Boot: 2012-2013 Dalbello Krypton Two PRO
Stated Flex Rating: Adjustable up to 130
Stated Last: 98mm
BLISTER’s Measured Weight: (Shell) 2,071 and 2,066 g; (Liner) 613 and 617 g
Boot Sole Length: 327mm at 28.5
Skier: 6’0”, 160 lbs.
My Foot: I’ve been wearing 28.5, 98mm last boots for years. I have a long, low-volume, and boney foot.
Current Boot: Nordica Supercharger Enforcer 28.5
Test Location: Las Leñas Ski Resort
Testing Conditions: Las Leñas in August (warm and cold temps), riding the resort, several ~40-minute booters up to Cerro Martin, and one day skinning/booting over to Cerro Torrecilles. Incredible steeps to low-angle groomers and park; some powder, wind affected, chop, refrozen bulletproof, corn, groomed… a solid mix. Also one day at Alta (11” of pow on grass).
Days Tested: 12 (so far)
For 2013, Dalbello has made another round of changes to its three-piece “cabrio” designed boots. The new shell is called the Kr Two PRO and is available in several trims and flexes for both men and women.
The three-piece vs. overlap shell debate has been going on for years, with a recent resurgence by the three-piece design, thanks to Dalbello and Full Tilt. Many don’t believe it is possible to get the level of power and precision offered by a four-buckle overlap boot in a three-piece design. Others believe that if there is indeed a sacrifice in performance, it is intangible, and the ease of entry, smooth progressive flex, level of customization, and reduced shin bang provide by a three-piece is the way to go.
I am personally indifferent on the matter. I just want to find the best ski boot for me. I am not a 200-pound expert skier with a linebacker build, someone who believes my boot has to be the stiffest available to ski worth a nickel, or need a 130+ flex to be a member of the cool kids club. For the record, I am a 6-foot tall, 160-pound athletic skier; I like boots that allow me to feel my skis, with a medium-stiff flex—numbers seem to be arbitrary these days, but let’s say 115 to 120. From my experience so far, I have no trouble at all saying the new Kr Two PRO is the best performing three-piece boot I have ever ridden, and it rivals any traditional overlap boot I have been in as well.
I personally have been bouncing around between quite a few boots over the past few years, always going back to my aging Superchargers. I began experimenting with three-piece boots a few years back with a pair of Full Tilt Konflicts. The Konflict turned out to be an eye opener in many ways.
My skinny ankle and heel loved the retention the middle buckle provided. The 9 flex tongue was incredibly smooth yet still powerful enough for me, giving my shins a level of comfort in a ski boot they hadn’t seen…ever. The boot was also incredibly light, which made me feel like I was somehow cheating while hiking and tricking. Unfortunately, the buckles on the Full Tilts were trash, and the boots just didn’t feel precise, so I went back to my proven Nordicas.
Hi Jason
I have the same shaped foot, body weight etc. I have the Krypton Pro now. The Salomon Falcon previously.
Have you tested or considered the Vacuum, to shrink it to the foot? They have a walking mode Vacuum now also.
Robert,
I haven’t tested the Fisher Vacuum series boots yet. They do look great and if you read this (http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/review-2011-2012-fischer-vacuum-130), you can see Charlie is pretty impressed by them.
After reading the review, my only hesitation going with a Fisher boot with the walk mode is the 120 flex. Charlie says the vacuum 130 feels more like a 100, so the Fisher 120 might not cut it skiing aggressively in variable conditions.
Hopefully we’ll be able to get on another pair of Fisher boots this season for more insight!
I’ve been eager for the new iterations of the krypton line up as I’ve owned and loved the Krypton Rampage for the past two seasons. I’ve been very happy with the performance of my boot overall and I think the fit improvements will be welcome for most feet. One thing I’ll say is that the lower end models (Krypton Rampage for older style and KR Two Core for newer model) have mediocre liners for the price of the boot. My Rampage has significant protruding seams in the toe box where all the different pieces are sewn together and I’ve tried on the new KR Two Core and, while better than the Rampage, it still has some protruding seams on the inner tongue that gave me some discomfort just while trying them on. The upper models seem to have more refined construction and stitching; this is of course talking about the non Intuition liners. You should definitely get the intuition liners
In terms of performance I’ve been a firm believer in having forgiving forward flex (with my 90-100 flex Rampage) with very stiff lateral flex. I can avoid shin bang going through the bumps and chop and absolutely rail turns on hardpack. I never feel like I’m falling forward through the boot, it’s a very progressive forward flex. And just take a look at the thickness of the plastic that makes up the cuff on a krypton (or KR) compared to most other boots and you’ll see why they perform so well.
Thanks for the awesome review!
Jason,
I just got the KR2 Fusions (one step down from pro-120 flex ) and they have the replaceable boot soles.
Feels good in shop…just wondering, what is your street-shoe size ? I haven’t cooked the liners yet, and I might put them in a size down myself. Awesome review by the way, this is a great site (reminds me of Feed the habit).
