Atomic Backland Carbon Review

The Atomic Backland Carbon. The Disney Villain color scheme is a huge contributing factor to why they’re awesome. Some thoughtful design and quality manufacturing also add to their performance.

The Atomic Backland Carbon: The Disney Villain color scheme contributes to their awesomeness. Some thoughtful design and quality manufacturing also add to their performance.

Last season, the Atomic Backland Carbon was my two-buckle boot of choice. The 22/23 model received small design changes and added a slew of premium features. This collection of not monumental but subtle improvements is what sparked my interest in trying them out. My initial impression of the updated boot was excitement about the new design features while being concerned about durability.

I’ve since skied a full season in the Backland Carbons to sample as much variety as necessary. Deep powder on 115 mm 189 cm Scott Scrappers. “Engaging” refrozen pre-corn on 85 mm 171 cm Black Diamond Cirques. However, my favorite pairing was long-day, diverse-conditions outings on a 102 mm 178 cm Black Crows Navis Freebird. (More story time later.)

The Backlands seen here enjoying a top-of-the-couloir, waiting-for-corn snack break.

The 23/24 season has begun. I’m holding one of the boots in my hand after blowing the literal and proverbial dust off of it. Looking at it now, my lasting impression of the Backlands is that they are a competitive boot in the two-buckle category. They were fun. They performed well. They worked without breaking. It’s simple.

Design

As I see it, the general design goal for a two-buckle boot is to squeeze the most downhill performance out of ~1000-1400g of materials* while minimizing friction in the boot’s ankle range of motion. The Atomic Backland Carbon is a ~1200g boot and can be compared more directly with boots such as the Scarpa F1 XT, the Salomon MTN Summit, or the La Sportiva Skorpius CR II. The Backland Carbon adds ~200g compared to the lighter weight side of two-buckle boots at ~1000g. Though heavier than the ultralight category, the Backland doesn’t have as much heft as two-buckle-plus 1400g boot category (ex. Fischer Transalp Carbon Pro or Atomic Backland XTD). At ~1200g, it sits in the middle ground of the two-buckle boot category, finding balance with weight and functionality.

Here’s a design summary below before getting into more details and opinions:

The shell shape is noticeably narrow and tapered. The idea being that the shell starts narrow and low volume to be able to expand where needed with proper boot work. It’s easier to make room than fill room. See post script below for more thoughts on this.

Shell: The shell has a narrow shape in the forefoot, a medium volume through the arch, and a high-volume heel pocket.

Cuff: The cuff has a medium volume and sits slightly lower than comparable boots (lower than the F1 XT and Skorpius).

Shell crosslace buckle (Left). Cuff buckle with throw for added range (Middle). Cuff Strap with camming device (Right). The shell and cuff buckle can be adjusted on a plastic track with a hex bolt. They both also have the touring-requisite buckle locks to keep them in place when not tensioned.

Buckles: There is a cross lace shell buckle, a traditional cuff buckle with a slot for increased range in uphill mode, and a robust camming cuff strap for ratcheting into downhill mode.

Full view of the liner (Left) The only spot showing significant wear (some thread have come undone at the neoprene interface near the ankle crease, Middle). Also, notice the plastic on the back of the cuff and near the ankle. This is for rigidity and abrasion resistance (Right).

Liner: The Atomic 3D Platinum liner is the best liner I’ve used in a two-buckle boot. It uses different types of foam and plastic thoughtfully placed on the liner to accommodate support, venting, or abrasion resistance. I’m a huge fan, and after a full season’s use, they look surprisingly fresh. I’d like to see a simple velcro strap near the top of the liner to keep the tongue in better alignment.

The cuff gaiter sits quite high on the shell (Left, Middle). There is some delaminating where the cuff overlap rubs the gaiter (Right). Otherwise it is still in functional shape.

Cuff Gaiter: The cuff gaiter was/is always an area of concern regarding two-buckle boot durability. This category of boot, in general, replaces a smaller cuff and shell overlap for a fabric/plastic interface to save weight and improve range of motion. I have had trouble with this failure point and have seen many other boots in the wild with failures here. The Atomic gaiter has some delaminating seam tape but, otherwise, is still fully intact with the plastic shell. It’s a huge durability win so far.

The rubber sole is chewed up from scree scrambling without crampons. Nothing major other than the loud red color.

Other: The sole is a standard rubber, treaded ~Skywalk~ sole, which works fine. The ski/walk mechanism is sturdy and remains locked with a tensioned spring. You can adjust the forward lean between 13°, 15°, or 17°.

