Alpina Alaska Xplore 23/24 Back Country Cross country ski boots (Red - 7.5)

I ordered these boots from Canada. I borrowed a pair last year to do an 8 day traverse in Charlevoix Quebec. They provided a lot of support, warmth and control on the narrow and heavy snow descents. I liked them so much that I bought a pair a few weeks ago. As I could find nothing in Canada, I ordered from Varuste and hoped for the best that they would arrive. Much to my pleasant surprise, the boots arrived as promised 6 day later. These guys and their store is legit, so it you find something you like, do not hesitate to order.

Great Boot

I use these boots at the resorts and in the back country. There not made for anything beefer than the Voile HD mountaineering 3 pin binding. If you use other bindings like the switchback or similar you might separate the toe from the boot. I ski very aggressive and hard in my boots over 100 days a season and never have had any issues. I usually get 2 seasons out of them before they get worn out. Although my wife has had the same pair for 7 years now and still working fine. So, it depends how much and how hard you use them. I highly recommend this boot to any good telemark 3 pin skier who skis in leather boots.

Initial Review - Fit & Finish

Purchased as a primary set of boots after my Rossignol BC 5s had a sole separation (glue failed after just a few hours of skiing). Repaired Rossis are now my backup boots.Alpina Alaskas are hard to find. That’s because they are the “go-to” boot for avid backcountry cross-country skiers. Being more expensive, stores don’t keep a lot of inventory. They sell out quickly.So my review isn’t about how they perform. I won’t know that until halfway through the 2022/23 season. This review is about fit and finish.Structurally, the Alpina Alaska is sturdier. It has a thicker sole, beefier toe guard, and half of the uppers are rubber. Weight wise, it’s comparable to any higher-than-ankle NNN BC boot. The boot has good longitudinal flex, which one needs with a classic ... MorePurchased as a primary set of boots after my Rossignol BC 5s had a sole separation (glue failed after just a few hours of skiing). Repaired Rossis are now my backup boots.Alpina Alaskas are hard to find. That’s because they are the “go-to” boot for avid backcountry cross-country skiers. Being more expensive, stores don’t keep a lot of inventory. They sell out quickly.So my review isn’t about how they perform. I won’t know that until halfway through the 2022/23 season. This review is about fit and finish.Structurally, the Alpina Alaska is sturdier. It has a thicker sole, beefier toe guard, and half of the uppers are rubber. Weight wise, it’s comparable to any higher-than-ankle NNN BC boot. The boot has good longitudinal flex, which one needs with a classic style. It is somewhat stiffer laterally because of the lacing system and boot materials.In terms of fit, my 43s were fractionally longer. Just enough to notice but not enough to change sizing. Maybe 1/8th of a size.There was noticeably more lateral room in the pad and heel of the boot. Maybe 1/4 of a size. This didn’t bother my narrow foot but could be a game changer for anyone with a medium-to-wide foot who finds other boots a bit too snug.The lacing system has been commented on by some. It’s fine by me, but is designed more for easy removal than easy tightening. The eyes and lugs appear to be of very high quality… the lugs are two piece and appear designed to reduce lace friction and wear. Yeah, some of us notice such fine details Alpina. Keep up this attention to detail.The outer sole cants up about five degrees to facilitate kick when locked into a binding. Your foot doesn’t feel this in the boot though. The inner sole feels no different than the average trail shoe.Some boots have accentuated arch supports, but not the Alpina Alaska. It is moderate to low, which suits me fine because cross country skiers roll off the ball of their foot, not heel strike. So a reduced arch support works best.The outer material is split leather.., Alpinex is the trade name. It’s like suede, so pick protectant very carefully. Nothing oily or waxy because it will stop the boot from breathing (as it should).I have high hopes for this boot, which will spend a lot of time in the high and low country on 10-20 km loppets. At this stage, however, I can confidently say that the Alpina Alaska has “the look” of a sturdy and comfortable boot. More to follow in two months time…

No Pain Past Sizing. Fit like 95% perfect.

