New SCARPA ski-touring boot has earned six editorial awards this year for its groundbreaking performance.

In its Fall 2014 Gear Guide, which is out this week,Backpacker Magazine bestowed its Editors’ Choice Snow Award on SCARPA’s new lightweight ski-touring boot, the F1 Evo. The Editors’ Choice Snow Award designates the best new products each fall/winter season, as chosen by Backpacker’s editorial team.

Kelly Bastone, ski boot category test manager for Backpacker, said what turned heads for the magazine’s testers was the Tronic ski/walk mechanism, a hands-free system that allows the boot to automatically switch from a locked cuff (ski mode) to free-hinging cuff for touring (walk mode) based on whether or not the heel of the boot is locked into the binding.

“Every tester that used the F1 Evo asked the same question: ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’” Bastone said. “Rarely does a piece of gear make such a big leap forward in innovation.

Beyond the Tronic mechanism, the F1 Evo has a remarkable performance to weight ratio: a 95 flex index combined with 62 degrees range of motion in the ankle, all at 2 pounds, 7 ounces per boot.

The Backpacker Editors’ Choice award is the sixth editorial award that the F1 Evo has earned this year. In recent weeks, it also earned a Gear of the Year Award from Outside Magazine, the first ski boot to ever earn that award, and an Editors’ Choice Award from Backcountry Magazine.

In January, it also earned Outside Magazine’s Gear of the Show Award, Gear Junkie’s Best in Show Award, and Gear Institute’s Best New Gear Award, all accolades that call out the most groundbreaking new gear shown each season at the Outdoor Retailer show.

Designed for the touring-focused skier who wants ultimate performance and function in a super-light package, the F1 Evo also uses SCARPA’s Carbon Core Technology, a carbon-fiber frame that runs the length of the boot under the foot and provides stiffness for ultimate power transfer to the ski while retaining the progressive flex skiers seek in the upper boot. Closure and adjustment of the boot is achieved with a combination of a Boa closure system on the lower boot and a buckle and power strap combination on the upper boot. Inside, a heat-moldable Intuition liner features a flex zone for excellent mobility. Men’s and women’s specific versions are available. The F1 Evo retails for $699.

Image courtesy SCARPA