SCOTT FREEGUIDE CARBON

Scott has introduced a new freetour ski boot for winter 20/21, called the Freeguide Carbon.

Scott Sports was born in the USA but is now run from Switzerland. They make all-mountain, freeride and touring skis, although they only focus on touring and telemark boots. They previously made traditional four buckle overlap downhill boots, but dropped these for winter 2018/19.

Their ski touring boots are very popular, with Cosmos and Celeste models commonplace.

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SCOTT FREEGUIDE CARBON

The Freeguide Carbon is the narrowest, stiffest boot Scott currently makes, retailing at £600 / €699.90 / $899.95. It’s a 101mm last boot in size 26.5MP, rather than the wider 103.5mm last of Scott’s other touring boots. It’s quoted as 130 flex, stiffer than the 125 flex Superguide Carbon and 115 flex Cosmos III. Flex is a little subjective, as it’s not standardised, but this does feel stiffer than the Superguide Carbon.

Scott S1 freetour boot

Scott toyed with a revolutionary boot concept, called the S1, introduced for the 17/18 season. This boot was unique in a number of ways, but the stand-out feature was the ski-walk ‘lever’ on the tongue of the boot, along with pair of pivots by the toes. This was a really unusual design, but did have some merit. For winter 18/19 the design was tweaked but never really got the foot-hold (sorry) they hoped for and was dropped for the following season.

The replacement for the S1 is the new Freeguide Carbon which, at first glance, looks far more traditional in design. Scott, thankfully, have still be thinking outside-the-box on this one, with some neat solutions.

The Freeguide Carbon takes some inspiration from the S1, in the form of the user replaceable sole. Apart from that it’s really different and solves a key issue in freetour boots; how to create a stiff boot with decent ROM (range of motion) for touring.

Shell

The last of this boot is medium width 101mm in the size 26.5MP shell. This is not as wide as the other Scott boots, being aimed squarely at skiers that want a downhill-performance orientated touring boot.

Similarly to other Scott boots, they’re snug in their length. As with all ski boots, don’t chance it – get them professionally fitted; it makes a massive difference to how much you’ll enjoy your boots and your skiing.

Although a mass produced boot, this still has a franken-boot feel to it (in a good way). Once again, Scott’s not been too constrained by normal boot design, allowing them to get creative to provide a better solution. It’s not a true overlap and not a true cabrio boot.

Carbon reinforced Grilamid

The cuff and clog uses a carbon reinforced Grilamid construction. Grilamid, from EMS-Grivory, is a brand-name of polyamide plastic used in the construction of many different ski boots, from a number of ski brands.

Consistent performance

Grilamid is relatively lightweight with good thermostability, meaning the boot’s flex doesn’t alter so drastically in changing temperatures. Traditional PU boots can be punishingly stiff when very cold and disappointingly soft in the spring; Grilamid performs more consistently across varying temperatures.

The carbon used to beef up the boot helps improve drive and power when skiing, without having to use thick walls in the boot; plastic is heavy, and weight is your nemesis when touring. Scott has kept the weight down even though this boot skis really well.

This is the stiffest boot in Scott’s range, with the greatest cuff incline. All other touring boots from Scott are 11.5° forward incline in the cuff, while the Freeguide Carbon boot is 15°. They all have a quoted ROM of 60°.

In case you’re interested, their telemark boots are 13° with 46° ROM.

Carbon’s also injected about the pivot of the boot, again adding strength and performance. Scott was focussed on providing excellent downhill performance with this boot, despite it’s low weight and large range of motion in tour mode.

Tongue

The shell’s tongue is made of two parts, allowing the 60° ROM in tour mode; quite a bit more than many equally stiff touring boots. The upper bright green section is full width in the shin but tapers to a narrow strip over the foot. This strip is rivetted to the lower black section of the tongue, which it overlaps over the ankle. The black section is bolted to the clog.

The lower black section has a ridge on each side, which the upper green section butts up against when in ski mode. The tongue’s upper green section wraps around the shin, and the cuff shell wraps over this in ski mode. These features work well to stiffen the tongue, improving support and drive through the cuff. A relatively simple solution to improve the skiing performance while maintaining ease of touring.

The other benefit of this two part tongue is how easy the Freeguide Carbon is to get on – much easier than their Superguide Carbon.

Buckles

The Freeguide Carbon has two micro-adjustable ladder-type buckles, and a Velcro combined with buckle lever for the top fastening.

Instep buckle

The buckle over the instep has two anchor points on each side of the boot, as seen on the Scott Orbit. Between each point on a side is a wire cable, which the buckle attaches to, fastening with a ladder. This keeps the buckle closer to the top of the foot, which helps prevent it being opened as you plunge your feet into the snow when hiking (hence buckles are often reversed over the forefoot on touring boots). The spread of load over the forefoot helps prevent boot distortion and hot spots too.

Ankle buckle

The buckle over the ankle does a superb job of locking you back into the heel pocket of the boot. In tour mode this buckle lever locks in the open position.

There’s a sprung bail keeper over the ladder, preventing the metal bail from slipping off the ladder when in tour mode.

Power strap / buckle combo

The fastener at the top of the cuff’s a combination of a Velcro power strap and tensioning buckle. This allows you to set the tension at the start of your day then just flip the lever open for tour mode. You don’t need to unfasten the Velcro for tour mode. In tour mode this buckle locks in the open position.

The lever also means you can get more tension in the strap than a Velcro power strap alone. However, unlike some others that use this system, the strap doesn’t have graduated markings which is a shame as this can make setting the strap, at the start of your day, easier.

Ski / walk lever

Scott’s departed from their external ski-walk hook, used on their other touring boots. The Freeguide Carbon has an internal mechanism, with a simple string pull-tab on the rear of the boot. You pull up on the tab for walk (tour) mode and down for ski mode. This is really easy to use and you can even flick it through your trousers, saving you lifting the hem.

Liner

The liner has a BOA dial closure, the first time Scott’s used BOA on one of their ski boots. They know what their doing here though, as they’ve used BOA to great success in their cycling shoes. This system allows you to easily dial in the tension, and to loosen you just pull the BOA dial outwards until it clicks, releasing the tension. An effective solution and it allows you to get more tension over the leg/foot than you can normally get with lace-up liners.

The liner comes pre-shaped to give great hold straight out of the box. It’s also heat mouldable, for a more customised fit.

Sole

A full length Skywalk curved rubber sole provides grip and meets ISO 9523. It’s also fitted with Dynafit certified pin inserts. You can therefore use this boot with pure pin bindings, as well as the Marker Kingpin, Salomon/Atomic/Armada Shift, Marker DUKE PT, Fritschi Tecton and multi-norm compatible bindings. All of Scott’s touring boots have ISO 9523 soles, although they don’t say this on their site or in their catalogue, only for the new Freeguide.

IMPORTANT: Always check with your ski shop to make sure your boots work with the bindings you’re using.

Rubber touring soles can wear out, and this is where the Freeguide shines through. The entire sole is user replaceable – you simply undo the screws, fit the new sole (special ordered through your local ski shop), reinstall screws and off you go. You can get most touring boots resoled by a good cobbler, but Scott’s system is far easier. It’s the same system that was used for the S1 boots.

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Want to see more of what Scott’s got to offer, you can visit their site at Scott-Sports.com

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Quoted Prices

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