 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello, I have a 20 year old pair of rear entry Rossignol boots. I've owned these boots from new. I went skiing in them last week and they worked fine and felt comfortable.
What sort of technology advances have there been in the last 20 years that I would find in new boots. Is it worth buying new to replace them?
cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The plastic linkage between the handle and the flushing mechanism in the cistern of my toilet shattered the other day, couldnt have been more than 8 years old. thank goodness no part of me was encased within it when it broke under high stresses.
quite apart from a front entry boot actually wrapping and holding on to my foot.
anyhow, surely everyone loves shiny new kit?
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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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AnneBr, I feel your pain! Got a pair that fit and can't be bothered going through the potential pain of getting new ones!
If it helps, I think it took me 5 fittings getting my new boots blown out before I was happy with them and now they are like gloves and I love them and will probably end up posting a similar post to yours in 20 years 
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Fit and comfort is generally far better in modern boots. The liners in your boots must be shot and the plastic must have degraded. Even a new pair of the same boots would be a lot better, nevermind a pair of new modern 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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AnneBr, I too have a pair of old boots - in my case well over 25 years old. After hearing horror stories of old plastic degrading and shattering when least expected (or wanted), I splashed out on a new pair last month. Having had 2 days skiing on them, I am not yet convinced that they are any better, despite all the cowd00 about better plastics, liners packed out, better fits, etc. Were it not for the risk of shattering, I'd be straight back into my old ones.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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AnneBr, Welcome to snowHeads 
The plastic in your boots will have degraded through plasticiser migration, so there's a chance that once they get cold and you start skiing in them, that they'll shatter into small peices.
New boots will give a much better fit and better performance.
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AnneBr, wow! They're even older than my old boots which were a Nordica of circa 1992 vintage. I used them up until March 2008 when finally the clip broke (and I ended up skiing two days with gaffa tape holding them together, lol!
Boot design has changed a lot and my new boots feel extremely tight compared to the old Nordicas. But in fairness, I wouldn't have replaced mine if they hadn't died. I'm one of these that keeps everything as long as it still works. Hence the 10 year old computer and 20 year old telly! 
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Thanks for the comments.
I think I'll enjoy the luxury of trying different boots on to find the best fit for comfort.
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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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| AnneBr wrote: |
Thanks for the comments.
I think I'll enjoy the luxury of trying different boots on to find the best fit for comfort. |
AnneBr, comfort is -easy- to achieve; one must also have a performance metric.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Has anyone actually ever met anyone whose boots shattered during skiing becaue teh plastic plastcicised or whatever ...?
There's chance of evrything happening - the sun might not come up tomorrow ... (actually given teh amount of snow we've had tonight it probabkly wont !
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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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sev112, mine did. And I know others too.
ok, they were cr@p boots from ages ago and the plastic was bad from the start rather than going bad in time, but still.
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sev112, I know of 2 people that it happened to, one was in a snowdome, the other was up a mountain. Both had to walk down in just their boot liners.
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You know it makes sense.
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| AnneBr wrote: |
Thanks for the comments.
I think I'll enjoy the luxury of trying different boots on to find the best fit for comfort. |
Which part of the country are you in, and we might be able to recommend some retail emporia that'll do a better job of making sure you get the boots that fit your feet.
Of course if you're anywhere near oxfordshire then go here - http://www.solutions4feet.com/
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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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AnneBr, My boots are considerably older than yours, and although I have no intention of changing them, I do plan to service them. Since the day I bought them, they have felt like carpet slippers, albeit, with a firm hold. They are also rear entry, and although I did not appreciate it at the time, nowadays, I certainly feel the benefits of easing my "foot with the dodgy knee attached" out of the boot.
There is an easy solution. Take your old(ish) boots away with you. After two days using them, and thinking about your skiing, hire some boots, ski the same runs, and compare. Then take them back, and try another pair. Be fair to the hire shop by explaining your plan, they may gain a sale!
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Poster: A snowHead
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AnneBr, I'll bet your ski's are at least 205cm and you sport a Nevica one piece 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sev112, yeah, quite a few. Almost always when skiing with me. Purely a coincidence I assure you.
One was when a 6 hour drive from the nearest shop/hire shop at the start of a not entirely cheap heliskiing trip. Having to despatch a Eurocopter A-Star to find a range of suitable alternatives makes the cost of most boot-fitting exercises pale into complete insignificance.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Thu 7-01-10 9:28; 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?
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| bertie bassett wrote: |
| AnneBr wrote: |
Thanks for the comments.
I think I'll enjoy the luxury of trying different boots on to find the best fit for comfort. |
Which part of the country are you in, and we might be able to recommend some retail emporia that'll do a better job of making sure you get the boots that fit your feet.
Of course if you're anywhere near oxfordshire then go here - http://www.solutions4feet.com/ |
Thanks I'm in High Wycombe, so not too far from Oxfordshire.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| sev112 wrote: |
Has anyone actually ever met anyone whose boots shattered during skiing becaue teh plastic plastcicised or whatever ...?
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Happened while skiing with my wife, right boot ended up in a few pieces as she made a turn on the Valetta in Sierra Nevada, luck was there was a pisteur on a snowmobile to give her a lift back down, of course it was my fault 'cos I hadn't bought her new boots:)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Boots exploding? Ask David Goldsmith 
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AnneBr, Your link at Solutions for Feet is to our very own SH CEM who has an excellent reputation on here for boot fitting. I haven't availed myself of his service yet, but if/when I need new ones I think I will be inclined to spring for the trip. Boots aren't cheap items and its often too late once they are bought (esp. if too big) to do much about it.
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I wish I could find a pair of these special stock liners that don't seem to pack down after 20+ years. Perfect foot hold and slipper comfort year after year, amazing.
