I am finally getting into splitboarding this coming season after years of being interested in it. I agree with the other comments... this has to be one of the best splitboarding information videos on the internet. Valuable knowledge learned from experience, explained clearly! Thank you two so much!
I've literally watched dozens of splitboard videos. Your video explains everything the best. Thank you for posting this video. Could you please make an updated video after you've reviewed other hard boots such as the many variations of the Atomic Backland, the Phantom Slipper; and the Phantom Link Levers?
This must be my new favorite video. Im going from karakoram softboot setup to a hardboot setup now and just needed to hear if the phantom m6 is worth the price over the dyno dh. I will definitely style my atomic backland shoes in the same style as you have. Love it!
Hey guys, thanks for the great video! I am using the Northwave Domain CR 18-19. I love this boot. It is super warm, stiff but still agile, compatible with a fully automatic crampon, has a Vibram sole, Gorotex, like a super freeride boot on the descent. An excellent shoe, especially for climbing sections. There like a mountain boot. I would buy this boat again in a heartbeat.
Sick info but you didnt even touch on Fitwell boots? They are currently redeveloping their freeride boots for hopefully dual enclosure boa and have a stupidly strong sole, small tweeks like adding removable lateral tosion bars to a boot make a soft boot respond like a hard boot when climbing, like 32 have done with the spine and Vans did with the tounge. These torsion bars can come in any range of stiffness and materials, enough to bring a marshmellow boot back to life, to turning that marshmallow into a rock. I personally replaced my spine bars in my 32 boots with 2 carbonfiber plates sandwitching a hard plastic sheet. I cant remember the flex MPa and GPa of the plastic now, but strong and stiff. when hiking I removed them and put them in a pocket. when switching I simple pushed them back in for riding. Similar can be done be self made tounge and lateral inserts. Glue, tape and fabric can make the pockets required easily. the only problem is getting the fit for your lower leg.
Thanks for detailed video guys! I keep struggling in ascending in steep slopes with hard and icy snow. I hope those hard boots and bindings solve my problem. All the best!
I like the touring binding on the split board with the dynafit boot, but would be even better is a light descent binding that stays on the ski. But then again someone also needs to look into developing split board technology that could potentially be used in rolling terrain. That is a lot of fooling around just to go from the ascent to the descent. We are much closer to that with touring skis. Great video, thanks!
That’s pretty awesome. I’d say a regular snowboard is better for just your regular mountain, not too many trails etc. but for the adventurer, it’s actually awesome.
Hey guys, great video! I wish I found it 1-2 years ago. I have been looking for a video like that for so long. The part about the hard boots was really informative as I have been reading a lot of dreadful reviews about Splitboard boots not being very reliable and was thinking of a way to raid with my extreme cold/high altitude boots, so in other words hard boots solves that problem. Again thanks a lot and I would really like to see more videos like that regarding splitboarding from you guys!
I got a point vith the voilé kit, Indeed, not much power on edges with hard snow, and also a bit mor high on your board while riding.. BUT! the price man, if you make it all diy you can have a splitboard around 400€, with skins, sticks and bendings! and whats worth even more than all previous, is fun and satisfaction of diy :)
Super fun and comprehensive comparison guys! I have been watching Phantom for a few years, just got my 2nd Sparks but I love how my Scarpa RS foots fit and will try the Phantom or Spark hoops as soon as I get a chance.
