Discontinued Ski Boot Dilemma

A snowHead

So a few years back I decided to get some properly chosen and fitted boots, rather than just 'getting by'. Whilst on holiday in Tignes I went into Nevada Sports and got measured up. He picked a boot for me (Head Vector Evo 120), made me up an insole and the boots fitted perfectly well. Lovely.

A year later (after a lot of sports) the left boot didn't fit so well, so I had the boot cooked and very slightly reshaped. The bottom line is that these boots fit me like a second skin. I can wear them all day, every day, with no soreness, no pins and needles, nothing. The difference that made to my enjoyment of skiing is hard to express in mere words!

So, Head revamped their Vector line a year or so back and changed the fit (smaller last, or 50 less cc as they describe it). God knows why when the Vector is known as their medium fit boot, but they created a new boot with a 100mm last, which is all about light weight or whatever.

Now I my current boots have got many years left in them. No idea how many, but apart from cosmetic wear there is nothing wrong with them whatsoever. However, when browsing the internet the other day I saw a brand new old stock set of them at a blowout price (in fact the model above, the 130, which has - as well as extra stiffness which is adjustable back down to 120 - fancier spine buckles with a bit of give in them in order to wrap the shin more comfortably, and an improved power strap design).

So, will I be alright buying these and sticking them under my bed for 5 years (or however long) until my old boots have given up the ghost, or is there some reason why I shouldn't do that? Cheers!

A snowHead

@greengriff, You could, but 5 years is a long time. Ski boots will continue to evolve, as (hopefully !) will your skiing. You may find in 5 years that your needs have changed. When you come to replace your boots there will be plenty of choice -- maybe not at a blowout price, but you will be able to get boots to fit. Hope that helps. Very Happy

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Cheers. Do you think that there's much left in the way of development of ski boots? Have they changed much in even the last 20 years?

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But if they're an already superceded boot they could be potentially 8 or so years old by the time you wear them. I think mine, which I've just ditched after approaching 500 days of skiing, are the same 130 boot which I bought in 2014. I'd wait until the present ones need changing.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@greengriff,

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Fair enough.

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@greengriff, ski boots get better and better in my opinion. Would be crazy to stock old boots. Would you buy a 2nd old car because you liked it?

After all it is free

Might be some issues with the plastics losing rigidity over time. I recognise the problem as Atomic Hawks have also evolved their boot series to 3 width options and the Prime (if memory serves correctly) is the mid option at roughly last size 100mm my Atomic Hawks boots were this size pre the range extension and this new size last despite being the same width no longer fits - magna too loose at the heels and ultra way too tight. So in essence this increased choice has meant the amazing fit I have enjoyed for years cannot be repeated - must have tried every ski boot on the market last summer, none were any good so my ancient 'hulk' atomic hawks must be worn to destruction!

Long story short, I wish I had two pairs of comfy boots....

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Lol. If they were available at the right price I might! However this is the only new pair I've seen for sale anywhere in my size. Whilst I'm sure there will be a boot available that fits in the future, I've got to balance that against the time and effort of finding it. How many shops to visit where the bootfitter picks you the best of what they've got, but it isn't quite right etc. It's never happened to me but I've read more than once of people spending big sums on boots and ending up not happy no matter how much tweaking the fitter does. Ho hum.

If they won't break the bank and you can store them so they won't deteriorate then why not. You could even use them in tandom with your current boots so you can get them fitting right before the others wear out

You know it makes sense.

The main reason these boots work for you is because they were properly fitted at the time - the next time you need to buy boots go to a good boot fitter and you should have the same result. It's not the boots that are important so much as who sells them to you.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@greengriff, IMO as a gear whore who buys new gear most years, it would be a terrible decision to buy boots now for potential use in 5 years. The boots I’m using now are better performing, lighter and more comfortable than anything I was using 5 years ago.

A snowHead

Thanks. I have no reference point for good fitting boots, so that's interesting to hear.

A snowHead

I know that @Kooky's Atomic Hawk Ultra piste boots in 110 are even lighter than her 10 year old pure touring boots Laughing

Even talking liners, I got my third set for Atomic Redsters last winter and they had revamped them. The tongue is more supportive and stiffer and the lacing system holds your foot more securely. I found them much better for flexing my 6 year old boots. Boots that have double use as piste/freeride boots with touring capability have improved even more.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

OK I'm convinced. I'm also going to use the phrase 'gear whore' as much as I can! Very Happy

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I have sympathy. Changing boots is always an uneasy time for me. I can see the case for laying down a second pair if you are clocking 60+ days per season if you guess that shells are done at around 300 days.

