Boot: 2021-2022 Dynafit Hoji Free
Test Locations: Chugach Range & Alyeska Resort, AK
Days Tested: 8
Stated Flex: 130
Available Sizes: 25–31.5
Stated Width (size 27.5): 102 mm
Stated Range of Motion: 55°
Stated Forward Lean: 17°
Size Tested: 27.5
Stated Boot Sole Length (size 27.5): 310 mm
Blister’s Measured Weight (27.5):
- Shells, no Liners: 1317 & 1332 g
- Liners, no Footbeds: 331 & 325 g
- Shells + Liners = 1648 & 1657 g
Buckles:
- 1 traditional upper buckle (linked to walk mechanism)
- 1 ratchet-style ankle buckle
- 1 reversed toe buckle
Power Strap: 44mm-wide, cam-style (linked to walk mechanism)
Shell Material:
- Cuff: Grilamid reinforced w/ glass fibers
- Shoe / Clog: Grilamid
Soles: Pomoca full-rubber, rockered
Tech Fittings: Dynafit Quick Step-in
Reviewer: 6′, 195 lbs
Skis / Bindings Used:
- DPS Alchemist Wailer 106 C2, 189 cm / Tyrolia AAAttack2 13 AT
- Moment Wildcat Tour, 190 cm / Fritschi Tecton 12
- Black Diamond Helio 116 Carbon, 186 cm / Fritschi Xenic 12
- Volkl BMT 122, 186 cm / Marker Alpinist 12
- DPS Spoon, 190 cm / Dynafit Radical FT12
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 19/20 Hoji Free, which returns unchanged for 20/21 and 21/22.]
Intro
For the 18/19 season, Dynafit introduced the Hoji series of freeride touring boots that included the Hoji Pro Tour our reviewer David Steele reviewed. He was a fan, though the boot does have its quirks and it isn’t the stiffest option in the category.
Then in November of 2018, there was news of a new boot, the Hoji Free. We actually talked with Eric Hjoreleifson himself about the boot, and that GEAR:30 conversation is worth a listen for more on the background of the boot and its development.
The Hoji Free maintains many of the design elements of the other Hoji boots, but the Hoji Free has a toe welt that makes it compatible with MNC alpine bindings and a wider variety of AT bindings, and Dynafit claimed the Hoji Free would “bring free touring to a new level with a greater stiffness and a tighter fit.”
I’ve been skiing the Hoji Free here in Alaska for several months alongside a number of other boots in this category, so here’s my take on the Hoji Free and where it slots into the competitive market of freeride touring boots.
Dynafit Hoji Free vs. other Dynafit Hoji Boots
As mentioned on our podcast with Hoji, there are several notable differences between the Hoji Free and the rest of the Hoji boot lineup.
Apart from the Hoji Free being the stiffest boot in the lineup, it also features a different lower shell with a slightly narrower stated last width (stated 102 mm vs. 103.5 mm). Dynafit also claims the heel pocket is lower volume on the Hoji Free, and as I’ll get into below, the instep height on the Hoji Free is very low.
The Hoji Free also ditches Dynafit’s “Speed Nose,” which is used on the other Hoji boots. The Speed Nose design lacks a toe welt, which allows for a more natural walking stride by moving the pivot point closer to your toes. But it also means that the other Hoji boots will not work in MNC alpine bindings like the Salomon / Atomic Warden, Tyrolia “AT” bindings, Marker Soler I.D. bindings as well as MNC touring bindings like the Salomon / Atomic Shift, Marker Duke PT, and frame bindings like the Tyrolia AAAdrenalin, Marker Baron, and Salomon Guardian. I.e., the Speed Nose significantly limited the other Hoji boots in terms of which bindings you could use with them.
The Hoji Free features a traditional toe welt and will reportedly work with all of those MNC bindings, and it’ll also work with a wider range of crampons thanks to the toe welt.
The Hoji Free’s stated forward lean is also different, with Dynafit saying the Hoji Free’s forward lean is 17° while the other Hoji boots’ stated forward lean is 11°.