Liam,
I wear a 10.5 to 12 in normal street shoes depending on the brand. When I try shoes on I usually ask for an 11 and 11.5 and 99% of the time one of them fits perfect. My new 27.5’s are fitting great with a heat molded I.D. liner and some thin custom footbeds.
Shell fitting, I have about a pencil width of space behind my heel in the 27.5.
Hi Jason!!
How much space is it in the heelbox if you compare it to the Full Tilt Konflicts?
I am realy stuck here. Im acually right now wearing a pair of Konflicts in size 26.5, but Im loosing my blood circulation after 10minutes… And if I go up 1 size, then they will be to big for me. Than the alternative is the Dalbello in size 26.5, since they are 307BSL.
Markus,
The Dalbello has a great anatomical fit to the shell in the heel pocket, whereas the Full Tilt is a wide horseshoe shape throughout.
I actually had the same problem as you with the Full Tilt Konflict, just in a slightly larger size. I found the 317bsl too small and the 327 (or thereabouts) too big. My KR2’s are a 317bsl and they fit great. I’d recommend trying the KR2 in the same bsl length as your current Full Tilt and you may find just enough additional space.
Good luck!
Hello,
Do you have any experience with the Fusion ID? I am interested in how much softer is the shell and also the ID Liner how much different is to the Pro version (density, softness). I did not have a luck to get the Pro here in Europe (especially in my size – 26.0) and thinking about the Fusion, which could be ordered till end of year.
Gyula,
I haven’t had the chance to try the Fusion on snow. I will however be getting detailed information from Dalbello concerning the differences, especially in materials used and the effects of those differences, throughout the KR line for the follow-up review.
The KR2 Pro offers the highest performance “pro i.d.” liner. It is constructed of a higher density, lower volume foam which theoretically transmits to more accuracy from foot to ski. I have skied on the softer i.d. liners however, and found them to be acceptable. I currently use the “silver i.d.” which looks to be comparable to the new “max i.d.” in my Nordica Superchargers and love them.
I’m confused by this review. A loose power or booster won’t make the early flexion travel “forgiving” at all. It will tend toward shin-bang focusing of pressure on the point where the top of the shell tongue meets the shin. A snug power or booster strap makes the flex more progressive and distributes the pressure more along the shin, rather than focusing it at the stiffest high point at the front of the shell’s leg opening.
Also there’s a very confusing paragraph where you are comparing the new KR2 Pro and the old Krypton Pro in the ankle pocket and say the 2012 model is worse, while suggesting the KR2 Pro has been improved. It contradicts itself.
I would absolutely agree with you if the KR2 used a traditional 4-buckle overlap design. As a matter of fact, I use a Booster strap on my 4-buckle for the exact reasons you specified. With this 3-buckle “Cabrio” (3-piece) design however, it is possible to achieve a snug fit, with the pressure distributed along the length of the shin without relying on the power strap. The power strap on the Dalbello helps tie in the rear portion of the boot for additional forward flex stiffness. Running the power strap a little loose gave me the little extra forgiveness in flex I was looking for, as well as decreasing the amount of shin bang I was experiencing.
As for the contradiction about the heel pocket; the 2012 model Dalbello is the Krypton, which basically doesn’t have a defined heel pocket. This test concerns the 2013 KR2 Pro, which offers a greatly improved anatomical heel pocket.
Hey Jason,
Seriously considering the KR2 because my Full Tilts are killing me. I’ve skied 8 of the past 10 days, and I can barely stand because of the pain in my peroneous longus muscle (outside of the leg near the calf). I’m not sure if it’s because I’m cranking the boots down to get the stiffness I need/want or what, but it’s awful. I added tongue eliminator shims and it initially helped the problem, but now it’s back in full force. Boots have probably 60-80 days on them with an upgrade to the #10 tongue after the first ten days or so. I always unbuckle the middle and top buckles when I get down to the lift, and now I’m doing it whenever I can (traverses, cat track, etc). Use a custom footbed, booster strap, thin socks (recently tried thick socks too, to no avail), etc. Nothing seems to help.
I’m not here so much to ask for boot advice (I know — try it on, dummy!), but curious if you’ve experienced this issue with the Konflict and how you’d rate the stiffness of the KR2 to the #8 (or #10) FT tongue. Will Brown mentioned he had a similar issue with FTs in his Fire Arrow F1 review, but I don’t think that boot is for me.
PS. Pretty sure there’s no #9 tongue that you mentioned in your review. My OG Konficts came stock with a #4 and #8 tongue.
FWIW, Zac, I had to stop wearing a pair of Full Tilt Seth Morrison Pro Models for this same reason. This is a common issue with Full Tilts, and people either have the issue or they don’t. But there is little to be done to assuage the situation if it is an issue. Hopefully Jason has something more constructive to offer, but I had to put mine down.
