 Poster: A snowHead
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Everybody is searching for the perfect ski to complement there level of skiing, right? Something accessable, yet will enable them to progress while growing with them for years to come?
Well, hold on. It would seem, all whom use this web site, are in the know and slightly better informed than say, your average half term hero. So why put so much weight in to searching for skis?
My question is, Do your boots fit well enough for you to tell the subtle difference between say, a Rossi B2 and a Dynastar Legend 4800?
Too many people get lost in the marketting Hype surrounding skis to think about their boots. Unless your boots fit perfectly i cannot see how you can feel this. Last winter i tested some boots having skiied my own boots for two seasons. I clipped into my piste skis, of which i know every square millimetre and it was as if they had been completley de-tuned. I recieved no feed back from my skis, but stuck with it. I changed skis, i changed boots, i changed skis, i changed boots. Back on my boots, i became enlightened. I could feel the sweet-spot, i could sense the rebound, i could work the skis. I could Select the ski i wanted!
If you test drive a car, imagine doing so, after you have asked the mechanic to unbolt the seats from the floor. Now tell me, how well did the car steer an corner, or were you left with your face squashed agaist the window, un able to see where you were going.
We try not to sell skis without doing a fit check on our clients boots first.
Do you read me, or is it Time to get Ill? 
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 17-10-05 11:33; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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This is all too familiar for me - it happens every time I switch from my alpine boots (close fitting, stiff) to my touring boots (pretty stiff for touring boots but still somewhat akin to wellies)
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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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Arno, Denali T.T's? Read, Zip-fit, spoilers and 4cm powerstrap. I am working on a schim to stiffen them up laterally, however may def it as we don't carve with touring boots, do we? Have also a couple of Slalom tongues from the old flexon, a common modification, however the boots are no longer made so spares are in short supply and becoming more expensive as a result, tee hee. Have a stock of the new dialbello (stiff tongue) coming next week, but will need you and your boots to do the Mod'.
We'll get you skiing like your name sake!
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER,  - it'll take more than some boot mods to have me skiing like M. Adam.
I actually think my current touring boots are a bit too big. Might look to replace them sometime but don't have any serious tours lined up this year so it can wait.
Which shop to you work in (own?), btw? Always good to know somewhere doing this sort of work
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER Blimey you are someone on here with an outlook similar to mine. But beware, the snowheads police will hunt you down and curb you opinions, so as to protect there own over inflated knowledge and egos (after all we can all read magazines and quote them on here).
Keep up the good posts.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| FastCarver wrote: |
SMALLZOOKEEPER Blimey you are someone on here with an outlook similar to mine. But beware, the snowheads police will hunt you down and curb you opinions, so as to protect there own over inflated knowledge and egos (after all we can all read magazines and quote them on here).
Keep up the good posts. |
Hey calm down there, Fastcarver. Opinions are just that, an opinion. I make a point of being wrong, 8 times a day. Admittidly, more often at home, but don't want to upset anyone here. I work with feet, ski boots just happen to be what we put them in here. I have to wade through a barrage of questions everytime i meet a client, just want to save you guys some time, get you skiing and more impotantly smiling.
Quote" Is the best skier the one with the longest ski, or the largest smile?"
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER, i was agreeing with you dude
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Thanks, "DUDE", the first person in history!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, good point re: boot fit and ski feel/handling  .
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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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| slikedges wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER, good point re: boot fit and ski feel/handling . |
Ditto.
SMALLZOOKEEPER, A few questions for you after skiing with a number of people who seemed to be in boots that fitted well but that were too stiff for them to flex properly:
1. In your store how do you test your client's ability to be able flex the boots you've selected for their ability? (ie, after two previous duff fittings & then learning the importance of being able to flex the boot I took my skis to the store so I could try the flex when properly levered in the bindings).
2. How do you ensure that a beginning skier buying their first boots is in the correct flex boot even though they probably don't have the technical ability yet to actually flex the boots properly?
3. I'm in Tecnica Diablo Fire's with the flex lock set to 'flex'. Under what circumstances would I set them to the 'locked' position?
Thanks in anticipation.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Tue 18-10-05 0:11; edited 1 time in total
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spyderjon, Hello mate. Some good questions there.
May I also add a couple:-
4. How do you determine the amount of flex that you will lose once the boot gets cold on the mountain?
I currently have a menagerie of boots that were fine for flex in the shop but once in the cold for an hour or two end up feeling like concrete blocks.
