Mountain shoes
Product 2020
Woman, Man
Tecnica has a Thermoformable trail shoe. As we received the shoes just as they were and we hadn’t had them thermoformed to our feet, it is difficult to give a proper review. Even if the brand carries out an operation that lasts 15 minutes in the shop (how does it work online?) is the market ready for this type of product? For skiing the retailers already have a tough time spending that much time with clients with their machines, even if the benefits are notable: precision, comfort and performance. The areas that are customizable are the heel and the arch.
We nevertheless ran with them. The heel volume is surprising: without thermoforming this area is very unprecise and the forefoot is quite wide and the foot’s envelopment is not very precise. The Tecnica Origin XT MS size big, we’d say at least half a size bigger than normal.
Despite having hardly any foam padding the shoes are quite comfortable for short outings thanks to the flexible materials. For longer outings we prefer a different model.
We were quite curious to test the lacing system at the front of the foot. Don’t tighten this falt lace too tight at the front as it creates a fold on the outside of the foot. Overall always be careful not to tighten the laces too tight because the tongue is very thin and you can feel a pressure point very quickly underneath.
We loved the design and efficiency of the heel strap to help getting them on: simple, efficient, fluid, beautiful and discrete. The Tecnica Origin XT MS are super easy to put on despite the entrance being quite narrow.
The stone guard is thin and protects well, well-integrated into the shoes. With careful manufacturing and precise assembly, there is only one mini seam that is visible around the ankle.
The Vibram Megagrip sole gives a very tough grip in traction in uphill on the forefoot as well as in the downhill or cross-slope. They don’t clog with mud and give a great deal of confidence.
But the 9mm drop is not very stable on technical terrain, even on uneven rocky paths. It’s a shame because you lose confidence so you tend not to look for technical trails when the rubber is really designed to be pushed. The Tecnica Origin XT MS’s torsional rigidity also adds to this loss of confidence.
On easy ground the Tecnica Origin XT MS you can run forefoot or mid-foot. The cushioning is very much reduced but you have good feelings on the terrain. As soon as you run with a heel strike you can appreciate the cushioning so much more but you are more unstable, which is a shame because we liked the cushioning.
You can really go for it in the downhill because you don’t feel anything underfoot.
Tecnica offer the Origin LT (305g) and the XT (323g in size).
The Tecnica Origin XT are thermofable shoes so you need to go to the shop to have them customized.
9 mm 
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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