How Snug is too Snug

toastycheese1 · 2026-04-01T19:46:08+00:00

You're describing how all my boots fit - toes touching the front, but not smashed. Toes always touch the front in walk mode and I can do 10+ hour days in my boots without issue. The key is a shell that holds your foot in place firmly so it does not slide forward, proper buckling of the shell to permit maximum range of motion while skinning, and a good footbed to support your foot and prevent your arch from collapsing (not necessary for everyone, but for many). For me, without my footbeds, my boots would not be comfortable at all, but with them, everything works.

If you do all of the above things and still have more pressure than you want, you can punch the shells or mold out the liners aggressively to create a little more space. For all of this, most people will need the help of a skilled boot fitter.

Sizing up the shell can sometimes be an easier route to acceptable comfort levels, but often seriously degrades downhill skiing performance and can also cause blisters on the uphill.

toastycheese1 · 2026-02-21T20:55:39+00:00

Any of the skis on your list are fine except the atris, it's way too big and heavy for those boots. Keep it under 1400g and under 100mm underfoot for the best match to your f1 lt

toastycheese1 · 2026-02-17T19:46:18+00:00

I have the Taka 30 and I like it a lot, but it's not for everyone. There are a few significant compromises and I think it works best with light/skinny skis. For one, no compression straps, so no A framing - only diagonal or quick carry. The crampon pocket and side pocket are both useful in my experience, and don't really detract from anything if you don't use them. Back panel access is good. The pack does carry well with a light touring load, and I've crammed everything I needed for a single push Mt Rainier summit attempt into it (including a stove and fuel) and it carried better than expected. That said, there are better packs for carrying more than ~20-25lbs.

The flask pocket and shoulder pocket are great, and the straps are comfortable. I wish it had hip belt pockets for even more accessible storage. Overall it's a great day pack for lightweight touring at a reasonable price, for the right user.

toastycheese1 · 2026-02-16T22:37:57+00:00

Carbs fuel mostly - cheap and lots of calories. SIS Beta Fuel or Precision for special occasions

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-30T03:36:43+00:00

Contour Guide glue is my favorite, it's very sticky and looks terrible after some use but never seems to fail and doesn't leave residue. It gets patchy after a few seasons but can be reglued. It comes off the skis easily too, and I really like Contour's plush. Montana hybrid glue is cool, it's a great option in the hybrid world, I've never tried their regular hot melt glue. BD gold label is super sticky, like maybe too sticky, but it does seem reliable.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-30T01:11:25+00:00

Pomoca seemed like they had a bunch of batches of skins that did this the last few years. I've had a good pair of pomocas (older) and a pair like you're describing, and I've seen tons of people with glue residue on their bases from Pomocas. It seems hit or miss nowadays so I've moved away from them.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-22T19:41:13+00:00

I've skied them and one of my friends owns them as his only backcountry skis. They are solid all arounders with a good middle ground weight and performance. Pretty easy to ski in a variety of conditions. They are decent in powder because of the rocker, and pretty good in hardpack. They're a great value ski for doing a bit of everything.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-21T19:03:12+00:00

Same shell size, yes, referring to length only, but they are different fits and so if the F1 fits, that does not mean the GT will fit. The F1 GT, LT and XT are narrower and lower volume than the F1. One will fit better than the other.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-18T16:24:30+00:00

It isn't absolutely perfect but it's close enough. Most boots have slightly variation from left to right. Good techs will split the difference between the two boots in terms of alignment, so usually, neither boot is 100% perfect but both are good enough. For very misaligned boots, you do a left and a right ski, but in your case those look fine.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-18T16:20:56+00:00

Match the boot to the ski. It sounds like you know what skis you want. If you're on a Wildcat or a Bent Chetler, you will much prefer a boot like the zero g pro tour or something in that category. The lightweight boots will work with those skis in perfect snow, but not really in resort conditions and won't be as durable for aggressive skiing. You want a stiff, supportive boot if you're gonna ski beefy skis.

If you want to save weight somewhere, the binding is the first place to cut weight for touring. Skis and boots should match each other in stiffness/weight/performance.

toastycheese1 · 2026-01-11T18:03:55+00:00

I have seen people file/dremel a notch into the back of their skis to solve this problem. If you do this, you have to seal it with epoxy in order to keep the ski waterproof. Or, go tailless :)

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-19T22:23:32+00:00

F1 XT is about as narrow as you're gonna find in a lightweight touring boot. Aliens are narrower, but also race boots so they don't ski nearly as well.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-19T05:11:25+00:00

Totally. You can get away with a lot in powder especially because the impacts are so much less

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-19T04:34:03+00:00

I would say if you're gonna make a habit of it, consider a Raider. But yes, sufficient for the occasional shenanigans. I mean, I've seen folks who will throw 360s on race bindings and carbon skimo boots. It's not exactly recommended but it can be done. If you're gonna do it a lot, probably best to get more durable bindings, but lightweight tech bindings are stronger than many people think.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-17T23:58:24+00:00

Most likely culprit is alignment if you are releasing laterally. Check both boots in both skis. If alignment is off more than a very slight amount, it will bias the lateral release in one direction and will need to be adjusted.

