New Scott (Garmont) Synergy revealed

[djhutch]

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/2363881050017/SCOTT-Synergy-Ski-Boot/

The discontinued red EnerG is my all time favorite boot so I got excited when it was leaked that Scott was remaking for this season. The new boot (is it "Synergy" or "Sinergy" as it stamped on the boot?) appears the same as the Garmont (EnerG) version with new buckles and a new (ugly) color. I was really hoping it would have a "modern" walk mode with increased range of motion but it looks like is has the same older/limited ROM.

A lot of you NTNers probably are yawning about a new 75mm boot but when BD ceases their boot production (end of this season?) this boot will have no competition for those who still prefer 75mm and have wider feet. Thank you Scott!!!

[djhutch]

Update - The hot-off-the-presses Backcountry Gear Guide says that the flex is 130 and the ROM is 46 degrees. If these numbers are correct, wouldn't that make this boot both the stiffest (or tied for stiffest) and greatest range of motion of any tele boot out? The BD Custom is 130 too and I have no idea what the T1 Race/TX Comp claims but I would assume a little softer than the Custom so maybe 120ish?

Who says tele is dead - we have a whopping one new boot for this season (versus the ~23 new AT boots....). Everyone needs to buy at least a pair or two and turn the trend around.

[Dostie]

That 46 degree cuff ROM is the marketing value - the total range from front to back. IMO the rear ROM is what matters most but I will admit that for AT skiers, the forward flex range is important too since there is no flex in the soles to add to forward touring freedom. Look for a more realistic value in a review on EYT soon. Same for the Flex Index although tele skiers should already know a 130 flex tele boot is not in the same league as a 130 flex AT boot. In Scott's defense, their 130 flex alpine boots are pretty darn stiff.

[SPQR]

Backcountry Gear Guide 2015

Nice to see that Scott is bringing back the Synergy, made from the Ener-G mold, my favorite tele boot. Still skiing the red silver ones! The Voile V6 looks interesting too!

[Dostie]

As promised, my review of the Scott Synergy on EYT.

[djhutch]

Thanks for the timely review Dostie. Definitely deflated my enthusiasm. I figured that you couldn't use the old EnerG mold and get improved cuff ROM. Shame on Backcountry mag though, I typically like their reviews but they did a disservice on this one with the copy they printed about the Synergy.

To start a little thread drift, I think improved improved cuff ROM for tele boots is more important than dropping weight. It reminds me when I got my first pair of Dynafits 10-12 years ago and I realized how much energy we (pinheads) were wasting with a traditional (non-free pivot) bindings but all my friends thought tele bindings were already super "free." Now, many see free pivot or TTS as being awesome for touring but don't realize how non-ergonomic all existing tele boots are because of the lack of rearward cuff ROM. When I grab my AT gear over tele is it not due to being able to lock the heel or even the lighter weight, it is mainly due to how much more natural the stride is with a boot with great ROM, especially for hiking and climbing. Pretty, pretty, pretty please Scarpa next season?

[Dostie]

Shame on Backcountry mag though, I typically like their reviews but they did a disservice on this one with the copy they printed about the Synergy.

Haven't received my copy yet, so I can't comment here. My review was only dependent on accessing the Synergy by helping BC Mag with helping run their gigantic gear review. That doesn't mean I didn't absorb opinion from other testers, but my review reflects that anecdotal feedback.

When I grab my AT gear over tele is it not due to being able to lock the heel or even the lighter weight, it is mainly due to how much more natural the stride is with a boot with great ROM, especially for hiking and climbing. Pretty, pretty, pretty please Scarpa next season?

As history shows, it takes awhile for the herd to catch on. But they will. And to my friends at Scarpa who are lurking...see!!! It's not just me!