🤣 Awesome video guys! I love the customed hard boot, really slylish. Would be great for here in Alaska, esp. wth the knife, just in case you end up waking up a grizzly in its den 😝😂
Hey guys thx for this vidéo, that's exactly what I was looking for! Going to splitboard in Switzerland next month, I understand better splitboarding now cheers
Hey Charlie. We know these little helping straps...sparks has also something similar to the flexlock...We haven't tested it ourselves but met some people who had. They said it's a little bit better, but still doesn't solves the problem that the whole boot is too soft. And the flex lock looks like asymmetrical, so one edge might still be unsupported...I have some doubts from the desk, but most def should try it to give you a proper answer. All the Best! Nicolas
In the most used setups you guys are missing the Union bindings. They are great, the best for feeling like you’re snowboarding as usual when going downhill. This video is interesting, but totally biased towards hard boots. I get that if you’re into serious skinning in all conditions the is what will give you the best edge control, but in my (limited) experience, you don’t need that extra edge control most times, and it is a t the sacrifice of the pleasure of riding down in soft boots. Also, it is really lacking in other offers, not only Union bindings, but also different boots both soft and hard, and other bindings, and what about boards... and what I’m hinting at is new technology such as the floorboard from Furberg., and I’m sure other companies are working on how to improve the assembly of boards. The four part boards are also an interesting system as they offer you thinner skies to go up but a wide board to go down. To finish I’ll just add I really like how the Union bindings contribute to holding the two parts together, it does this better that all other systems in my opinion. Cheers
wow, love the knife strapped to the boot ; just in case that mountain lion is about to crush ones neck and claw ones guts ouit during an attempted kill
Wow! That one looks really disruptive. Thank you for the heads up. I haven definitely to get one to test if it fits my feet. Would be interesting to compare it with the Phantoms-Boot and other new technologies…
Nice review , I am afraid of how it feels to ride board cutter in half (what about torsion forces ) , also this problem with boots is another nail in the coffin . But snowboard in powder > skis. So let’s figure out ... I think good hard snowboard shoes with boa system (just fixed it properly to the leg will be enough for touring )
After three years of touring (50 tours) i assure you the soft boots are a little bit of a pain in the ass. If you wanna catch some soft boots I recommend the Deeluxe XV, the ones they showed. Do not worrie about torsion issues, my Jones carbon solution splitboard carves better than my regular snowboard and perform better predominantly on steeps and hard pack snow, when you need to make really tight turns between trees it demands more force but it's hard to have it all. Next year I'm going hard boots all the way, tired of having issues with traverses on variable hard snow. In the end, if your snowboard level is really high (to be able to go down in a good stance no matter the terrain or steepness) i don't think changing to hard boots should be hard. Hope you have good experience on the splitboard!! Ps: my terrain is the Pyrenees so the snowpacl is hard/ spring most of the season
Great information guys! Can you use the voile mountain plate for the climb? Or do you need a dynafit boot? I want to try hardbooting but only have normal ski boots at the moment dont want to spend $1000 minimum for new bindings and boots. Also im in australia prices are more expensive than overseas!
Hey guys awesome video. I know its an old video and the posts are pretty old but was just looking at trying a hard boot setup and was wondering if the TLT6 is still the best boot to go for?, i cant see it on dynafit website? has it been discontinued and replaced by something better?. Cheers mike
Hy Mike. Unfortuenatly I haven't had to chance to test the new generation of the TLT boots. But there are some new ones on the market like the TLT8 or the TLT. But also other Brands have nice two straps skitouring boots. The most important is, that it fits your feet and that it is not too stif. But my TLT6 is now so soft, its not a hard boot anymore! Consider that these boots also become softer with the rides…have fun and take care!
@@helveticbackcountry Thanks for the quick reply, i really appreciate it. I have found a couple of places with some TLT6 boots in stock so will give them a go. Good to know they soften up with time. thanks again dudes. cheers mike
Hey guys loved the video. I was just wandering if you have had the chance to test the new Phantom Slipper boots compared to the TLT 6 or TLT Speedfit ? Have you ever compared the total weight of a soft boots system compared to a hardboots system (board + bindings + boots) ? I also live in Switzerland and I would love to test a hardboots system before buying one. Could you recommend a place (shop) to test or rent a hardboots system for a few days ?
