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Ski boots Lifespan ?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Just changed ours after 200+ days use.
Mrs G's liners were getting hard up but shells appeared ok
My ones were fine
Was loathe to change as they were comfortable but didn't fancy getting a shell failing up a mountain.
On the plus side the new ones are at least a Kg lighter Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
A ski instructor I ski with regularly figures about 200 - 250 days, but then he gets staff discount and a tax deduction.

My current boots have had almost 460 ski days. They will likely be replaced tomorrow or in the next few days. Disclosure: I use Zipfit liners which will easily get 400 - 500 days. My current Zipfits are about 200 days old.
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The plastic the boots are made of become brittle with time and can break up when they get old. My experience is that this is about 20 years (yes, a pair of mine lasted that long). It is age rather than usage that affects this. The other problem is that the bases wear with lots of walking and will not fit as easily into the bindings. You can check this easily yourself. This obviously depends on how much walking you do.
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I worked out my previous boots had between 600 and 700 days, with Zipfits, that were completely worn up by the end. Current boots, again with Zipfits are on about 100 days, and I still refer to them as my "new boots"!
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@johnE, for clarification, I generated those 460 ski days in 4 years.

The sole plates have been replaced twice. They are readily available for Atomic and presumably also for most other brands.
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I’ve just changed mine actually. Not sure how many ski days I had out of them but they had lace up liners in them (which was nice to be able to adjust the fit precisely) but it meant I couldn’t get them on and off without getting the liners out of the shells first and putting my foot laced up inside the liner into the shell. This is because I couldn’t do the laces up (or more to the point undo them sufficiently to get foot out) unless the liner was outside of the shell.

I did used to take the liners out to dry them with previous boots but not every single time. With these boots I found having the liner in and out of the shell more often wore a hole in one of the liners where it must have been rubbing on something like a rivet inside the shell.

Anyway I think it must have been only about 100-150 days for those boots which is not much really. They looked pretty wrecked but no cracks in the plastic etc. I had also replaced the soles once already and they had gone again. New soles were another £70 so I thought sod it will get new boots.
The new ones don’t have laces this time so the liner won’t be in and out so much.


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 4-01-23 15:11; edited 2 times in total
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On that note my new boots have replacement soles for nowhere near that price which I thought was very expensive.
Bought some ready!
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I'd tend more towards the lower end of those estimates. One of the problems is that when you ski a lot you don't always notice the degradation of materials over time. Sometimes it can be quite a shock to discover just how much your performance has become compromised by this.

Whether it's the liners become too compressed and therefore floppy round the feet, or the shells no longer giving the original amount of support and stiffness, it may not be easily recognisable, but when you get yourself into a new pair, properly fitted, you can really start to appreciate the difference.

Does this only apply to high-level skiers, instructors, racers? No, I don't think so. A lot of people may feel like they're happy enough just to enjoy skiing without trying to improve or progress, but in reality they're likely to actually be getting worse by hanging on to old kit, even if they don't think they're interested in 'performance'. Improvement, whether by virtue of better kit or technical training, isn't always about skiing faster or steeper, but much more so about being able to ski the runs you enjoy while expending less effort, which must surely be a desireable outcome for everyone.
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How much is the UV and how much is the lateral stresses? I usually only do one week a year and struggle to justify 400 on fitted boots (I assume fitted are usually that much?)
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@Orange200, mine were €280 in the sale but that included the fitting plus €30 for the footbeds.

In the past when I’ve paid full price for some downhill boots think £300 inc fitting and footbeds so not far off really.
That was a long time ago now though.
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Orange200 wrote:
How much is the UV and how much is the lateral stresses? I usually only do one week a year and struggle to justify 400 on fitted boots (I assume fitted are usually that much?)


I'm typically 1 week a year some years it might be 2 weeks. I had my boots from 2007 until 2019. The shells were fine but the liners were shot. It was just as cheap to replace the whole boot as to replace just the liner.
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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.
No one has mentioned the metalwork at the hinge points wearing out.

I replaced my last shells when the pivot points had worn to the point that there was a lot of slack, and I notice that my current liners are now heavily marked with bleeding from the current shells pivot points (the way old door hinges bleed) so I'm taking that as a sign to keep an eye on them (though there's no apparent rattle/slack yet.

Is that just me? Maybe the way I ski, or a function of the side load from fatter skis?
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Shells last a long time. I'd guess 400- 500 days of use with some replacement of hardware. Stock liners - you are lucky if you get 100 days. Zipfits obviously better.