So I was tough in my last review of these boots just after a frustrating sizing experience. I previously rated the boots at 2 of 5 stars, but now, I will post a 4 of 5 star review after fair use.I am very happy with the fit after breaking them in. The previous negative impression regarding the insole, sole stitching, and extra inner material have pretty much disappeared, and they feel like I am wearing a snug fitting cloud cushion. To break them in, I have put them through around 60 km of roller skiing, both urban and bush trails. Initially, there was an irritation at the top of the one tongue, and it disappeared after 2 uses. I have been able to snug up the lacing, which has resulted in a more precise fit. This has allowed me to have tighter tolerance tuning of ... MoreSo I was tough in my last review of these boots just after a frustrating sizing experience. I previously rated the boots at 2 of 5 stars, but now, I will post a 4 of 5 star review after fair use.I am very happy with the fit after breaking them in. The previous negative impression regarding the insole, sole stitching, and extra inner material have pretty much disappeared, and they feel like I am wearing a snug fitting cloud cushion. To break them in, I have put them through around 60 km of roller skiing, both urban and bush trails. Initially, there was an irritation at the top of the one tongue, and it disappeared after 2 uses. I have been able to snug up the lacing, which has resulted in a more precise fit. This has allowed me to have tighter tolerance tuning of my roller skis, which significantly enhances the experience.I cannot give 5 stars, even though I suspect that the first deformed boot was a one off mistake. If I was to trim the leather more on the side of the one boot tongue, I would probably have an even better fit too. All in all, I am happy with the boot, but not the efforts that I had to put in to get the performance boots I expected. I would recommend the boot, but with great caution. Support from MEC was great too.Happy Trails!

Review Update (See My Initial Review on Fit)

After 50 km of skiing, I’m confident saying that Alpina Alaska boots are excellent for backcountry skiing. Buyers can expect the boots to stretch about 1/2 a size during break-in.The boots achieve a good balance between flexibility and support. Tricky tightening the laces due to the eyelet arrangement but this doesn’t affect comfort or foot holding. No rubbing or binding in critical areas.No slippage in the inner sole, which was an issue reported in previous years. On the contrary… it takes a bit of effort to remove the inner soles between ski sessions. They fit quite snugly.Warm and weatherproof. I would have no qualms taking this boot on long, multi day excursions.

Right sole delaminated

Used the boots a handful of times & then the right sole started peeling halfway off! I like the boots weight, fit & warmth. The other xplore binding compatible boot that REI offers is a couple of hundred dollars more. I returned these boot & had them order a new pair. I’ll spend the extra if the second pair fails. Lucky I wasn’t stranded 5 miles back from the trailhead. My wife has a pair of NNN Alaska boots for two seasons and they seem to be holding up fine.

Sizing info

I haven't skied in these yet, but have been walking around the house in them and may be able to help with sizing. I wear a size 10/43 in virtually every kind of footwear, but the Alpina chart says a US men's 10 is a 44 in their boots, and it is, especially if you have forefeet on the wide side. I could get into the size 43, but there was noticeable pressure on my little toes, despite the rest of the boot feeling pretty good, so maybe if you have a narrower size 10 foot, the 43 will work. The 44 fits surprisingly snug in the well-shaped, well padded heel pocket, which is good, and has ample toe room up front. Also, unlike the Fisher Transnordic, the Alpina boots break smoothly across the top of my feet without a sharp crease when I flex it. I'll update this review if ... MoreI haven't skied in these yet, but have been walking around the house in them and may be able to help with sizing. I wear a size 10/43 in virtually every kind of footwear, but the Alpina chart says a US men's 10 is a 44 in their boots, and it is, especially if you have forefeet on the wide side. I could get into the size 43, but there was noticeable pressure on my little toes, despite the rest of the boot feeling pretty good, so maybe if you have a narrower size 10 foot, the 43 will work. The 44 fits surprisingly snug in the well-shaped, well padded heel pocket, which is good, and has ample toe room up front. Also, unlike the Fisher Transnordic, the Alpina boots break smoothly across the top of my feet without a sharp crease when I flex it. I'll update this review if anything turns up after skiing them.

Sizing is a pain.

