Fischer Travers Carbon Boot

So I got these because several reviews claimed they are good for people with high insteps.

I agree, but not out of the box. I had to get a small part of the boot heated with a ton of padding added to my foot, and now there isn't really any pressure point. But my instep is REALLY high.

They tour like a dream, transition with a quick buckle and switch, and ski very well for the weight. I wish that they had a carbon or other such stiff material built into the liner tongue, to spread out the cuff pressure. That would be sweet.

This was the first day with the boots and I was more than pleased with fit and performance. The only modification to the boot was installing a previously made pair of custom foot beds.

My foot measurements, which I am including may help explain the size I chose.
Length 273mm
Ball 260mm
Instep 273 mm
Heel 363
Boot size 28.5 306mm

Skimoco type Neophyte

I attempted to try a 296mm shell (at another shop because I was curious about the boot). That didn't work out so well.

For this tour up Collins, the boots were paired with 170 cm K2 Annex 108's and Fritschi Vipec's (White). Snow quality ranged from slushy at the base to heavy dense high butterfat content snow at the top of Collins.

On the up, the cuff range of motion (ROM) was far superior to any boot I have owned and foot/liner movement was non existent due to the liner laces. The ROM was so good, I kept unlocking the toe pieces with every few strides. The toe lock problems were my fault, the bindings were set up to another pair of boots and I should have changed to a toe clip with a lower height.

Could a boot this light having such a large cuff ROM with no resistance ski well? I wondered if this was going to be similar to driving a very old semi truck with bad brakes, no clutch and loaded up with a piece of heavy construction equipment on it's trailer, down Parley's Canyon. To my relief, that scenario did not play out. The first few turns on the donkey path to High Main were slow and calculated so I could get some feedback on what I got myself into. Then, heading down High Main it was time to shed my Type II binky and lean into what I hoped would not be a sucker punch. (cue trumpets, sun breaking through the clouds) The boots did what they were meant for in today's conditions and allowed me to ski passively aggressive. I was relaxed and comfortable making more turns and skiing faster than I normally would in these conditions.

This being the first day on snow with the boots was a pleasant surprise. The boots performed up and down better than expected and were comfortable. I will follow up as soon as conditions improve and I have more time in the boots.

Had it not been for the Skimo on-line bootfitter, I would not have considered this boot.

If I'm a 27.5 in the Dynafit TLT7 Performance, what would you recommend in this boot? Thanks!

From what I read these boots have more metatarsal room the TLT5, maybe the TLT6 and maybe the same as the Scarpa F1--correct? Do the liners have to be thermomolded, in other words to they shape to the foot with mild use? If they need to be molded, is the Intuition rice method effective/suitable? Finally, I assume the volume is sufficient (as in the TLT6 and F1) for an aftermarket footbed, correct? And post finally, do you know where these boots fall in ramp angle between the TLT6 and F1? IMHO, the TLT6 has substantially more ramp angle than the F1 in my MP29 boots.

Looking seriously at these boots for endurance and fitness touring, not ski mountaineering or racing. They will drive an Atomic Backland UL 78 ski. Due to my messed up feet I need a wide boot and wear size 12 shoes. My new Scarpa Maestrale RS boots are size 28 and fit incredibly well, my best boot fit ever, especially after you punched out the toe boxes. My 28 Maestrale RS's have a BSL of 314mm.

Questions:

1. How does Scarpa sizing compare with Fischer? Do you think I could fit into a 28 Travers Carbon?

2. Have you had success punching the Grilamid shells?

3. A size 28 Travers Carbon BSL is 306mm. Can you mount my ATK bindings with the 30mm adjustable plate so that it would fit both boots?

4. Are folks happy with the Palau liners? If not, which Intuition liner do you recommend?

5. Is there another sub-kilo boot that would fit a wide foot that I should be considering?

Thanks

Time to post up a review for these boots. I've put a little over 100k of vertical on them now, all aboard a set Fischer Alpattack skis and bindings.

By far the most comfortable out of the box fit I've ever had in a ski boot. This is my first uphill boot moving from the BD Factor 130 and I am amazed by the combo of ski-ability and lightweight. While not a pure race boot they haven't slowed me down too much in my first season of racing.

The simplicity of these boots is perhaps the biggest feature - simple walk lock using rear bar, easy to use power-strap latch and nicely designed BOA lace system all designed around a full liner and gaiter. No hidden cables or walk mode locks to break in the backcountry. My only complaints - occasional ice build up in the walk lock/heel interface and the power strap is too long (typically ski 1cm past shortest marking). Both of these are truly nitpicks and have very little performance effect.

I'm very excited to use the boot with a new Salomon X-Alp setup for spring tours and PNW Volcanoes this summer. Should be a perfect 1kg boot + 1kg ski combo.