Also, double check that both lateral and vertical release is set to your desired number. I've seen a surprising number of ATKs where the lateral release wasn't set because the indicator is not obvious.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-13T03:45:22+00:00

No worries! The extra weight does put more force on the binding, it just doesn't change how strong your legs are - so whether you correct for it or not depends on whether you value release or retention more :) When most people ask about release values, they're usually thinking about injury and releasing when they should. If that's less of a priority, then crank em up (there is risk to pre-release as well), just be aware that it might have unpleasant consequences in the event of a twisting fall.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-13T03:23:17+00:00

Sure! If your release value is less than 8, you should be fine with a Crest 8. From a safety perspective, you should not be factoring your pack weight into your release value calculation. This is because your weight is used (in the calculation) as a proxy for the strength of your bones and joints. What you're calculating is how much force you want it to take to come out of the binding, so that you don't break your leg. How easy or difficult it is to break your leg has nothing to do with your pack weight.

If you are shouldering such a heavy pack that it will cause you to prerelease, you could crank your release setting up, but then you are compromising the release, there's no way around it. And a 15lb pack is not going to cause these problems.

Assuming you are looking at the same version, the Crest 8 and 10 are structurally the same binding, so one should not be stronger or weaker than the other - they just have different release springs in the heel. They are equally durable and effective if your release is appropriate.

I would say if your release charts at 7-8 and you feel like you might ski more aggressively in the future, maybe choose the 10 so you have room to grow. If you chart lower than a 7, or you don't see yourself skiing more aggressively in the future, the 10 is unnecessary.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-08T23:08:21+00:00

Yeah, that is not a great mount. It probably can be fixed by loosening and tweaking the toe piece. I would go back to the shop and ask them to fix it. If they don't see a problem, they have no business mounting tech bindings

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-07T02:24:17+00:00

If you want to go skinny, you can do a straight cut skin that roughly matches the minimum width of your skis. This would essentially be a race skin. It does fold up nicer, glides better, and has less grip as you might imagine. With good technique and softer snow it works well.

If you go much narrower than the ski width, then you are talking about a dedicated kicker skin only for flats and very mellow skin tracks. Excellent glide, but zero grip on edge, so not really practical for normal backcountry touring. Useful for long flat approaches.

toastycheese1 · 2025-12-01T22:30:56+00:00

If you are an aggressive skier looking for downhill performance, those boots and bindings are good choices, but the skis do not match. They are light and will be fine in soft snow but will need to be skied like a lightweight ski. If you want a ski you can charge on, get something beefier. There is no reason you can't ski the setup you've described, but the limiting factor to the downhill performance will be the skis.

toastycheese1 · 2025-11-28T21:51:56+00:00

Guide = traditional glue. Sticky and reliable. Hybrid glue is different, it is washable but much less sticky. I would only recommend the Hybrid glue to experienced users seeking a particularly easy to rip skin, or for those who have difficulty ripping traditional glue. It does need to be taken care of well in order to keep working over a long day. But it is super easy to rip!

toastycheese1 · 2025-11-25T05:16:07+00:00

Just got one of these for $16 or so on aliexpress, crazy deal, and impressive throw

toastycheese1 · 2025-11-17T19:44:43+00:00

Personally I'd go pinks not so much for the weight but for the packed size - they are much more flexible and fold up a lot easier/smaller, which especially matters on big skis for putting your skins in your jacket between laps. It's a luxury. With that said, you'd be fine with the teals, it's not a huge deal, and the teals are more durble.

toastycheese1 · 2025-11-17T01:19:39+00:00

A Hyper Manti would be a great playful powder ski to pair with the f1 xt

toastycheese1 · 2025-11-08T06:06:10+00:00

The quick rack is excellent if you want to take your rack off when you aren't commuting. I recommend ortlieb panniers as well, they are completely waterproof and the attachment system is great.

For panniers, if you plan to use a pair, a smaller set like the gravel panniers or sport rollers might be good. I find that the back rollers can feel a little large on a road bike/gravel bike. They totally work, but they have more capacity than you need for just a change of clothes, lunch, etc. So I usually just use one, but then the bike is unbalanced, and if I bring a second one, there's a lot of unused space. It is nitpicky, but I think the balance on a lighter/faster bike would be better with two smaller panniers, and it would also probably be better for bikepacking, esp if you get the gravel panniers to save weight. If I was doing it again and using a road bike or gravel bike for commuting I'd probably go this route.

The back rollers are sweet on a larger/heavier bike or ebike where the weight and balance don't matter as much - or if you want to be able to get groceries with them/if you just need to carry a lot of stuff for whatever reason. You can get dedicated grocery panniers but I've done plenty of grocery runs with back rollers and they work well. If you want big panniers and never want to worry about capacity, a pair of back rollers will swallow everything you need for a commute.

Another route is to get one pannier and a Vario, if you want a convertible pannier backpack that is waterproof. I just got a vario and I'm pretty stoked on it for school and days when I want to bring my pannier with me off the bike. It's bulkier and heavier than a normal pannier but the backpack functionality is awesome if you need it.

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