Solution replace liners more frequently.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Dave of the Marmottes, well I’m glad you said 100 days for the liners as no way would I have got another 200 days out of those Tecnica lace up liners like some folk on here.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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halfhand wrote:
Orange200 wrote:
How much is the UV and how much is the lateral stresses? I usually only do one week a year and struggle to justify 400 on fitted boots (I assume fitted are usually that much?)


I'm typically 1 week a year some years it might be 2 weeks. I had my boots from 2007 until 2019. The shells were fine but the liners were shot. It was just as cheap to replace the whole boot as to replace just the liner.


I noticed that when I looked at just replacing the liners before this recent purchase.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:

It was just as cheap to replace the whole boot as to replace just the liner.


Depends on the boot. My replacement liners were iirc €250, new boots €650
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@VolklAttivaS5, For my race boots with lace up liners, I grind down any mold marks on the inside of the shells that might damage the liners, have well over 100 days on the current pair.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@rjs, good to know, what do you use to grind it down?
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@VolklAttivaS5, I got this, probably used the spherical one the most.
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@rjs, you could get the drill inside the boot? Did you use an extension piece or something as I can’t imagine my drill getting to the part that was causing the hole (gradually over time though) to be able to use a grinder drill bit on it.
It might work though! Will look.


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 4-01-23 18:39; edited 1 time in total
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I have had ice hockey boots break and they were of a similar plastic.
This was age related as I had given up on skating a good while before I discovered they had became brittle. They had been stored in the dark.
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I've made to fit Strolz boots, bought in St Anton in 2009. Fit like a glove on awkward feet, aches and pains disappeared overnight.

Probably 'done' 150 days.

Some fixings need replacing, I'm going to telephone their HQ in Lech to find out how I go about it. I want to keep them!
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@VolklAttivaS5, There are no rivets in race boots, so it is easy to take off the cuff to get a bit easier access, if there was a rough bit that I couldn't reach then would maybe use a bit of duct tape over it.

I'm sure CEM has more flexible kit for grinding out toe boxes but all the date marks and sprues in my boots were easy to get at.
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@rjs, ok
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Just asking...but if you always dry the liners and store the boots out of the light and in a temperature stable environment (not the loft) then the boots will last longer? Or ,maybe it's just time for me to get a new pair after about 160 days since 2008.
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midgetbiker wrote:
No one has mentioned the metalwork at the hinge points wearing out.

I replaced my last shells when the pivot points had worn to the point that there was a lot of slack, and I notice that my current liners are now heavily marked with bleeding from the current shells pivot points (the way old door hinges bleed) so I'm taking that as a sign to keep an eye on them (though there's no apparent rattle/slack yet.

Is that just me? Maybe the way I ski, or a function of the side load from fatter skis?


Same here, in pivot wear terms with one failing a few years ago. Ski shop gave me a bolt to keep them going and I replaced with stainless steel fittings at home as originally they were hollow aluminium rivets. They've been fine since, but are now quite old. Still reluctant to change as I got these molded to fit my feet (obviously Very Happy) and took a fair bit of manipulation with high arches, v-wide forefoot and narrow heel.

Out of interest I was just looking at a pair of boots at a carboot sale, tried to secure a buckle and it literally fell apart with structural integrity of a decent hard cheese, virtually unused but completely degraded plastic.
Out on slopes with groups, I've never seen a boot fail but one binding on which the heel mount plastic snapped, making it unusable instantly.
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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.
gixxerniknik wrote:
Just asking...but if you always dry the liners and store the boots out of the light and in a temperature stable environment (not the loft) then the boots will last longer? Or ,maybe it's just time for me to get a new pair after about 160 days since 2008.


We do the same with family boots. End of use, clean and air dry everything, lightly close buckles into loose normal shape and stored dark/cool for next season. They all seem fine, plastic structure wise.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
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Snow&skifan wrote:
I've made to fit Strolz boots, bought in St Anton in 2009. Fit like a glove on awkward feet, aches and pains disappeared overnight.

Probably 'done' 150 days.

Some fixings need replacing, I'm going to telephone their HQ in Lech to find out how I go about it. I want to keep them!


I understand there has been a parting of the ways with Strolz. Somebody with better info than I can correct the following…

The so-called original Strolz boots are now sold under the label of Hannes Strolz, which I believe is part of the Strolz family. That company does not own the Strolz shops. The Strolz family sold the name. Those Strolz shops sell a boot labelled Tecnica-Strolz.

I am sure that @Langerzug will be along shortly to give you chapter & verse.

BTW: I had Strolz boots many years ago. They were good. I have since found there are better choices for me.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
On a piste last season, a woman had a fall and was walking down. I was further down, when she got closer she showed me the front ⅓ of her boot had snapped off. Shocked So I guess store and change them at appropriate times.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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ulmerhutte wrote:
Snow&skifan wrote:
I've made to fit Strolz boots, bought in St Anton in 2009. Fit like a glove on awkward feet, aches and pains disappeared overnight.

