The Excursion is Garmont’s superlight touring boot. In days of old it came with a thermomoldable Gfit liner and weighed almost a pound less than a comparable pair of T4’s. Sadly, it now comes with a preformed, alpine style liner with little moldability. However, as one of the very few lightweight boots with some turning muscle it is a worthwhile investment. You can always substitute a moldable liner if you insist.

After skiing in four buckle monsters for a while, putting these on is like slipping into bedroom slippers, but with far more control than your average fuzzy moccasin. Able to squeak by surprising terrain, ski and speed challenges, the Excursion is most adept in consistent snow on lighter boards in mellow topography. There are individual exceptions to this rule of course, made easier if you pair it with a free pivoting cable binding like Voile’s Switchback, or a more powerful three pin like step-in toe of Burnt Mountain Design’s Spike.

The low cut combined with a mid-range bellows flex and only two buckles encourages an upright body position for downhill skiing, while its airy heft can make you feel as if the only thing holding you back while climbing is your ski or skin drag. If you want to cover a lot ground and but still love the thrill of gravity, particularly with the new generation of Amerikanized (read: fat) waxless metal-edged skis, check out Garmont’s Excursion.

One other less recognized feature is that the Excursion is the basis for the kids line of plastic telemark boots. Scaled down to small feet and renamed G-Rex for kid’s appeal, Garmont is the only boot company to develop a kids version of plastic tele boots. As many women with small feet know, this means that finally there is a boot for you too.

Garmont
Excursion
MSRP: $ 350
Weight/pr: 3.1 lbs. (1.4 kg)
Sizes available: 23.5 — 29.5

G-Rex
MSRP: $ 300
Weight/pr. (mondo 26.5): 3.1 lbs. (1.4 kg)
Sizes available: 19.5 — 26.5

© 2012