Alpina BC-1550 Back-Country Nordic Cross-Country Ski Boots - Compatible with NNN-BC Bindings | Lightweight & Durable for Winter Trails & Mountain Adventures

Very happy with the boots. Warm and cushioned and comfortable. I have very picky feet having had foot surgery. These are very comfortable. Good stability on BC skis. Only complaint is the exposed laces. Collect snow when it is a little warm out.The boot is pretty comfortable and works well. I did notice that the toe box is a bit wide for my feet and the movement led to some blistering. So I bought some thicker socks to see if that would resolve the problem for me.The price is good; it seems sturdy and well-built.The bar at the toe of the left boot was slightly bent. As a result of that, it would not properly catch the binding. I hold the ski company that still went ahead and attached the bindings on my skis, even with the slight bend in the boot that I provided to them, as responsible. Now I'm out $300 trying to figure out what my next move will be. I'd give zero stars if I could.These ski boots are really good. They have good insulation and good ankle support. The couple of quirky issues are that the shoes do not breathe. When skiing for extended periods (more than 3 hours), my feet got sweaty and damp. There was a small dent at the toe that caused the shoe to bend in an unusual manner. This created a shoe bite. It was easily fixed but I had to keep tabs on the shoes so that they do not have any dents on the toes.I have previously been very happy with Alpina boots, so I was unpleasantly surprised to discover how badly designed these boots are. The boot is far too stiff around the ankle (maybe made worse by the cold temps stiffening the cheap plastic shell of the boot), leading to uncomfortable rubbing and even bruising, and the toe box stops much too short leaving the ‘break’ of the shoe over your toes....worst set of blisters I’ve ever had across the tops of the toes of both feet. I’ll be returning these and getting a nice pair of Rossignols.They fit well, don't give me blisters and are well made.My wife and I both bought a pair. Very different bodies, size, movement style. I think there's a door hinge right above the top of the toes, because both of us needed to nearly crawl out of the woods with bone pain above the toes and blisters nearly to the muscle and tendons. We've tried different socks, blister pads, alcohol, etc. Helps a little: now they're only miserable. Maybe if you buy three sizes up and stack the socks, the pain will be reduced to awful.It boggles my mind that Alpina continues to sell these torture devices. Clearly, they've never tried using them.My wife and I both bought a pair. Very different bodies, size, movement style. I think there's a door hinge right above the top of the toes, because both of us needed to nearly crawl out of the woods with bone pain above the toes and blisters nearly to the muscle and tendons. We've tried different socks, blister pads, alcohol, etc. Helps a little: now they're only miserable. Maybe if you buy three sizes up and stack the socks, the pain will be reduced to awful.It boggles my mind that Alpina continues to sell these torture devices. Clearly, they've never tried using them.