Probably 'done' 150 days.

Some fixings need replacing, I'm going to telephone their HQ in Lech to find out how I go about it. I want to keep them!


I understand there has been a parting of the ways with Strolz. Somebody with better info than I can correct the following…

The so-called original Strolz boots are now sold under the label of Hannes Strolz, which I believe is part of the Strolz family. That company does not own the Strolz shops. The Strolz family sold the name. Those Strolz shops sell a boot labelled Tecnica-Strolz.

I am sure that @Langerzug will be along shortly to give you chapter & verse.

BTW: I had Strolz boots many years ago. They were good. I have since found there are better choices for me.


Thank you, very informative and helpful.

As an aside, I was conned in 2001 in Tignes Le Lac by an alleged specialist ski boots man. (I was on an Ali Ross clinic).

The guy sold me very narrow boots, almost painful and they remained that way. Until Phil Smith of Snoworx told me I’d been sold a pup, totally unsuitable to my large and wide feet. Hence the big investment in Strolz, well worth every Euro.


Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Wed 4-01-23 19:38; edited 3 times in total
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I expect I have longer-surviving boots than most here - they date back to the late 1990s... Always stored out of daylight, and still seem to be ok (using them in Les Arcs this week), but have been aware that I cannot rely on structural integrity and was thinking that time for replacing was overdue three years ago until we found ourselves confined to home. Hard to judge number of days used, but probably average of 2-3 weeks per year, so maybe 250-300, though I'm increasingly less likely to go out when conditions aren't great. Thinking about Lockwoods - in my birth town and have been an occasional customer for outdoor stuff for around 45 years - though reviews are not always positive; more likely to tie in a trip to Bicester en route to home turf at some stage. At 60, very likely to be my last pair, though will be very happy if I'm still hitting the slopes in the 2040s.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
My boots are 9 years old, with 512 days on them. Original liners, which are still in excellent shape. I walk on concrete rarely, so the soles are just fine. I noticed a bit of heel rise yesterday, so I may need to tighten one buckle, wear a thicker sock, or add an insole. I'm hesitating to buy new boots, because at 71, I'm seeing a severe degradation in my ability and interest and I think they won't even be broken in before I hang them up for good. The break-in period might even hasten the event.

When I got these they were super snug, to the unpleasant level. After 75 days, I had a toe blown out a bit, that was it. I still need to unbuckle them for long lift rides if there are no foot rests or my circulation will be gone at the top. They also came with a last adjustment which helped immensely in snugging them up as the lines packed. That should be in all boots.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 4-01-23 19:55; edited 1 time in total
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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?
@195062, You will need another pair when you get to 90 - if there is any snow left by then.
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My alpine boots are from 1999, a lot of ski days since then. Still look ok, still a pig to get my feet into they are so tight.

One of the boot makers had an article about boot life, depends on the plastics and they gave an example of a plastic they use that lasts 10-12 years then breaks down.
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There are a lot of old fckrs on this thread.

And some of the boots are getting on a bit aswell Laughing Laughing
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200 - 500 days. I've had some shells go through 2 pairs of liners, and also had the strange case of one pair of liners I used for 350 days and 4 pairs of shells (different itterations of the Dalbello Sherpa/Virus).

As @davidof, says , the plastic used in a boots construction makes a huge difference. Older Nordicas and Sanmarcos (possibly others also) would disintigrate in less than a decade of light use. 30 year old Salamons of the same era would be fine.....shells probably useable 50 years form manufacture!
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No idea how many days they did, but my friend was devastated last season when the boots he bought in 1992 finally cracked Eh oh!
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About 100 days, on my 10-year-old Salamons, which no longer flexed. (I slightly wonder whether they ever did flex even when new.)

Bootfitter at Mountain Story in Tignes mocked the old boots and said they were loose and dangerous. (They weren't loose.) And fitted me a pair that I have to do up really tightly to make them snug. No idea if that's right or not.
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@James the Last, I only need my buckles on the first latch for toe and forefoot, ankle and shin on second latch even after the liners had packed down, I could ski with them on first latch top to bottom if I wanted to.
If you have to do them up really tight then they are too big IMO
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@James the Last, you need to go to the boot thread. "I have to do up really tightly to make them snug." needs a bit more info/definition but sounds iffy. As @VolklAttivaS5 alludes the ankle buckle (second one down) is the critical one and/but if you have to go to the last latch and tighten the micro adjust it doesn't sound right.
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