 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I've been away from skiing for a few years after breaking my back and being less than 1mm away from paralysis, according to my surgeon! But, I'm fully recovered and am off to Val D'isere in a few weeks  I dug out my old boots, did a quick google search and discovered there's quite a story to the Raichle Flexon boots which I have. I've skied in my Raichle's for a number of years and find the control they offer is superb, but they can be hard work toward the end of the day/week if fitness isn't quite up to par!
Anyway, I've had the boots on my feet again, checking fit etc and I now remember that there is a little bit more room over my toes than I would like, just not as snug as the rest of the boot. Around the ankle and calf it's perfect. I was wondering if it's possible to change the shape of the shell so that there's less space right under the lower buckle?
The other question was whether it's possible to get new liners for this boot? Bear in mind that this is an original Raichle Flexon Comp Equipe boot. I've been in touch with www.fulltiltboots.com who will come back to me with an answer.
Oh, just remembered another question! I think (from memory, I'll check when I get home) that the tongue on my boots has 'Racing Flex' on it, I'm assuming that would be one of the stiffest availble. I wanted to know if it's possible to get a replacement tongue for my boot, maybe even something a little less stiff? First time back on skiis - i may not be racing down the runs at the breakneck speeds I used to 
Any of you folks have a pair of Raichle's Flexons?
Thanks for any help,
FrankyG
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Frankyg, welcome to  I'm sure some one can help shed some more light on this. They are great boots and there are still lots of second hand parts floating around.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hey, thanks for the reply - have you ever needed spare parts for them?
The guys at FT Boots are gonna give me a UK supplier for the the Full Tilt boots, just in case I 'need' to get a new pair
Frankyg
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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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Frankyg, SMALLZOOKEEPER who posts on here may be worth a shout - he's on the trail of replacement heel and toe pieces for me, I've worn mine down to the screws 
Good luck with the quest!
CD.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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lockwoods in Leamington Spa have always helped me with bits for my Raichle flexon comps. Give em a ring, they're pretty helpful.
When I saw the info on the full tilt boots I could feel my wallet twitching (my raichles are old and pink)
d
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Just to help others. I just bought a pair of Full Tilt liners for my Flexon Comps (1994?). They fit perfectly and are the same size as the original liners.
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@Red90, your boots are older than this thread?!?
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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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| ster wrote: |
| @Red90, your boots are older than this thread?!? |
Yes. Boots were bought new in 1994 or so. I'm older than dirt.
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@Frankyg,
The Full Tilt Classics (and only the Classics - the other models have updated lasts which are not as good if you like flexons) come out of the same moulds as your boots. I have a pair and also skied in Raichle Flexons. You could do a lot worse than buy a pair of them.
Otherwise Full Tilt sell aftermarket lines suitable for the Classics which will fit your flexons. Mine have an intuition wrap liner rather than the tongued one that I had in my flexons but they are better.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yes. I just wanted to provide real world evidence. I asked Full Tilt and they were of zero help. They actually told me that the liners would not fit.
The difficult issue was figuring out sizing. The original boots have USA sizing and it does not directly cross over to the modern ski boot sizing.
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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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I think your more immediate issue will be the fact that the plastic here is getting on for 30 years old! I've seen a number of pairs this age fail, plastics - especially ones that have experienced the forces involved in skiing and been hot/cold on so many occasions.
I genuinely think you'd have been better off investing your money into new boots.
I ski full tilts, I love them so not knocking your gear but at 10years or so I'll be replacing mine....
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@Red90, @jedster, my cherished Flexon Comp VIPs were nicked on a transfer at the end of a 1999 trip. Devastated - my favourite ever boots.
Do any of the current FT range correspond to the Flexon Comps - in terms of flex etc? Call me nostalgic but if there was something in the range akin to the Comp, then I’d consider experiencing them!
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You know it makes sense.
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The classic shell is as close as you'll get. Flex changes with each tongue up to something about 140 flex for the "12" tongue. Go see and have a chat to a stockist.....
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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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| andy'n'netty wrote: |
| The classic shell is as close as you'll get. Flex changes with each tongue up to something about 140 flex for the "12" tongue. Go see and have a chat to a stockist..... |
Yay - FT First Chair 130 sounds perfect. Shame(?) they’ve lost the neon colour scheme
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Poster: A snowHead
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Set of 27.5 full tilt boots on skibay group on Facebook just now.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Grinning wrote: |
@Red90, @jedster, my cherished Flexon Comp VIPs were nicked on a transfer at the end of a 1999 trip. Devastated - my favourite ever boots.
Do any of the current FT range correspond to the Flexon Comps - in terms of flex etc? Call me nostalgic but if there was something in the range akin to the Comp, then I’d consider experiencing them! |
These ones:
https://fulltiltboots.com/en-gb/p/classic-pro
You can tune the flex by changing tongues. I believe these are the ONLY ones that use the same molds as the Raichles. I had Flexon Comps too and I think they would have had about an 8 flex tongue. I've tried 6/8/10 tongues in my classics and I'd say the 10s are fairly stiff (I don't tend to ski really stiff boots to be fair)
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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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| Grinning wrote: |
| andy'n'netty wrote: |
| The classic shell is as close as you'll get. Flex changes with each tongue up to something about 140 flex for the "12" tongue. Go see and have a chat to a stockist..... |
Yay - FT First Chair 130 sounds perfect. Shame(?) they’ve lost the neon colour scheme |
Before you get First Chairs you should listen to the Blister Podcast (might be Gear 30) interview with Bode Miller. He talks about how he wished he tried flexons when he was competing and experimented with Full Tilts after he retired. He tried First Chairs and didn't like them. Tried Classics and LOVED them. He concluded that when FT made the last a little roomier for the First Chairs they compromised the lateral stiffness. Now none of us are Bode but if you love Flexons then I would stick to the Classics.
latest classic:
https://fulltiltboots.com/en-gb/p/classic-pro
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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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| Red90 wrote: |
Yes. I just wanted to provide real world evidence. I asked Full Tilt and they were of zero help. They actually told me that the liners would not fit.
