what is the best way to buy my first pair of AT boots?

Hey everyone, looking for advice on accumulating the gear for ski touring, specifically boots. I have basically zero ski experience, but my longer term goals require skiing. I have decided it's time to start planning gear purchases. My thought is that I will look for used gear for my first setup, because for the next year or two I will have very limited access to skiing. I am torn between saving up for good, new boots on sale, versus buying used boots. What would you do? 

Any tips for buying used? If I have to guess a bit on sizing, to what degree can changing the liners help with fit? Anything to look for/avoid in used ski boots? This might be too specific, but any good models that come up for sale frequently? 

Thanks for any tips. I am really out of my depth on this and appreciate any advice.

Buy new boots, and try them on in person. If there aren’t stores around you wrap it into a trip somewhere, or order multiple sizes from evo (or similar site) and return the ones that don’t fit. Used skis are fine, used boots are a terrible idea. They’re likely to not fit and be beat up. If you can’t afford new boots, wait until you can.

Save up for new boots plus a good boot fitting. Or just visit a boot fitter and have them help you out. It’s worth the investment especially if you’re new  

Also I’d question going straight into AT without some resort experience.

Go to a shop and get fit for some resort boots. If you don’t have any skiing experience, you need a few seasons under your belt before you should be going in the backcountry.

Ok looks like new boots it is, thanks for clarifying that. I figured boots are the place for the investment, and in the long run I'd rather have one good pair than a good pair and a crappy pair.

I will certainly not be buying resort gear. Is there any good reason that you can't ski down a groomed run on AT gear? Is that like using TC Pros at the climbing gym? I have really low expectations of what I'm capable of on skis, but I simply see no reason to buy a bunch of gear for something I'll never do. I basically foresee using them instead of snowshoes for the next few seasons of ice climbing. If I did go to a resort, I'd rather just build familiarity with the setup I'd be using down the road, even if I got laughed at.

I was exactly where you are 4 years ago - absolute rookie skier, wanting to get into adventures which require skiing. I spent a few days learning on an old rental setup from eBay. Once I was sure that skiing didn't suck, I bought a setup which could do both resort and backcountry, with some compromises. 

Boots - there are plenty of boots in the "crossover" category now, which are heavier than a dedicated AT boot but will also handle the resort infinitely better. I have K2 Pinnacle Pros; the Technica Zero G and Lange Free lines are similar. These boots are all built in the overlap style of a traditional alpine boot, but include functional walk modes and tech fittings and are generally made with lighter materials. 

Bindings - I went with the Tyrolia AAAmbition 10 frame bindings. They're heavier than most pin bindings, but are very light for a frame binding, and they ski the resort just fine. The walk mode isn't as nice as a pin binding, but again, compromise. The big thing here is release characteristics; you're going to crash, and you want the skis to come off when you do. Tech bindings have come a long way but they're still not as safe. 

Skis - I went light here, with K2 Wayback 88's. I went a size or two shorter than most experienced skiers would buy, and haven't regretted it. The light skis do lack damping compared to heavier resort gear, and they tend to bounce me around a bit on rough / firm / frozen snow, but you learn. Compromise. 

Skins - buy mohair or at least a 70/30 mix. My only ski gear regret is buying nylon for my first pair. 

If you do it right, you can build a setup which will let you become a proficient skier at the resort, and will also let you get into exploring the backcountry in a limited way. Add a dedicated touring ski and binding once you're ready to adventure more.

No one is gonna laugh at you for skiing in whatever you end up with.

The main issue (as I understand it-- I'm in the second year of learning how to ski and only have about 60 days out in that time period) is that pin bindings don't release as reliably as alpine/resort bindings, so you're more likely to hurt yourself.

I've spent the last two seasons skiing in a resort because skiing outside of a resort is dangerous and I want to have good skills before getting out into the backcountry where the stakes are much higher.  People keep dying where I am at.

I rented alpine gear for the resort the first year, really liked it, and bought a nice setup last season.

I took the advice to go to my local boot fitter, and they got me setup really well.  I don't regret that.

I also ended up with some "switch" bindings that have a sliding lateral toe release plate per the normal alpine/resort bindings as well as a "walk" mode that uses traditional pin bindings.  So I have a "safe" setup for the resort and I've been able to get out and ski a bit of easy back country terrain.

None of that was cheap... like I'm about $2K into that, including a used avvy beacon and some other stuff. I really like to ski and intend to get even more days in next year.  The gear I have is super nice and fun to use, my kids are grown, whatever, I don't feel bad about laying out the money.  But it was not cheap/

If I were you, my main concern would be not having good ski skills and ending up hurting myself in tricky backcountry terrain, either from avalanche or from simply falling in a bad way.

But that's just me, and as I said, I'm a novice... I often don't know what I don't know.

Thanks for all the replies, I am really learning a lot.

Goals- 5-10 years out would be Denali/Cassin. That is one thing I really want to do that I know takes skis to be as fun as I want it to be. I will be graduating with a masters maybe a year from now, and before then I will have at most several days I could ski. In a year or so I hope to move somewhere with good alpine and winter climbing. If I do, then I might get fairly regular usage out of AT gear (weekly use in season?). 

I'm a little into endurance mountain running, so I could see swapping ski touring for that seasonally if I lived somewhere snowy.

