 Poster: A snowHead
|
Im looking at buying some Ski boots and have found these at a realy good price.
Head Wcup
Im a intermediate / advanced skier (accourding to the instructor I had on some recent lessons).
I dont know anything about ski equipment so any help would be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Welcome to snowHeads, Renry. The most important thing I've found with boots is to make sure that they fit you correctly. If they're a good price, you'll be wasting your money if your feet hurt after a couple of hours or if they're too loose so you don't have the necessary "feel".
Provided they fit ok, I'd have thought they'd be fine for an advanced skier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Not very familiar with the Head range but WCup suggests their race boot. You might find them a little stiff.
Much more importantly, do they fit?
Have you walked around the shop in them for 30 minutes to see if they cramp anywhere?
Will you be happy with them on the end of your legs for a days exercise? If you've found them cheap online, bear in mind that Snow and Rock will not sell boots on line. It's a bad idea unless you are buying something that you've tried on elsewhere...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Having bought a few pairs of ski boots I would reccomend buying in a ski resort. Ask around for a good shop with people who speak a language you can speak well. Visit them as soon as possible after getting to the resort and say you want to buy some boots. Do not hire boots just to get you skiing on the first day, but start the buying process and get a boot that you might buy. Many shops offer some sort of hire and buy scheme. If you buy from them then the hire costs are waived. Try a pair of boots for half-a-day or perhaps a whole day. Change them for another pair. Try four or five pairs over the first few days. Keep notes on which you like and why, also which you dislike and why; tell the shop keeper. Try the best pair again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Thanks for the quick advice guys. But will they be better then any hire boots I would use at excape, and later in year when I go to Austria?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Renry,
Welcome to  's
Only if they fit you, and are not too stiff for you. At least with hire boots you can change them if they're not right.
If you're going to buy ski boots you really really need to go to a reputable boot fitter and let them recommend which boot is right for you. Also, when getting boots fitted they rarely fit "off the shelf" as it were. Various minor adjustments may need to be made, and most boots nowadays have custom fit liners which are heated up and molded to the shape of your foot. You will no doubt pay more than you would for a bargain you find online, but boots are probably the most important purchase you will make for skiing, and should last you years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renry, They are not the current Head Worldcup boots, however normally when Head says worldcup or race on a product they mean it, these boots are usually intended for really good skiers and racers, they will be very stiff to ski in and may be quite tight, I'm with beanie1, on this, find a good bootfitter and take their advice, however to give you a simple answer to your question, I wouldn't buy them if I were you, they almost certainly will be too stiff for you and very uncomfortable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I don't whether this type of boot is right for you, but I'd definitely recommend buying in resort. Unless you're very lucky, getting a correctly fitting boot is a long process, best done when you can have it altered, try it, have it altered, try it ... until you're completely fed up with the whole business, have very sore feet and wish that you'd never bothered. Annoyingly, it is worth the effort.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Renry wrote: |
| Thanks for the quick advice guys. But will they be better then any hire boots I would use at excape, and later in year when I go to Austria? |
Cannot say whether these head boots would be better for you but generally speaking your own, properly fitted, comfortable boots that are well matched to you will be better. My experience of UK dry slope hire boots was of very soft, very flexible, very forgiving beginners boots with tired worn out inners. If that sounds negative then you read it correctly, but it was several years ago. Hire boot standards may have improved.
You own boots will work fine in snow here and elsewhere. A good boot fitter can alter the boots to fit any irregularities in your feet, many people need small adjustments in small areas of a boot to make them fit properly. Hire boots will not be adjusted for that and so can be uncomfortable or too loose.
Finally, with you own boots you know what, if any, foot diseases they are likely to carry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renry, I use Head boots and I found that I had to go up a size from my previous boots, customized foamed inners with Dynafit shells to get the correct size. I believe that Heads are very good value,but the top end boots are fairly stiff, they are certainly very durable, I've had mine now for about 4 years and they just seem to be nicely worn in. I would go to a good boot fitter and follow their recommendations but buy some Conformable or similar insoles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Thanks for the help peeps. I think im going to hold on till the trip abroad, and as suggested try several pairs etc. I will just put up with the hire boots at excape for now.
