Garmont Prophet Rapid Thermo Telemark Boot

I should add that Garmont's shell break puts the whole with the half (27 and 27.5 are the same shell), while Scarpa's break puts the half with the larger whole (27.5 and 28 are the same shell). Important to know if you're attempting (as I did) to order these without having tried them on.

Although this is Garmont's first attempt at an NTN boot, and although the other NTN brands (Scarpa and Crispi) have so far been unsuccessful in building a good, reliable boot, I think that Garmont is going to nail it on the first try. There are some great, well-thought-out features on these boots. The replaceable sole on the toe, the replaceable wedge to protect the boot from the ski, the rock-hard lock between walk and ski (Scarpa could learn something from this design), and amazingly light. If only the ones next to me fit...

These look like screamin' boots, and I'm really impressed with Garmont (especially the boot's designer, Paul Parker) for their willingness to engage the telemark community in dialogue and to explain their product (see the many excellent discussions on telemarktalk.com). Unfortunately, because I live a thousand miles from a Garmont dealer, I crossed my fingers that 27.5 Scarpa would be reasonably close to 27.5 Garmont. This was the wrong thing to do--although my foot fits in a 27.5 Scarpa perfectly, my foot barely fits in the shell without the liner in the boot--way too tight for even a "performance fit." I'd be ordering another pair in a 28.5 right now, but Backcountry is out, so I guess I'm going back to Scarpa again this winter...