The Hoji Free doesn’t feature any changes when it comes to the “Hoji Lock” walk mechanism or buckle layout, though its power strap is a bit wider and beefier overall than the Hoji Pro Tour’s power strap. Finally, the Hoji Free features a Sidas-branded, heat-moldable liner, while the liners in the other Hoji boots are still heat moldable but are made by Dynafit.
One other thing to note is that, while the Hoji Free returns unchanged for the 20/21 season, Dynafit is adding the Hoji Free 110, which maintains the same design as the Hoji Free but with a softer flex pattern.
Weight
While the Hoji Pro Tour is one of the lightest options in the “freeride touring” category, the Hoji Free is significantly heavier; the size 27.5 Hoji Free we weighed is about 266 grams heavier per boot than the size 26.5 Hoji Pro Tour we weighed.
That said, the Hoji Free is still notably lighter than some of the other boots in this category, especially “50/50” boots like the Tecnica Cochise 130, Lange XT Free 130, and Dalbello Lupo Pro HD.
Weight Comparisons
For reference, below are a number of our measured weights for some other notable boots (keep in mind the size differences). Our measured weights show the size of boot, then the weight of each boot + the weight of each liner, then the total weight for shells + liners, listed in grams:
Scarpa Maestrale RS (24.5 / 25.0): 1053 & 1057 + 244 & 245 = 1297 & 1302 g
Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro (26.5): 1099 & 1100 + 210 & 211 = 1309 & 1311 g
Dynafit Hoji Pro Tour (26.5): 1169 & 1174 + 214 & 215 = 1383 & 1389 g
Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130, 19/20 (26.5): 1130 & 1132 + 276 & 282 = 1406 & 1414 g
Salomon MTN Explore (26.5): 1126 & 1135 + 281 & 281 = 1407 & 1416 g
Scarpa Maestrale XT (26.5 / 27.0): 1258 & 1258 + 247 & 252 = 1505 & 1510 g
Head Kore 1 (26.5): 1132 & 1136 + 392 & 393 = 1524 & 1527 g
Salomon S/Lab MTN (26.5): 1257 & 1246 + 288 & 303 = 1545 & 1549 g
Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130, 20/21 (26.5): 1147 & 1150 + 403 & 404 = 1550 & 1554 g
Fischer Ranger Free 130 (26.5): 1204 & 1204 + 348 & 351 = 1552 & 1555 g
Roxa R3 130 T.I. (27.5): 1319 & 1320 + 263 & 263 = 1582 & 1583 g
Dynafit Hoji Free (27.5): 1317 & 1332 + 331 & 325 = 1648 & 1657 g
Atomic Hawx Prime XTD 130 (26.5): 1242 & 1249 + 408 & 410 = 1650 & 1659 g
Salomon QST Pro TR 130 (26.5): 1389 & 1391 + 273 & 274 = 1662 & 1665 g
K2 Mindbender 130 (26.5): 1428 & 1427 + 346 & 348 = 1774 & 1775 g
Lange XT3 130 LV (26.5): 1407 & 1410 + 368 & 368 = 1775 & 1778 g
Nordica Strider Pro 130 DYN (27.5): 1445 & 1440 + 363 & 373 = 1808 & 1813
Lange XT Free 130 LV (27.5): 1472 & 1473 + 376 & 376 = 1848 & 1849 g
Dalbello Lupo Pro HD w/o Tongues (26.5): 1589 & 1596 + 266 & 267 = 1855 & 1863 g
Full Tilt Ascendant (27.5): 1613 & 1615 & + 308 & 311 = 1921 & 1926 g
Tecnica Cochise 130 DYN (25.5): 1493 & 1496 + 440 & 441 = 1933 & 1937 g
Dalbello Lupo Pro HD w/ Tongues (26.5): 1747 & 1754 + 266 & 267 = 2013 & 2021 g
Fit
This is the part where we tell you to go to your bootfitter to figure out what kind of boots to get. And while we will keep saying that for every boot we review since fit is the most important factor, it’s even more important with the Hoji Free.
