boots

[greekpeakskier]

The boot discussion has me thinking about new boots. I've only skied in my Salomon Rush 6s for two seasons but have skied three to five times a week during these two seasons and improved quite a bit (as one would hope, if one makes skiing an unmatched first priority for two years).

The boots feel incredibly sloppy now, I cinch them to the max to get a semblance of feeling for my skis. And I'm ready to start skiing moguls of off piste. Tomorrow a friend is teaching me how to start sking the NASTAR course (all this, of course, is pure fantasy, I'm a 51 year old ex-athlete, my times on NASTAR will resemble the baking time for banana bread)

I know I need to go to a bootfitter, and plan on going to the one recommended in salt lake when i go there in April. But would like to obsess endlessly about it between now and then (especially given the dirth of decent bootfitter options in my area).

First, simple question, and then more complicated one.

1. I had custom foodbeds made for my Rush 6s. Can I just move them over to new boots?

2. Now, the more complex one. I have narrow feet, narrow heels (which I think is one of the problems with Rushs) and want to feel the ski. I hear the discussions of the attiva flame. Who wears it and why? And what else do you wear?

 

[smpayne]

The Tecnica Attiva Flame is a fairly stiff boot, not the stiffest out there, but it is near the top of the line. Last year it was Tecnica's top women's boot, but they added a stiffer one this year. It also tends to be better geared toward the wider foot. My fore foot measured about a D, I also have quite a high instep. The Tecnica V8 is even roomier than the Flame. The Nordica's also tend to be more geared toward the wider foot.

I think the Dabello Krypton runs narrow, while some of the other Dabello models are a bit wider. Best advice, let the bootfitter find the boot that fits your feet. Just remember, don't understate your ability. Ask your instructor or someone you ski with to give thier opinion on your ability, so you can give your bootfitter an acurate description.

 

[Lori_K]

You should be able to move your old footbed to your new boots. If you end up in a smaller boot, the footbed can be trimmed to fit the boot.

I went on a new boot quest last fall, and tried on the Attiva Flame UltraFit. It fit fairly well, but then I tried on the Salomon Instinct 9, and it fit nearly perfectly. Even better once I had my footbeds transferred from my old boots. I also have very narrow heels, and a narrow foot.
After some 15 days in the Salomons, I just had some additional foam put on the liner in the achilles area to snug up the heel pocket some more. Other than that, I am extremely happy with the boots. Comfortable, warm, and great performance.

So, consider the Salomon Instinct 9 as an option. Also look at Langes, as they tend to have a narrower fit.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

1. I had custom foodbeds made for my Rush 6s. Can I just move them over to new boots?

2. Now, the more complex one. I have narrow feet, narrow heels (which I think is one of the problems with Rushs) and want to feel the ski. I hear the discussions of the attiva flame. Who wears it and why? And what else do you wear?

1. Yes - just remove the stock footbeds from whatever you buy.
2. I'm in Tecnica Flames, previously Tecnica Rival 9L, and 2 more Tecnicas prior to that. I have highly pronated, wide forefoot, low volume feet (think "duck"). It was a near-out of the box fit for me each time. One model was totally out of the box, no further modifications required - ever. (just insoles) That's why I've stayed with the brand.

I'm not sure Tecnica is your boot if you're as narrow as you say. Whenever I hear narrow, I usually think Lange.

The solution, obviously, is a bootfitter. A good one will look at your feet and immediately be able to offer up selections - and not even consider others. It's a long process, but you're on the right track by having had custom insoles made.

Good luck!!

 

[Kimmyt]

Hey, I got new boots this year that are 1.5 sizes smaller and was told by the boot guy that I could take my old custom footies out of the old boots and put em in the new ones, I just had to trim them up to fit. He said the shop could do it too if I wanted but I did it myself with just a pair of good scissors and a bit of patience. However, I might have gotten the shop to do it if I had known how annoying it would be, you have to watch out for getting it the exact size as the liner, otherwise you may get a tiny gap at the front and your toes can get pushed against that or rubbed a bit at the edge.

K.

 

[Jan]

Well, you are my new hero! I wish I could try to race, but really felt too old at 41..... and I'm afraid my times would be more like a roast cooking, so banana bread is pretty fast!
I agree, the custom footbeds will transfer to your new boots, maybe with a little trimming. I have been throughly pleased with my Rossi Bandits, which are 2 years old now. Fit comfy and snug, although I don't have narrow feet.

 

[greekpeakskier]

salomon scarlet vs. instinct

so, there is a good but temperamental bootfitter in town. as my ski buddy says, "if he would just learn how not to be absolutely dismissive, he might do better." after i spent the day sloshing around in my boots, i went to him.


he absolutely dismisses the attiva, feels that the positioning is all wrong, would not let me look at it. he says that salomon is what to ski on and he can make any salomon fit me. at first he was all over the instinct, thinking it would be great. when it was unavaialable, he said he's much rather that i ski in the scarlet than in an attiva.

scarlet gets good reviews on bootfitter.com, but NO ONE on this list discusses it.

i think he's great as a bootfitter -- as far as getting boots to work with feet goes. and i like the idea of a local bootfitter who will work with the boot to make it work (rather than going to a bootfitter in salt lake in april),

but i'd like to hear some discussion of the scarlet vs. the instinct.

 

[marta]

I tried on both the Instinct and Scarlet last year. I thought the Scarlet had a much nicer liner. The Instinct had fabric, where the Scarlet had leather, much like the Falcon and gripped my foot better. It was pretty comfortable right out of the box, and it was stiff-ish, but I could flex it just fine. They say its a park and powder boot, but that shouldn't matter really. Perhaps it has a rubber bootboard under the liner to soften those landings?

 

[smpayne]

he absolutely dismisses the attiva, feels that the positioning is all wrong, would not let me look at it. he says that salomon is what to ski on and he can make any salomon fit me. at first he was all over the instinct, thinking it would be great. when it was unavaialable, he said he's much rather that i ski in the scarlet than in an attiva.

Listen to your boot fitter. The Tecnica's tend to favor a wider/higher volume foot. You may want to ask to try a few other brands with a similar fit. When I was trying on boots, after getting the proper size from my bootfitter, I tried a few other brands (on my own), just to get a feel for why he chose the boots that he did. I could immediately see where the other (wrong) boots would never work and it was easier to see the strange preasure points vs the boots he chose for me.
I actually ended up getting the Attiva Flames, because the FELT better than the Attiva V8, which was the one the bootfitter initialy recomended. The Flames were a step up from the V8, but I had no trouble getting them to flex enough, that he didn't argue with me.