 Poster: A snowHead
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I first heard about this when trying on some firearrow boots in Blues a couple of months back. Seems a good idea and can't understand why it's not been implemented before now. Having said that, there's good reasons as to why not.
http://skiingbusiness.com/4710/products/companies-stray-from-traditional-flex-index/
Manufacturers know there’s no such thing as a boot-flex rating. It’s merely a number assigned to a boot in relation to another.
But how does one brand’s compare to another’s? Do customers understand the numbers? And why have the number at all?
“In its original concept, it was supposed to describe the forward flexing stiffness of a boot,” says Willy Booker, president of Nordica USA. “The problem is that flex index is not standard across the industry.”
Much like a sleeping bag’s temperature rating before manufacturers started adopting a standard, flex index is a subjective number meant to give customers an idea of whether they need a stiffer or less-stiff boot than what they are wearing. It’s also a marketing ploy designed to help price boots.
That’s why Nordica is trying to revolutionize boot flex ratings by trying to create a standard - or at least being transparent in the method they use to calculate a true number.
“Obviously we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it,” Booker says.
Using a one-meter-long lever inserted into each boot, Nordica developed a system to determine how many Newton meters it takes to flex the boot 10 degrees. The amount of force used divided by the degrees of flexion becomes the boot’s new flex number.
For now, the company plans to publish both the traditional boot-flex rating as well as the new figure, but Booker suspects Nordica will phase out the traditional number within five years.
Various boot manufacturers support the idea - despite some skepticism.
“As a former retailer, I really wish there was a standard - a universal standard,” says Chris Clark, Scarpa’s marketing and winter product development director.
Scarpa didn’t start using a boot index until about three years ago when it started competing in the freeride market and everyone wanted to know what the flex was.
Others, like Full Tilt, scoff at the idea of a traditional rating, yet like the idea of a standard.
“I’m all about people sharing a common system - in the name of helping a consumer understand what they’re buying,” says Jason Levinthal, Full Tilt’s brand manager.
Unlike other brands on the market, Full Tilt made its own flex rating based on a scale from one to 10. The higher the number, the stiffer the flex. Levinthal says customers easily understand Full Tilt’s system and can feel the difference between stiffnesses.
Despite generally supporting what Nordica is doing, Levinthal and other company representatives think the Italian boot manufacturer faces an uphill battle.
“It’s not simply putting the thing in a machine and flexing it,” says Thor Verdonk, technical product manager for Rossignol and Lange.
Verdonk says there are so many factors that go into creating a standard that it’d be tough to get everyone on the same page. Thickness and composition of the plastic, buckle and hinge placement, cuff height and more play a role.
“There are way too many variables,” he says.
At Full Tilt, Levinthal says a standard could theoretically work, but says that the ski industry isn’t the greatest at agreeing on things.
Booker admits his company’s method may not become an industry standard, but challenging the norm is a good first step.
“Somebody started the flex index first and everybody followed,” he says. “We’re taking a leadership position on this issue.”
With each brand being consistent within its boot line, and each manufacturer being relatively close in flex to its competitors, Verdonk thinks the current flex index gives shop employees enough weaponry to point customers in the right direction.
There may be ways to improve the current system, but Clark thinks it’s working as well as it can.
“As far as functional tools go, flex index is what we have. And if people use it appropriately it can still be really functional to help people understand the positioning of a product,” he says. “It’s more that if we’re going to maintain the current standard that we should better explain it.”
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