Backcountry
Gear Review
Intuition Liners, a maker of custom ski boot liners, recently overhauled its product line. So far this season, I’ve been testing the new Tour Tongue Dual Density liner in the Montana backcountry.
Intuition makes two touring-specific liners: the Tour Wrap and the Tour Tongue. Both options use dual-density, heat-moldable closed-cell foam and have built-in flex zones on the back of the liner for excellent performance on the uphill and the down. If you’re touring in a beefy four-buckle boot and willing to give up a little range of motion in walk mode for maximum power while skiing, I’d get the Tour Wrap Liner. I needed new liners for my Scarpa F1 XTs, which are more of a “fast and light” boot. I chose the Tour Tongues because tongue-style liners generally walk better and still ski great.
I wear a size 28 Mondo in Scarpa boots, so I ordered the Tour Tongue liners in a 28-28.5. The length was slightly longer than the stock liners (also made by Intuition) but was perfect after the heat molding process. My new liners weigh 256 grams, which is relatively light compared to other custom liner options. In addition to the aforementioned flex zones, the Tour Tongues have several well-thought-out small details, like removable laces, velcro on the back for adding a spoiler, and grippers on the sole to prevent the liner from sliding around inside the boot shell. Genius!
Why am I replacing one Intuition Liner with another? I have very narrow, low-volume feet. While the stock Intuition liners in my boots are great, I need a little extra foam thickness to get the fit I want (I’m very picky). The Tour Tongue Liners come in 9mm, 12mm, and 15mm thicknesses. I went with the 12mm option, and it’s been just what I needed to perfect my fit.
Molding Intuition Liners is super easy. Almost any ski shop can do it for you, or it’s easy to do at home in about an hour. I won’t dive into the process since Intuition provides detailed instructions online.
The fit is what makes Intuitons stand out over stock ski boot liners. Most boots come with a soft foam liner, which feels great right out of the box. Unfortunately, this soft foam breaks down quickly and does a lousy job securing your foot. The result is poor skiing performance, pain, blisters, and much less fun. Intuition uses a much denser closed-cell foam that, once molded to your foot, allows for very little unwanted motion, virtually eliminating the possibility of hot spots, blisters, heel lift, etc.
On the up track, the Tour Tongue liners walk like a dream. The key to that is the built-in flex zone on the back of the liner. It takes a few days to fully break-in, but once it does, the rearward range of motion feels nearly unrestricted. If you’re currently touring in liners without a flex zone, the difference will be night and day. The soft foam in the toe area of the liners is another nice update, and I’m not finding my toes beaten up and bruised at the end of a long tour.
Intuition’s liners are known for their exceptional ski performance, and the touring lineup will not disappoint. The reinforcements around the liner’s cuff make for a nice, stiff feel when driving forward, and the heel hold is perfect. Intuition has incorporated an internal “J-bar” in the ankle area of the liner, which is a common add-on used by professional boot fitters for improving heel retention. It’s not uncommon for me to add this to my boot liners, but after about 15 days in the Tour Tongues, it’s proved unneeded. The extra volume from the 12mm foam thickness has removed all the slop from my boot fit and markedly improved the ski performance.
I have about 15 days in my new liners, and they’re perfectly broken in, with no signs of unwanted wear and tear or the foam breaking down. From experience, I can get 100-150 days out of a pair of Intuition Liners before I consider replacing them. For most people, that will be at least a few seasons, if not longer. If you love to ski, it’s a worthwhile investment.
