 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey All -
Been Skiing for over 30 years, but just bought a new pair of boots for the first time in over 20 of those 30 years, and have a very strange thing happen. Used the boots for 3 days of skiing, and when puttign them away I noticed some serious wear and tear to the Heel. Is this normal in a new boot?
If not, is this an issue with the boot, or was the binding not set properly?
Thanks for any and all thoughts ...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ytFfR9KpjbJj3FiX9
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to SnowHeads 
That certainly looks like an unusual wear pattern for any boot. Were you using your own or hire skis?
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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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if the wear is in the same place on both boots, then it would suggest to me a binding issue
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@gouldben, can't recall ever seeing anythink like that, least, not in a handful of days.
Who set the bindings? are you still nearby?
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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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@gouldben, from the look of your pics the boots have a fair bit of 'rubberised' sole on them, which if your old boots were, well, old, then they probably didn't. As others have said it looks like a binding issue, it looks a bit like the sort of wear you can get on a vibram soled boot into an old school Marker Tour binding (which run high forward pressure) but worse.
So, what is the binding? Who set it up? Maybe the binding is/was not really compatible with that boot. Are the skis and bindings your own, and if so have they not been changed in 20yrs either?
Or maybe I'm misunderstanding your op, and all you mean is you've been consistently hiring kit for 20yrs?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Weird. I've experienced damage like that using boots with softer plastic in alpine bindings but never seen anyone else with it. I'd consider a warranty claim in the first instance.
Otherwise CEM at solutions for feet in Bicester routed down the heel of my boots and screwed on a little steel horseshoe. Problem solved.
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It depends on bindings. Bindings that I use (Rossi/Look race PX18) are pretty hard on boots heel, and it does exactly this to the boot. Solution is to have metal plate mounted on heel of the boot (on WC tour, everyone on Rossi does that), but it's not really something you can easily do at home. While it is partly binding issue (partly it's also boot issue, as plastic is obviously super soft... only boot that I had similar issues were super soft Dynafit touring boots I used for work and stuffed them into race bindings), there's nothing much you can do. At least for my bindings, you can't set them to be more gentle on boot. But there's always option to find someone who knows how to do properly mount metal plate on heel, and you are good to go.
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Looks to me like you've used a gripwalk soled boot in an alpine only binding. The depth of the heel section with the gripwalk sole is greater than an alpine heel so the pressure from the top of the binding heel piece has clawed away the plastic at the top of the heel.
If the skis are your own, you need to update the bindings to a gripwalk compatible model and get a ski tech to do a release test to make sure the worn heels are still safe. If you can't change the skis, then replace the gripwalk soles on your boots with alpine soles. Alpine soles are compatible with all gripwalk bindings but not the other way round.
This is going to be a common problem going forward as AFAIK all Salomon boots are now coming with gripwalk soles as standard but they are only backwards compatible with bindings from the last couple of years or so (and you need to check that they have a GW designation on the binding for compatibility or on the gripwalk website to be sure).
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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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@Raceplate, sounds entirely plausible. Exactly what I was thinking except I couldn't recall the names he he he.
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@Raceplate, @under a new name, there is no difference in the dimensions of alpine heels and GripWalk heels. It's the toes that are different not the heels.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@spyderjon, so what do you think has caused the damage?
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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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Thank you All. the discussion here is VERY helpful.
To answer all the various questions here, for the past many years I have rented Skis and Boots together. Now that i have purchased my own Boots, i rented Skis and the rental shop did the binding adjustment, they were Look bindings if i recall correctly.
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| Raceplate wrote: |
| @spyderjon, so what do you think has caused the damage? |
Most likely a combination of Salomons shitty plastic and too high forward pressure adjustment. CEM or CH20 would give better insight into the boot material but I see this quite often.
gouldben, Trim off the plastic that has been peened over the edge of the heel lug and you'll be good to go.
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You know it makes sense.
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Also -
The boot is a Salomon X ACCESS 80 WIDE (seem to have been made for the 2017 season) and I see no reference to "Grip-Walk" Soles. That said, the tread on the soles does look large, so that could lead to the High forward pressure combined with a bad plastic.
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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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@gouldben, that boot has an alpine sole.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@gouldben, the boot is made from a very soft plastic, and it looks like the binding has has a little too much forward pressure when it has been set, it. is certainly not a warranty as someone suggested and adding a metal FIS shim is not really an option on that boot as the plastic does not cut cleanly on the router
one last point what is your approx height, body weight and skier level, i can make out from the side of the boot that it looks to be a 29.5 and i am wondering why any shop would sell an adult male a boot of that soft flex
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@cem. The 29.5 is the size of the boot and not the flex.
Do you think a boot with this type of damage is still fully usable? What should I ask/tell the ski hire place next time to avoid this?
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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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PS - The Flex on the boot is 80
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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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| gouldben wrote: |
| PS - The Flex on the boot is 80 |
That is likely too soft.
I'm 67kg and use a 110. If you are more average weight, then 120 is probably nearer the mark.
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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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@gouldben, cem’s point was that the size of the boot indicates you are an adult male, but he would see this boot as too soft a flex for an adult male
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@gouldben, as CEM is one of the best respected fitters in the country I'm sure he know that! the issue is soft/beginners boots at 80 flex use very soft plastics and if the binding is set with too much forward pressure it could cause this issue.
an 80 flex boot is super soft for an adult, when i used to fit we only stocked from 100flex (for beginners) upwards IMHO fitting even a beginner in an 80 flex boot is a waste of their money, they'll be outskiing the boot very soon.
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@gouldben, so ... who sold you the boot?
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @gouldben, so ... who sold you the boot? |
I'm guessing it was a Decathlon self fit. They're the only UK shop that I know with adult boots with that low a flex.
Had a lady (mid 20's) in my shop a few weeks ago - she was only a diddles, say 155cm/53kg tops - with a brand new pair of boots from Decathlon in 27/27.5 with a 315mm sole length. She just wouldn't have it that they were waaaay too big for her and got stroppy when I told her I wasn't going to drill her brand new skis for bindings for a boot of that size. She only came around to my view when I compared her feet to mine. I'm a UK8.5/EU43 in street shoes and measure 27cm on my mondo Brannock and wear a 26 mondo boot. She said her street shoes were either 4.5's or 5's and her feet measured a tad under 24cm on my Brannock. Boots were three to four sizes too big. The clincher was when she very nearly managed to take them off without undoing them 
Anyway, the OP might be 185cm/55kg so the size/flex will be spot on.
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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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once again its buy cheap buy twice!!!
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| gouldben wrote: |
@cem. The 29.5 is the size of the boot and not the flex.
Do you think a boot with this type of damage is still fully usable? What should I ask/tell the ski hire place next time to avoid this? |
first i am well aware, that 29.5 is the size and 80 is the flex..... what to do next time??? probably buy boots made of plastic not silly putty
honestly, the softest womens boots we sell are 80 flex and we only do that up to a 25.5 as anyone with a bigger foot is likely to CRUSH it
i think the problems lies as someone said, you bought cheap, if it was decathlon then take them back, i wouldn't mention warranty or anything like that, have your receipt handy their returns policy is very good i hear
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