bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey instructor ladies ( @Skier31 @KatyPerrey @klar @Jilly and everyone else) and gear people ,
So for years now, I've been working, mostly unsuccessfully, at bending at the ankle rather than the hip. As you well know, open ankles create some pretty static, moderately backseat skiing. Frustrating.
Instructor Dirk (I can hear @Xinga now saying "Diiiirk" in a mock-swoon because I talk about him so much) took a look at my boots today. He's been watching me ski for several years now. I have Dalbello Krypton Storms from 4 or maybe 5 years ago - white and blue. He was wondering if maybe my boots were too difficult to flex. They are very upright (I have always thought of that as a feature because I don't get sore standing around), and he pointed out that the way it's built, I have to flex against the tongue rather than simply working the hinge the way a "normal" boot works. But I thought this three-piece design was supposed to be easier to flex ... maybe not, maybe just easier to get into?
I've been thinking of getting new boots soon anyway, primarily avoiding because these are so comfortable and I'd hate to give that up for an unknown. I asked Larry's in Boulder - he remembered when I got my boots, said it was when they were in their old location, and said that I should probably be getting new boots by next season. On the other hand, he said he has plenty of inventory right now. I'm a 25.5 so not a terribly common women's boot size.
Now, after lunch, I *worked* on flexing and made progress. I went from forcing the flex to, for a run, really feeling in my body that I didn't need to force the flex because my body being forward created the flex naturally. Then I lost that feeling. But I'm sure I'll get it back. I'm also not sure if I was creating plenty of flex, or just a lot more flex than Dirk had ever seen me create (that part he explicitly stated).
So, some questions. Do you think that Dirk's concerns about the boot not being easy to flex might be valid? Do you think it could be stiffening up (although I've never been flexing my ankles, even when these were new)? Does my ability to create the flexion prove that it's not the boot, or is there an in between where you *can* create it, but it's more work than it should be? Also, it was pretty warm today, and it could be a lot harder tomorrow when the high is 15 instead of 30 ...
So for years now, I've been working, mostly unsuccessfully, at bending at the ankle rather than the hip. As you well know, open ankles create some pretty static, moderately backseat skiing. Frustrating.
Instructor Dirk (I can hear @Xinga now saying "Diiiirk" in a mock-swoon because I talk about him so much) took a look at my boots today. He's been watching me ski for several years now. I have Dalbello Krypton Storms from 4 or maybe 5 years ago - white and blue. He was wondering if maybe my boots were too difficult to flex. They are very upright (I have always thought of that as a feature because I don't get sore standing around), and he pointed out that the way it's built, I have to flex against the tongue rather than simply working the hinge the way a "normal" boot works. But I thought this three-piece design was supposed to be easier to flex ... maybe not, maybe just easier to get into?
I've been thinking of getting new boots soon anyway, primarily avoiding because these are so comfortable and I'd hate to give that up for an unknown. I asked Larry's in Boulder - he remembered when I got my boots, said it was when they were in their old location, and said that I should probably be getting new boots by next season. On the other hand, he said he has plenty of inventory right now. I'm a 25.5 so not a terribly common women's boot size.
Now, after lunch, I *worked* on flexing and made progress. I went from forcing the flex to, for a run, really feeling in my body that I didn't need to force the flex because my body being forward created the flex naturally. Then I lost that feeling. But I'm sure I'll get it back. I'm also not sure if I was creating plenty of flex, or just a lot more flex than Dirk had ever seen me create (that part he explicitly stated).
So, some questions. Do you think that Dirk's concerns about the boot not being easy to flex might be valid? Do you think it could be stiffening up (although I've never been flexing my ankles, even when these were new)? Does my ability to create the flexion prove that it's not the boot, or is there an in between where you *can* create it, but it's more work than it should be? Also, it was pretty warm today, and it could be a lot harder tomorrow when the high is 15 instead of 30 ...