Atomic Backland Carbon Boot - 2018/19

I love my Backlands. Three years of quality skinning and skiing. I’m ready to buy some of the black (softer) tongues, mainly because I love going tongueless for our long north Idaho approaches and my gaiters are looking pretty ragged. I used some glue last year to try and stop a tare in the gaiter but after last spring they are in bad shape. So my question... apart from using tongues have you guys seen any nifty gaiter repairs... reading a prior review you mentioned using an external gaiter? Any tips would be appreciated to get another season or two out of these boots without getting powder snow down in the Shell. Don’t worry though I’m still gonna buy some new boots from you guys.

How do the fit of these compare to the Dynafit Speedfits?

These took me a little while to get dialed in but i really enjoy them now. I initially had a lot of rubbing/bruising on my inner leg just above my ankle on just my right foot only while skinning and walking. I had the liners molded to allow for extra room here and also had both inner ankles punched out and ground down a bit. The boot fitter i went to mentioned that the rubbing i had was common for this boot. My rubbing persisted until i figured out that while skinning and walking i need to have the tongue out and the top buckle on the tightest notch possible. I think this is what the manual describes so I should have just RTFM. I cannot skin pain free with the tongue IN but the range of motion and lack of resistance without the tongue is so good that I have no interest in skinning with the tongue in. I really like how supported my leg feels while skinning. I skied a few days on some TLT7s but didn't like how unsupported my ankle was as compared to these. Downhill performance is good. I feel pretty locked in even though the liner height is significantly lower than on the scarpa maestrales i'm coming from. I really wish there was a spot for clipping a binding leash but i see that's been addressed in the new model.

Following up on my last post, I noticed that the bottom and middle eye lids of the liner are very far apart. This results in an outside folding of the liner with every step. The the liner fabric is compressed between the shell and my ankle which seems to be the cause for my ankle bruise.
Compared to my old tlt6 liners the eyelids are about one inch further apart.
Has everybody else observed this?

I bought these boots to replace my TLT6. I have a narrow foot and they seem to fit me much better than the TLT7 which are much wider than the TLT6. While they are light, climb well and and are sufficiently stiff for skiing I am having several issues with them.
I had the shell fitted (by a non Atomic boot fitter) but I am still having a lot of pressure on the inside of my ankle, even immediately after putting them on, resulting in bruised ankles. Strangely this doesn't happen all the time. There have been plenty of real long days where they fit super comfortably and I had no issues what so ever. Not sure why it differs so much from day to day but this issue has been so bad a couple of times that I got to a point where I am considering using those boots.
Also I find the buckles extremely fiddly and they seem to open easily when hitting on firm snow or rock while boot packing. I never had that issue with my TLTs.
The inserting the tongue and the transition from uphill to skiing mode also is quite a bit trickier than with TLT6. Also one gotta take care that the gaitor doesn't get stuck between the tongue and the shell otherwise the lower buckle doesn't close completely.

Wondering what size I would best fit into. I currently ski a 27.5 MTN lab and cochise 130 in a 27.5, those both fit well. The BSL looks to be quite a bit shorter on the backland, should i jump up a shell size to 28? or do yall think a 27.5 would be doable?

Cheers!

The durability of gaiter seems to be lacking. I am using intuition pro tour liners so that could play a role as well.
Any suggestions on how to replace the gaiter or fix it up?
It seems to be glued to the shell. Duct tape doesn't seem to be a good solution as it needs to bend in too many directions.

I am thinking about up-sizing to a 29 from a 28.5. Do you think I could swap the cuffs between the two shells if need be, or are they size specific?

Thanks!

Bought them because on paper they were exactly what i was looking for. But....
I never could find a way how to ski in them. They are plenty stiff with the tongue, the support is not there though.
Might be because they are VERY low(and i have smaller feet for my height), but plenty time had a feeling like i could just fall out of the boot or even break my ankle(?!?).
Tried insert bigger tongues, change lean angle, different liners....nope
Buckle screws keep loosening...
OTOH pull out the tongue and the skinning is incredible, very close to a race shoe.
Atomic seem to make the shoe without significant changes years in a row now, so might be just be mine issue.

Hey guys I just picked up a pair of these for a future “light” ski tour set up. My current skis are mounted with kingpin’s . I have read a lot of back and fourth about the compatibility. I do not plan on skiing them with kingpins in the future but until then I wanted to try them out a couple days and all I have are the kingpins. If somebody can clear up the compatibility issue for me that would be great.