The fit of this boot is unlike any boot I’ve ever tried, and at least to me, the fit of the Hoji Free goes well beyond normal variations. For reference, I’ve been told by experienced bootfitters that I have a low-volume heel and ankle, high instep, and medium-width forefoot. My most common problem area is my high instep followed by a frequent need for a 5th metatarsal or “6th toe” punch.
The primary issue I had with the Hoji Free is the extremely low instep height of the boot. I acknowledge that I have a high instep and have had this issue with other boots, but I can’t recall another pair where the problem was so extreme. I have also spoken with multiple other skiers who have had the same issue. The lower shell of the Hoji Free absolutely crushes my instep area, even without buckling the lowest buckle. My usual boot fitting strategy to deal with this is to remove and grind down the boot board, but the rubbery feeling boot board of the Hoji Free is glued firmly into the lower shell and Dynafit does not recommend attempting to remove it.
I contacted Dynafit and it was clear that I am not the only person who has experienced this. They responded saying that their recommended approach is to heat the shell with a heat gun and then insert a large cylinder, such as a wine bottle, into the throat of the boot to expand the instep area. I did this myself but I also have a lot of experience heating and manipulating Grilamid shells and I would highly recommend leaving this kind of project to your local bootfitter for fear of seriously damaging the shells (Dynafit says the shell of the Hoji Free will take punches but is not fully heat moldable like the shells of something like the Atomic Hawx XTD series).
After I’d followed Dynafit’s instructions, my instep pain was tolerable but I still couldn’t use the stock liners, even with some modifications to those liners. I ended up using a very low-volume Intuition liner (from the Scarpa Alien RS) for all of the ski touring I did in the Hoji Free. Doing that, I got them to the point where I could go ski in them for the day but they were never comfortable and I had to tweak the lower shell opening so much that It was possible for small amounts of snow to creep in around the tongue.
The rest of the boot actually feels fairly high volume, even before any mods, with lots of extra room around my heel and ankle and ample space across the toe box. I did not feel the need to create extra space for my fifth metatarsal head, which is something I frequently have to do. With the stock liner, I had decent ankle hold (for the brief skiing I could tolerate due to the instep issue) but the lower-volume liner I had to resort to left the ankle and heel pocket feeling pretty voluminous.
I’ll provide a few fit comparisons in our AT Boot Deep Dive comparisons but, in short, I’d put the overall fit of the Hoji Free somewhere between the very high-volume Scarpa Maestrale series and the slightly slimmer-fitting Tecnica Zero G, with the exception of the Hoji Free’s much lower instep.
Buckles
Like the other Hoji boots, the Hoji Free features three buckles. There’s a buckle over the forefoot that’s reversed to help avoid accidentally flipping it open while scrambling, a ratchet-style buckle over the instep, and a single buckle on the cuff that, along with the power strap, is actuated in one motion when flipping the walk-mechanism lever (more on that later). All of the buckles on the Hoji Free are micro-adjustable.
Forward lean
The Hoji Free comes stock with a stated forward lean of 17°. The other Hoji boots have a stated forward lean of 11°, and Dynafit says the added 6° of forward lean in the Hoji Free stems from its added “spoiler” that’s attached to the top of the cuff (not the liner). Removing it would mean getting the same 11° forward lean of the other Hoji boots, though the spoiler on our pair is riveted to the cuff, so removal would be tricky. I personally got along quite well with the forward lean on the Hoji Free but potential buyers should be aware that the Hoji Free doesn’t offer super easy forward lean adjustment.
Power Strap
The Hoji Free’s power strap is 44 mm wide and features a cam-style closure and a toggle that makes it easy to open. As I just noted, the power strap can be opened and closed with the walk mechanism of the boot.
Soles
The Hoji Free features a Pomoca-branded, full-rubber, rockered sole. The main difference between it and the soles on the other Hoji boots is the toe welt of the Hoji Free, which makes its sole fall into the ISO 9523 category and consequently compatible with MNC bindings.
