
Side profile of the Kilo. Although it feels more like a skimo boot on the uphills, it retains some clout in the boot stiffness category.
La Sportiva’s Kilo comes to play primed with high-praise range of motion and ample stiffness to drive your ski-mountaineering planks.
I was set to head out the door Saturday for what I expected to be some rather poor turns. With cold temps and raging winds, I had touring on my mind but knew there’d be plenty of walking. I packed the Zero G Tour Pros and Rossignol Escaper 97 Nanos. The boots were maybe a bit overkill for the trending upward rolling terrain with, at most, 1000 feet of turns coming off the high point. Otherwise, there’d be about 12 miles of skinning.
As I exited the house, call it divine intervention from the skimo gods, sat a La Sportiva delivery. Boots. The 27.5 Kilo. With the promise of a silky, low-friction, high range of motion, I adjusted the Plum R-170s, plopped my blue Superfeet insoles into the Kilo’s liners, and I was gone.
Our first looks are often simply the “looking,” with some documentation to pique interest. I’m two semi-lengthy tours into the Kilo. Consider this a first look with some very limited hands-on use.
I’ve heard and read the bemoaning regarding the Kilo name. I’m not a literalist regarding boot marketing and naming conventions. The 27.5 Kilo, with the stock insole, has a confirmed weight of 1136g. I’m guessing the 26/26.5 Kilo, often the benchmark boot size manufacturers use for claiming boot weight, is closer to a kilo.
For comparison, over the past three seasons (which includes this winter), I’ve mostly worn the Dynafit Blacklight as my light boot option. The Blacklight with a 27-liner in the 27/27.5 shell (with stock insole) weighs 1118g. I did not notice the ~20g increase in weight from the Blacklight to the Kilo.
The short version: the Kilo feels light on my feet.
Let’s back up. The Kilo infills the space between La Sportiva’s racier Stratos Hybrid boot and the Skorpius CR II. According to my dusted-off notes, the Skorpius CR II with stock liners/insoles weighs 1215g on my scale. Unlike the Skorpius, the Kilo lacks a plastic tongue and BOA and has a slightly more minimalist liner.
The Kilo’s lower secures the forefoot with a Z-buckle and molded plastic overlay. The boot’s upper locks down with a ladder buckle and robust cam-lock powerstrap. As if all things converge, the Kilo is certainly its own make of 1,000g class boot, but it shares a kinship with the Tecnica Zero G Peak and Scarpa F1 XT. All three boots possess similar closure systems with nuanced differences.
Like me, you may have to fiddle a bit to adjust the lower buckle’s arm length to ensure a proper fit over the forefoot. I’m dialing that in, as proper pressure over the forefoot assists with locking my heel down while skinning.
Skinning in the Kilo is excellent. La Sportiva claims a 70-degree range of motion. With good technique, you’ll access that full range and be smiling. Pushing the upper cuff fore and aft while skinning also results in a remarkable lack of friction. Although not on par with a skimo-specific boot’s ROM and lack of friction (the Scarpa Alien 1.0, for example), the Kilo comes close.
When carpet testing the flex (before exiting the house Saturday morning), I noticed stiff tendencies with a bit of give as the ankle and shin push forward. I wouldn’t call it a true progressive flex. It is not a brick wall, either. I like the feedback the boot upper provides, as I often prefer a stiffer boot. In my mind, I had assumed the Kilo would flex soft, like a Dynafit TLT X. (Note, many skiers prefer a softer flexing boot: a boot like the TLT X can be spot on for many driving skinnier and shorter skis). This is not the case. The Kilo, in my opinion, trends toward the stiffer side of the 1kg boot offerings on the market.
Many gear reviews are out there. For example, I’ve read that Blacklights are a brick wall. Or that the Kilo is too soft. In my extensive time in the Blacklight and admittedly short time in the Kilo, to my sensibilities, neither is true.
This raises the point and is hard for many of us to do: try on several boots, if possible, before making your purchase. Listen to and read reviews, but our feet are particular. Reviews lend a hand, they are not dogma.
The Kilo has slightly less volume overall and what feels like a lower arch than the Skorpius CR II, which I prefer. The last for the 26.5 Kilo is listed at 100.5mm. Although I wear 27.5 Kilo, the Blacklight’s last, listed as 101mm, feels similar. I’d say the Kilo will have ample room for warm-temp touring to accommodate foot swelling.
