Booster Strap - Expert/Racer

[volklgirl]

Booster Straps are a power strap that includes several layers of thick elastic (the number of layers depends on the model purchased). They are stock on many of the new upper level Nordica boots and are an add-on for any other boot. Here's their web site: https://www.skimetrix.com/Instruct.html
Here is their list of performance claims:

Dramatically increases ski control!
Stops shin bang - shock absorbers for your shins
Increases ski response
Increases comfort
Fits all ski boots
Unconditional guarantee
Quicker Starts - Snappier Finishes - More Control​

After lots of research, I bought hubby a set of Booster Straps for Christmas last year. He raved about them all last year and immediately transferred them onto his new boots this year. Turns out he ordered me a pair this Christmas, but they didn't come in until last week. He immediately put them on and I finally got a chance to both free ski and race with them on. I grudgingly have to admit that the claims aren't hype. Indeed, the cuff of my boots fit better and without pinching, the slight lag between leg movement and cuff movement as the cuff hit the stock power strap is gone, boot and ski response is quicker, and the Booster Strap allows me to adjust boot stiffness by changing the tension on the elastic without having any slack in the strap. I cranked them way down tonight for racing and my 100 flex boot felt significantly stiffer than it ever has before.

Installation was generally easy although we hit a slight snag with my Langes. The power strap on most boots are fastened with screws and funky washer nuts. Unfortunately, Lange rivets their power straps on, so we had to drill out the rivets and get new bolts and toothed washer nuts (to keep them from just spinning while tightening the bolt). Besides that little snag, the remainder of the installation was a breeze.

Based on my experiences with them this week....
2 thumbs up!

 

[altagirl]

My husband also loves them and has used them for years.

I tried them a few years ago and I'm not that into them. To me they make the cuff TOO tight (like it feels great until I lose circulation in my feet 10 minutes later...). I think I'm weird though. When we do up our boots, my top buckle is comfortably snug and I just slap the velcro on the power strap so it stays put. My husband, OTOH, yanks on it and wants it as tight as humanly possible (and has never gotten cold in his life, I don't think). So for him - the power strap is ideal - it lets him get the cuff super snug, but with some give. I just found that for it to be comfortable and not cut off circulation, I had to keep it so loose it wasn't doing anything anyway, so it wasn't worth transferring to my new boots.

I do think they're excellent for people who really like that power strap cranked down though.

 

[Severine]

Good to hear a good review! I convinced hubby to get me a set (the standard model, though, since I'm an intermediate) but he hasn't put them on my boots yet. I'm looking forward to trying them out! :D

 

[tradygirl]

When we do up our boots, my top buckle is comfortably snug and I just slap the velcro on the power strap so it stays put. My husband, OTOH, yanks on it and wants it as tight as humanly possible (and has never gotten cold in his life, I don't think).

I'm the same way. I never crank my strap down since it just seems to cut off circulation. I think it's because of our burly calves. :p

But, my husband has the Booster straps on his touring boots and swears by them. I'd like to try them on my touring boots since any added performance is a good thing on those wimpy little things, but I have a feeling I'd have the same result - cold, numb feet.

 

[altagirl]

I'm the same way. I never crank my strap down since it just seems to cut off circulation. I think it's because of our burly calves. :p

But, my husband has the Booster straps on his touring boots and swears by them. I'd like to try them on my touring boots since any added performance is a good thing on those wimpy little things, but I have a feeling I'd have the same result - cold, numb feet.

I can totally see it as beneficial for racing, or even if you're going to adjust it at the top and bottom of every run (or just plain don't get cold feet or have super skinny calves that can't get pinched in the top of your boot). And I don't mind opening and closing buckles every run because I can do that on the move, but it's one of those infinitely adjustable things - you have to get it to the right tension, not just flip a buckle open or closed... so it takes too long for me to mess with. As you know, I don't ski with the most patient people in the world... ;)

I'd give you mine to try, but once I didn't put them on my new boots, Craig claimed mine. Actually, maybe it would make sense for touring - just leave it loose for the ascent and tighten it up for the descent? That's a lot less adjusting than every time you're getting off a chairlift...