Liner
The Sidas liner that comes with the Hoji Free is quite nice overall. It is heat moldable, has a smooth inner lining that helps when getting the boot on and off, and appears to have nice reinforcement in areas of the liner that will experience frequent friction while touring. It also has a removable tongue and it appears that one can purchase replacement tongues from Sidas. It’s unclear to me but it looks like you could purchase a tongue that would increase the overall stiffness of the boot, though I’m guessing most people wouldn’t need to do so (keep reading).
The included liner is among the heavier liners out there on the touring-specific boots we’ve used. Its weight and design are probably most comparable to Fischer Ranger Free liner which is also quite nice and comfortable with a plastic-reinforced tongue like that on the Hoji Free.
I did heat mold my pair and got some increased contouring around the heel / ankle but unfortunately did not gain an appreciable space around the instep.
Walk Mechanism
The Hoji Lock walk mechanism is the core of this boot’s design and it is a unique and impressive piece of engineering. Essentially, there are multiple parts of the shell that move in coordination with the throw of the single lever on the back of the boot and come together into a very solid connection between the upper and lower shell with redundant contact points. The same flipping of the lever also pulls tight the upper buckle and the very nice, supportive power strap to your preset tightness.
Dynafit put together a nice, quick video showing how the Hoji Lock system works, which is worth a watch below. The boot shown in the video is the Hoji Pro Tour but the functionality of the Hoji Lock system is identical in the Hoji Free.
If you don’t need to adjust the bottom two buckles and you’re happy with the upper buckle and power strap tightness, it really is a one-motion operation to transition the boot between ascent and descent. Flipping the lever does take a bit of effort, especially if the buckles and power strap are set up pretty tight, but it’s not much harder than some other boots with similar one-motion setups like the Dynafit TLT7 or even the Scarpa Alien RS.
It does take some trial and error to figure out where to position the buckles to get the right amount of tightness when switching to the descent mode. I frequently found myself going back and tightening or loosing the top buckle or power strap after I had flipped the Hoji Lock lever into descent mode. I also prefer to leave my lower buckles loose when touring and then tighten them when for descent, which meant I still had to flip those closed during transitions. For my foot and preferences, I think I spent only slightly less time dealing with boot buckles than I would on a touring boot with a more conventional walk mechanism like a Scarpa Maestrale or Tecnica Zero G. Your mileage may vary, depending on your feet and how you tend to buckle your boots on the up and down.
When clipped into descent mode, there is zero perceptible movement / play in the cuff and shell and the whole thing feels very solid. I’ll get more into this below in the downhill performance section. When flipped up into ascent mode, the range of motion (aka, “ROM”) of the Hoji Free is as good as many boots that are much lighter like the new Atomic Backland Carbon that I recently reviewed (again, more on this below).
The Hoji Lock worked quite well with the stock liner but once I swapped out to the more comfortable (for me) Intuition liner, I had issues with certain buckles and the power strap getting caught on the shell and requiring some fidgeting and unbuckling to get the whole thing to come together. So keep that in mind if you often swap to aftermarket liners in your AT boots.
Uphill Performance
The Hoji Free’s excellent ROM combined with its relatively short BSL yielded very comfortable touring, whether going up steep skin tracks, skinning the flats, or hiking and climbing with my skis off my feet. I had no issues with Hoji Free on the ascent. I’ll dive into specific comparisons with a few similarly stiff boots in our Deep Dive comparisons but the Hoji Free is as good as it gets when it comes to freedom of movement for a boot that is this stiff on the descents.
I’m not sure where else to include it, so I’ll add here that I do always appreciate Dynafit’s Quick Step-In toe inserts and I believe that they do work slightly better than other inserts for getting into any brand of pin / tech bindings. I wish these were more prevalent in other brands’ boots.
Downhill Performance
Overall, the Hoji Free is a very stiff-flexing touring boot. I’ve skied a lot of boots with walk modes and I would say that the Hoji Free is at the very upper echelon in terms of stiffness and is the stiffest-flexing dedicated touring boot under 1800 grams that I’ve skied. It’s only a little stiffer than it’s competition, but the Hoji Free has a very strong forward flex. As subjective as such things are, I would say that the Hoji Free is an honest “130” flex.
