 Poster: A snowHead
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This the first pair of alpine boots I've bought over the Internet, so I was never fitted into these by a shop.
With the swing-away front-buckle gate and the rather chunky 'floating' tongue these (Rival RX) seem rather obvious candidates for a BOOSTER (TM) Strap.
My questions:
- Have any of you taken apart the forward ramp/inclination adjustment piece on the back cuff?
- Am I correct that this is just a rear spoiler much like on their previous boots? The little thumb roller worries me a bit.
- To use the front gate properly, it would appear I'd also need a quick-release on the BOOSTER strap- do the new metal camming straps have such a quick release function?
I know, I should probably ski them first 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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comprex, mummy warned me that you epicski guys would go all hyper-techy. I guess you mean these boots . I'm afraid I don't really understand your questions. Even worse, I don't understand what Technica says about these boots either. So I'm no help to you at all.
But I have a question for you: you ordered $450 over the internet without trying them out first? I was always informed this was not sensible. Is this just us limeys being old-fashioned? Is this a common way of getting ski boots in America?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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That's the ones, Jonpim.
Consider that they were a lot less than US$450 on closeout, that I've skied Technicas for yonks, and that the liner is thermo-mouldable in my known problem areas.
Haven't regretted it, so far, but I do want to get them just right before I change my current bindings over to the new sole spacing.
All my previous Techincas have been modified with Booster straps as shown on www.skimetrix.com , and in each case I had to remove the plastic bit that fills up the space behind the calf muscle. On previous boots, this has left me with a nice round hole that I promptly filled up with a carpenter's T-bolt and screw, thereby securing the strap to the shell.
All of that structure is changed on the new boots, and I have less idea where to start.
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Mr Dense here - how does the Booster strap differ from the velcro strap that comes as standard? (btw, I ski Technica Icons - great boots)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Alan Craggs, I'm also on Icons (Alu Comps)
The strap on them is quite beefy, so I don't use a booster strap, but do put the strap under the shell. (I may go and take some photos to show you what I mean)
Jonpim, no, unless you have tried on the exact model, and the shop has a very clear refund policy, I wouldn't order boots over the net.
comprex, sorry, I can't help you on that one. I haven't looked at the RX in detail
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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- It's generally broader than the stock strap
- The stock strap is generally of fixed girth once fastened; the Booster is elastic
- Some stock straps ('98 Tecnica TC3 to pick a "random" example) do not attach to the spine of the shell, so a Booster is a resonable performance upgrade.
- Thermoflex, Intuition and similar aftermarket liners may not have much provision for straps, and may not fit the shell height exactly, so the broad Booster helps there too.
I do not have a bombproof argument for the effectiveness of the elastic feature- it has simply worked for me in the past.
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Wear The Fox Hat, well I can see that it helps with the DVD collection. Does it make any difference to the way the boot feels or skis? (bearing in mind certain gurus' comments about not relying on a firm boot fit for "support" if you are standing properly etc). comprex, I am dense as I say, but I'm struggling with the idea of a "tightening strap" being elastic - is this designed to allow a flexing of the ankle without pressurising the fore part of the ski?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Alan Craggs wrote: |
| comprex, I am dense as I say, but I'm struggling with the idea of a "tightening strap" being elastic - is this designed to allow a flexing of the ankle without pressurising the fore part of the ski? |
Alan, I can't say I'm less dense, and I did not want to explain why it works for me.
If you were to point a virtual gun to my head, though, I would bid you consider that forward pressure in a strap of fixed-girth (when fastened) still gets passed through a somewhat elastic liner, and that the return rate and available travel of that liner is probably not as well controlled as the return rate and available travel of the Booster strap elastic.
In effect, what I would explain this system to do is spring-load the tongue of the liner against your shin, making the liner itself less sloppy without relying on buckle tension.
Now, if you were a kindly gent without violent tendencies, you wouldn't hold me to the above explanation as even I can start to make out holes and elisions in it.
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WTFH, great pics, and you can clearly see that Tecnica designed their boot for just this strap routing. On my new boots, the entire panel corresponding to the black plastic on yours is mounted to a hinge to swing outwards. The hinge is just about where those CF triangles are riveted to the orange shell.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Alan Craggs wrote: |
| Does it make any difference to the way the boot feels or skis? (bearing in mind certain gurus' comments about not relying on a firm boot fit for "support" if you are standing properly etc). |
Yes, it makes a difference (well, it does to me)
The top buckle's job is now just to hold the shell together, and not as an interface between the inner and your shin. It's more comforatble, and I do believe it allows me better feel of the ski on my foot, since that is where the two are connected, and not half way to my knee.
OK, so maybe my argument isn't totally sound, but try it yourself, and see if you think it feels different and perhaps better.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| comprex wrote: |
That's the ones, Jonpim.
Consider that they were a lot less than US$450 on closeout, that I've skied Technicas for yonks, and that the liner is thermo-mouldable in my known problem areas.
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So, basically, you betted somewhere under $450 that Technica have changed the design and molding in no way that would cause problems ? Not quite a sure thing I'd think.
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ise, no, not a sure thing, but my foot shape and history forces me to regard these things as kits anyway, the footbed, insole ramp adjustment, insole itself, shell cuff adjustment and toebox of liner all to be replaced, stretched, cut or tweaked to void the warranty, and I'd be quite -afraid- to do that with a 'properly bought' US$800 Icon. For a seventh of that, I can tinker all summer and dream of snow.
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You know it makes sense.
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comprex, US$800 Icon.  Wozzatt?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Jonpim, manufacturer's suggested retail price on '03/'04 Tecnica Icon Alu Comps is US$775. My foot size is entirely too common to wait for the closeouts.
(wow, someone's actually bearing with me on this thread- you lot have the patience of glaciers) 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Alan C. if it isn't made here, it's cheaper there. The one fortunate thing about ski gear is that they have yet to establish anti-'grey-market' policies. In the somewhat analogous world of bike bits, the system goes as follows- a US company buys 'rights' to a label in the US and copyrights the label. Then they establish a policy of suing or shutting down anyone who advertises the label and a price- including private sellers on Ebay.
Read more about it:
http://www.branfordbike.com/shimano/shimano.html
http://members.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=albaredo
Likewise with BikeMine who own Continental and Vittoria and fi'zik and Selle Royal.
So, what's a price-conscious shopper to do? Order from Ireland!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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no, from the US!
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