Unfortunately I find most fit like a pr1ck in a bucket after 100 days or so.
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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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uktrailmonster, of course they don't, but for people who are holiday skiers on a budget, old 'comfy' boots do the job. Unless of course they explode, lol!
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queen bodecia, True, you can ski using any old tat you like and possibly have just as much fun if the kit doesn't fail. But in the context of the equipment reviews section of a dedicated ski forum it's fair to say that 20 year old ski boots are complete junk, especially rear entry ones.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| I wish I could find a pair of these special stock liners that don't seem to pack down after 20+ years. Perfect foot hold and slipper comfort year after year, amazing. |
Well, you know, the smaller the gap between the shell and the foot, the longer the liner lasts.
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Unfortunately I find most fit like a pr1ck in a bucket after 100 days or so. |
Ah.
Was that a 15mm fit then?
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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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under a new name, Alex A, Spyderman, horizon,
prometheus,
I stand humbly corrected, educated ....
and worried .....
How about 10 year old ones then ? 
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| sev112 wrote: |
How about 10 year old ones then ? |
Depends on the brand and (no joke) colour and how much stretching/grinding work was done on them.
Plastics and injection methods were just starting to get decently good around then.
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You know it makes sense.
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After reading these forums, I did a comparison test with my new and old boots. I could definitely lift my foot and wiggle my toes in my old boots, my new boots allow no room for foot movement at all. How this affects skiing is negligible to someone like me, but the old boots were MUCH easier to walk in. The new ones are also considerably heavier. However, the new ones are clean and shiny and don't look like 80s monstrosities held together with gaffer tape (note to self: must really take these to the tip one day!).
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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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Get them looked at by an expert. The materials are prone to failure after so much time, however certain makes / models are more likely to fail. Some fault points may be obvious to the eye.
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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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I had a pair of Nordica 997 which lasted 27 years until (on a very cold day in Saas Fee) both heel pieces disintegrated. Undaunted, I found another old pair on ebay, took the heels off and migrated them to my old boots; extending their life by 2 years until they finally died. I have now bought a pair of new boots. My observation:
Whilst modern boots may be more high performance, they are not more comfortable or more convenient. With rear entry boots, you slip your foot in, close a clip (and turn a wheel with my boots) and away you go, whilst all the 4-clip Johnnies are still clipping and unclipping. New boots are more stylish (shallow? moi?) and you don't have to hide your feet under the table.
My tip? They are like an elderly relative, they will one day die; you need to come to terms with it. Assuming you are not a high performance skier (20 year old rear entry boots are a giveaway) and therefore do not need high-performance kit, you should try on as many pairs of hire boots as you can and find a pair that work well in a real-life situation. If you stumble across a boot which fits you, buy them. That is what I did and, after a suitable period of bereavement, my feet are once again happy. I am deeply suspicious of the boot-fitter malarky; anything that I have had hand-made or hand-fitted has never fitted.
Mick
PS I wish they would bring back rear-entry boots, 4-clip boots are such a pain to get on.
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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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| comprex wrote: |
| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| I wish I could find a pair of these special stock liners that don't seem to pack down after 20+ years. Perfect foot hold and slipper comfort year after year, amazing. |
Well, you know, the smaller the gap between the shell and the foot, the longer the liner lasts.
| Quote: |
Unfortunately I find most fit like a pr1ck in a bucket after 100 days or so. |
Ah.
Was that a 15mm fit then? |
I know, I know it's all a bit of a compromise. My previous shells were certainly on the large side, although reasonable fit and great comfort with the new liners for a good 10 weeks of skiing (so for me that's about 2.5 seasons) and were acceptable for another 10 weeks after that before I decided they were getting too sloppy to ski hard. Current boots are a shell size smaller and custom fitted. A bit tight for the first couple of weeks, but bedding in nicely this season.
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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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| penster wrote: |
My observation:
Whilst modern boots may be more high performance, they are not more comfortable or more convenient. With rear entry boots, you slip your foot in, close a clip (and turn a wheel with my boots) and away you go, whilst all the 4-clip Johnnies are still clipping and unclipping.in to get on. |
My observation is a lot different:
I find modern high performance boots far more comfortable than old high performance boots. I think partly because of the improved shell/liner tech and partly because boot fitting is now far more professional. I used to have all sorts of foot aches and pains with older boots, which have now thankfully gone away in the last 5 years or so. The only pair of old school boots I ever had which were comfortable were Sally SX90s, but they were pants for actually skiing even when new. I soon ditched them for a pair of hardcore 4-clip Nordica 980s, which were great for control but pretty harsh on the feet. Current high performance boots however are great for control AND comfort, so best of both worlds. Modern 4-clip boots are also a lot easier to get in and out of than I remember. Mine certainly are anyway. Not sure why, but it makes the rear-entry concept totally redundant for me.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| queen bodecia wrote: |
| the old boots were MUCH easier to walk in. |
I tend to use hiking boots for walking. But there are plenty of modern boots with 'walk mode' if that's an important criteria for you.
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| Quote: |
they are sooooooooooo comfortable, easy to walk in, the canting adjustment works well when i change skis
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You dont change canting with different ski's though 
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geeo,
actually on my boots i do
when i ski on all mountain skis on piste i have the cant setting on the aggressive carve ; whereas when i have my short rossignols on on piste, they are so aggressive and bite so much at the back end, that i set the cant setting on the opposite setting to give me better control of teh carve
I am sure they probably dont do that much, and they probably arent strictly a "cant" control , and probably are a salomon marketing gimmick from the early 2000s, but it seems to work with me - probably just like giving you pills that dont work , you just think they do !
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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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placebo = that's the word i was after !
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sev112, you're probably OK. THere are some models that have explosive tendencies, but let's just assume you haven't got them.
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FAQ