Laterally and in the rearward direction, the Hoji Free is similarly very powerful. As mentioned above, the walk mechanism has no play in descent mode, has redundant contact points, and this is reflected in how the boot feels when skiing. It truly feels like the upper and lower cuff are bolted together once you flip the walk mechanism into ski mode.
Dynafit claims that the Hoji Free has a progressive flex and this feature is much touted in their marketing for the boot. So, is it really a “progressive” 130 flex? In short, yes. Even when just “carpet testing” in the living room with other touring and alpine boots, the Hoji Free has a nice, quick ramp-up in stiffness as the ankle is flexed forward.
Unlike its predecessor and longtime favorite boot of mine, the Dynafit Vulcan, the Hoji Free flexes through the ankle much more like an alpine boot. Whereas the Vulcan ramped up and kind of hit a wall (this was even worse with the Dynafit Mercury that had small tabs in the shell that arrested the fairly moderate flex of the upper cuff), the Hoji Free ramps up smoothly over the first few cm’s of flexion. This not only provides extra confidence when pushing hard and skiing fast but it also provides a bit of pop and push back between turns (this is most notable in firm snow).
I don’t think there’s currently a <1700 gram boot on the market that is stiffer and has a more progressive flex. A strong skier should have no trouble skiing fast on big skis with these boots. For inbounds skiing I still much prefer the even smoother flex and much more damp feel of my dedicated alpine boots (many of which are several hundred grams heavier), but the Hoji Free is plenty powerful / stiff enough for inbounds skiing.
Similar to what I experienced with the Fischer Ranger Free 130, the Hoji Free’s relatively thin, stiff Grilamid lower shell translates a lot of snow texture and feel back to the skier. On the positive side, this can be kind of cool, especially on fairly smooth surfaces where the extra feedback might provide increased control. On the other hand, once things got a bit bumpier I missed the damp feeling of heavier, non-Grlilamid alpine boots. Overall, the Hoji Free would work as an inbounds boot in regard to stiffness, but it’s a harsher ride vs. most heavier alpine boots.
Durability
The Hoji Free has a pretty complicated walk mechanism with lots of cables running to the various buckles in the upper cuff. I could see potential for issues with this but I have had no problems myself and have not heard of anyone else having any, either. Like all modern touring boots, the Hoji Free has fairly thin rubber soles compared to some older AT boots but I think they will do just fine for years of touring and scrambling. As always, we’ll update this review if we run into durability issues down the line.
Who’s It For?
The Hoji Free is unlike any other boot on the market in that it offers a combination of class-leading range of motion and a very stiff, but still reasonably progressive flex. That said, the Hoji Free also weighs in at almost 1700 grams for a size 27.5, putting it almost 300 grams heavier than the Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro, nearly 150 grams heavier than the Scarpa Maestrale XT, and a bit lighter than many of the 4-buckle “50/50” boots we’ve reviewed like the Tecnica Cochise 130 and Lange XT Free 130. Those last three boots are very close to the Hoji Free in terms of all-out stiffness.
The Hoji Free’s walk mechanism is certainly well-engineered and may well represent a new benchmark, but for me, it has still required some fidgeting with my lower buckles and sometimes the upper buckles each time at the top and bottom of my runs. So at least for me, I’m not sure that the single-throw function is worth the added weight and complexity. I could totally imagine eating my words with future iterations of this design, but as of now, I think people who buy this boot should spend some time in the shop playing with it to see if they can comfortably take advantage of the single-motion transition. And that said, even if you can’t get the ideal single-motion transition, it’s not slower to transition than other boots.
Then there’s the fit, with which I really struggled but some others might obviously love. I just suspect this boot may be more polarizing than most due to the low instep and higher-volume fit throughout the rest of the boot.
Given all of that, I would recommend the Hoji Free to strong, aggressive skiers who don’t care too much about having the lightest gear but who prioritize excellent touring range of motion and a very stiff and supportive flex in every direction. I think many people will be fine in some of the softer “130 flex” touring boots on the market, but those seeking the stiffest touring boot that still walks really well should consider the Hoji Free.
