If you associate La Sportiva with only pure touring and performance ski mountaineering boots, you’re missing out. The brand from Ziano di Fiemme is making a forceful entrance into the Freeride Touring segment, and it does so with the Sender model.
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The Touring ski mountaineering boot
While a pure touring ski boot focuses on lightness, it will come at a price, small or large, in its performance on the descent. To save grams, designers typically focus on the choice of shell and cuff materials, the type of liner, and the number of buckles.
The Freeride Touring boot
However, if your goal is not just to save effort and time on the climb but rather to enjoy a descent, with the control and power that only a freeride or all-mountain boot can offer, your choice will fall on a more structured boot, almost certainly 4 buckles and inevitably less lightweight.
Sender, the line between touring and freeride is subtle
Although often associated with touring or performance ski mountaineering boots, the La Sportiva brand has also been offering free-touring models in its catalog for several years. The 4-buckle Vega is still in the lineup, and the 3-buckle Vanguard, released in 2021, has just been discontinued.
Now, with the Sender, La Sportiva takes another step forward for all those enthusiasts who love to reach the summit on their own but demand a full throttle descent with complete control. It does so by offering exceptional support on the descent and excellent performance on the ascent. Thanks to the lightweight design and wide range of motion, you won’t waste all your energy skinning and can enjoy the descent.
Some numbers
- 4 buckles
- 1.480 g size 26.5
- 64° cuff excursion
- Cuff inclination 12-14°
How it is built
The structure is solid and relies on a flexible Pebax® Rnew shell combined with a Grilamid® Bio Based LF Carbon cuff.
Four FORCE POWER CLOSURE buckles, as we were saying, with millimetric adjustment, an adjustable FORCE Wrap System™ shin strap, and a new-generation tongue to transmit your power directly to the edges of your skis. (Skis that can have a waist width of up to 120 mm).
To avoid fatigue when climbing, Sender relies on an essential and effective cuff release system (EZ-LOCK), without springs, and on S4 inserts to facilitate the attachment of the pins.
The sole design (Grip Walk) is compatible with alpine ski bindings, and the FriXion compound guarantees grip on sections where you have to carry your skis on your shoulder and walk on rock or hard snow.
About Comfort?
The 102 mm last and anatomical Ultralon® Performance liner ensure the sensitivity and comfort needed to climb to the summit and dominate the descent in pure freeride style.
Sender, your next 4-buckle free touring ski… also in a women’s version.
