Ski boots by fit
Hybrid Ski Boots
Resort boots with a walk mode and tech inserts, from Tecnica, Atomic, Head and Nordica, fitted to a scan of your foot at 29 Surefoot stores.
A hybrid ski boot is an alpine boot with two extra parts. A mechanism unlocks the cuff so it swings free when you walk, and metal tech inserts in the toe and heel let the boot clip into a pin binding. Everything else is a resort boot: four buckles on most, a stiff cuff, and a shell a fitter can heat and shape. It is for the skier who rides lifts most days and wants the option to hike a lap or skin a road at dawn.
The sixteen boots here come from four brands and split in two. Most are resort boots first, on a GripWalk sole. Tecnica's Cochise is 99 mm and the Cochise HV 102 mm, both running T-Ride and 55 degrees of cuff travel. Atomic's Hawx Ultra XTD is 98 mm and the Hawx Prime XTD 100 mm, both Free/Lock and 54 degrees. Head's Kore is 100 mm. Nordica's Unlimited is 99 mm with 65 degrees, on a screw-on sole. The exception is Tecnica's Zero G Tour, a 99 mm boot with 65 degrees and a Vibram touring sole rather than a GripWalk one. It is built to go up, not to spend the season on a lift.
Which of those fits you is a shell question before it is a walk-mode question, and the widths run from 98 to 102 mm. Every fitting at Surefoot starts with a 3D scan of both feet, which gives length, width, instep and arch in millimeters, so your fitter picks the shell from your numbers. From there the boot can go home as it comes. If you want more, a custom orthotic holds the foot in a neutral position, and a Surefoot liner is foam-injected around it inside the shell. Both are options at any fitting, not a requirement.
Models we fit this season
Live from our catalog, every one fitted in store. Prices are for the boot as listed. A custom orthotic or Surefoot liner is optional and quoted in store; shell-only models come without a stock liner.
- Men's Cochise 130
- Men's Hawk Prime XTD 130 BOA
- Men's Hawx Ultra XTD 130 BOA
- Men's Kore 130 MV
- Men's Unlimited 130 DYN
- Men's Hawk Ultra XTD 120 BOA
- Men's Zero G Tour Pro
- Men's Cochise HV 120
- Men's Kore 130 MV - Shell Only
- Men's Unlimited 120 DYN
- Men's Cochise HV 120 - Shell Only
- Men's Kore 120 - Shell Only
- Women's Cochise 115 DYN
- Women's Zero G Tour Scout
- Women's Cochise 105
- Junior Cochise Team
How Surefoot fits a hybrid boot
Every fitting starts with the scan and the shell. The custom orthotic and liner are there when you want them.
See the full fitting process01
Scan
A 3D scan of both feet gives your fitter length, width, instep and arch in millimeters. It is how we choose between a 98, 99, 100 and 102 mm shell instead of guessing, before the walk mode is even part of the conversation.
02
Custom orthotic
Optional at any fitting. Built from your scan in about 30 minutes, it holds your foot in a neutral position so the shell and liner above it can do their jobs.
03
Custom liner
Also optional. A Surefoot liner is foam-injected around your foot while you stand in the shell, filling the space a stock liner leaves. On a boot you walk in as well as ski in, that is what keeps the heel down on a climb.
04
29 stores
Walk in or book ahead at any of our 29 stores, and bring your hybrid boots back to any Surefoot if the fit ever needs a change.
Fitted in store
Book a fitting for a hybrid boot
Pick a store, pick a time. A fitting with a custom liner and orthotic takes a little over an hour, and the boots go home with you the same day.
Questions
What is a hybrid ski boot?
A hybrid is an alpine boot with a walk mode and tech inserts. The walk mode is a lever at the back that releases the cuff from the shell so the boot hinges when you stride, and locks it again for the descent. The tech inserts are metal fittings in the toe and heel that a pin binding grips. Everything else is a downhill boot, which is why the shells here run 98 to 102 mm and the flexes run 105 to 130. Tecnica calls its Cochise a four-buckle hybrid boot, and that is the shape of the whole category.
Can you tour in a hybrid ski boot?
Yes, and how far depends on the boot. Cuff travel is the number to read. Tecnica's Cochise gives 55 degrees, Atomic's Hawx XTD boots give 54, and Nordica's Unlimited gives 65. Tecnica's Zero G Tour also gives 65 and weighs about 1,285 grams a boot against roughly 1,870 for a Cochise, which is most of a kilogram a foot on a long climb. All of them have tech inserts, so all of them clip into a pin binding. A resort hybrid climbs well enough for a lap. A touring boot is built to do it all day.
Will a hybrid ski boot work with my bindings?
Read the sole, not the boot. Most of the boots here carry a GripWalk sole, which is the ISO 23223 walking norm. Tecnica's Zero G Tour carries a Vibram touring sole under ISO 9523 instead, which is a different norm. Nordica's Unlimited sole screws on, so it can be replaced when it wears. Every boot here also has tech inserts in the toe and heel for a pin binding. Which of those your own binding accepts is printed on the binding, so bring the skis or the binding model to your fitting and we will check it with you.
What is the difference between a hybrid and a touring ski boot?
Weight, range of motion, and what the boot is built to do best. A hybrid is a resort boot that has been given a walk mode, so it keeps four buckles, a stiff cuff and a shell a fitter can heat and shape, and it weighs somewhere around 1,700 to 1,900 grams. A touring boot goes the other way. Tecnica's Zero G Tour Pro runs a Grilamid shell, magnesium buckles that lock out for the climb, and 65 degrees of travel at about 1,285 grams. Both ski. The hybrid skis harder and the touring boot climbs easier.
Do hybrid ski boots ski as well as regular ski boots?
A hybrid is a downhill boot first, and the flex numbers here are the same numbers you see on alpine boots: 105, 115, 120 and 130. What you trade is weight and the mechanism at the back of the cuff. Whether you notice that mechanism depends on the model and on how hard you ski, so ask your fitter about the specific boot rather than the category. Far more often, what decides how a boot skis is whether the shell is the right width for your foot and whether the liner is holding your heel.
Do you sell ski boots online?
No. Ski boots and liners are fitted in store only. The shell has to be chosen on your foot, and a custom liner or orthotic, if you add one, is built the same day. A hybrid gives you a second reason to come in, because the sole and the inserts have to match the bindings you actually ski. Browse the models here, then book a fitting at any of our 29 stores. If the store does not have the model you want, we will track it down.