Hi Yann, unfortunatley have not had the chance to compare the boots you mentioned. I have only used a TLT 5 and 6 for hardboot splitboarding. I could imagine the Slipper exceeds the performance of the dynafit boots. Already the Atomic backland was an improvement, and the Slipper seems to be designed in a similar way. As for the weight comparison, surely the hard boots system has a significant weight advantage, especually as softboots with a walk mode (e.g. the 32 Jones) are relatively heavy and bulky. However still the biggest advantage of a hard boot system over a softboot system is the stability when traversing and the more fluid walking stride. Though I find the walk mode for the softboots is almost equal in terms of a better stride, however the lacking stability for edge hold remains the same as with aother softboots. I don’t think there is a place in Switzerland where you could test a hard boot system.
With the hardboot set ups what kind of stance do you ride for the descent? I know that with big mountain riding in general most guys ride with a more open stance (seen a lot of 18/-3 and even some +/+ stances) but for the hardboots do you need it to be set as far positive as a normal hardboot alpine board?
Hey guys. Thanks for this video. I’m looking at getting a hard boot setup together. I am wondering how the voile mtn plate works for touring uphill. Do I need toe pieces or it the mtn plate ok? If I get toe pieces it looks like us also need new heel risers so they can go further back. Thanks
Thanks 4 this awsome video guys! I have a question, what do u recommend to use for taking off ice from karakoram bindings before the descent? Something light i can bring on my backpack
Have you guys tried Drift Boards? www.drift-products.com/collections/d-16 I never liked using splitboards - too much hard work; and compromised board stiffness. So this winter I'm trying out this set up. It also allows me to take my short, 156 Burton Fish, instead of the 162 Jones...
Really great video, guys! I am an Alaska native/backcountry cowboy so those specialty boots are perfect for me!! I can use the spurs on the slower hikers & the knife when I need to skin a mountain goat! I'll be looking at your 'site & for your Swiss Atlas book. For rural Alaska backcountry videos, check my 'site: faithandaction.net.
Great to hear that our Modell works globally in the wilderness…the challenges are the same: wild animals, make fire, deep digging for water…Hey, unfortuenatly i'm not able to open you site? All the Best! Nicolas
@@helveticbackcountry Yeah, awesome! Alaska is wild but Switz is nice & epic & clean & I'm looking for a woman there to marry so I can move there. Do you have a sister?!
Great video. Currently I ski and board and have been thinking of getting into split boarding. I’m using Apex ski/board boots and like them a lot. Have you tested them? Are they compatible with the hard boot setup? Thanks in advance for your help.
Dan dear dan, haven't tested the Apex boots yet. Do they have dynafit compatible wholes in front? Do you have a link to the boot you have? All the Best!
nicfoj Thanks for the quick reply. No, my Apex boots do not have any Dynafit compatible holes, so I guess they won’t work. Too bad, they’re a sweet set up, you should check them out. www.apexskiboots.com/the-system
WIe lang sind die Dynamit Hardboots im Vergleich zu Softboots? Ich hab relativ breite und Lange Füße (Mondo 30) und fahre derzeit noch einen Bruten Driver X - suche allerdings auch nach einer Fußverletzung etwas komfortableres fürs touren...
