The Hoji Pro Tour is a light boot that is and feels ready to slay a big line, drop a large cliff, or let you hang out around the lodge for aprés in comfort and style. This boot is meant to perform, and it does.
There’s nothing worse when backcountry skiing, or skiing overall, than a pair of ski boots that fit you badly and leave you in a bad mood unable to enjoy your day out with your friends in the mountains.
That was the story of my life from December 2016 to December 2018. Two years of my skiing life spent in the Scarpa Maestrale RSs, dealing with blistered heels from an ill-placed seam as well as tightness on the outside of my foot that we could never make go away no matter how many times I heat molded, punched out the liner, or even stretched out the boot’s outer shell. My feet were miserable and made me grump in the mountains. Often, I’d need to sit for 5+ minutes back at the car just to let my feet stop hurting before I could put them in my shoes and walk around to put away skis and other equipment for the drive home.
All of that changed one day in December when we got home from skiing, I threw my Maestrale’s in the garbage bin (I later took them back out and sold them on Ebay), and went to our local backcountry ski shop and bought a pair of the Hoji Pro Tour boots.
If you’re not familiar with the Hoji Pro, check this video out:
In short, the Hoji Pro is:
- A badass light touring boot that
- Has a unique tour to ski transition that still
- Is stiff enough to handle the toughest carves and the steepest chutes while holding strong in your pin bindings.
As Dynafit says:
Speed up – kick down: the most innovative ski touring boot combines high-class materials with the strongest level of downhill performance and the most efficient uphill performance.
Here’s our review.
Buy on Backcountry | Buy on Amazon
Dynafit Hoji Pro overview
The Dynafit Hoji Pro is the brain child of world renowned Canadian big mountain skier Eric Hjorleifson, originally from Alberta Canada. “Hoji”, as he’s called, designed this boot to be the ultimate big mountain ski both up and down the mountain. And I have to say that I think he succeeded, as this is by far the best boot I’ve skied.
Features
The Hoji Pro has the following features:
- 3 buckles from top to toe, allowing for ease of in and out while also holding your heel and the rest of the boot in place;
- Pin binding front and back for touring bindings only (remember, no toe welt on the 2018-2019);
- Easy transition to walk or ski mode with a large lever in the back. I can easily transition without clipping out of my bindings;
- Separate tongue through the boot which allows for easy in and out as well as allowing the boot to move freely in tour mode;
- Booster strap with cinch at the top. This strap doesn’t use velcro like most, which helps to keep the boot’s weight down.
The Hoji Pro retails for $799.95, and when bought from Dynafit ships in 2-3 business days. I bought mine from my local backcountry shop (#shoplocal).
Ride mode
When you’re out touring the journey up is as much (or more) a part of the journey as going down, but let’s be honest – going down is a ton of fun. And we don’t say we’re going out for a walk in the woods, but we’re going out to “earn your turns.”
I don’t mind the uphill these days, but I still live for the downhill
And the Hoji Pro delivers on the down just as well as the up, in my opinion. It’s not a race boot, so temper your expectations, but it’s 120 flex means it won’t buckle under you putting it through its paces.
After all, Hoji is a big mountain skier himself and wouldn’t design something that can’t drop the cliffs and rip the big lines that he requires. This boot is stable at speed, holds your feet where they belong, and won’t do anything you don’t expect.
Tour style
Put on your boots, flip them into tour mode, clip into the front of your pin touring bindings, and off you go up the hill ahead of your friends. The Hoji Pro Tour is that easy and simple to use, you will wonder how you ever skied anything else.
At least, that’s how I felt about it.
The 2018-2019 Hoji Pro comes in matte black with a semi-controversial toe that doesn’t fit into regular bindings, which some find a turnoff for them as they are looking for one boot to rule them all and to ski every ski and binding setup in their quiver. But the low toe makes this boot tour amazingly
While Dynafit is adding a toe welt for the 2019-2020 season, this boot slays the uphill because of the low profile toe that means less pick-up required of your heel to make the same step.
The real magic of the Hoji Pro Tour is in its flex ability.
While most touring boots tout their amazing tour mode, the Hoji actually delivers on it. The boot has a 55-degree range of motion in walk mode, which is unheard of in the space. The boot not only flexes forward well, but also backwards so that you can walk almost normally. While you probably shouldn’t be skiing this boot if you have trouble walking in ski boots, this boot would walk well for the newest of new skiers.
And at their weight (3.2lb per boot), if you tend to go out with crazy ultrarunners and marathoners like I do, you’ll have a better chance of keeping like than in the past.
Fit
As mentioned at the top, I switched to the Hoji in January 2019 because my 2016 Scarpa Maestrale RS’s had been killing my feet for a few seasons and I finally got fed up with them (including throwing them unceremoniously into the trash can only to later sell them on Ebay).
The Hoji Pro fits my foot much better. With a slightly thicker liner, the Hoji has a bit more padding while still keeping the weight extremely low (the Maestrale weighs 6.2lb while the Hoji clocks in at 3.19lb per boot, so 6.4lb for the pair).
Through the calf, the Hoji Pro sits comfortably without being over tight. I don’t have the largest calves in the business, so I had to adjust the buckles down a few notches to make them tight enough to ski well.
The real difference between the Hoji Pro and the Maestrale is the toe box. The Hoji toe box is HUGE, which some people dislike while others (like me) love it as it allows me to move my toes around when they get cold. I don’t feel like I lose any performance either.
Technical specs
The technical specs for the Hoji Pro are:
- Grimalid boot/spoiler/cuff;
- Weight of 1450gr, or 3.2lb per boot;
- 11 degree forward lean plus more when in walk mode;
- 55 degree range of motion in walk mode;
- 120 stiffness.
What Backcountry says
Backcountry.com says the following:
Designed for aggressive backcountry skiing, the Men’s Hoji Pro Tour Ski Boot balances a light weight with a progressive performance for riders who value downhill riding as much as easy skinning. Its wide last creates an incredibly comfortable fit for skiers who like to layer socks, or women with wider feet, but regardless of your foot shape, the straps, inverse buckles, and various micro-adjustments will ensure a secure fit. Dynafit’s remarkable Hoji Lock system that quickly switches the boot from walk mode to ski mode with a quick flip of a switch. Recent updates include a narrower toebox with the TLT inserts set closer to the front in order to maximize the boot’s walking efficiency, and it eases your ability to step into tech bindings a lot easier than before.
- Dynafit’s burlier backcountry boot for aggressive skiing
- Wide last creates an incredibly comfortable fit for wider feet
- Master Step eases attachment to TLT tech bindings
- Walk mode goes from ski to walk mode with the flip of a switch
- Speed Nose narrows the toe box for a more efficient skin