Scott Superguide Carbon AT Boot

Nice, non bulky profile. We like the white/maui blue colours.

Front and back. You can get a hint of some of the funky features like the powerstrap/cuff combo here. We'll get into those a little later. 

We appreciate the forefoot buckle system. It keeps the buckles from snagging and delivers a good, even fit. Note the dual injected tongue, also.

Hey...you gotta show off a little carbon if you've got it! Here is part of the story behind the 1,415g weight and 125 flex. Carbon fibre, coupled with grilamid in the rest of the boot, makes for a light and stiff program. 

Now, here in the two photos below, we get into some of the "special sauce" that makes the Superguide so super. We've had issues with external walk mechanisms freezing up on some of the boots we've tested (like the Scarpa GEAs for example). Check out this little gizmo in walk mode immediately below and ski mode below that. The pull tab opens and closes a spring- loaded lever that locks you into ski mode in a way that leverless mechanism do not. No freeze-up or wondering whether your ski mode is engaged. Super!

And here below, is another remarkably well thought-out feature. As you can hopefully see, the powerstrap is integrated with the top buckle. Going up? Just one buckle to release. Going down? Same, same—one buckle. The top two buckles also include the little "gate" feature (the greeny yellow bar) which holds your buckle in position when in tour mode. Handy.

Excuse my fingers here—it's the only way I could show you this feature. Here is were you can adjust the powerstrap/buckle combo. Great news for those of us with matchstick-like lower legs. 

Here are the liners. They are thermoformable and claim to be comfy right out of the box. I heard that they use the same foam as Intuition liners. Maybe that's why they fit so well. For people who like laces, there's also a little cam device to keep your laces done up. 

Good Vibram "bi-density" rubber sole. Ideal for scrambling on rocks should your tour come to that. 

• POWERLITE Tongue
• Rear Hook Ski/Walk Mechanism
• Full-length Vibram® bi-density rubber
• Shock Damper Inserts
• Lock Catches
• Adjustable Spoiler
• POWERFIT Cuff Injection
• Dynafit® certified tech inserts

The Scott Superguide carbon boots aren't radical in their design—and we are ok with that. They may have earned the "guide" designation because of their solid, workhorse nature. I'm not a guide, but I follow some of their leads. Have you ever seen a guide on a first generation boot? Probably not—because they are too concerned that untested components will blow up in the field. The Scott Superguides are now in their second or third iteration—continuously improving all the while.

I have a rather wide front foot so I am also happy with the 103 last. Garmont (before the ski boot division was acquired by Scott) were known for there wide-foot comfort— and this has carried over into the Scott line. The POWERLITE tongue is what makes the flex of these boots so progressive and smooth. I've found they ski like an alpine boot. 

The Scott Superguides have been on my feet for long tours as well as long days at the lift-served area. For the resort, I have them paired with Salomon Rocker 2 skies (115 underfoot) and Marker Duke binders. This a heavy set-up (even in the alpine world). The Scott Superguides drive these skis no probs. For my touring set-up, the Superguides are paired with Soul Skis Touring 106 (which is a waaaay lighter set-up).  Because the Scott Superguides bring together the light and stiff attributes, they work really well with both these set-ups. Maybe you don't need two pairs of boots (and skis) to enjoy both front-and backcountry. Weight wise, they are a little heavier than the Scarpa Maestrale RS and a little lighter than the Dynafit  Hoji Pro Tour.

The powerstrap/top buckle combo is pure genius for quick transitions, and the locking external walk mode is solid and dependable. With many of the boots we've reviewed over the years, these kinds of features tend to be fiddly and a pain to work with (like when getting the boot off and on, for example).  They also tend to bust and wear out. We've skied these boots for almost a full season and noticed neither of these things.   As is often the case, it's the features you don't notice that can make all the difference.