Hey Guys, great video. I have some questions, maybe you can help me with those. I tend to switch to AT Boots this winter, just had enough problems with soft boots on steep terrain regarding my edge. Currently looking for a TLT6 to mod, as it looks like it is the boot where you find the most info on how to mod them and also people look like to like them a lot for split boarding. I’m thinking of the following setup: TLT6 with Phantom and the new Salomon Premiere 4 piece looks promising. With this setup you would have a thin ski with the hard boots, so probably perfect for uphill. And I talked to a few people, looks like the 4 piece isn’t a big issue on riding down. But the „Connectors“ of the Phantom are really wide or? They would stand over the Edge of a 4 piece Splitboard. Maybe you have some experience with setups like these. Otherwise I guess I have to stick with a wider 2 piece or use the Spark Dyno. Thanks for the help, keep up the good work! (I kept the comment in English, maybe someone around the world has the same thoughts and reads this comment. Cheers from Austria Marco
METANOIA Hey Marco...I'm sure your planned setup would give you the max grip you can get with a Splitboard. Well done! But regarding the size of the phantoms and your board i highly recommend to conntact john who produces the phantoms. I guess you're nit the first with that idea. He's a verk kind and open minded person, so don't hasitate to write him an e-mail. Take care! Nicolas
Have a look at what Plum is launching this coming winter: www.fixation-plum.com/fr/nos-fixations-mountain/9772-feyan-carbon.html There's a special interface for the Salomon Premiere: www.fixation-plum.com/fr/les-accessoires-mountain/6021-interface-4-parties.html And there'a also a few alternative to Salomon when it comes to get a 4 parts (have a look at Phenix for example)
I'm using the Dyno on a two-piece, mainly for price and a bit for icing reasons. Proper board fixation, as with the Spark soft bindings. (In this aspect the Phantom might be a tad "stiffer")
The soft boots suffer from lateral flex when skinning is the main reason but I'm guessing a side benefit of a dynafit set up might be adding more rigidity back to the splitboard.
Hey guys, thanks for the video. I'm considering the switch to this set up but have a long history of toe/feet problems - even in snowboard boots. I usually get a wide boot and still have the problems. Can you generally comment on the comfort of the TLT 6 in comparison to snowboard boots?
Hey Curt. Well the TLT6 is still no really a wide boot. I have also wide feet. What I did was to expand these boots in a special store where they worked with heat to expand the material over night. But nowadays there are also alternatives, other skitouring boot with just two straps. You have to check the market. Generally i enjoyed splitboarding much more in a skitouring boot, cause the ankles weren't rubed of after long traverses…and to hike up it's like in sneakers. At the end of the day after shredding I wish the soft leader boots back, but then i just bring some light sneakers with me and the problem is solved!
@@crowdcontainer1783 with your hardboot splitboard set up, what kind of stance do you go for? Similar to a hardboot alpine board with the very positive on both feet or more like a softboot set up? cheers
Great video! Can you guys drop some knowledge on adjusting your stance with a hard boot? I just converted my split to a hard boot and I feel like my soft boot stance is too wide now. I've also heard that canted pucks like www.sparkrandd.com/gear/canted-pucks/ can make a huge difference in comfort & stance. What do you say?
Joe DeLia Hey Joe. Welcome to our church 😂 Hardboot is most def the best setup, but as you said, it needs a bif of adjustment. I have a bit less distance between my feet and more direction foreward...and of course, a basic angle for the feet to stand is essential. Within the phantom setup there are two different angles you can choose from, it's a personal decision. Good luck! And don't forget, the boots will get softer the more you ride them.
Haha, love this tutorial, and totally agree regarding soft vs hardboot. I'm not sure what you reffer to when speaking of Spark bindings and crampon issue(?), never experienced any issue with mine and I hike a lot all season here in Norway often in hard snow with the need for crampons. Also it would be appropriorate to mention the difference in price regarding the Phantom hardboot setup vs Sparks setup, it's quite substantial as we are aware of ;) Keep up the good work, and cheers from hardboot splitter in Norway! :) facebook.com/sunnmoresplitboard instagram.com/vagper
Hey there! Nice to hear from Norway! Thank you for your reply…I'm pretty sure the crampon Issue is fixed now, as we recorded the video some years ago…at older SPARK Bindings we have experienced the crampons to fell out on special terrain - which was mostly steep and hard. Price wise the hard boot setup is much more expensive, as you have to buy the boots (300-500 USD) and the binding system (600-800 USD), depending on what you want. So PHANTOMS is a bigger investment, and to be considered when you anyway have to buy a whole new system. Thanks for watching!!!! Nicolas
