Crampons… check. Harness… check. Beacon…check. Boots…hmm. Boots…COCHISE! In February 2011, as I was prepping my gear for a six week trip to Chamonix, France I realized that my kit was not up to snuff without the Tecnica Cochise boot. Its 120 Flex, with ultra light, but stiff Triax material plastic. Its 100mm in the forefoot. I have spent the majority of my skiing life looking for aesthetic ski lines and slowly acquiring the necessary gear to get the job done in the most demanding situations. Every season I have tried another lame AT boot out, looking for alpine performance, Dynafit compatibility, and a good walk mode. When I first tried on the new Tecnica Cochise boot, I knew that I had found the holy grail of freeride boots. With a high stiff cuff, durable buckles, a oversized velcro powerstrap/buckle, an amazing tour mode and replaceable dynafit compatible heel and toe blocks, this boot is designed to get you where you want to go and allow you to pin it on the way down.Stepping into these boots every morning on the other side of the world at the base of the Aguille du Midi , I knew that the last thing I would have to worry about in the high alpine peaks of the French alps was how my boots were going to perform. I skied them on some of the hairiest, steepest and iciest terrain I have ever skied in my life, as well as waist deep pow with a heavy pack on. The boots performed better than any other boot on the market. The walk mode is simply perfect. Easy to engage and disengage and really allows you to lengthen your stride while skinning and articulate your feet in sketchy hiking terrain to get solid placements.
I skied these boots in and out of bounds for 45 days straight without a glitch. Not one broken or bent buckle, superb fit the whole time, and durable hardware. After returning to the states, the boots proved again that they could handle inbounds terrain at the rowdiest resorts, and still switch back to an efficient and comfortable touring boot once you duck the ropes.
For a better look at how my European trip went this year please check out kristhaoe.blogspot.com or click on these links to see some video from the trip!
