Fischer Vacuum Ski Boot

A snowHead

I have been searching for a ski boot that will accommodate my foot shape, particularly some rather boney ankles, so I hope I have found an answer in the new Fischer Vaccum. Very Happy

It's early days as I only got new boots this week and have had just an hour or so trying them out so far. Does anyone have any feedback and perhap views whether this is the gamechanger for ski boots that the Fischer sales literature suggests?

A description can be found at http://www.fischersports.com/en/Alpine/Technologies/Highlights/VACUUM-FIT?s_cc=1323614614

A snowHead

So Richard, is it the Fischer boots you've bought?

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

if you want to be told they are great then ...they are great!!... not a game changer yet, give it a year or 2 for the glitches to get ironed out and it to be available from more than a handful of outlets....

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Richard E, check here http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=80652

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Fifespud, yep. I have the Soma Vacuum 110. My current boots are now quite old and have been modified several times to accommodate my ankles, so my hope is that these boots will fit snugly and according to the technical data can be remoulded up to 5 times.

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CEM, the link that kitenski provided is really useful and raises some good issues, but maybe you know of other glitches not mentioned? The availability is limited at present but presumably this will change if there is demand for these boots although I guess there maybe quite an investment for the equipment. I think there are only three or four places in the UK currently selling these boots.

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

kitenski, thanks for the link, which covers this topic pretty well. I wish I had searched before starting this thread Embarassed

After all it is free

Richard E, there are 4 in the uk, we discussed it, were ready to write the cheque and were refused it as we didn't currently sell their boots and they had already decided who would get the machines

it will be interesting but the price needs to come down and the range increase to make it really commercial (sure this will happen in time)

Richard E, see also http://www.epicski.com/t/100755/2012-fischer-vacuum-ski-boot-a-game-changer/480
extensive topic, IMHO. Helped me tremendiously

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

There is a machine in Perth - which is calling me - FRASER COME AND GET US!
Fortunately the (only) operator is about to go on paternity leave which might just save me. That and I got brand new carbon fibre orthotics yesterday that are needing a wee break in.
Very interesting post by CEM, and very honest.

I'm assuming I get them vacuumed with the orthotics in, but I'm concerned I won't be able to get them out.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Just had the boots fitted, 110 flex at 260psi. Got the custom foot beds.

Very frustrating not being able to put them on for 24 hours.

Suffering a bit of post purchase dissonance - the experience is almost too painless, plus its hard to tell how much expansion/compression actually takes place.

Will I be one of the nobbers everybody points at next season whispering - there's one of this silly twits in those useless boots?

Will try to get up to Caingorm/Glenshee in the next few days to try them out.

snow reports

Fifespud, what was the fitting process like, did they take time padding bits of your foot before the moulding and how do you decide what forward lean to have?

Would be interested in any other observations on the fitting in Perth.

You know it makes sense.

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

Fifespud, all the best with them, very interesting to hear about them. In case you need tweaking whilst out there, Greg Mariethoz at Mariethoz Sports in Nendaz is your vacuum man there and a good bootfitter.

A snowHead

Thanks Sarah. Mariethoz is a cool shop. Do you know them?

Had them on last night. The fit seems very good.

The most amazing thing, in comparison to my current boots, is the weight, these boots are incredibly light.

A snowHead

Fifespud, I only know them in that I spent a couple of hours with Greg last Feb having tweaks and temporary fixes done (have bad foot issues) and a guy in our party went to him and got fitted with new boots. He is a very decent bloke, speaks excellent english, is a very competent fitter. He was talking to me about the vacuum boots last season, said that he hoped he would be stocking them.

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

I’ve owned a pair of Fisher vacuum boots since 2017. I’ve only skiied for eight weeks with them. This year my boots started to hurt around the top of the foot at the bottom of the shin. I took them back to the Ski shop that I bought them from, the senior booth fitter said the Fisher Vacuum concept was flawed and I needed a new pair of boots as it was a bit of a waste of money purchasing a new inner boot when it’s the outer shell that is at fault and nothing could be done about that. When I questioned the stocked them in the first place . The man answered they didn’t know about the fault until about three years later and then decided to stop stocking them . I’d like to know if this is genuine.

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@charleslsegal, as i told you on the phone yesterday,

all plastic molds and stretches, most likely what has happened to your current boot is that it was never a fantastic fit in the first place (probably better than something you had previously) and the liner has packed out

fischer still use vacuplast (the material the boot is made from) in many of their boots, but are now suggesting that spot molding is more appropriate in many cases than throwing the whole thing into an over..... simple fact is the boot can stretch to get bigger it cannot shrink around your foot no matter what the marketing BS says it can do

shops get sucked into the marketing BS as well

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I’m sure that the shop who sold the boots to me did so in good faith. I have no doubt about their competence and skills in boot fitting, which in my opinion is excellent. I would certainly use them again. I can’t blame the boot fitter for trying to set up a sale for a new set of boots, they are only a small business like yourself and I want to them to keep going.
It is a pity that my boots, only used for eight weeks of Ski Holidays are making their final journey to the local dump. I doubt they can be recycled and they are of no use to anyone else. What a waste… Unless you can think of a use for them.

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@charleslsegal, the other things to consider are
1 the boot is 7 years old technology has changed a lot in that time
2 your skiing should possibly have improved in that time, so what you wanted /needed then could be very different to what you require now

i will reiterate, the vacuum system wasn't flawed, but many of the people using it weren't using it to the best of its potential..... plastic can stretch when heated it cannot shrink around the foot, there is nowhere for the plastic to go only into the overlap, but the heel instep perimeter cannot change..... the trouble is most people are in boots either too big or with too much volume, if you want a precise fit with that system you had to start with a small shell and work out the way, the trouble there was the liners were very short to size, but those shops who worked that out got some extra liners to allow them to downsize the shell and have a liner that worked..... if it took them three years to work out that then good luck with the next set

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

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me , I’ll wait until September/ October, when next season’s boots arrive. I can now make an informed decision about where I am going to buy them.

Help!!

Fischer Vacuum Ski Boot

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