Scarpa Maestrale RS Alpine Touring Boot U 28.5

Size: Unisex 28.5

Color: White/Black/Azure

Retail Cost: $848.95

Remember when backcountry touring meant wool sweaters and knickers, skinny skis, leather boots, and low-angle turns while whistling carefree tunes? Neither does the Scarpa Maestrale RS Alpine Touring Boot. Wool is great, so too are mellow turns�after you shred the crap out of steep chutes and chomp up all the pow. The Maestrale RS is a boot that marries stiffness with swiftness. It takes on the ascent so you can take the descent with style and power. The RS Maestrale is only 40 grams heavier than the standard Maestrale, yet is twenty percent stiffer.

With a burly 120 flex, super-light construction, combined cabrio and overlap design, and a liner that hugs a ripping performance right out of you, the Maestrale knows how to orchestrate on-hill brilliance. And its comfort and feathery weight keep you going all season long. Zeus buckles improve the cuff closure in ways you hadn't previously imagined, the unique instep strap encourages maximum heel hold and increased stiffness at the base of the tongue, and it's easy to engage with gloves on. Skin tracks get steep sometimes, and every once and a while they turn into mandatory boot packs. With the grip of the Vibram Cayman soles you'll gain purchase with every swing of the leg and inch ever closer to those butt-clenching steeps that really float your boat.

Scarpa slapped the RS moniker on this boot to signify it as a performer of the highest degree. Although there are lighter boots (the Rush) or more burly boots (the Freedom SL) among Scarpa's AT offerings, none of them offer the comfort, warmth, and driving power that the Maestrale RS delivers on an everyday basis.