In Search of Perfect Backcountry/Park Boot

littleman34a bit of backcountry and a bit of park. What boots do it best? Basically I've been riding a pair of old ass SPK and some Duke frames for the last too long and I need an upgrade. Shits way to heavy in the backcountry and kinda dumb to ski frames in the park, plus they broke yesterday so time to get rid of em.

I'm looking at 2 pairs of skis, one park setup on pivots, one backcountry on pins. And I'll always keep my SPK but was hoping there was a boot that can kinda do both out there. Gonna need to be pin compadible, walk mode ideally too but not to skimo to rip park laps at the resort too.

I was looking at Dalbello Cabrio Frees, the gear guide says "THE CHOICE FOR ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME. PURE ALL TERRAIN AND ALL CONDITIONS PERFORMANCE WITH MORE COMFORT." so that sounds pretty good. But has anybody took these in the park?

Is K2/fulltilt any good now a days? I was seeing the Diverge looks like what I want.

Shoot me some opinions / your favorite park/touring boot.

HumanGeniusI ride the K2 flex diverge Sammy Carlson model and now I also have a huge ego

(it is a good boot tho and came with intuition liners. Transitioning is slow though because you take the full tilt tongues off so it’s an extra step every time you go to walk/ski mode)

deadhead420It doesn’t exist bro. All hybrid boots are a lie.

Hybrid boots are just heavy backcountry boots while being shitty resort boots. The unfortunate reality is that you need two pairs of boots if you rip. I’d always recommend two cheap used boots over a pair of high end hybrid boots.

Get a used race shell for $100 + new intuition liner for $125. Boom resort boot for $225 and spend the rest of a new boot budget on a used backcountry boot.



I’m definitely neglecting the intricacies of fitting a boot to your specific foot shape but you get the gist

**This post was edited on Apr 3rd 2025 at 12:35:43am

littleman34Yeah those look pretty cool I think it would inflate my ego too, but damn that seems like a weird con of transitioning. Those would be so awkward to pack in your backpck too. What if you just put em in walk mode, loosen the buckles and go?

littleman34I feel like you're right and maybe I should just get a good touring boot and stick to my SPK for park.

But the used race shell idea sounds like a recipe for disaster dude

SweetishFishThe Roxa r3 TI I.R. I ride them as a mainly park boot and they work great. they are super comfortable and easily the lightest boots ive ever felt. I have never toured on them personally but I know people who have and the have enjoyed them. I have boot packed on them if that means anything and they were great.

cali_invaderBoomer answer but seriously consider zipfits if you have skinny ankles/calves. I've put over a dozen boots but I won't ski any of them without my zips. Currently tour in the older hawx ultra 130 xtds with a GFT liner, and it's basically identical to a resort boot in the winter. With warmer temps the non-PU plastic gets a bit too flex-y for hard resort riding, but still perfect for BC.

Fit will make or break your boots, which is why zips are such a cheat code if you have narrow/low-volume feet.

littleman34Huh, I always thought those were for keeping your foot warm. Yeah I’m realizing boot fit needs to be my #1 priority. I’m thinking gotta go visit a shop and try on all their boots to get an idea of what will fit nice.

cali_invaderZips are actually a bit colder than the stock liners for some people, but the heel lock is unmatched *if* you have narrower heels or skinny feet/legs. If you have typical feet it might not make a big difference - only way to tell is to go talk to a shop and see what they think.