 

[volklgirl]

Did you run yours inside or outside of the front plastic cuff? I know the directions say to run them inside the plastic giving them direct contact with the liner, but I routed mine to the outside just like the standard power strap. I'll give the inside routing a try this weekend and report back on that too.

 

[altagirl]

Did you run yours inside or outside of the front plastic cuff? I know the directions say to run them inside the plastic giving them direct contact with the liner, but I routed mine to the outside just like the standard power strap. I'll give the inside routing a try this weekend and report back on that too.

I tried both. I do seem to remember outside being better for me. I think it was when it was inside that it tended to cut off my circulation more.

 

[Gloria]

I have found that if you don't put any strap booster or otherwise on the inside of the boot that the top buckle actually loosens itself up by the time you finish a run.

 

[volklgirl]

Today I tried routing the Booster Strap inside the palstic of the upper cuff, per their directions.

Hmmmmmm.....same results as far as cuff fit and boot/ski response while maintaining a softer boot flex, perfect for the smooth packed powder and fluffy freshies we had today. The only issue I had in routing inside the upper cuff was that I couldn't close the upper cuff buckle until I cranked down the lower cuff buckle because the 3 layers of elastic took up too much room. Still, I never had to re-tighten anything after initial set-up on the first notch (I usually end up having to tighten the upper cuff buckles to the 3rd notch on the right leg and 2nd notch on the left leg as the day wears on). Overall, I'm still very impressed with this product!

So, my experimentation says I should route: inside the upper cuff free skiing (softer and more forgiving cuff) and outside the cuff for racing (stiffening up the boot for responsiveness).

 

[sibhusky]

I ordered myself one, then couldn't TRY it the way they described because to have it inside in the front and outside in the back I couldn't close my factory strap. And, I couldn't install it without drilling out the rivets on my Heads. Naturally, I didn't want to do that until I decided I liked them.

So, I gave them to my daughter. Well, she's supposed to pay me back, but that might be in the next millennium. I sure would like to KNOW I would like them, because my boots, while comfortable, are really not as stiff as I should probably have them.

 

[SueNJ]

Volklgirl, thanks for posting the results of your experiment. I read the instructions on the package saying that the Booster strap should go inside the shell, but I couldn't easily make it work--I couldn't close the top cuff buckle. I'll try it closing the lower cuff buckle first. I was just afraid that it would be too tight on my calf. Oh well, I guess it's worth a try!

 

[volklgirl]

I ordered myself one, then couldn't TRY it the way they described because to have it inside in the front and outside in the back I couldn't close my factory strap. And, I couldn't install it without drilling out the rivets on my Heads. Naturally, I didn't want to do that until I decided I liked them.

Wow, Head rivets theirs, too? Every other boot I've seen besides the Langes have an allen or phillips head screw with a rectangular fastener inside the boot.
Your local shop should be able to easily drill out the rivets and install the straps......just hang onto your stock straps in case you hate them. Re-installation of the stock strap is a breeze, just have the shop replace the rivets with bolts and nuts when they install the Boosters, then if you hate them, it's a simple matter of unscrewing the hardware and putting the stock strap back on with the same bolt and nut combo.

are really not as stiff as I should probably have them

I found the stiffening happened only when I routed them like a traditional power strap (outside all the way around).

 

[SueNJ]

We had to drill out the rivets on my Solly Rush 8's as well.

I do like the stiffness I get when routing the Booster straps outside the shell, but I'll try routing it inside to see the difference. As you've found, there may be appropriate conditions for either method.

 

[Kiragirl]

My husband also loves them and has used them for years.

I tried them a few years ago and I'm not that into them. To me they make the cuff TOO tight (like it feels great until I lose circulation in my feet 10 minutes later...). I think I'm weird though. When we do up our boots, my top buckle is comfortably snug and I just slap the velcro on the power strap so it stays put. My husband, OTOH, yanks on it and wants it as tight as humanly possible (and has never gotten cold in his life, I don't think). So for him - the power strap is ideal - it lets him get the cuff super snug, but with some give. I just found that for it to be comfortable and not cut off circulation, I had to keep it so loose it wasn't doing anything anyway, so it wasn't worth transferring to my new boots.

I do think they're excellent for people who really like that power strap cranked down though.

agree that it would make the cuff area too tight, I only keep my top buckle on 1 and just lean into it.