Some other items of note. The gaiter is well designed, with enough structure to insert the liner into the shell easily. La Sportiva uses Grilamid Bio Based LF Carbon™ for the cuff and lower shell, and the ski/walk mechanism is not spring loaded, yet it pivots up and down with no trouble, and, thus far, only a few tours in, is un-fiddly.
For La Sportiva loyalists, I know some ski tourists use the Skorpius for any and all skis. I think the Kilo is best suited for skinnier-lighter boards, with the caveat that this boot can likely drive a wider, heavier, and longer ski in light-dry powder. With such a fluid and frictionless range of motion, I also envision those keen on big ski traverses to find the Kilo a fine option that won’t disappoint while wearing a hefty overnight pack.
That’s the first look. I’m glad to answer any specific questions you might have.
Kilo Basics
Sizes: 24 – 31.5 (half sizes)
Weight: 1136g (size 27.5) confirmed
Shell/Cuff: Grilamid Bio Based LF Carbon™ / Integrated High-Stretch Gaiter
Liner: Ultralon Thermomoldable High Density PEE w/ Variable Thickness (#79R)
Buckles/Closure: FORCE™ Closure System w/ (2) Technopolymer Buckles/FORCE™ Power Buckle / TILT-LOCK LITE™ Ski/Walk System
Sole: WarmSole™ Platform (internal)/FriXion® Wave Alpine™ Outsole (complies with ISMF standards)
Range of Motion: Claimed 70° (33° back / 37° front)
Forward Lean: 2 positions (12° & 14°)
Flex: Claimed 110
Last Width:100.5 (size 26.5)
Price: $799.00
I like the upgraded hardware compared to the Skorpius II;
-Bolt on hardwear and cuff pivots
-Z cable instead of Boa
-regular buckle and cam strap instead of two Velcro things.
Hopefully they will relapse a Skorpius III with those upgrades as well.
And as far as the name, I suppose it refers to the shell only (La Spo’s own guy says there is usually about 35 gram difference per size, putting the 26.5 just under 1100 grams complete).
Interesting–might be enough to get me away from the Tecnica Zero G Peak which I’ve been fighting with for the last year–fits short, under-delivers on ROM, and is a nightmare to get on and off. My Tecnicas, with a Palau liner, come in at 980g in a 26.5, though–very hard to beat given how well they perform on the downhill.
I’ve logged 125 days on the La Sportiva Skorpius II and, for my low-volume feet, absolutely love these boots. I use it to ski 80 mm Dynafit Blacklight Pro’s, Zero G 95’s, and BD Helio’s at 105, all with good results. Like Slim, I would like to see the next Skorpius do without the Boa, return to the Z-cable, and replace the velcro strap with a removable cam-buckle – just like these Kilos. The head scratcher for me is why there is only a 59 gm difference between the Kilo at 1136 gms and the Skorpius at 1195.
I think there’s an important distinction which applies to ski boots which is often independent of weight and that’s functional differences. Some 1300g boots ski vastly differently or walk vastly differently. Some 1200g boots feel much heavier than a 1300g boot that has superior ROM. I think the Kilo will walk amazingly and have a mediocre ski performance. So much of the delta between 1100g and 950g is taking material away that does nothing to improve performance.
Hey Alex, as usual, good points. Like many readers, I tend to be finicky. Fit is paramount, then, with a 1kg class boot, I’m looking for the basics as I guess we all are: walkability and descending. The walkability, no question, it’s sweet. The skiing, so far, is very un-mediocre. I’m not looking to take a boot like this and rage in variable 3D snow (I don’t trust the knee enough), but I was very impressed uphilling the other day and descending on super firm (2D) snow. The boots skied stiff with a just-supple-enough forward flex to really help drive the ski’s front ends. I was a bit surprised at how much I was enjoying them. In providing such great ROM, the skiability, thus far, isn’t really compromised. I’m not sure how light the snow is coming in from this weekend’s storm, but I can see folks using this boot with a big-fun powder ski in drier snow climates. Functionally, the Kilos feel light (prob a function of the ROM) and, it seems the designers left enough material to ensure a solid performing descender. I’m tracking down the 27.5 Skorpius CR IIs at my friend’s house to get a side by side comparison.