was developed by an enthusiast from Colorado in his garage and represents the high-end model ( http://www.powderguide.com/magazin/equipment/artikel/materialtest-phantom-alpha.html). The disadvantage is that there is no distribution for this, and ordering from America leads to quite high shipping and customs costs.

The Spark DynoHD, which is also used in the following reports, comes in the usual Spark quality with levers from World Cup supplier Bomber. For the descent, the binding is simply slid over the pucks and locked with the pinless Tesla system.

So there are already some working bindings on the market, but what is missing is a specialized splitboard hardboot. You take a "soft" ski touring boot and then the above-mentioned "try and error" starts.

Boot

There are several suitable ski touring boot models on the market. In my opinion, however, all the available ones are still a compromise, which is demonstrated by the fact that there are instructions for modifying many boot models on the internet. A skier wants as little lateral freedom of movement as possible; for a snowboarder, however, this is of fundamental importance in order to shift weight...

The most widely used boot among splitboarders is probably the Dynafit TLT6 Mountain CR ( http://helveticbackcountry.ch/splitboards/). Other boots used are the antique Frogs (TLT2/3 http://www.erstespur.de/viewtopic.php?t=5589) and the rest of the TLT series, Scarpa F1 green ( http://www.wildschnee.de/know-how-blog/tipps/hardboot-tuning), Scott Orbit II ( http://www.erstespur.de/viewtopic.php?t=6395), La Sportiva Sideral/Spitfire and, most recently, the Arxteryx Procline ( https://www.wildsnow.com/21864/arcteryx-procline-boot-splitboard-snowboard/#more-21864).

The common denominator of all boots is that they only have two buckles, so they are more of the soft variety. However, soft in ski boots still means hard compared to a hard soft boot. Some have a combined system to close the downhill mode and the shaft at the same time - in my opinion rather a disadvantage, which is often an incentive for modification. Furthermore, the lower buckle is often placed mainly over the instep instead of the ankle, so that the heel hold suffers.

Board

Of course, any splitboard is suitable to be ridden with hard boots. However, there are a few points that should be considered when planning an AT setup.

Since many splitboarders with hard boots tend to ride at an angle of around 0 degrees on the back foot, the boot protrudes as much as possible. Because the sole, in contrast to soft boots, is straight and not curved up to the heel and toes, a wide board is recommended. Here ( http://www.evo.com/ski-boot-sole-length-bsl-size-chart.aspx) there is a comprehensive comparison table of sole lengths.

A more philosophical question is whether it should be a carbon board. Since hard boots are ridden for ascent and therefore weight reasons, weight should of course be saved in all areas. For me, the optimum for an ascent-oriented AT setup is a three- or four-piece splitboard, where the middle section is carried on the backpack during the ascent.

3-piece boards were already available 10 years ago from Jester and T3, but the connector system was still in its infancy and, as a commercial 3-piece board, simply ahead of its time. Salomon recently introduced a 4-piece as a purchasable splitboard from a major manufacturer. ( http://www.powderguide.com/magazin/news/artikel/ispo-2016-splitboards-snowboards.html). For some years now, there have also been various small French brands that produce 3/ 4 - splitboards (http://www.phenix-snowboards.com/#), http://splitboard-power.fr/categorie-produit/splitboard/

If you are not satisfied with this offer, you either have to saw it yourself ( http://www.erstespur.de/viewtopic.php?t=6168) or ask the splitboard guru Wildschnee for a custom-made board ( https://wildschnee.de/category/manufaktur/).

Small parts

To mount the Dynafit Toe pieces for the ascent, there are special adapters for the Voile hole stitch from Spark ( https://www.sparkrandd.com/gear/dynafit-adapters/) and similar adapters from Phantom.

Alternatively, you could attach them with Ski-Spax or Quiver inserts ( http://www.quiverkiller.com/).

The climbing aid also needs to be moved back slightly so that the stirrup sits under the heel. Adapters are also available from both binding manufacturers. Some websites recommend using the dual climbing aid from Voile, but I have never missed the longer stirrup.

Although the edge hold and control is much better with hard boots on the ascent, crampons should not be missing from your luggage in spring at the latest. These must be wide enough and fit the Dynafit Toe pieces. Up to 130mm are available from Dynafit, otherwise Spark makes even wider ones (http://www.sparkrandd.com/gear/d-rex/)

Voile offers beveled pucks that are inclined 3° inwards https://www.sparkrandd.com/gear/voile-splitboard-canted-puck-set/. Without thinking about it, I ordered them straight away. They make it much more relaxed on the board. From next season, these so-called canted pucks will also be available from Spark R&D.

With all these adapters, even more metal-to-metal screw connections are created on the splitboard. To find its settings, these are also screwed several times. To prevent the screws from loosening, screw lock should always be used. Vibratite is recommended instead of Locktite, as this does not attack the base and epoxy.

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First experiences

After about 10 tours with different shoes - I first scoured the second-hand shoe market: TLT2, TLT4 and Scarpa F1 - I almost abandoned the test. None of the shoes suited me. Of course, all the shoes worked on the ascent, but I couldn't find a sensible setting for the descent. There was always pressure or rubbing somewhere, or the foot floated in the shell without finding a proper grip.

Then I tried the Arxteryx Procline. For me, the shoe is in a different league. When I first slipped them on, I immediately felt like I was stepping into a soft boot, because the upper design is not like a vice. Walking, climbing, driving and cycling work really well with the flexible upper. On the first two tours, the boot pinched in a few places, after which the inner boot had broken in and now fits perfectly.

For a long time, there were only rumors about the boot: the starting point of the discussions is the small front edge and whether the strap of the binding holds. Relatively quickly, there were reports that the boot works with the Phantom stirrups. However, the Spark (Bombergear) lever is round instead of tapered. I was able to file the levers to fit within 30 minutes using an iron file. It is important that you then take the time to adjust the distance between the stirrups and thus the tension precisely.

Since one tour I have replaced the buckle on the shaft with PowderGuide ski straps - I hope for more freedom of movement and flex in the shaft.

The Spark binding works well with the Procline boots, and I have been satisfied on the five tours with Arcteryx Procline and Spark DynoHD so far this time. As a conclusion of the first test tours I can summarize: Hardbooting works, but only if the shoe fits and is good for you.

Further information:
As often linked above, the information portal about splitboarding in general and especially regarding splitboarding with hardboots is the forum ErsteSpur . It is worth creating a profile there, as you can only see most of the pictures in the posts when you are logged in. The equivalent in English - many hardbooters are based in Canada and the USA - is Splitboard.com

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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