At some point I will be looking to upgrade to a race boot, but I won't hesitate to use these regularly in training. The only disadvantages are a bit of extra weight, non-booty liner, and two step ski-to-walk when comparing to a true race boot. With that said the range of motion is still very impressive for a full liner boot comparing to those I've tried on.

How flat is the boot board in the Travers and is it removable? Also how does the heel fit compare to the Dynafit TLT5?

I've been using these for this meager season, ~50k vert on em over a number of smaller days, including a few races. Disclaimer, these are the lightest boots I've used so I can't compare them to proper skimo boots. My previous boots were green TLT6Ps. I've been skiing them MOSTLY on 177 Movement Response-X w/race bindings and 179 Down Countdown 102Ls with race bindings, occasionally with 180 G3 Manhattans with Radical STs.

Firstly, these walk, skin and boot beautifully. I thought the TLT6P would be hard to beat in terms of uphill performance, but the Travers make the TLTs feel like alpine boots. A noticeable 5-6" additional per stride is possible with all the rearward flexibility these boots offer. Secondly, they ski great. I would say that, when you really tighten the strap, they do not give up much if anything to the 6P in downhill performance. I even took them inbounds with my heavy kit (~1900g skis + ~500g bindings) and was stunned how well they did. They're super warm, the Boa system gives a very nice fit around the foot, the gaiter keeps the snow out when it's deep, and they ski great. What's not to love?

I'm not a big velcro guy and I wish the strap was a bit more adjustable, I've got fairly skinny lower legs and I end up with a good amount of "tail" left over when I really wail down the straps, but it's a small gripe, and I suppose I could always cut the extra off. So far it hasn't failed to hold, even when somewhat snowy.

I'm super happy with them. They improve on my TLT6Ps massively in uphill performance, markedly in warmth, while giving up <= 5% in performance, maybe nothing. If they had a non-velcro upper buckle I'd probably buy a backup pair just to hoard.

Hey. I'm really interested in these boots vs Scarpa Aline RS. Do you have your own comparison between the two? What is the last of Fischer's sole? Scarpas have 99mm.
Will be grateful for any further hints.

Kamil

Greetings,

What is the sole length of the 26.5?

-j

Will the Fischer Travers release appropriately from the Vipec 12 Black bindings? Not the new Tectron

Hi,

I ski a 26.5 in a Black Diamond Quadrant and am looking to upgrade to a lighter setup and eying the Travers. Will their sizing be consistent with Black Diamond? I had the toe-box slightly expanded in the Quadrants (I generally lean towards adding volume to a smaller boot). Thanks!

Is the entire cuff made from carbon fiber (so it is difficult to punch or bend outwards)?

I used these boots throughout winter 2017, probably ~130k of vert and many days and hours, including a couple of hut trips in Idaho, a bunch of Utah powder days, even the Powderkeg. Can't say I abused them by trying to do rocky ridge traverses and mixed climbs or anything, but I did walk about 5 miles of City Creek pavement in them once.

For reference, I ski in tecnica inferno 130 boots in the resort and have previously used Mercuries, ONE's and the Maestrale RS for touring. In all those boots, I've used intuition liners and custom footbeds.
Touring on Voile Vectors 180 with Superlight 2.0.

FIT:
Maybe I got very lucky on these, but it's the only pair of ski boots I've ever had that did not require any fit modifications. In all my other boots, I've had issues with width and instep height, so I would imagine that this boot is fairly wide in the forefoot and the BOA system is forgiving on the instep. The heel hold when the liner is new is fantastic and, even now that the liner is pretty packed out and showing signs of wear, is still good. I do wish the cuff could be tighter, the buckle power strap design limits the amount of velcro you can pull through and I have it on max tight all the time, but I'm used to cranked down alpine boots and I like to ski the front of the boot if that makes sense. I would like it if they had an extra molded spot to move the buckle.

DESIGN:
The Palau liner is very thin, light and flexible and is perfect for this boot IMO. That said, it has worn quickly, to the point that I have thought about trying to get a new set. The gaiter system is a tad fussy, but I haven't had any issues with snow intrusion and it makes the walk mode much more free. The BOA system works very well, I can crank it down and achieve a close fit without pressure points. I think this contributes to the great heel hold. Zero reliability issues. Ski/walk mechanism is a simple solution that works really well. I see no reason for the more complex mechanisms in some boots. There is a tiny bit of play in ski mode that I notice on the bench, but it doesn't bother me when skiing. The cuff buckle/power strap has a really nice long throw that enables you to leave the power strap tight, unbuckle for full range of motion and buckle to ski. No fuss, no problem.

TOURABILITY:
Empowering! I think the range of motion is better than the hiking boots I have to wear all summer. I've never used race boots, but these have got to be close. I've tried on F1s and TLTs and they don't come close to the Fischers. I barely use my heel risers now. Transitions are pretty much fuss free, with just two easy lever throws per boot. Would be cool if they had a one lever action a la race boots, but no big deal. Like I said, I walked about 5 miles of pavement in them with no issues (other than my burning desire for Domino's, but that had nothing to do with the boots). Also, they are very warm, possibly due mostly to the good fit, but my feet haven't gotten cold anytime other than a zero degree dawn patrol. And that was probably due to some sensitivity from a bit of recent frostbite.