Bottom Line
The Dynafit Hoji Free is an impressive feat of boot engineering that combines best-in-class touring range of motion with a very powerful and pretty progressive flex. The fit will exclude some skiers and the heavier weight may exclude others. But for those who prioritize range of motion and a powerful flex above all else, this is the boot… as long as it fits your feet.
Deep Dive Comparisons
Become a Blister Member or Deep Dive subscriber to check out our Deep Dive of 130-Flex AT boots where we compare the Hoji Free, Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130, Atomic Hawx Prime XTD 130, Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro, Scarpa Maestrale XT, Lange XT3 130, K2 Mindbender 130, Fischer Ranger Free 130, Dalbello Lupo Factory, & Dalbello Lupo Pro HD.
Thanks for this; I was considering the Free as a potential cross-grade to the Pro Tour. Is the “Hoji lock” mechanism the same with the Free as with the Pro Tour?
I have about 30 days on the Hoji Pro Tour (paired with Fritschi Tecton 12), and while I love the low weight skinning, the forefoot width/last, and the ergonomics on the bootpack, I do feel like it gets a bit limp on me when I ski it hard. Also, I find the ski/walk mechanism gets uncomfortable around the ankles for me if I ski them multiple (2+) days on end, so if the Free has the same mechanics, maybe I’ll just look to a different boot family entirely.
Have you had any problems with the forward ROM of the Hoji Tour in the Tecton?
Wildsnow observed that the boot interferes with the binding at less than 90 deg, and it appeared to hit the binding in a way that had potential to damage the boot shell over time.
Waaay less than 90 degrees. On my lighter touring setup (MTN Explore 95 + G3 iON LT12), it’s a full 90; on the heavier setup (Ruster 11 + Fritschi Tecton 12), it’s probably 60 degrees with the toe locked out in “walk” mode. If you’re familiar with the Tecton, the nose of the boot contains the little green stripe.
Here’s a couple of pictures: https://imgur.com/a/nklAaUw
I am a female skier, 5’9” and 155 lb. Normal downhill boots are salomon xpro 110. I previously had the women’s atomic hawx xtd 110 boots. These boots fit perfectly, never had to punch them after heat molding. However I found them too soft for me when skiing downhil. In addition, because I have a size difference in my feet, I had to size up for my touring boots from 26.5 to 27.5, which made one foot too sloppy. I was always frustrated by the feeling of overpowering the boot. At the beginning of this season, boot fitter suggested I try the 130 version of atomic boot and also suggested I try the new HOJI free. Initially I was skeptical of the hoji, because the normal dynafit boots don’t fit. I have relatively large feet, flat arch with wide forefoot… Surprisingly the hoji free fit quite well. I actually needed to add volume into the toe box! After using them, I also had to get the inner plastic piece punched a bit around front of my ankle… However, after touring a full season on these boots, I definitely give them a five star rating. They tour uphill very well. The easy switch from uphill to downhill mode is very slick and saves me from cold hands. Like the reviewer, I do tour with the front buckle totally loose, which I tighten down at the top… But still faster than atomic hawx. Downhill, the boot is excellent. Powerful and stiff, good for driving even wide 116mm powder skiis. I have skied multiple resort days with the boot while in Chamonix earlier this winter. The only thing is not good at – true hardpack at the resort… Not enough padding in boot to isolate from the vibration. Feet were very sore with this. But of course, that’s not intended usage. Crampons fit no problem and I use the boot with dynafit radical st and salomon shift bindings… In sum, if you prioritize downhill performance over absolute weight, and this boot fits, I can highly recommend it.
Same issues. Ended up selling my boot and buying a pair of Scarpa Maestrale RS’s.
Same here!
“My usual boot fitting strategy to deal with this is to remove and grind down the boot board, but the rubbery feeling boot board of the Hoji Free is glued firmly into the lower shell and Dynafit does not recommend attempting to remove it.”
Came here to ask this exact question. If I could grind the boot board these boots would be perfect. That’s my go-to fit trick for my own boots.
