A Little Boot for Big Skis: La Sportiva Kilo Touring Boot Review

The biggest storm in years swept through Colorado in February. Big fluffy flakes just kept falling until over 50 inches of new snow blanketed the backcountry. Skiing that frothy cold smoke over five consecutive days pushed my body to its absolute limit. After day two, I had to drop some weight from my ski touring kit — I swapped in La Sportiva’s new ultralight Kilo boots. But no way was I leaving my biggest, burliest powder skis at home.

Ski touring boots in the 1kg realm typically pair best with shorter, narrower, lightweight skis. Big skis like my 122mm underfoot 4FRNT Renegades can feel unwieldy without some heft at the helm. But in the right conditions, like those that struck Colorado in February, the Kilos can take on more than their fair share of ski. That meant more laps surfing the deep stuff and less fatigue.

Why bother with such a featherweight instead of something beefier? Swapping to the Kilos from my daily driver, backcountry boots dropped over 2 pounds from my feet where you feel that weight the most. Their massive range of motion meant longer strides and less micro-friction that added up after 20,000 steps.

The Kilos are La Sportiva’s sportiest new ski touring boots. And while they may look similar to some of the brand’s competitors, a handful of design elements make these boots stand out from the crowd. 

In short: La Sportiva Kilo ski touring boot is a new platform from the boot tinkerers at La Sportiva. These boots, named for their scant weight, manage to do an awful lot with just a little. So much so that they don’t find themselves out of place very often in the backcountry — from skimo racecourses to deep powder; skinny skis to big ones. But of course, the Kilos are specialized backcountry boots. They aren’t beefy enough for lift-serviced skiing or 50/50 resort/backcountry ski setups.

If you’re shopping for backcountry ski boots, compare the La Sportiva Kilo to the hybrid boots in GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Ski Boots.

La Sportiva Kilo Review

The Kilo slots into La Sportiva’s diverse catalog of ski touring boots on the lighter half of the spectrum. On its lighter side, you’ll see three boots designed for the skimo racecourse: he similarly shelled the Stratos Hybrid, the Raceborg II, and the Stratos VI.

On the heavier, more powerful side, you’ll find the Solar II, Skorpious CR II, the Vega, and the nearly-an-alpine-boot Vanguard (soon to be replaced by the Sender). La Sportiva makes a lot of boots. So, ultimately, the Kilo is its lightest boot designed for true backcountry skiing in a range of conditions.

My size 27 Kilo weighed in at 1,141g. Before you ask, “Why did they name it the Kilo if it’s over a kilogram?” let me explain. In the brand’s Italian homeland, 26 is the reference size, not 27/27.5, as it generally is in the U.S. Bump up a size, and it gets a little bit heavier.

You’d be forgiven for mistaking the La Sportiva Kilo for the Scarpa F1 XT that I reviewed for Gearjunkie last season. Heck, the Tecnica Zero G Peak looks pretty dang similar, too. Each of these super-light ski touring boots shares a similar design — two buckles each, camming power straps, strategically integrated carbon, sporty walk modes, and yes, they’re all black and all Italian.

So let’s address the elephant in the room, or the one sitting in the boot-shaped European peninsula. Did La Sportiva copy Scarpa and Tecnica’s homework? If you were judging by looks alone, it would be tough not to be suspicious. But the moment I slipped my foot into the Kilo, my suspicions disappeared. The Kilo is something new and, dare I say, special in this growing class of ~1kg buckled boots.

Kilo Design

Both the Kilo’s cuff and shell are made from Grilamid Bio-Based LF Carbon. That’s a departure from both the F1 XT and the Zero G Peak, which utilize different amounts of carbon in the shells and cuffs. The Kilo’s top-to-bottom consistency was noticeable — the whole boot felt smooth and consistent through its flex (more on that later).

Adjusting the Fit

The first thing that caught my attention about the Kilo was the lack of a BOA tightening system adorning its siblings, the Skorpius CR II and Solar II. BOAs definitely have their place, especially the heavy-duty versions on alpine ski boots.

But I haven’t fallen in love with a BOA dial-in ski touring footwear. So, in my opinion, the Kilo already has a leg up over some of its competitors by virtue of the tried-and-true buckle layout.

