La Sportiva

Spitfire 2.1 Alpine Touring Boot

Look to La Sportiva's Spitfire 2.1 Alpine Touring Ski Boot for your all-around ski mountaineering and speed touring pursuits. The Spitfire is surprisingly stiff on the downhill, considering how flexible and light it feels on the uphill. The shell consists of a low-profile Grilamid outer for ultralight durability, and features a carbon-reinforced polymer cuff to keep the boot stiff for the descent. The cuff also gives the Spitfire a killer 68-degree range of motion, resulting in plenty of agility while climbing on ice and rock or skinning up steep switchbacks.

La Sportiva equipped the Spitfire with a Speedfire closure system that allows quick and efficient adjustment from walk to ski mode. Inside the boot, you have a removable SkiMo thermo-moldable liner and WarmSole insert, which make the Spitfire one of the warmest two-buckle boots on the market. Despite a relatively wide last, a 2BT Tech Heel minimizes the volume around your heel for a precise fit, too, because nothing's worse than slopping around inside your boot when you're trying to lay down aggressive turns in mixed snow.