Comments on: 2008 Scarpa Tornado Pro Alpine Touring Boot Review

By: patrick hayes

patrick hayes — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:08:05 +0000

i skied these boots in a 24.5-25 shell and also had the forward lean problem. i was on the more forward setting but still could get the boot to flex forward. if you look at the beefer instep strap on the smaller sizes, it hits the bottom of the shell overlap on the top buckle. the boot can’t flex forward because the instep strap won’t allow any movement by the upper shell. at least on the smaller sizes, this could account for the lack of ability to presure the ski tip. It looks like there is a crrection in the newer (red) tornado pro.

By: All-new Scarpa Typhoon, Domina and Skookum A/T Boots - FeedTheHabit.com

All-new Scarpa Typhoon, Domina and Skookum A/T Boots - FeedTheHabit.com — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:14:28 +0000

[...] alpine touring boots for the 2008-2009 season. These boots will sit just above the Scarpa Tornado Pro and just below the Hurricane and aim to be the burliest, yet still tour-able A/T boots on the [...]

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:52:50 +0000

Hey Justin i had the same problem so i swapped out the tongues and that solved all my problems. The stiff tongues is just too hard unless the terrain your on is nice and steep so you can get your weight into your toes. Well that’s what i found anyway. Once i swapped to the white tongue they were great. That Black tongue sure is one thick chunk of plastic.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:55:54 +0000

I totally agree – I love these boots to death, but cant even ski in them on hardpack as the max forward lean isnt forward enough. I find myself leaving them almost completely unbuckled to allow for some more dynamic forward movement. Does anyone know of a way to compensate for this? Perhaps a riser under the heel would put me more on the balls of my feet?

By: Jason Mitchell

Jason Mitchell — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:27:08 +0000

Thanks for the straight scoop here Dave! I’m really loving the Skookum’s I’ve been rallying for the past few weeks. Great Boot!

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:25:08 +0000

Hey there, Dave with SCARPA here.

First off, yes, you can get a lugged mountaineering sole for the Tornado as an aftermarket accessory. It’s called the Rally sole (as opposed to the DIN compatible, rubber Ride sole that comes on the boot), and is the same sole that would also work on the Typhoon, Hurricane and women’s Domina. Probably the easiest way to get it is to just call SCARPA, 303-998-2895, and have them direct you either to a retailer who stocks it or they can sell it to you direct if there are no retailers in your area.

A couple of other points on the Tornado. For next year, the lower buckles were redesigned and reconfigured, so they address some of the complaint above – a lot easier to get in and out of the boot.

Finally, there is a forward-lead adjustment on this boot. For anyone who feels they’re unable to get in the driver’s seat and wants more forward lean, make sure you’ve adjusted the forward-lean adjustment to your preference. Likely Jason did this, but just making sure that everyone knows that’s an option. Out of the box, the boots aren’t dialed as far forward as they can be.

By: Jason Mitchell

Jason Mitchell — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:03:29 +0000

@Max

I don’t believe that they offer an A/T-specific sole for these. The biggest selling point of the soles on these are that they are the only DIN-certified A/T-esque soles on the market. They aren’t burly climber style, but they are pretty solid for the flexibility. I’ll ping Scarpa directly though.

By: Max darrrah

Max darrrah — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:40:40 +0000

I’ve been skiing these tornados this year and so far have liked them. My question is: Does anybody know where you can find the touring lug sole to screw on the bottom??? Is there even such a thing out there? Seems like a nice option but not much help if they don’t make the lug sole. I’m hoping not to have to make my own. Thanks!

By: filipski

filipski — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:31:54 +0000

Jason’s review is very good. Same confused feeling about forward lean and buckles, that are bulky and difficult to close or open. While climbing w/out skis but with crampons on I found the two lower buckles annoying as they would open up due to breaking of crusty snow pushing the buckles up. I think the more typical, reverse layout of the lower buckles would be more practical. On a plus side I found the Tornados very comfortable- did an extensive 3 day touring trip with the brand new boots on without any blisters or any pain. Check your canting screws every once in a while: they are easy to lose. Cheers!

By: Jason Mitchell

Jason Mitchell — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:33:18 +0000

Kimono… thanks for your thoughts and confirmation that I’m not the only one vying for an extra 3-5 degrees of forward lean on these badboys!