Thank you

After 8 seasons in the Dynafit TLT5 and 6s, I was ready for something comparable in performance but that didn't develop so much slop and play in the cuff rivets and walk mode. I didn't like the direction Dynafit took with the TLT7, so this season I gave the Backland Carbon boots a try. So far I am really pleased.

The stock liner left my low volume foot swimming a bit, so I used the Intuition Pro Tours I had been using in my TLT6s. I molded the shell at home in my convection oven...I didn't get too aggressive with it as I was a bit nervous about DYI but successfully alleviated some of the mild pressure points I had prior to molding.

The cuff pivots and walk mode lock are the most solid I've seen in a boot of this genre. Time will tell, but after ~20 days they are still super solid in ski mode and from what I understand the serviceable cuff bushings are quite durable. They tour better than the TLT6 since there is no plastic tongue of any sort to restrict forward motion, but you do need to use the removable tongue for acceptable downhill performance. It's a bit trickier to insert than on the TLT6, but I found grinding the tab down made it more friendly. Some might find all the buckles and removable tongue fiddly compared to some one-lever style boots out there, but for me an extra 30 seconds during transitions is well worth the added performance. In downhill mode with tongue inserted, the boot skis at least as well as the TLT6 - a level of stiffness more than adequate for my 190 pounds and driving bigger skis in variable snow.

Do you climb in this boot with the tongues in, or do they have to be removed?

Realistically, how wide of a ski can these boots ski well with? If someone is going to be looking for a solid uphill performer that skis a lot of powder and soft snow are these a solid choice? If these aren’t a good choice for a ski in the 95-100mm range, what other boot options that have a wider forefoot would be worth considering?
Thanks

Like the boots after a few (long) days. I do want to switch the liner to something taller and a bit beefier though, Intuition Wrap or Protour. Would like a bit more support fore/aft (added boosters already), and got cold feet on windy days (thin socks). Never had this issue on my previous Scarpa Maestrale RS.

No shop around to test for size, so hoping someone here could help. What size Intuition liner should I get?
I have 27-27.5 backlands.

Does anyone happen to know whether they can be resoled? Thanks.

Hi, im about to order but have no chance to try them on anywhere nearby.
Scarpa F1 27.0 is perfect fit, Spitfire 26.5 is tight but good..after few hours in them i belive it would be super fit as well.
Also Scott Celeste 26.0 seem ok.
So far i have been on Syborgs 27.0 for two seasons. Lately it started to feel really lose in the forefoot (i guess liner needs replacing).
So its obviously 26.5 or 27, but thats where the size breaks so it might feel quite a lot different.
Might trying atomic alpine boot help sorting this?

Is there any difference in the shape of the shell or liner between this and the women's version? I.e. if I want to have a stiffer boot and don't care about having girly colors, would I get the same fit with this as with the women's backland?

any idea on fit (length wise) of these? I wear 42 cycling shoes, biggest foot is 267mm. Flat, low volume foot.

About me: 6', 180lbs, 11.5 shoe size, 29.5 in this boot. Wide forefoot, narrow heel. Skied one day in this boot before heat molding. Mostly used with a Fisher Hannibal 94 177mm.

Lots of good info already in reviews here, but I wanted to leave another long term data point. I have been using these boots exclusively the last 12 months, and have skied every one of those months. They have held up very well to all of the rocky, snow covered approach scrambles, as well as cold, long days, and deep pow turns. I appreciate the simplicity of the boot design, which has made, for instance, replacing buckles and such straight forward. I would recommend loctite for critical screws once a season. The tech interface has held up tremendously, as have the soles.

I really like the way these ski, and for my usage, they are downright excellent in terms of balance between weight and performance. Used on steeps, multiday hut to hut trips, and every day touring.

Admittedly, these fit my feet really well, but I have seen these more and more in the backcountry and I believe that is due to the ability to heat mold the liner to a shape that will work with many people's anatomy. If you are looking for a single light boot for backcountry use, this one should be at the top of your list.

I am curious (baffled) by how the heat molding process works on the shell. Is it one step or do you mold the liners first like a traditional boot fitting to see if the shell even needs adjustment. Seems odd to heat mold the whole shell. Any experiences good or bad with heat molding these shells?