5. I wear a size 8.5 shoe and am a level 6/7 skier - What mondo size boot would you recommend for a performance fit?
Cheers.
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You know it makes sense.
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| slikedges wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER, good point re: boot fit and ski feel/handling . |
Ditto.
SMALLZOOKEEPER, A few questions for you after skiing with a number of people who seemed to be in boots that fitted well but that were too stiff for them to flex properly:
1. In your store how do you test your client's ability to be able flex the boots you've selected for their ability? (ie, after two previous duff fittings & then learning the importance of being able to flex the boot I took my skis to the store so I could try the flex when properly levered in the bindings).
2. How do you ensure that a beginning skier buying their first boots is in the correct flex boot even though they probably don't have the technical ability yet to actually flex the boots properly?
3. I'm in Tecnica Diablo Fire's with the flex lock set to 'flex'. Under what circumstances would I set them to the 'locked' position?
Thanks in anticipation. |
1, Personally, by eye. It's difficult in store, as you guys point out because of temperature. Yes we have floor mounted bindings but i'm taking them up to make more space. Boots today are much more flexible(Progressive) than in the past. This is due to carving technique. I.E. lateral stiffness for edge pressure. We tend to tutor our clients more on, how to flex a boot.
If in doubt, we go stiffer, as we can improve the boots flex, but struggle to make them stiffer. A good fitted boot that is too stiff will help yo ski better than a poorley fitted boot with the ideal flex pattern. If it fits you will have better control at speed therefore, with the extra speed, flexing the boot becomes easier.Subjective!!!!!
2, We don't sell, so called beginners boots. It's Marketing Hype. Bells and whistles on boots break. Walk modes,flex locks, easy entry, blah, blah blah. We want simplicity. 2 or 3 pieces of plastic, 4 metal buckles, what is there to break that i can't repair? I can replicate the flex of any boot with lets say, an X-Wave(Salomons crowing glory), it's just a shame they don't fit everyone. We teach the client then how they flex the boot, after it's down to them. In alot of cases we work with the ski schools and instructors therafter to ease the flex.
3, Marketing. If you ski all season i.e. day to day. You may want to block off the flex in the spring when its warmer. This will help to give you a similar flex pattern of the colder months. If, indeed it does anything.
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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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| rockyrobin wrote: |
spyderjon, Hello mate. Some good questions there.
May I also add a couple:-
4. How do you determine the amount of flex that you will lose once the boot gets cold on the mountain?
I currently have a menagerie of boots that were fine for flex in the shop but once in the cold for an hour or two end up feeling like concrete blocks.
5. I wear a size 8.5 shoe and am a level 6/7 skier - What mondo size boot would you recommend for a performance fit?
Cheers. |
4, You need to come back and tell me what the problem is and how cold it was. This is really done by feel. I wouldn't want to adjust the flex too much if say, you stuggled to flex the boot at -20. If i did, you would bend it in half in the spring. You will just have to except natures way. I have a wermer, softer lining in my boots for the winter, then change the liner around mid-feb.
5, 26? If your ready for real precision, we can look at plug shells, and maybe stuff you into a 25 long! Now were talking, you'll ski like a demon but cry like a baby! tee hee
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Poster: A snowHead
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, so if my feet are just under 270mm long, I should be looking at size 27.0?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Weighted or unweighted? I have feet 278mm long unweighted and wear 26. Keeps you forward or you loose your toes.
See a bootfitter, you need the feet in front of you to decide the real, achieveable length?
Can't answer questions like this, someone good needs to look at your feet and explain all to you, sorry.
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER, Thanks for the answers. Very interesting as I've never seen floor mounted bindings in a shop other than Profeet. I asked the same questions (1&2) at EB & the response was "eh?". S&R/EB certainly do not show/teach beginning skiers how to flex the boot.
Re 3. Marketing - thought so.
Thanks for your time.
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER, Do you stock plug boots or are they order only? How much time/many days to fit plug boots properly, ie grind & test, grind & test, grind & test etc.
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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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1, Yes, we have one or two about the place.
2, Time and days, it's better if you live here. I work on mine daily throughout the winter, but it's worth it, you will never ski commercial stock again. I want, one day, for everyone to ski in them, then we can stars talking about skis together.
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FAQ
