First, some background. I bought these boots on the recommendation of Jeff Rich at the U.S. Orthotic Center in NYC, after having some horrible experiences with a painful boot--Salomon Ellipse--that ended up actually breaking a couple of months after I bought them (Pelican Ski Shop took them back on warranty), then a Technica Rival boot that ended up being way too big and too wide. I've got really fussy feet and have always had trouble buying shoes, etc, so after struggling on my own, I decided to get custom orthotics made and had my boots modified to accommodate my fussy feet. I had the Technica boots when I first saw Jeff, and he basically told me to ditch them and get a boot in the right size (Rush 8).
After skiing on the Solly boots several times, I decided they still weren't quite right, but didn't feel like hassling with more trips to NYC. So I did an overnight trip to Stratton and met with Pete Parker at the Green Mountain Orthotics Lab to have him finish customizing my boots. What a great group of folks GMO are!! I was more impressed with them than I was Jeff Rich. So after all the customization, I'm tied to these boots for the foreseeable future (not that I want to get rid of them--they're actually comfortable).
Fast-forward to now. I just switched my velcro OEM power straps for Booster straps--wow! What a difference in fit! In the process, my SO found a discussion online that talked about how, in the men's version of my boot, the instep buckle, if put in the position where it's closest to the ankle, "crashes" with the lower cuff buckle, preventing the boot from flexing properly. We looked at the instep buckle on my boots and sure enough, there was evidence (a gouge in the side of the buckle) showing the same problem. So at the same time SO put the Booster straps on, he also moved the buckle to the more forward position--oddly enough, my heels feel more snug in the heel pockets now.
When I skied on the boots last night (first time since the modifications), I found that the boots feel completely different, not necessarily in a bad way, but such that I feel like I have to "learn" some of my technique all over again. I always had trouble getting my shins forward enough in the boots to touch the front, and could never really cinch down the velcro power strap enough to put the liner tongue close enough to my shins, resulting in a rather sloppy cuff fit. Now they fit nice and snug. These boots have a flex rating of 80, but I have a feeling that, pre-modification, they weren't flexing anywhere near 80 because of the sloppy fit on the cuffs and because the instep buckle was interfering with the cuff flex.
So, to make a long story longer , I've got 2 questions. Do any of you ladies use Booster straps? If so, what impact did it have on your skiing when you switched to them?
Second question, does anyone else have Salomon Rush (8 or 9?) (Retromaven?) boots? If you have the instep buckles in the position that's closer to the cuff, are the buckles interfering with the boot flex?
After skiing on the Solly boots several times, I decided they still weren't quite right, but didn't feel like hassling with more trips to NYC. So I did an overnight trip to Stratton and met with Pete Parker at the Green Mountain Orthotics Lab to have him finish customizing my boots. What a great group of folks GMO are!! I was more impressed with them than I was Jeff Rich. So after all the customization, I'm tied to these boots for the foreseeable future (not that I want to get rid of them--they're actually comfortable).
Fast-forward to now. I just switched my velcro OEM power straps for Booster straps--wow! What a difference in fit! In the process, my SO found a discussion online that talked about how, in the men's version of my boot, the instep buckle, if put in the position where it's closest to the ankle, "crashes" with the lower cuff buckle, preventing the boot from flexing properly. We looked at the instep buckle on my boots and sure enough, there was evidence (a gouge in the side of the buckle) showing the same problem. So at the same time SO put the Booster straps on, he also moved the buckle to the more forward position--oddly enough, my heels feel more snug in the heel pockets now.
When I skied on the boots last night (first time since the modifications), I found that the boots feel completely different, not necessarily in a bad way, but such that I feel like I have to "learn" some of my technique all over again. I always had trouble getting my shins forward enough in the boots to touch the front, and could never really cinch down the velcro power strap enough to put the liner tongue close enough to my shins, resulting in a rather sloppy cuff fit. Now they fit nice and snug. These boots have a flex rating of 80, but I have a feeling that, pre-modification, they weren't flexing anywhere near 80 because of the sloppy fit on the cuffs and because the instep buckle was interfering with the cuff flex.
So, to make a long story longer , I've got 2 questions. Do any of you ladies use Booster straps? If so, what impact did it have on your skiing when you switched to them?
Second question, does anyone else have Salomon Rush (8 or 9?) (Retromaven?) boots? If you have the instep buckles in the position that's closer to the cuff, are the buckles interfering with the boot flex?