I have moderately wide feet, and wanted a snug fit for precise handling. I usually wear a size 11 shoe. This is my first year trying cross country. The last few months I have been enjoying my new Skike V9 200 Tour rough terrain roller skis. Tuning those to my liking has been a process for sure, and helped prepare me for fitting these boots to my liking.So... I went to my local store to figure out boot sizes, and to help me decide whether to go nnn or nnnbc. I liked the stiffness of the soles for the bc boots, and the width of the latch to help handle the added torques due to wider skis. The gentleman at the store recommended ordering 2 different sizes online, then returning the pair that I did not need. This strategy was recommended, due to BC boots not being as ... MoreI have moderately wide feet, and wanted a snug fit for precise handling. I usually wear a size 11 shoe. This is my first year trying cross country. The last few months I have been enjoying my new Skike V9 200 Tour rough terrain roller skis. Tuning those to my liking has been a process for sure, and helped prepare me for fitting these boots to my liking.So... I went to my local store to figure out boot sizes, and to help me decide whether to go nnn or nnnbc. I liked the stiffness of the soles for the bc boots, and the width of the latch to help handle the added torques due to wider skis. The gentleman at the store recommended ordering 2 different sizes online, then returning the pair that I did not need. This strategy was recommended, due to BC boots not being as common in Ontario stores as online. I am not a fan shipping waste, or product returns, so I opted to order a single pair of size 45 boots.When the boots arrived, I went to the grocery store and tested them out. I was instantly disappointed by the manufacturing tolerances in the toe box. The left boot fit me perfectly snug, they way I wanted. The right boot had major issues for my foot. The toe cap was rounded compared to the left, and the wall beside my big toe was on an incline. So when I tried to spring forward pressing on my toes, my big toe was forced into the other toes by the wedging wall. The defective sole assembly didn't seem to flex evenly across the toes. The dilemma this caused me was frustrating. Did I need 45's or 46's?So I immediately contacted MEC. What I ultimately did was to order another pair of 45's, and a third pair which were size 46's. MEC was nice enough to priority ship them to me, and ensured that they were brand new, not returns. The size 46 boots were too large, as determined by the boot upper. The internal lining rippled and the tongue material butted up against the side leather, and tight laces still left my feet floating around with discomfort where the material bunched up. Also, I noticed that the pivot pin for the binding was not true to the sole for one boot, as it was on a slight angle.I ended up using the 45's, and had the luxury of matching the best left and best right from the two pairs of 45's. Still, there was bunching of the inner lining, and I needed to trim some extra width off the leather from where the tongue met the side wall to prevent binding when the laces were tightened. Also, the lower lining under the insole has a thick sewn seam to the inner side lining. This seem ends up in different positions from boot to boot, affecting how the toes get cradled on the bump. The insole is very thin, so perhaps by changing it will help mask the effect that seam has on comfort.My resulting impression is that if you have a wide foot, then you will have to work hard and be lucky to find a pair with a snug upper with a roomy sole, and without too much discomfort from a wrinkly, seamy large inner liner. My experience with work-boot leather outer material stretching with use makes me wonder how will the precision control and comfort be effected over time since the uppers are already large. For my feet, the uppers are big for the width of the sole, and the inner liner has a little too much material compared to the outer upper.The worst part of the boot quality was the inconsistency of the toe box mold bonding width. The toe box width variability was beyond a boot size. This makes purchasing a pair online a very frustrating, time consuming task. If you consider that the toe box assembly is not designed to be that variable in width, resulting in angled sidewalls that wedge compression on your toes as you step down on defective, poorly fabricated boots, then Alpina needs some quality control measures. Who knows though... perhaps my ill fitting boot works great for someone else. Maybe a nice set of insoles will have me raving over these boots. I will be putting these boots to the test, so perhaps a follow up review will be in order.The moral of the story is this: I spent the time, and was lucky to make a pair of boots that fits my feet. I thank MEC for stepping up and assisting me to be able to do that. These Alpina boots have their tolerances all over the place, and they stack up in a way that makes me question if they have the endurance to provide comfortable and precise performance over time. If other boot manufacturers are this hard to fit boots for, I might recommend these ones, but I will wait to see how they hold up over time before I can consider recommending them.

Sole completely pulled off of both boots

The upper is fantastic, and in some ways is an improvement over the almost-legendary Alpina Alaska NNN BC. However, over the course of a single 15-odd-mile ski the soles pulled off of both boots. By the time I got back to the car, the soles were only attached to the uppers at the heel. If Alpina can fix this obvious (and frankly ridiculous) defect I'd give this boot five stars. Until then, one is generous.

Support and Stability I Was Looking For

I was looking for a stout NNN BC boot for my metal edged 88mm-at-the-foot XC skis. The original boot has a plastic “cuff” support which I thought would be sufficient for Colorado BC hills and trails, but alas no.This boot is what I was looking for, heavy/high leather body, with full lacing to the top. The robust sole adds significant torsional stability. It took a few miles of trail skiing to adjust the fit, lacing to my liking, but now these boots are quite comfortable. They appear to be quite warm as well, and the sizing seem true to my other boots.I recommend these boots for those looking for more skiing stability and longer, colder back country tours.