Appreciate the response, Jonathan. It’s really good to know I’m not alone. And I appreciate knowing now that I should spend time and money fitting new boots instead of trying to solve this issue.
Re-reading my post, I want reword my two questions so they are clearer: 1) Does the KR2 create the same problem? 2) How does the stiffest flex option of the KR2 (B tongue w/ stiffer shim…?) compare to the FT #10 tongue in terms of stiffness and quality of flex.
Thanks again for all you do.
Zak,
I know exactly what you mean about pain, I ran into the same issues with my Full Tilt’s when I locked them down. I have skied the KR2 with both the I.D. liner and the stock Dalbello liner. Surprisingly, I actually found the stock (non-wrap) liner to provide the most comfortable fit in the upper shell, along with better overall performance. So, will the KR2 with I.D. liner resolve your problem? Maybe, but no guarantee. Will the KR2 with the stock liner fix the problem? Yes.
Concerning the tongues, I have seen a big discrepancy in the stiffness of the “B” tongue between my 28.5’s I received in August, and my 27.5’s I received in December. The 28.5’s were stiff; they were amazing in fact. I didn’t need to use the shim in the rear of the boot, which kept the flex smooth and progressive, much like the tongue I used on my Konflict (which btw was an old Raichle tongue and felt close to the new #10 in flex).
The 27.5 in contrast has been far too soft, and with the addition of the shim in the rear of the boot they lose that smooth progressive feel. I’ve actually stopped skiing the boot, and have gone back to my trusty Nordica.
One option you could try (and one I’m excited to try myself), is to ski the Full Tilt with a non-wrap Intuition liner.
I will probably go to whatever this boot is next year (if I can’t find it through a web merchant this summer). The best fitting pair of boots I ever owned were a pair of 1977-78 Raichle’s that were then the model just below Flexon that Full Tilt resurrected. I have a narrow foot and the ankle buckle provided the only “sucked in” fit I’ve ever had (I’ve otherwise skied mostly admittedly too wide Nordicas over the years).
Hey Jason,
In a month I’ll be skiing in my first freeride competition. :)
As I have some nice Squad 7’s (which I like very very much!), I noticed I needed an upgrade from my Technica Dragon 110’s, they also suddenly started hurting my feet on places they’ve never hurt before, like my ankles and outside and slightly inside of my legs/calfs. This is, I think, a result of the much wider skis than I was used to before. I’ve been thinking about getting the Technica Bodacious but lately I’ve been considering the Dalbello Kr 2 (with or withoud pro id liner or powerwrap which is the same i guess) . Since I’m running out of time.
What is your take on this??
Thanks for the great reviews and thank you for your help,
Greets
Kevin
Kevin,
Honestly I haven’t skied the Bodacious, but if you are skiing in comps I would be leery recommending the KR2 at this time. When I downsized to the 27.5 the tongues were at least 25% softer. I don’t ski in super stiff boots, but the KR2’s that I have now are basically unsafe in variable, consequential terrain. Even with the shims in place to lock the cuff, I would estimate the flex (in the arbitrary flex rating system) to be around 80 compared to other boots. I’m not sure if I received a set of bad tongues or what, and haven’t had much help from Dalbello in determining the cause or fixing the problem. If you go KR2 route make sure the B tongue is barely flexible by hand.
I know a quite a few people that like the Technica boots, which if the fit is right for you, may be the fail-safe move.
what’s your actual foot length? When you’re going down to the 27.5, are you going down 1 size or 2 sizes? Thanks Jason.
Karl,
I actually measure a 30.5; I have long, skinny, boney feet. The 27.5 gives me a pencil shell fit. It is definitely a little tight, and I could use some shell work at the toes and 5th metatarsal. The 28.5 fit o.k. lengthwise, but I found there to be too much volume in the forefoot area where there is only 1 buckle to tighten things up.
I’m curious about the changes in the shell fit as compared to the previous krypton. I wear a 25.5 normally, have skied a nordica hot rod, full tilt konflict and currently a lange xt lv all in a 25.5.
Last year I ordered myself a pair of krypton pros (the previous model, not the 2’s) and found the shell fit to be too big. The 24/24.5 turned out to fit me well, however.
I’m wondering if that has changed at all with the current iteration.
Short version: would I need to size down in this boot?
Mike
Mike,
I would say yes, size down. I wear a 28 in nearly every boot I try and the 28 KR2 turned out to be a bit too big, with ~1.5cm of room in a shell fit. The 27 shell gives me about a pencil width of room during a shell fit, which is definitely a race fit, but the 28 was just too roomy.
If you would suggest Technicas for comps, what model would you recommend most?
Hey Jason,
I am currently riding a Full Tilt Konflict in a size 28. After reading this review i was thinking that i should go down to the 27, where i was going to get the 27.5 before. I have to order them because no one stocks them in my area. I will also be going with the i.d. liner.
Thanks
Jason
Jason
Any updates to this review?