Use & Care

I’ve learned through using the Backland Carbons that taking care of a two-buckle boot and thoughtful use will dramatically improve both the product’s longevity and enjoyment when out skiing. Let’s talk about that. Two-buckle boots are light enough for one to do the bob-and-weigh thing when they pick it up. That is a sign that the boots are lighter than perceived. Being so light and, furthermore, so expensive, proper care and use seem like an appropriate course of action. Maybe I’m preaching to the choir, and everyone reading knows to take care of nice things. But at least personally, I had to learn that a “tool not jewels” ethos applied to two-buckle boots doesn’t mean beating them up on a rocky scree scramble, hammer refrozen snow at high speed, and mildly ignoring routine maintenance. I’ll include a small use and care guide here and look forward to hearing what other tips folks have for this discussion:

Getting into the boots:

1. Start by unbuckling the boot. Storing the boot with the cuff gaiter pulled up and without wrinkles and the buckles secured on the loosest setting helps keep the boot in alignment and prevents snagging or snapping of the buckles, strap, or gaiter.
2. Snap the boot into uphill mode, then step into the boot while gently pulling up on the liner tongue and the cuff gaiter in one hand, with the other pulling up on the back of the liner. The goal is for your foot to enter the boot without creasing, folding, or snagging the cuff gaiter.
3. Buckle up the shell, then the cuff, then the cuff strap. Assuming you’re beginning the day in uphill mode.

Step into the boot while holding the liner and gaiter to avoid creasing and secure good alignment of the liner in the shell. With your other hand, grab the back of the liner instead of taking a poorly composed iPhone photo.

Transition to downhill mode:

1. Snap the ski/walk mech down into ski mode. Then, gently pull the tongue up while securing the cuff buckle. Then, ratchet the cuff strap. If you need to buckle your shell buckle, do this last. This helps your ankle and foot sit in the boot correctly before securing your foot down into your footbed.

Pull on the liner tongue and gaiter before tightening the cuff buckle. Again, the theme here is to minimize creasing in the cuff gaiter that will lead to less abrasion and unwarranted wear.

Transition to uphill mode:

1. This sequence is helpful to avoid wrongly tensioning buckles/straps or sliding your foot out of place. Start by loosening the cuff strap, opening the cuff buckle, then snapping the ski/walk mech into walk mode.

Numbers show the sequence of downhill-to-uphill transition steps that I’ve found to make the most sense. I don’t personally touch the shell buckle.

Getting out of the boots:

1. Start by fully unbuckling the boot and putting the boot into walk mode. Then, while gently pulling up on the tongue with one hand and pushing down on the liner by your Achilles with the other, lift your heel, bend your knee, and step out of the boot. The goal is to step out of the boot without moving the liner out of the shell. The liner tongue will get caught in the cuff overlap. Gently realign the liner tongue and cuff gaiter to avoid creasing or folding. Finally, buckle the boot up on the most open setting for storage. Use a fan to dry out your liners instead of fully removing the liners. Keeping the liners in the boot helps prevent unnecessary wear on the liner and cuff gaiter.

Hands on the gaiter and inside the liner to keep the liner in the shell while stepping out.

Other tips for taking good care of your boots:

1. Wear crampons in scree to avoid tearing up the toes and soles.
2. Acknowledge that two-buckle boots aren’t meant for skis over ~115mm or ~1800g. Using that combo (which is fun) puts added stress on the boots and can lead to premature material failure.
3. Periodically check and tighten the bolts, pivots, and buckles in the ski/walk mech.
4. Always dry out your liners.

This added attention to use and care has contributed to my pair of Backland Carbons being in such good shape after a healthy amount of mileage. The boots’ being well designed and constructed contributes as much to the boots’ general durability.

The day started in sneakers but the Backland Carbons were adored come snowline. It was a long ways out there…

Later that same day. I was shocked to find my liners barely needed drying out after a full day of skiing. We had eyes for the couloir above us for the next morning.

Some more pointed opinions on the boot’s functionality:

BOA vs Buckle system and use: After using the Backlands this past season, I’m convinced that buckle trumps BOA for a shell closure system. A BOA closure provides a higher resolution of adjustment for the shell compared to a buckle. However, that higher resolution comes at a cost. Compared to a shell buckle, a BOA is less durable, more complicated to fix, and provides less power for closing stiff materials like Atomic’s carbon-infused polyamide. In practice, the adjustment resolution didn’t actually serve me. I don’t adjust my shell buckle while skiing. I put my boots on at the car, click the shell buckle closed, and leave it. Using a BOA in the past, I switched back and forth between tighter for the downhill and looser for the uphill. There may be some psychology to dig into, but I’ll take the lack of adjustment at face value and appreciate one less thing to fiddle with—a win for the buckle.

