Dynafit

Hoji Free Alpine Touring Ski Boot - 2023

excellent boots, light yet responsive

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

28.5

Height:

5' 10"

Weight:

240

I had to do a few modifications to get these to fit properly (see below), but once they were dialed in, they are the best boots I have ever had. Very light weight, and yet sturdy and responsive. Not like some overly light weight noodly gimmicks. I weigh a lot and shred skiing, and need a real boot capable of delivering. Riding these since 2022, in backcountry, hut trips and lift skiing mostly in Colorado. Bumps, small jumps, big fast launches, trees, moguls, fast fast groomers. The HUGE walk mode levers are easy to use, even with gloves. For comfort, I reach down while skiing and pop them skiing up to the lift, and into ski mode after getting off the lift, never stopping. Quick and no nonsense transitions. Walk mode gives you a lot of range of motion, and feels quite natural. Never had any issues with the cables. I have very large calves, and only foot size 10.5 US (28.5 MONDO by measurement and several boots from different brands). I have trouble buying ski boots, and generally have to use the last position on the top buckle. At first, these were very painful, and pinched my ankle bones. Also, my heel was suspended and not touching. A lot of gear gets made for skinny little skimo or runner dudes, with legs thinner than my forearms. I put in a second sole, and that alleviated the heel. There is so much toe box, that I still never unbuckle the lower buckle! Nice, because unlike people duped into buying too-tight ski boots, that pinch all the blood out of their toes, I stay nice and toasty warm. But the ankle was a problem. Taking the liner out, the plastic boot actually still pinched my ankle bones painfully. Again, without the liner! So a bit of heat gun on the shell, and some 2x4s and shims, and voila, I can wear them indefinitely, like my favorite slippers, but they shred. Just expanding the ankle on the shell by about 1/4" made all the difference in the world. DO NOT DO THIS, unless you are very experienced at boot modifications, or get a shop to do it for you. These were $720 boots! The one weirdness is the top buckle cables, and the power strap, can get crossed when taking them off or putting them on. The power strap dangles, and is easily caught under the top buckle cables. Just straighten things out before buckling, and it is no problem. I ride these with Dynafit ST Rotation 12s on 118mm Rossignol Blackops Gamers. Feels like cheating, inbounds or backcountry. Favorite ski boots ever.

I need to return this product! painful

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

26.5

Height:

5' 6"

Weight:

170

it's true the fit around the ankles are unbearable. the fit to the medial malleolus (including medial foot arch) is too tight. I have been using a very similar specs but different brand and I thought this would fit no problem, I was wrong.

Not 130 flex. Issues with pain

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

29.5

Height:

6' 4"

Weight:

200

I have had these for about 3 years. They are light comfy, easy to enter and initially great for uphill. Soon enough the heel cup around the ankle bones developed issues with excruciating pain. Some dude on YouTube has a video of how to resolve it with a heat gun and clamps but who wants to have to do that. It did fix my pain issue btw. They just aren't very still. I would compare them to a 80 flex alpine boot. That's why the new radical pro boot has a different front tongue they realized the hoji free just was not stiff enough. I am replacing them this year with the Tigard 130 which looks way more like a traditional alpine boot. I am usually 29.5 in a ski boot, I think I might have been able to get away with a 28.5. The current price might be worth checking these out now. When I bought them they were around 700 bones.

the ONE

I've been on these for the past two seasons. I use them for everything: in bounds, touring, jumps, pillows. These boots are the ONE solution. The tour/walk range combined with downhill performance is unmatched. I use these in both pin and alpine bindings. I'm going to grab a 2nd set to keep the dream alive!

Agree with Don?t Buy Above

Size Bought:

27

Weight:

190

These boots look great out of the box, and I wanted so bad for them to work. And the fit around my foot was great. BUT, they have a unique design…they taper significantly from the foot to the ankle. And there just wasn’t enough room around my ankle. The boots were actually painful to pull into and painful to stand in…no way I could imagine skiing in them. There also was uncomfortable pressure on the inside of my ankle just standing in the shell without the liner. And I feel like I have ankles more on the skinny side. Another but, though. Everyone is built differently, and they might work for you. They really are nice boots, and I liked the walking mechanism better than any touring boot I’ve tried.

Better than average

I'm 5'11" 170# and a ski instructor. I've skied these boots for nearly three seasons mostly in the backcountry with about 10 days in bounds. This boot tours very well. I noticed right away that I had more energy and I was willing to go further compared to the boots I had previously. The Sidas liner that comes in them is garbage in my opinion. I tried skiing it for a while without satisfaction. I switched to an Intuition which saves weight, improves fit, improves skiing, and the Intuition is warmer. I really like how easy it is to switch from tour to ski mode but the integration of the strap makes it really hard to add a booster strap which I think would improve the flex pattern. Overall it's a nice boot especially once you swap the liners.

great in all conditions

these are great fro nordic skiing and ski touring in alaska where the possiblity of blowing snow and high wind is very high. these full featured goggles keep snow and other debris out of your eyes when vision is crucial. the s1-s2 lenes are great for adjusting to changing light conditions and helps keep you on your toes in the backcountry.

Don?t Buy

Size Bought:

29.5

Height:

6' 3"

Weight:

195

This boot is so nice to look at and very well made -buckles work perfect and the release is smooth. That said they are the most uncomfortable boots I have ever owned. They feel great stand in and hanging around. Then once you put them to use it?s all down hill. Left ankle rub not to a blister but an uncomfortable pressure Right top of foot super uncomfortable like it?s squeezing my foot overall not comfortable Left top of foot uncomfortable like it?s squeezing my foot on top. No blisters - once I put the boots on it?s good then about 30min in it?s like hell - then I overcome it mentally and deal for the day - then when I see the trail head it?s like hell again. Take the boot off and all is good - happy feet with no pain or problems post tour. It?s like a pain ghost in the boot - my foot is totally cool in my alpine Lange boots. Happy as a can be. I had them heat fitted at the alpiner in CB - that made zero difference. I have 6 tours on them and 6 days at the resort same results touring or alpine. The liner is thin so that may be the issue - not sure. Bottom line save yourself and don?t buy them the return policy did not give me the time need to work out if adjustments would help or if was a bad design. I can confirm it?s a bad design. They will be on eBay soon.

Nice and snug fit. Incredible comfort and range of motion uphill. Ideal stiffness and forward lean for the downhill. The liner is a bit thin but is comfy.

Soft boots

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

26.5

Height:

5' 9"

Weight:

180

These boots are not a hard charging boot. I ski 70-80 days a year and have about 10 days in these boots. I've skied them on groomers, crud and pow. I think they'll work fine for touring and skiing pow but would not recommend them as a do-it-all boot. The biggest problem is they have lateral flex. When trying to lay down hard carving turns I could feel the boot flex to the sides and was worried about breaking my ankle. This might be less of an issue on skis narrower underfoot but over 110 it's an problem. The liner is also flimsy and cheap. I had to swap the liner for an intuition that kept my ankles from banging the shell which relieved some of the other pressure points. The intuition liner also helped firm up the lateral flex in the boot but not enough to stop it entirely. Within a week of use, one of the pieces broke on the power strap. I had to rig something up for the boot to continue functioning as expected.