I am interested in this point in skiing as a way to efficiently get to the climbing. I don't own any floatation devices, and I just figure I might as well go straight to what I ultimately will need. 

For example, I would like to climb some of the ice on South Mineral Creek Road, but when I've been there the road has been closed, and I didn't want to hoof it 4 mi or whatever along a snowy forest road. If I lived somewhere with good ski touring I'm sure I'd end up doing some ski-only days, but at least for now I am thinking of it as a tool to get me to the climbing. Mt Hood would be another place where I'd like to be able to skin up, switch to climbing boots, then ski down.

Also, I'm super scared of "fast scary" sports like skiing or mtb, so believe me I will not be afraid to strap them on my pack and walk down. I had a very humbling day on cross country skis a couple years ago, involving falling down in the path of a snowplow in Ouray.

J Cwrote:

For example, I would like to climb some of the ice on South Mineral Creek Road, but when I've been there the road has been closed, and I didn't want to hoof it 4 mi or whatever along a snowy forest road. If I lived somewhere with good ski touring I'm sure I'd end up doing some ski-only days, but at least for now I am thinking of it as a tool to get me to the climbing. Mt Hood would be another place where I'd like to be able to skin up, switch to climbing boots, then ski down.

I've postholed 3 miles up that road only to find that the climb we wanted to do was not in.

IMO, it wouldn't have been any easier or faster on skis... it's very flat.

I hate snowshoes, but you might consider if that's your better option, especially if you don't like going fast.  I'm very conservative about speedy downhill travel and a big chunk of learning to ski has been overcoming that fear... I don't think I would have made any progress outside of a ski resort.

J Cwrote:

Thanks for all the replies, I am really learning a lot.

Goals- 5-10 years out would be Denali/Cassin. That is one thing I really want to do that I know takes skis to be as fun as I want it to be. I will be graduating with a masters maybe a year from now, and before then I will have at most several days I could ski. In a year or so I hope to move somewhere with good alpine and winter climbing. If I do, then I might get fairly regular usage out of AT gear (weekly use in season?). 

I'm a little into endurance mountain running, so I could see swapping ski touring for that seasonally if I lived somewhere snowy.

I am interested in this point in skiing as a way to efficiently get to the climbing. I don't own any floatation devices, and I just figure I might as well go straight to what I ultimately will need. 

For example, I would like to climb some of the ice on South Mineral Creek Road, but when I've been there the road has been closed, and I didn't want to hoof it 4 mi or whatever along a snowy forest road. If I lived somewhere with good ski touring I'm sure I'd end up doing some ski-only days, but at least for now I am thinking of it as a tool to get me to the climbing. Mt Hood would be another place where I'd like to be able to skin up, switch to climbing boots, then ski down.

Also, I'm super scared of "fast scary" sports like skiing or mtb, so believe me I will not be afraid to strap them on my pack and walk down. I had a very humbling day on cross country skis a couple years ago, involving falling down in the path of a snowplow in Ouray.

I recommend getting a seasons pass at a resort and learning to ski on downhill skis first. If you are aiming for a goal 5-10 years out, AT gear will keep improving and it will be worth the wait if you buy gear when you can ski and use AT gear.  

For mountaineering you want LIGHTWEIGHT gear ( light skis, light boots, light bindings), not heavy "crossover" equipment supposedly good for BOTH the backcountry and the resort.  I think Switch bindings are heavyweight junk when it comes to dragging them uphill in the backcountry, but I'm comparing it to light equipment.

Nolan Yahok wrote:

What are your goals? Long traverse? Getting to a climb? 

Agreed with Nolan, the first thing you should do is define your goals. "AT" is a very broad category, ranging from ultra-light skimo racing gear to heavy sidecountry gear that provides excellent downhill control but that wouldn't be a good choice for climbing. Here are some helpful articles:

https://cripplecreekbc.com/blogs/backcountry-blog/choosing-your-ski-touring-setup

https://www.wildsnow.com/11066/at-ski-backcountry-boot-buying-guide/ (a bit out-of-date but still useful)

If you're thinking of something like Denali that adds another complication. For that you'd want a light boot with lots of ankle flex, but those types of boots aren't very warm. You might have to upsize the shell and swap out the stock liner for something thicker and warmer. Probably better to start with something more versatile and get another setup specifically for Denali if and when the time comes.

Learn to ski on rental gear before buying boots. We've all been the noob at something, and trying to get ahead of the buying curve. It would be like buying a car before you learn to drive, actually.

If you buy ski boots without knowing how to ski they're going to suck. Even if you go to a bootfitter.

Think about your first pair of climbing shoes. They almost certainly sucked because you didn't know how they were supposed to fit and feel.

The best thing to do is get a season pass and a season ski/boot rental. Then decide in a year.

Austin Donisanwrote:

If you buy ski boots without knowing how to ski they're going to suck. Even if you go to a bootfitter.

Think about your first pair of climbing shoes. They almost certainly sucked because you didn't know how they were supposed to fit and feel.

The best thing to do is get a season pass and a season ski/boot rental. Then decide in a year.

^^^ totally agree. You won’t have the background knowledge to flex a boot or know how it should feel and it’ll just wait your time and your boot fitters time if you buy before you’ve tried.