I don't know the true answer as to when shells are done from an engineering perspective but I suspect many holiday skiers trade up before they "need" to for fit reasons before the shell is done.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Do you mean a new liner would suffice instead of a new boot? As a rule how many days skiing does a liner last?

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

I've just looked at the price of liners and they are about what I can get this new pair of boots for. Do replacement liners not have to be boot specific?

@greengriff,

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In what ways? Weight, performance, comfort? All of the above?

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@greengriff,

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

My liners are definitely done at around 100 days. Probably earlier if being strict.

A snowHead

A snowHead

You can get the fancy intuition liners or other custom moulded ones if you want to spend the money, but you can equally find an unused set of new liners from other boots for much less cost. Many people never use the stock liners anyway. New liners from a recent boot are likely to be far better than the old liners anyway, and most can be "cooked" for a personalised fit . Doesn't have to be from the same brand /boot.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@greengriff
If you do buy them, and I don't see why not as it will give you some spare bits to cannibalize as well, it would be better to store them in a consistently cool place without natural light, so the ageing of the plastics is minimized. Five years is not so long. Engineering plastics, e.g. automotive, last way longer than that. With ski boots one factor the stated best-before 'design' life is based on is full seasons of use at high altitude levels of UV light and used at/stored in warm temperatures. Being stored at home in the dark and cool isn't like that. Being exposed to high ambient temperatures for long periods will do them in though. Perhaps an expert will be along sometime.
Not sure if keeping them e.g. in a plastic bag in a freezer works better, but it should, and I'll look into that.
If it looks like it will do, I'll edit this.
Another thing to consider, is that perhaps over several years, your feet will change. (Mine have.)

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@greengriff

- Bunions, so my feet are now significantly wider in the forefoot;
- More flexible ankles;
- Morton’s neuroma on one foot and a Ganglion cyst on instep on the other;

I used to have low-volume boots in a narrow last, which became agony. They were OK-ish when I first used them, but after my feet changed, their narrow low-volume last meant they were now too small to be stretched far enough to ease the pressures, or so I was told. They also became unsatisfactory over the instep: their conventional 2-piece clog-and-cuff design put too much pressure there, very painful when the flexing crushed the clog.

My present boots are a wider last, a better flex for me (I’m heavier now too), and they have more ‘volume’. They allow for the insole bits and pieces for the neuroma, and are the cabriolet design, which in my case doesn’t put such great pressures on the instep ganglion cyst when they are flexed. (I buy larger street shoes/boots and trainers a size larger now, too.)

These changes were over just a few years, I’d say.

@under a new name I got 12 weeks in season 2018/2019. To be fair I was thinking of liners and clips. Could have done with spare liners at one point. Broke a clip too. Maybe I’m just clumsy. Were one the type who breaks things sometimes or wears things out quickly, one might want to think of that. You’re right of course that if one is not the boot-thrashing type rolling eyes

it’s not a real consideration at all.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Interesting, thank you. My left foot (but not my right, oddly!) changed after a year of hard gym work, leaving me with a nasty surprise when I put my previously perfectly fitting boot on on day 1 of my holiday, only to have a foot that was in utter agony within an hour. But a fitter baked the boot and perfection was restored. I hope my feet never change to the degree that yours have, but it's a great illustration of what can happen over a period of time, thank you.

After all it is free

@Fat George, hmmm. Liners one thing but after market liners better than OEM ones so spend yer money that way. Clips? free from any nice shop. Never had to replace clips, ever. Broken a binding or two however...

I use standard liners in my odd piste boots but with the Redsters I went straight to custom foam liners due to having a narrow ankle with a tendency to heel lift, even in a 98mm last. But... my old unused Atomic liners then fitted my Salomon off piste boots so I kept them and when the original liners packed in I replaced them with those... money saved

I usually manage to get about 120 days out of a liner before they pack down to the extent that I can't use them. I usually get 2.5 years out of my piste boot liners and 3 out of my off piste boots.

Help!!

Discontinued Ski Boot Dilemma

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