Like many touring boots, the Kilo utilizes an equalizing “Z” cable to pull tension on the shell’s forefoot. It’s better than a single buckle could accomplish alone and pulls tension on a much bigger area of the forefoot. It does a good job of keeping my heels locked in, too.

Cuffs, Power Straps, and Liners

Moving up the boot, you’ll quickly notice that the Kilo doesn’t have a tongue but rather a stretchy gaiter to ward off snow. That’s a trend in boots this light, and it’s critical for accomplishing the huge range of touring motion (and tiny weight).

The rest of the cuff is recognizable. A traditional and adjustable buckle provides plenty of tension and support up high. A lightweight camming power strap relegates Velcro to the past and locks the whole package together. A streamlined vertical ski/walk lever is easy to flip with gloves on and hasn’t iced up on me. A flip chip allows you to adjust between 12- and 14-degree forward lean positions.

The Kilo’s liner is sturdy and straightforward — Ultralon Thermomoldable High-Density PEE (lol) with variable thickness depending on the zone. A hard plate sits high on the back of the cuff to add a little more support and structure. Like most ski boots, the footbed is merely a placeholder. I swapped it out for my go-to DownUnders quasi-custom footbeds and found a solid fit out of the box without any heat molding.

The Uphill

My first few steps in the Kilo were wild. If you haven’t walked around in a pair of Skimo race boots before, it’s tough not to fall in love. Beefier boots in the ~1,500g+ realm just aren’t in the same league.

The Kilos feel like their racier siblings in this regard — closer to running shoes than all-around ski touring boots. There’s simply more range of motion than my ankle can accomplish, and the friction from the liner is barely there.

Articulation

La Sportiva claims 70° articulation (33° back / 37° front) and I have no reason to doubt it. It’s as good or better than any other boots in this class.

The Kilo’s articulation meant my ski touring strides were long and smooth — key for efficiency, according to any skimo racer you ask. At no point did I feel like I was fighting against or limited by my boots on the skin track or while charging straight uphill at the resort.

Fit

The Kilos fit just works for my feet, which is rarely the case with any hard boots. Widthwise, my feet and heels are about average, though my arches are outrageously high. The Kilos have a particularly narrow heel pocket that I most appreciated on the skin track. Even when the buckles were loose, my heels weren’t sliding around and blistering like they do in roomier boots. Folks with narrow heels should take note.

The Kilos’ last is average for boots in this class at 100.5mm. That, combined with a low-to-medium volume fit and instep, meant I didn’t experience any side-to-side or vertical slop on the skin track. They also didn’t feel uncomfortable after many hours of wallowing in the backcountry. Fit is of course subjective, but I appreciated the La Sportiva’s thoughtful balance of performance and comfort here.

Ski Pairings

The Sweet Spot

Every boot that I’ve skied in from La Sportiva manages to do a lot more than their weights would suggest, and the Kilo is no different. I started out with the shorter, narrower skis in my quiver — my usual tack with boots in the ~1kg+ weight class: Fischer’s Transalp 92 CTI in 176 and La Sportiva’s Tempo in 178cm (I’m 6’1”, for reference).

As I expected, the Kilos had the control and poise to drive those skis with purpose. Skis in that general size range were definitely the sweet spot.

On the Bigger Side

But I also tested the Kilos with a few bigger skis — the aforementioned 184cm 4FRNT Renegades, Kastle’s 189cm TX 103s, and DPS’s Pagoda Tour CFL 105s in the 185cm length. The reverse-cambered ski-from-the-center Renegades were a solid match for the Kilos, especially in deep powder.

While the business-first Kastles were a great match in powder, they were a little bit unwieldy and strong-willed when conditions were less consistent. They tossed me — and the Kilos — around a little bit in crust. The Pagodas are light and easy to ski and ended up being a good match with the light boots. But one size shorter would have been dang near perfect.

Overall

Being able to ski that spectrum of skis, ranging from 92cm underfoot to 122cm and lengths between 176cm to 189cm, is impressive. I won’t pretend that the Kilos were a perfect match at the bigger ends of those two spectrums when the snow wasn’t soft or at least consistent. But the point is that they’re quite versatile for such little boots.