Thanks for the write up
Maybe I’m missing something, but looks like you’re comparing weights of a 27 shell against a bunch of 26 sizes? The difference would be significant (as someone who skis 28s)…
For some of the boots, that’s true, which is why we list the sizes for all the boots so people can keep that in mind. With that said, we have been able to weigh a 26.5 and 27.5 of both the Tecnica Zero G Tour Pro and Scarpa Maestrale XT, and in both cases the weight difference was only around 50 grams per boot between the two sizes.
As you do, i believe always hit a 26/26.5 shell, it’s the only thing relevant.
“My usual boot fitting strategy to deal with this is to remove and grind down the boot board, but the rubbery feeling boot board of the Hoji Free is glued firmly into the lower shell and Dynafit does not recommend attempting to remove it.”
We use the other method you’ve describe with superb results. Instead of a wine bottle as they vary too much, we use steel cocktail shakers, and can match pairs more simply too if needed. We’ve found the boot very easy in places to work on and in others sending the boot to the sun doesn’t get it to the right viscosity to hold a nice mod.
Otherwise, as always you have mirrored our feeling exactly on the boot. We prefer a wrap liner in it opposed to tongues at the Hoji has a split throat design that seems to work better with a wrap, we have our own built design from Intuition 10mm HD. SAF
I skied the Hoji free last season for about 10 days. I agree that the fit is weird. The instep is really low, even for my feet. I do have feet requiring a low instep, so with some bootfitting it worked. There is also too much room in the heelpocket for me. Usually I have a custom fit liner to fix that, but with the Hoji, you better leave the Dynafit liner in.
Now to the good. I love the boot. It skies extremely close to an alpine boot in terms of progressive flex. Better than my lange xt 140 (better flex) and almost like my technica mach1 130. I am almost certain that’s because how the interlocking walk mechanism is designed. Blister thinks its an overcomolicated gimmiky mechanism, but I think that’s the secret sauce why it skis so good. I found myself skiing this boot in the resort as well, simply becuse it was so comfortable in walk to go wait for the tram etc. Also my goto boot to ski with my 3 year old as this boot is better to walk around the baby hill than regular boots.
Next year this will be the only boot I use.
Any people have any issues with pressure on the outside of the heel while touring with this boot? I have pressure on the outside of both ankles and above the ankle. When I look at the liner, looks like it is creased in the area where I experience this pressure? Not sure if the custom liners mentioned above would help or a possible ankle punch. Otherwise warm, tour well with good Rom and very locked in feeling on the downhill. Thanks for the review, stay safe, bluebird days and deep powder for everyone.
I thought I’d add a bit more owner-commentary for any future readers.
I’ve spent about 15 days in the Hoji Free this season. My reference boot is the Tecnica Cochise 130, which I’ve had for several seasons and use(d) for inbounds and backcountry skiing.
The Hoji definitely has an idiosyncratic fit. I bought it because it felt like it gave me a more secure fit in my forefoot than the Zero G. This secure fit turned out to be quite painful at first; I got a little time in with a bootfitter that made it bearable, and expect I will be back when we get out of the covid woods for more adjustments. Basically, I think that potential buyers should be prepared to do a bunch of fine-tuning to make the fit work.
As far as skiing performance goes, I would say that the Hoji is probably a bit stiffer my Cochise overall, particularly in the early phase of flexing into the boot. It feels more ‘firm and precise’ than ‘plush and solid’, if that makes any sense. There’s maybe a bit less rearward support than I have with the Cochise, but I have somewhat gotten used to it, and suspect I could make some changes with my bootfitter to correct it. The walking performance feels great, and I couldn’t notice the weight different holding this and the Zero G in my hand next to each other.
That sensation of immediate firmness plus the snug-in-places fit means that, long story short, this is not a very comfortable boot in ski mode. If you think of boots as “pick two” among uphill performance, downhill performance, and comfort, then this boot definitely picks the first two. I for one could not really imagine spending a whole day riding lifts with the boot cranked down in ski mode, and if I had to pick just one boot to use for everything, I’d rather tour in my Cochise than ski the resort in this. Obviously fit is very personal and this will vary person-to-person, but I thought I would throw this out as a datapoint for anyone who might be considering this as a one-boot-quiver based on the specs.