Cuff Buckle Use: While on the point of fiddling, I thought the throw in the arm of the cuff buckle would provide enough range to allow me to avoid fiddling with it during transitions. I would keep my cuff buckle on its desired notch and flick it open to transition to uphill mode. That wasn’t the case. Moving the buckle to the most open position while still secured on the buckle rail significantly improved the boot’s range/ease of motion. Separately, I appreciate the robust construction of a metal cuff buckle compared to a velcro cuff buckle like on the F1 LT or TLTX. This comes at the cost of weight. That’s okay with me.

Cuff Strap Use: The camming cuff strap is more substantial than a velcro cuff strap (Do you see a theme here?… A collection of small gram counting decisions that opt for durability and functionality over weight savings). With the camming cuff strap, you have more power to tighten the strap. Also, the wider strap at the shin provides a more secure closure and feel. It would be cool to see a split strap design make its way to two-buckle boots. That would allow for more independent tightening around the liner and the shell.

Performance

Waving my metaphorical hands in the air discussing the design of the Atomic Backland Carbon is all good and well, but how does the boot perform? A few capital letter descriptors that come to mind are Reliable, Solid (in a relative two-buckle-boot-world way), and Fast.

The Backlands made breaking trail all the sweeter with a low-friction, sneaker feel.

Uphill: They are like sneakers. Touring feels light. Bootpacking and scrambling feel nimble. When the fit of the boots is dialed in, the Backland goes uphill comfortably. I generally reached for the Backland for “long days out.” I worry during “long days out” about my feet becoming swollen, sweaty, blistered, etc., as the hours and miles stack up. I haven’t yet gotten a blister in the Backlands. A good fit contributes to that. I also believe the liner’s perforated foam helped ventilate my feet, thus keeping them dry and reducing swelling. During steep bootpacking or scrambling where I was frontpointing or close to it, the high volume heel [for my foot shape] fit led to significant heel lift. I’ve since added a piece of butterfly-shaped foam around my Achilles for this season to see if that can be remedied.

Downhill: Out of the box, the cuff of the Backland had me worried. It sat lower than I would have preferred. However, the flex profile was energetic and snappy—not the carbon fiber-producing brick wall sensation I would have predicted. Also, the forward lean was more aggressive than my previous two-buckle boot (Alien RS). So, minus one for a low cuff, but, plus two for a progressive enough flex and appropriately forward stance. 

When out in the mountains, the Backland can handle its own. The boot lends to a more “surfy” style than aggressive alpine style “charging.” IE, this isn’t a freeride boot. It’s a two-buckle touring boot that can perform reliably and cruise up skin tracks like escalators. I believe there shouldn’t be an expectation for a 1200g boot to ski fast in variable snow. Ski fast in powder? The Backland does this with style and ease. Ski controlled in whatever the condition? The Backland can also do that. In summary, for a two-buckle boot, the Backland Carbon has a better-than-expected progressive flex and generally provides many smiles when slashing and sliding down a mountain.

Holding an edge on steep terrain. Hope to do this kind of testing again soon.

Memorable day out with the Backlands: A day out in the Backlands that I cherish was a Neighborhood tour in my home range of the San Juans. We started at my doorstep in the central west region of the range. Then, we popped up and over a ridge to have breakfast at my friend’s house (also on the tour). Up another ridge, down another couloir, and we were in town for a hot lunch and cold Coke. Up a few more ridges, down a few more faces, and we got spit out in the nearest town to the north—all in time for dinner and a convenient ride back from our friend passing through. It was a gentleperson’s tour where we carried practically no food and little water yet ate three hot meals throughout the day. I took my ski boots off once—when I got to my buddy’s car for a ride home.

The skiing was an ethereal tour through the range and communities I grew up in. I’ll never forget those turns, that line, and the time I shared with my good friends. The Backlands were, all the while, humming along in the background, step after step, quietly performing exceptionally well in a way that made that day a dream and not an epic.

Conclusion

In review, the Atomic Backland Carbon is more more-durable-than-expected, comfortable for low-volume-feet-people out of the box, full of premium features like quality liners and sturdy buckles and straps, and lastly, a plain-and-simple fun two-buckle boot. I’ll be skiing them a healthy amount this season, even though we have a few other boots in line for testing.

It’s a bit harder to test boot performance in powder snow…

PS: I didn’t have any bootwork done to the shell, even though it can be both expanded and shrunk [as advertised]. I have seen boots online and in person with cracks caused by what I presume to be improper shell molding. I avoided that possibility altogether by opting for no bootwork. Realistically, the only place in the US I would trust in doing shell work on a two-buckle boot with thin carbon-infused sidewalls, like the Backland Carbon, is Skimo co in SLC. If Atomic reads this, y’all should provide more touring-boot-specific training with your authorized dealers.