Atomic’s openly declared alpine touring Waymaker Tour 110 had many things I like about a touring boot: three well placed buckles, a solid powerstrap, Intuition liner, tech fittings and a progressive lug sole. The carbon spine also caught my eye.

Putting them on was a little of an issue. Like most freeride and alpine boots, there’s always more of a struggle getting in and out of the boot, and these were no different. Once they were on, they were quite comfortable, and I know Intuition liners help dial in a solid fit. That said, the forefoot seemed very voluminous. Just looking at them from the side, it was easy to see how deep/thick the instep was, and I noticed it once I started making turns. (If you tend to have a high volume foot, this could be your baby.)

Standing in the boots I noticed that I was higher off the ground than other boots in this category. Wearing a Waymaker on my left foot, and a Lange XT130 on the left, there was a significant difference in platform height. That can be a two-edged sword. It can keep your feet warmer by insulating them more from the ground but I felt it compromised the intimacy between boot and ski edge.

I took these out on a pair of Blizzard Scouts (134-108-122). On groomers, the forward flex was adequate but I wasn’t really blown away. I thought the forward lean was a little upright for me and I could get into the front seat, but I wasn’t really driving, if that makes sense. Lateral movement was good, and my ankle was held snugly throughout my limited time in the boots. The carbon spine and ski mode provided a decent power transfer that translated to my expectations for a 110 flex. The walk mode, on the other hand, was a little wonky, and didn’t have a larger fore/aft stride range.

The craftsmanship of the boot was still top notch, especially with nimble, but effective buckles, both in body and in placement. Despite having a relatively light overall weight of 7lbs 13oz, I thought the Waymaker felt and acted more like a freeride boot than an AT boot in that it had a relatively robust build, overlap construction, interchangeable DIN and tech soles, and a relatively limited ski/walk function.