Most of you may have seen the video “from prototype to production” when we first launched the 2011-12 Tecnica & Blizzard product on http://www.unofficialnetworks.com. It was a special night because we wanted to show friends and family of Arne Backstrom and important industry folk the next generation of our products. Arne was very influential to the future of Tecnica & Blizzard. Now it’s time we give you more specific information on WHY this TECNICA product is so revolutionary.

The FREEMOUNTAIN lineup of boots consists of 2 NARROW models that are designed after race boots and 4 models that are MEDIUM VOLUME that are designed to give you more freedom for walking/hiking without compromising performance.

I’d like to highlight 2 boots that are directly coorliated with Arne Backstroms infamous ‘FRANKIN BOOT’. The Bodacious and the Cochise. The Bodacious has a great write up on espn.com, which is a great read (thanks Jeremy). It gives a great description of the boot and details all of the ‘badassness’ of the boot. It is the boot we skied in from January – May; and fell in love with it because the TRIAX plastic blend is not sensitive to temperature. This allowed me to ski in this sucker July 3rd and the boot had the performance it had Feb. 3! It’s extremely light weight, yet very responsive. It’s like skiing in an extremely light race boot, with the option to utilize dynafit soles.

The COCHISE is truly the MOST unique ski boot on the market. What makes it so unique compared to other ‘side country’ boots that you are starting to see on the market?

The COCHISE is the benchmark of all “walk mode/hike mode” boots because of the unique design of our ‘CUFF MOBILITY SYSTEM’. Aren’t you sick of ski boots that have a hike function that suck during the actual SKIING part of your day? Because our CUFF MOBILITY SYSTEM is metal to metal contact, between the shell and the cuff, the functionality of the boot while skiing is extremely strong and gives you maximum performance. It may seem like it’s not such a big deal, but this metal to metal contact makes all the difference, while enjoying your SENDFEST. It also features the “duh no brainer”/”why didn’t i think of that” FREEMOUNTAIN POWER STRAP.

IMPORTANT: All FREEMOUNTAIN BOOTS come with replaceable toe and heel lugs (one size fits all). The Cochise comes with dynafit/tech compatible toe and heel lugs and all other models come with DIN compatible soles. The lugs are easy to change and can be purchased as a separate item if needed.

The CUFF MOBILITY SYSTEM comes on 4 different models of TECNICA SKI BOOTS. Whether you are a back country ninja like Jim Moore or just need a comfy, great performing boot while walking from the bar to the urinal, TECNICA can satisfy your needs. Tecnica is the ONLY brand to have this amazing system and is staple in the ski boot industry. You will see…

Thanks Arne for your inspiration on these great new products. We are lucky.

Thanks to FRANK SHINE (tecnica/blizzard team manager) for photos!

-Dana