The difficult issue was figuring out sizing. The original boots have USA sizing and it does not directly cross over to the modern ski boot sizing. |
That is pathetic - the shells of FT classics are identical in dimensions to Flexons, they come out of the same molds!
That said, given the age of the plastics, in your situation I'd find some of these to try on
https://fulltiltboots.com/en-gb/p/classic-pro
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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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Yeah the First Chair is the newer Soul shell with a bit of extra deck height to allow the use of footbeds, also a bit roomier in the toebox and have replaceable heel and toe pieces and Gripwalk soles.
The easiest way to tell the classic and soul shells apart is to look at the bottom of the boot, classic only has a small replaceable heel section where the Soul has full heel and toes that can be swopped.
I used the classics previously but find the extra room for a footbed in the Souls sorted niggles I had with the classics. Try both if you can.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| andy'n'netty wrote: |
Yeah the First Chair is the newer Soul shell with a bit of extra deck height to allow the use of footbeds, also a bit roomier in the toebox and have replaceable heel and toe pieces and Gripwalk soles.
The easiest way to tell the classic and soul shells apart is to look at the bottom of the boot, classic only has a small replaceable heel section where the Soul has full heel and toes that can be swopped.
I used the classics previously but find the extra room for a footbed in the Souls sorted niggles I had with the classics. Try both if you can. |
That makes sense. My advice was only meant that if you know flexons fit you like a glove out of the box then go for classics.
I've said this before but the first boots I ever owned were flexon comps. I was working a ski season. The hire boots that I got through work were awful. I didn't have much money. There were a pair of last years flexons half price in a shop. I point at them, got measured, tried them on and walked out with them. Since then (nearly 30 years ago) I have owned lots of boots and none fitted me as well as the flexons. A few years a go someone on these boards was selling a pair of FT classics in my size for £50. I just wondered... got to be worth a try. If I like them I can just buy a new pair. Got them, tried them on and .... just perfect. Like a firm handshake with no pressure points and the absolutely locked down heel that I have struggled to get without discomfort. I haven't bothered to get a new pair. I don't use them all the time because I'm quite often using skis with tech bindings but when I'm on an alpine set up then I use the FTs and they feel SO right.
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Thanks @jedster and andy'n'netty - I’ll see if the Classics work - the only similarity between me and Bode Miller is … nah, there isn’t one.
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Duplicate
Last edited by After all it is free  on Thu 2-12-21 2:02; edited 1 time in total
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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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Flexons are Flexons are Full Tilts are soon to be K2's, nothing's changed, other than better buckles, replaceable soles, but the construction is identical. An overlap boot you pull resistance from the back/spine, a three piece boot, you compress the resistance from the front of the tibia. Two different ways of catching a trout. Overlap boots are more rigid laterally, three piece boots more forgiving. Whatever Bode says, that's just science, can't change it. Elite Athletes have preferences the common population can only be confused by. To my knowledge Mr Miller never skied a Flexon on the WC, only a Nordica Dobermann, his comments are interesting, however what is said and what happens are rarely the same thing.
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| CH2O wrote: |
| Flexons are Flexons are Full Tilts are soon to be K2's, nothing's changed, other than better buckles, replaceable soles, but the construction is identical. An overlap boot you pull resistance from the back/spine, a three piece boot, you compress the resistance from the front of the tibia. Two different ways of catching a trout. Overlap boots are more rigid laterally, three piece boots more forgiving. Whatever Bode says, that's just science, can't change it. Elite Athletes have preferences the common population can only be confused by. To my knowledge Mr Miller never skied a Flexon on the WC, only a Nordica Dobermann, his comments are interesting, however what is said and what happens are rarely the same thing. |
That all makes complete sense.
Have you listened to the podcast? Only a section is on boots but it was very interesting I think (at least if you are geeky about skiing). You are right about what Bode competed in. He tells an interesting story that his favourite boots when racing (and the ones he got the best results in) had cracks somewhere near the toe. The were brilliant for a season then broke. He explained that for his technique he needed to be very centred and his problem with overlap boots is the way they are very stiff then give. The point they give at is the point of maxium angulation and when they do the foot collapses inside a bit, increasing the edge angle just at the wrong moment. He felt the cracks allowed this flex to be more straightforward towards the toe avoiding the involuntary increase in edge angle. The reason that flexons intrigued him was a) the more linear flex and b) the fact that they flex straight forward rather than to the inside. Because of sponsorship etc he couldn't experiment until he retired. When he did he tried some First Chairs at a speed camp in Argentina and scared himself (because of the lack of lateral rigidity you mention). He was confused - "how could anyone ever have raced in these?". Then he tried some classics (or even flexons I forget) and loved them. I believe he skis in classics now.
Now Bode's stuff about overflexing overlap race boots is hardly a consideration for me (and I suspect 99.9% of people who post on these boards!). I like FT classics mainly because they fit my feet and lower leg perfectly and secondly because the way they flex seems natural to me. Much as I enjoy getting on my FIS SLs and cranking up the edge angles from time to time, I've never tested the lateral stiffness to the point they have felt lacking but I'm not and never have been a racer.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There's a solution, The Salomon Ghost, possibly to appear soon as the Faction "Candide" boot. Combines the best of both worlds.
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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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A solution to what???
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Getting a boot that shares Tibial and Achilles resistance.
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FAQ
