Pearl Izumi X Alp Launch II Full Review

Description

In this video I do a full Breakdown & Review of the New Pearl Izumi X-Alp Launch II.

Check Them Out Here: http://www.pearlizumi.com/us/en/Shop/Ride/Mountain/Men's/Footwear/Cycling%20Shoes/Men's_X-Alp_Launch_II/p/151160012FJ39.0

Music By: Thunder/Dreamer & La Lune w/ Daves Clubhouse

Tags: Pearl Izumi,X-Alp Launch,X-Alp Launch 2,Cycling Shoe,AZT,Arizona Trail,Boa System,Gear review,Bikepacking,Adventure Cycling

Video Transcription

hey it's Darwin here with a brand new video review for you guys on a new product that I tested exclusively for 250 miles on the Arizona Trail it's the pearl Azumi x-out watch 2 all right so let's dive right into the X alpha launch the X out launch 2 is actually a shoe in a bigger series Pro makes a lot of these exit out shoes this is kind of one of the higher end ones and they recently redid it when they came out with the X out launch to by adding the BOA system and what they call their bi-directional closure so it makes the shoe you know kind of hug your foot a little bit more than the classic buckle system that was on the X out launch I picked these shoes up number one because I have had a predecessor to it and really liked those but wanted something with a little bit more performance and was looking for something with a nicer boa system on it like what these do provide so the shoe that I had before is called the X out seek so the big difference in the X out seek is it is a lighter material shoe a little bit flexi ER on because it does have a plastic sole but still a very nice walkable bottom with that nice rubber just overall the construction slider and it also has a lace system versus the boa system so I replace mine with a kind of a bungee lace lock system just because it's kind of what I like but overall it has that nice walkable bottom on it and it was a great shoe but again I was looking for something with a little bit more performance and a little bit better of a fit for whenever I went did the Arizona Trail so the X out launched has that same bottom-2 it where it's nice and walkable for Hika bike but instead of the plastic shank they did go with a carbon shank right there in the middle so it makes overall power delivery and transfer a lot stiffer and you just get a lot better performance out of it you'll notice it's a lot stiffer in the shoe because of that carbon shank so it doesn't flex as much and then you'll also notice the overall bill to the shoe it doesn't have as many bends so it's a lot better in cold weather so they kind of put a little bit harder and a rougher material it tends to stand up against a trail of you so a lot better there's that boa system they decided to go with instead of placing and again that's called the bi-directional closure so what it does is by using that boa system and how its set up whenever you dial that down it brings the shoe in and kind of hugs your foot which I really really dug and then went with a basic velcro buckle on the bottom they also put a really nice thick rugged toe bumper on there so as far as doing hiker bite and smacking on rocks it performed really well and then one of my favorite parts this shoe is actually the hill cub it was really nice and snug on my heel with the x-alps eek always felt that my heel slipped a little bit but with this model it was nice and snug and I had no slippage you know really after 250 miles the only hard core wear that I found on the shoe is just this small spot right here on the ankle collar it just kind of started to rip I don't know what really snagged that but that's really the only part of the shoe that I have noticed any hardcore wear you know again I really can't say enough about how much I love how stiff this shoe is so great performance but also how amazingly walkable is and it doesn't feel like a cycling shoe it definitely feels much more like a trail or running shoe it's just a super super comfortable shoe but still packs a lot of performance all that being said I am really enjoying the pearl Azumi XL collage too not only for the Arizona Trail but also for day to day right speaking of the Arizona Trail if you haven't got a chance yet go over and check out my new teaser trailer for my short film due out thoroughly 2017 called technical difficulties also if you haven't got a chance go over and check me out on Instagram I post a lot of brand-new photos throughout the week on products that I'll be reviewing and some of snuggles and eyes day to day adventures go ahead and like or dislike this video subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching

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