SKIABILITY:
These aren't powerhouse stiff boots, but they do feel intuitive, skiable and confidence inspiring. I don't go out into the backcountry to crush crud and rail groomers anyway. The upright forward lean is one of the reasons I bought these, having had issues with ramp and lean on past setups and it works well. Combined with a nice, easy ski like the vector, I think I ski better and more confidently in these boots than on my past setups (huascarans and mercuries). The torsionally stiff sole and the "duck-foot stance" thing mentioned above might be beneficial here, but I can't really tell enough to say. All I can say is that they ski well enough that I wouldn't hesitate to use them on any terrain. I wouldn't be charging, but I could make a nice turn and be in total control.

DURABILITY:
No issues here, other than the liner packing out, which doesn't really affect the performance of the boot very much. Sole shows basically no wear, but I haven't done hardly any rocky bootpacking stuff. Seems to me it would hold up well.

Bottom line, for me, backcountry gear should be intuitive, light and reliable and these check all these boxes in spades. I never think about them when I'm touring, they just work.

I've had these now for about 6 weeks but have already put nearly 150k of vert on them thanks to a perfect spring in New England and a 2 week trip to Norway. So I've had the chance to use them in nearly every type of snow, and have skied them with Hagan Ultras and the Fischer Hannibal 94s and 100s. They drive the bigger skis surprisingly well even in challenging conditions (hot pow, crust, etc). The full gaiter is awesome and the boa cinches evenly and snuggly. The power strap and ski/walk lock are beautifully simple and fast. For most touring/non race skimo applications I don't think having one mechanism is necessary. This is nearly as fast. The boots are pretty serviceable as well (boas string is easily replaceable, and buckle, power straps and ski/walk lock are also attached by bolts, so replaceable as well). Only thing I'd like to see is the boa itself attached by something other than rivets, and cuff rivets be replaceable - we'll see how long they last). With steeper the skinning I don't notice the slightly less range of motion compared to my syborgs and Pierre Gignouxs at all. The only time I notice it is skinning on long, flat approaches. I don't think they have quite as much rearward cuff mobility if you're doing more of a nordic diagonal stride. That's probably not an issue for most folks. Initially the toe box was a bit tight but adding a shim under the ball of my foot and getting the inside of the boot blown out a few mm solved that. Easy cheap fix, and expecting a plastic boot to fit perfectly right out of the box is unrealistic. I wore them for probably close to 80 hours in the last two weeks and feet didn't feel beat up at all. Durability so far seems pretty solid even with a good amount of off-snow travel, rock scrambling, etc. My feet measure 285/287 mm. I went with a 28.5 in these, 29 in syborgs and 29 in PGs. I have slightly less room in the toe box than the other two but these fit well. The tech bsl is identical to the syborgs.

Thanks for the quick response. You guys are on it.

To follow-up, what do you mean by 'designed around a duck stance'? Do you mean mounting your skis in a 'reverse pizza' sort of fashion? Does that stop you from accidentally pizzaing when you're trying to point it?

I don't know much about skis, but if it makes you go faster, it sounds pretty cool.

In reference to a boot, does that mean the foot positioning is ducked out by a few degrees relative to the front and back fittings? Thanks again.

Cheers.

In an above post, jbo says that he (assuming you're a dude...my apologies otherwise) thinks this would make a sweet AT splitting boot due to the flex characteristics. I am wondering if you guys could please elaborate on that, if possible? I am looking to make the switch to hardboots and am seriously considering these.

If you feel comfortable making such comparisons, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the relative merits of these vs the Aliens vs other splitting options (i.e. TLT6s, Siderals, etc.).

If that requires a novel-like response that you don't feel like writing, please feel free to disregard.

Cheers!

I race in the DNA and was using the Dynafit PDG as my training/touring/climbing boot for which it was adequate at everything but excellent at nothing. I switch to the Travers and have completely stopped using the PDG.

Pros:
-It's stiffer and skies better than the PDG. Paired with a 80-100mm underfoot ski for touring days, it's freaking awesome.
-An actual full gaiter means that snow and slush don't pour into the front of the boot like the PDG. No snow in my boots! It's a miracle!
-Much warmer than the PDG for alpine climbing.
-Only a few grams heavier than the PDG so I still feel reasonable doing training sessions/intervals in them when my feet hurt too much to use the DNA.
-I like the boa system - feels very secure.
-Have already endured a good beating that would have taken serious life out of the PDGs.

Cons:
-A little heavier sure.
-Less ankle flexion. I wouldn't race in them.

How can I tell if I have the updated sole -- are there obvious differences?

Hi,

will be size 30/30.5 in stock?

Thank you!