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Weight-conscious backcountry skiers, take note: Tecnica just unveiled a brand new ski touring boot that weighs in under 1,000 grams. Tecnica’s new Zero G Peak boot was the belle of the ball at January’s Winter Sports Market trade show in Salt Lake City, where it was first revealed to much fanfare.
This is a long-awaited milestone for Tecnica, a brand that’s been looking to break into the ultra-lightweight touring category in order to fill a whole in their offerings between dedicated downhill boots and beefier resort/backcountry hybrid boots. But true to Tecnica’s brand, the new Zero G Peak, while lighter, supposedly still prioritizes downhill performance and fit over simple gram-counting.
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To achieve such a balance in performance, Tecnica incorporated an overlapping shell with a cable buckle closure in the upper, rather than a more open design typically seen in other lightweight touring boots. Instead of something like a BOA closure that connects to the interior part of the shell, the Zero G Peak’s lower foot connection points are fixed to the exterior shell, locking the foot and heel into place more securely.
Part of this construction process involves gluing the double-stitched, mesh gaiter from the inside, which Tecnica does through a hole in the bottom of the boot’s sole. They then cover this up with a 2.5”x4” piece of carbon fiber, which adds lateral strength to the boot, offsetting the light, thin Grilamid plastic materials that can often leave the boot with too much flex.
“With this added torsional rigidity, flexing to either side of the boot rolls the whole ski up on edge instead of letting the boot wring out like a wet towel,” says Christian Avery, Tecnica’s North American Product Manager. “This really transfers the skier’s energy into the ski instead of absorbing it into the boot.”
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In the same vein, Tecnica borrowed the ski mode locking mechanism from their beefier, 4-buckle, 1,320-gram Zero G Tour boots. The long, 6-inch arm that locks into place for the downhill is secured in two places—high and low on the cuff—and is connected by a fortified internal spine running through the back of the boot. Tecnica claims this gives more support and power than a flimsier arrangement of just two independent connection points placed closer together.
Skiers with feet that typically need custom bootfitting work will be glad to know that, unlike other fragile skimo boots for which any shell modifications void the warranty, the Zero G Peaks can be punched up to 2mm. The CAS (Custom Adaptive Shape) technology Tecnica uses puts dimples in the shell that lower the surface tension and reduce the rebound that heated plastics tend to have, so your bootfitter won’t need to punch the shell 4mm just to have it shrink back to 2mm.
Most boots in this category usually have a half or partial boot board under the liner called the Zeppa, but these have a full-length board that lets you adjust the height inside the boot as well as the ramp angle for a more precise fit.
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“I’m most excited about this boot’s ability to drive a bigger, wider ski without being overpowered, like our Zero G 105,” says Avery. “But our sneakiest little feature is the largemouth Dynafit inserts in the toe welt that have the extra notch below the hole, making it much easier to step into pin bindings. The difference between that and a traditional insert is astonishing.”
Look out for three models: The Zero G Peak ($949; 980g at 26.5), Zero G Peak W for women ($849; 900g at 24.5), and Zero G Peak Carbon with a carbon cuff for those seeking a little extra power and stability ($849; 990g at 26.5). All models will be available in October of 2022.