Flex Characteristics

Energy

What first stuck out to me about the Kilo’s flex pattern is that they’re springy and energetic. That is not a characteristic you often get from boots this light. As I pushed into the cuffs deep in turns, they returned some of that energy back to me to more easily rebound into the next.

Clearly, it’s not the tongue pushing back since the Kilos don’t have tongues. I think it’s rather the shells predictably deforming and reforming with a unique level of pizzazz.

Progression

The Kilos are soft off the top and relatively progressive for boots in this class. Not progressive like alpine boots or beefier touring boots mind you. They’re featherweights without tongues, after all. But most importantly, I’ve found that they really resist folding deep into their flex as some lightweight boots can. More than anything, they’re supportive, predictable, and smooth in downhill mode.

Stiffness & Stability

The smooth flex and overall friendly character of the Kilos come with a tradeoff — relatively soft torsional stiffness. You can feel the boots give a little bit of edge in icy conditions. Even sharp, stiff skis like my Fischer Transalp 92 CTIs felt a little bit duller and less precise when the pitch was steep and the snow hard. It’s not strange for boots this light — the thin Grilamid Bio-Based LF Carbon shell is doing a lot of work.

Scarpa’s F1 XT has a slight edge on edge with its beefed-up 3D Lambda Frame that adds lateral stability in that boot. So while the Kilos overall have a more precise fit and consistent flex for all-around backcountry skiing, I still grab the F1 XTs or my all-around sturdier La Sportiva Skorpius CR IIs for days that are sure to get steep and icy.

Conditions & Maneuverability

The Kilos helped me survive in wind buff, breakable crust, and the other conditions that plague the backcountry between storms. Their close fit and supportive character made them easy to work with. The smooth flex made for a smooth ride even in chattery conditions. The performance fit granted some ease in whipping around a jump turn in tight situations like steep trees and chutes.

Room for Improvement

After at least 20 tours in the Kilos, I have come up with exactly one minor qualm in terms of design. When I tighten the lower buckle, the small fin of Grilamid underneath the buckle jabs into the stretchy gaiter rather than layering neatly over the ladder side (pinky toe) of the shell.

It hasn’t caused a major issue yet, but the rubbing and jabbing are causing some slight delamination and questioning the integrity of the threads along the gaiter’s margin.

I have a hunch that this issue is a direct result of my ultra-high arches and resulting high instep which spread the shell apart, creating a larger gap for the buckle to bridge. My lower-arched ski partner didn’t have the same issue when he tried my Kilos for a few tours. So, while these low-instep boots can accommodate high-instep feet, it comes at a cost.

Other than that, the Kilos’ durability has been solid during the test period, other than a loose bolt here and there that was easy to tighten.

La Sportiva Kilo Touring Boot: Conclusion

Lightweight ski touring boots can drop literal pounds from each foot compared to midweight or hybrid ski touring/alpine boots. But that weight savings always comes with trade-offs — usually progressive flex, lateral stiffness, fit, and warmth.

Boot companies, especially the Italian ones, apparently, have been working hard to crack the code. La Sportiva is on the bleeding edge of that progression.

The Kilo does a lot with a little. At just 1,141g in size 27.5, these ski boots have driven far burlier skis than I would have expected in the right conditions, which seems to be a trend with boots from La Sportiva. The flex is smooth and predictable, the lower volume fit is performance-oriented, and the range of motion is straight up bigger than your ankle’s.

That said, they’re not freeride boots. They require you to dial back the send factor a few clicks, and they’re not well suited to lift-serviced skiing.

Even as someone who loves lightweight boots, the Kilos aren’t quite beefy enough to dethrone my daily drivers. I’ll haul a little extra boot and ski around when I’m shredding fast and loose with my friends. But the Kilos are my new go-to boots when big distances, resort fitness laps, the occasional skimo race, or endless skin tracks are on the menu.

So, who are they for? Most backcountry skiers would probably be happiest slotting the La Sportiva Kilo into the lightweight spot in a two-boot quiver. That’s where I’m at. On the flip side, most skimo diehards would probably laugh at that previous sentence and slot the Kilo in as their power boot.

Regardless, the Kilos are most at home piloting skis below about 100mm underfoot. But they still aren’t shy about pushing bigger skis around when snow conditions are right.