Fellaz, the thing with comfort is that you are one lucky person for the boot to fit you outta box (and in case of Hoji Free it fits less people than more). I bought this puppies after trying them on for 20 mins in a store while knowing I have duck feet (110mm). I took them on a test tour without any work done. Now, the way you skitour in Switzerland is that you walk with your boots/cycle with them to a train station, ski/tour, then back. Well, these puppies started hurting my feet already on the train, and I knew I will have a bad time :D We did this test skitour (something like 400m up) and I had to take them off at the top…
After returning, I did the classic round of normal bootfitting (as I did with my race downhill boots). Took them on a proper tour, 1800m up, was a brutal sufferest where I couldn’t walk and was limping for the next two days. I researched different plastic types, how much can you push/punch them etc. went to another bootfitter, then came to conclusion that I am fucked and will have to sell them and look for something else.
When I went looking for new ones, I told one guy in a shop the issue and he recommended I see a proper bootfitter. This guy had wooden lasts and he added material so he had a model of my feet, then heated the boot in an oven and with a heat gun (grilamid is a bitch) and forced the lasts in, then had them rest for 15 mins outside.
Well, after this operation, I can sleep in them, pain free. I did some big days pushing more than 2.5k meters vertical, absolutely zero issues. My feet are really fucked, wide, high instep, etc… Not sure if there is anyone in your area providing this service (this is the only guy I know of around Zurich where you have every second person skitouring) but if you manage to find someone that can do this, pay them with gold :)
Just curious, but you’re saying that you’ve created your own custom wrap liner with Intuition? Any more info on this, or a link?
Yes, it’s a 10mm HD foam with lacing and renforcements, also has a neoprene bellows at the back for resistance free touring. We also do their own 4mm version if we need to win space or volume. That said we don’t operate any mail order at the moment, strictly sold and fitted by the shop.
Agreed with the fit of this boot… after I got pretty bad frostbite on my toe from blood supply loss, I chucked it and got myself a pair of Maestrale RS’s and haven’t looked back… I wanted this boot to work so bad also.. Sweet boot.. but the pain was too much… and too many hours spent at the bootfitter to try and make them work
I was wondering if the instep height is the same on the Pro Tour as on the Free? I used to have the Pro Tours, I liked them but then I got a pair of Deathwish Tours with M-Werks Kingpins, so I ended up with Atomic !20 Hawx. The latter are great but I really miss the walk mode of the Hojis, thinking about going to the Frees but all this low instep talk has me a little freaked out.
Any people have any issues with pressure on the outside of the heel while touring with this boot? I have pressure on the outside of both ankles and above the ankle. When I look at the liner, looks like it is creased in the area where I experience this pressure? Not sure if the custom liners mentioned above would help or a possible ankle punch. Otherwise warm, tour well with good Rom and very locked in feeling on the downhill. Thanks for the review, stay safe, bluebird days and deep powder for everyone.
I’ve been skiing the Hoji free as my only boot for inbounds and touring for the past 2 years, with a 60/40 bias towards touring. But I’ve just moved to a new area and touring access is not very good so I’ve been skiing inbounds a lot more this year. I really like how the hoji skis overall, but I don’t want to thrash them in the resort, so I want to find a resort boot that fits and skis about the same. The hoji free shell fit my feet really well, only had them heat molded, no other work needed.
For reference, I’m a big guy at 6ft 5in, about 225lbs, advanced skier on the BC PNW coast.
Any suggestions for boots to try? I’d like to have an idea of a few boots to try before I shop around at local shops
Hi,
does anyone know how to reduce flex, when the boot is really cinched down in the upper shaft? I have skinny ankles and calves, I even flipped the upper bucke 360° to cross the buckle cables to make them shorter. But with that the boot feels like beiing made from concrete. If I loosen it a bit, it regains its flexibility. Maybe shaving some plastics on shaft, that wrap shin, but where exactly? What area contributes the most to the stiffness of the boot? Thanks