SCARPA Alien 1.1

A fixture at the head of any skimo race, the original Alien 1.0 established a new performance-to-weight benchmark. It’s difficult to imagine improving on a winner like this, but no one is arguing the reformulation doesn’t do just that. We’re calling it the Alien 1.1 (SCARPA still calls it “1.0”, but hey, that’s confusing. Maybe the Alien 1.0 v2?).

Keeping the full-carbon cuff, single throw ski/walk mechanism, and BOA instep closure that gave the 1.0 its racing and adventure successes, SCARPA smartly didn’t change what wasn’t broken. Instead, they’ve taken the minor areas of weakness and turned them into strengths, which is sure to continue this boot’s legacy performance. The lower is now made of Carbon Grilamid LFT material (from the Alien RS) which brings new levels of stiffness and support at a low mass. The BOA closure system remains over the instep but is now internal, providing a closer fitting and more secure closure over the foot. A pain point of the original 1.0 was the difficult-to-enter sock-style liner; SCARPA has replaced it with a new Cross-fit Intuition BT liner featuring a full-length tongue that provides additional support and comfort. Some folks will be most excited by the new integrated gaiter which increases the weather resistance and decreases instances of soaked feet. The SCARPA Alien 1.1 is an even better ski boot than the original, at a better price to boot (yay, puns).

• Carbon Grilamid LFT shell increases stiffness and responsiveness.
• Integrated gaiter keeps your feet dry and warm, a novelty!
• Vibram UFO sole provides lasting traction on ridges and boot packs.
• Internal BOA system provides better foot hold for precise edging.
• Proven Alien ski/walk lever is still the quickest way to transition.

8/5/2018

Question from Alex N

 

Any idea whether BSL will match up with the original 1.0?

8/6/2018

Answer from Nate

 

Hi Alex, as of 8/6/18 we do not have official word yet on the BSL.

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8/4/2018

Question from steve

 

Hi Jason and Company,
I have been looking at the weight of these and thinking of the possibilities! So am I dilusional or could these be good for week long powder touring trips?
Thanks,
Steve

8/4/2018

Answer from Trace Leches

 

Hey Steve! You are definitely not delusional, they would be great for that. The weight (or blatant lack thereof) opens up a whole lot of doors that were closed before and the reality of what ski touring has become is incredibly exciting.

Please note, at the beginning of last season Scarpa released a huge tech document that details the capabilities and guidelines of each boot in their lineup. They claimed that the Alien 1.0 (the previous Alien 1.0) shouldn't be skied on anything wider than 65mm underfoot otherwise they wouldn't warranty it. That being said, we have seen way more skiers "disobey" that guideline and use it on bigger skis than we have seen actually adhere to that standard. Just a thought to keep in mind. Not even sure if this boot is going to fall under that same standard or not, only time will tell.

Based on what I've heard from a handful of people (like superhuman Mr Teague Holmes' mentioned) there is way more than enough power behind this boot to really get a pretty sizeable ski going, especially in powder. I think it's going to be a ton of fun, I can't wait to get a pair.

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7/18/2018

by teague holmes (downright abused product)

 

Could the alien 1.1 actually ski even better than the insanely well tested original 1.0? Damn right it does. I drove the 1600g 98 waisted Faction Prime 3.0 skis in Colorado in powder this winter and tested it running around the Alps of Chamonix for 2 1/2 months this winter. It honestly manhandled my 90 width Prime 1.0 skis in everything from sick powder to heads up glacier ice, refrozen chunder and spring slop. Definitely has a much stiffer lower. This made a big difference in some of the steep lines I seemed to keep finding myself on in Cham.
I think the boot will fit a wider variety of feet while still holding lower volume feet just fine. I don’t think it’s wider, I think it does allow a little bit more room for high in-steps so I just added a little foam shim to take up space for my low volume feet.
It does keep the feet a little bit dryer with the gator.
And it’s way way easier to get in and out of with the intuition liner.
If you’re looking for a full on competitive race boot that can also handle proper mountaineering on a normal size ski, I can’t even imagine a better boot out there.
-Teague

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