[Valdez Telehead]

2pds per boot is something to rave about as an innovation in tele boots. The previous lightest tele plastic boot was the GKenai and the T2 Eco at about the same weight, though this boot looks a bit beefier like the Eco. I really don't think you need 3 buckles on today's skis. Competes with Dynafit, noting the Mercury comes in at 3 pds per foot after a quick reference to EYT reviews on AT boots

[SPQR]

Backcountry Gear Guide 2015 wrote the following: Syngery $750 -Weight/Pair 8lbs/Sizes 25-30.5 "Take something old and make it new: that's what Scott did with the Synergy. Cast from the same mold as the Garmont Ener-G, once a tester favorite, the brand new Synergy features slender wire buckles, Scott's Pebax-reinforced PWR Tour liner and 130-rated flex. Testers appreciated its 46-degree cuff range in walk mode and found the tall cuff well suited to powering wide skis in all conditions. One tester, once a Garmont diehard, called the Synergy a very smooth-flexing boot that can drive any ski."
Plus "The walk-mode range is huge and easy to operate."
Minus "The buckle catches can difficult."
Equals "A great single tele boot inbounds and out."
@Valdez Telehead - it has 4 buckles just as the old one did.

[cesare]

Just so everybody knows, there are no standards behind flex rating. So comparing between brands doesn't tell you much. Within a brand it is sometimes--but not always--moderately useful.

[!ski]

No NTN version? That is a shame. But that would be a new mold.

Since I ski Garmont and lament their demise and so should welcome this boot as it is my salvation if my current boots explode (and one is clearly planning on that) ...

and it is petty

but the color choice really sucks.

And there is that "tele contigent" that dresses "sharp" in a fashion, or at least there is the "tele look".

And the rules of fashion is don't match, but "clash" by not too much.

Lime green jacket with lime green boots - fashion faux pas.

-r

[Dostie]

!ski,

Can't disagree on the color comment.

djhutch,

Why was your enthusiasm deflated? Perhaps I was too matter of fact, but that's part of what happens when you test a boot that doesn't fit too well. Overall I think this is a repainted EnerG with an improved liner. When Garmont made the EnerG they were using Palau liners. The new liners are made by Scott, but they're using the same Ultralon foam Intuition uses, so they should behave similarly, or in the case of the Synergy, an improvement over the EnerG.

The tester BC Mag singled out to showcase his endorse of the Synergy in this year's Gear Guide is a solid tele skier and was lamenting the demise of the EnerG the last time I skied with him, almost 5 years ago. He was psyched on the performance of the Synergy. His endorsement in the mag is no bull.

[djhutch]

My enthusiasm was deflated because, when I read the Backcountry mag review, I thought there was an updated (i.e., stiffer, more ROM) EnerG out this season. New buckles, color and liners do not excite me (lipstick on a pig, even though I really liked that old pig). I still applaud Scott for realizing the stupidity of Garmont for ceasing production of the EnerG/SynerG for newer boots that fit and flexed so weird (it wasn't just the narrowness of the Voodoo, et. al. that Garmont screwed up...) and will probably buy a pair to add to my collection of four pairs of worn EnerGs. I have moved on to the Push's/Custom's which don't fit/flex as well as the EnerGs but assume the new Synergys will be a step back in performance for me since they sound softer (if they are the same stiffness as the old EnerG as your review indicates).

[Dostie]

djhutch,

I think the Cuff ROM is a bit improved. I don't have an EnerG handy to do a side-by-side comparison. Same for stiffness but it definitely did not impress me as a stiff boot, which BD's Push or Custom are, or are more so.

[!ski]

Need to remember there is a real need for "lift oriented" telemark gear - boots, bindings, and skis.

Just like there is a need for backcountry earn your turns telemark gear.

Maybe it is time for the ski equipment manufacturers to start making some things, like some kitchen products, timeless classics.

Refine the hell out of it, and then don't change it.

A world where everything is one shipping container order from someplace they don't even know what they are making.
(I wonder where in the world the molds reside?)

There are people that don't care about ROM and if they do, they wear their other boots.

-r