PS. Very impressed with the forums, will be a frequent visitor as I get more into my skiing.
Thanks once again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Renry, If the boots you are looking at are exactly the same as those in the picture including the colour, then I think they are the same as mine i.e. the Head TR HeatFit Lady which is the women's version and has a softer flex than the men's (yellow) version (Head flex rating of 6.9 to 5.9 compared to 7.3 to 6.3). They use the wider Head last (103) compared to the narrow 97 found on some others. The women's version fitted me better and I've been very happy with them but I did buy them in the resort from a very experienced boot fitter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renry,
Women's boots are shaped quite differently to men's - it's not just having less flex. Women's calf muscles tend to go further down towards their ankle whereas men have a larger calf but it's further up towards the knee (if that makes any sense at all!). So women's boots are shaped differently round the cuff - think they are cut a bit lower.
jtr obviously had these boots recommended as being suitable for his feet / legs by a bootfitter, so I wouldn't go buying women's boots just for the softer flex.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
The question is for £50 + postage is it worth getting them
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Renry, I'd suggest you go and try them first.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
£50 + postage is a bargain, until you find that they kill you while skiing. Then it jist looks like a waste of money.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Renry,
I agree with Wear The Fox Hat. Although £50 is not much, if they're no good for you that's £50 wasted. And if you wear them and they're too stiff for you they could slow your learning down quite a bit, even send you backwards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
beanie1, Agreed. Not that I had really thought about the men's vs women's fit beforehand but during the fitting it became clear that the women's version suited my large. low calf legs much better. It really demonstrated the value of a good boot fitter to me.
Just to balance thing out, my wife skis in Rossi men's boots, having found that the women's version unbearable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
beanie1, because a stereotypical woman's calves are lower than mens, a women's boot just means that that the ankle upwards part of the boot is wider than an equivalent men's boot. It's not necessarily lower cut. Since not all men have thin ankles, these would be a better fit for some men.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Renry, I've just noticed another thread of yours which says that you are pretty new to skiing. It's likely that you will improve rapidly over the first 2 or 3 weeks. You might well be better off renting for a while and then buying; the boots you buy now (or on your ski hol next season) are unlikely to be the right ones for you 06/07 or 07/08.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Snowy,
OK - i've not looked closely at many women's boots, so I'm just going off what the bootfitter told me when I got mine.
Mine (women's X wave 9) also have a height adjustable bit at the back of the boot. It comes at the lowest level, but can be adjusted upwards if needed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
beanie1, many, not all, womens boots have lower cuffs than the equivalent mens boot. The spoiler (that's the adjustable bit at the back) is best kept as low as possible for most recreational skiers of either gender.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cool.
Will leave it for now.
Just out of interest what sort of quality is the salamon equipment that is hired out at my local Xscape?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Variable. Hire equipment usually tends to be crap though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I remember going to the MK Xscape when it was about a month old. The snow was brand new, the equipment was brand new as were the salopettes I hired.
How old is Xsape now? 5 or 6 years old?
I think most resorts buy in new skis each season don't they? I know Whistler does. Mind you, there aren't any rocks to ski over in Xscape.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
richmond, yes and no.
No, a learner perhaps shouldn't bother getting properly fitted boots if they're unsure whether they want to continue this lark called skiing. Money down the drain and all that...
However as soon as a learner decides they like skiing and want to keep skiing for the indefinate future, they might as well buy themselves a properly fitted pair of boots. Earlier the better, since good fitting boots set learners free to discover the joys of learning - It just makes sense for learners NOT to have to wrestle with cr*p fitting kit (which in itself may end up holding back their progress).
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Manda, that's pretty much the way I see things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In an ideal world, a learner would have his/her own boots, to ensure a good fit. If renry doesn't mind the idea of needing/wanting a new pair well before this pair have worn out, buying (in resort) is definitely the way to go. If money is an object, I'd recommend waiting a season or two.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
