Yay - new boots!

[HikenSki]

Thanks to the Women’s Night that Inside Ski hosted last week, I was able to finally get the boots out of the house and into some skis. I spent a number of evenings just wearing my boots for half hour or so in the thinnest Smartwool socks I could buy. I felt like I might need to punch out the pinky toe area but it was hard to tell as standing and walking in ski boots does not replicate the act of skiing. After three runs on the simulator, I LOVE them! First run I got a calf cramp because I tightened them a wee bit too tight. Next two runs I never noticed any foot discomfort. Just a nice snug hug with no foot movement. What I did notice was how just the tiniest movements translated to the ski and when I drove the ski, it went. It also meant I had to pay attention to my movements otherwise I’d catch an edge and get thrown off balance. LOL. I felt so stable and centered on the ski, something I had an issue with last year. Brian was there to observe and was happy to see the new boots working out for me because jumping from 80 flex to a 120 flex low volume boot meant trusting him that they would work for me.

I am super excited to hit the snow. It can’t come soon enough! Skis are being set for the new boots as I speak. Has anyone gotten stiff boots and found their prior skis to now be too soft? That’s one thing I’m wondering about. There are some good deals out there on last years models and I’m tempted to grab something a bit stiffer. I am currently on Quattro 8.0 Ca and Alluvit 88s.

 

[alison wong]

Thanks to the Women’s Night that Inside Ski hosted last week,

I did not know about the event, missed it. How was it?

 

[marzNC]

Has anyone gotten stiff boots and found their prior skis to now be too soft? That’s one thing I’m wondering about.

When I bought my last pair of boots in March, I bought Head Absolut Joy during the summer for skiing in the east. However, I'd demo'd the AJs and Total Joys using my old boots and knew I liked them. I bought new boots because my technique had been improving based on more days on snow and lessons appropriate for an advanced skier, so they were a little stiffer than the previous pair. But not by much because as a petite older skier, I don't need super stiff boots.

I'm using stiffer skis than 10 years ago when I bought the first pair of 4-buckle boots, but I don't think the change in boots has been a significant factor. For me, lessons have been a much bigger factor.

 

[vickie]

Congrats, @HikenSki! I really like Brian Deely as a bootfitter. So glad you got such a good fit.

 

[santacruz skier]

When I bought my last pair of boots in March, I bought Head Absolut Joy during the summer for skiing in the east. However, I'd demo'd the AJs and Total Joys using my old boots and knew I liked them. I bought new boots because my technique had been improving based on more days on snow and lessons appropriate for an advanced skier, so they were a little stiffer than the previous pair. But not by much because as a petite older skier, I don't need super stiff boots.

I'm using stiffer skis than 10 years ago when I bought the first pair of 4-buckle boots, but I don't think the change in boots has been a significant factor. For me, lessons have been a much bigger factor.

What kind of boots do you have? I have had the same boots Tecnica Inferno (think similar to Mach 1) for several years now but only ski 35-40 days per year. I have intuition liners (LOVE them) but probably need new boots. Bootfitter at Northstar is great but does not sell Tecnica.

 

[HikenSki]

I did not know about the event, missed it. How was it?

Bummer you missed it! I received the announcement via email and also saw it posted on the web. It was a lot of fun! We each got three 10min runs on the simulator. Sufficient enough time to make jello of your legs. LOL. We got to poke around the new gear, ask questions. I believe two women got fitted for new boots while there too. Found out Vail Resorts is not touching the Whitetail lesson programs for this season, which I am super excited about because I had such a great time last year. If you were interested in attending in 2020, the dates are: January 10th, January 31st, and February 14th. Registration isn't open yet but I've marked my calendar.

 

[HikenSki]

What kind of boots do you have? I have had the same boots Tecnica Inferno (think similar to Mach 1) for several years now but only ski 35-40 days per year. I have intuition liners (LOVE them) but probably need new boots. Bootfitter at Northstar is great but does not sell Tecnica.

I bought the mens 2019 Lange 120 RX LV. Picture is the first post in this thread. :-) I skied my old boots for three seasons and improved so much that I was overpowering them when conditions got chopped up and when I wanted to drive my skis. When I bought them in 2016, I was not running as much as I do now, so my calves were smaller and I was nowhere near as strong. My feet are long (size 11), on the wider side but with a narrow ankle, and with a low instep but normal arch, which meant I needed a low volume boot to adequately lock down my heel. I'm also tall (5'10") with long lower legs so the womens boots don't come up high enough in back to provide that stability I need. I had a real issue with my previous boots being too loose around the ankle, even with ankle pads and duck tape to fill in some space. It will be interesting to see how my skiing improves now that I've taken away that slop and stiffened up the boot!

 

[alison wong]

Bummer you missed it! I received the announcement via email and also saw it posted on the web.

I never received any email about the event, and I followed them on FB. Strange. I purchased a 12-group lesson package from Inside Ski and have been doing ~1-2 lessons per month there, I have an instructor I normally work with. (She is L3 from Liberty and she is the best instructor I've had.) Thought it'd be interesting to attend this event outside of my normal lessons.

I probably won't be able to make to the Friday Women's day at Whitetail, due to work.... If I can get a comp day off on Friday, I may sign up.

 

[marzNC]

What kind of boots do you have? I have had the same boots Tecnica Inferno (think similar to Mach 1) for several years now but only ski 35-40 days per year. I have intuition liners (LOVE them) but probably need new boots. Bootfitter at Northstar is great but does not sell Tecnica.

All my boots since 2005 have been Nordica. They fit pretty well. I got them from my local shop. The owner is a pretty experience boot fitter. But I'm advanced but not agressive so don't need boots that are super snug. I had my Intuition liners from the previous pair of boots re-molded last season since the stock liners from my current boots had packed out.

Of course, I have no idea if your feet and mine have anything in common. So the fact that Nordica boots work for me may not be relevant for your. Although we are about the same height, our bodies are a bit different.

 

[santacruz skier]

All my boots since 2005 have been Nordica. They fit pretty well. I got them from my local shop. The owner is a pretty experience boot fitter. But I'm advanced but not agressive so don't need boots that are super snug. I had my Intuition liners from the previous pair of boots re-molded last season since the stock liners from my current boots had packed out.

Of course, I have no idea if your feet and mine have anything in common. So the fact that Nordica boots work for me may not be relevant for your. Although we are about the same height, our bodies are a bit different.

Agree - just curious as I didn't remember what kind of boots you had.

 

[HikenSki]

I probably won't be able to make to the Friday Women's day at Whitetail, due to work.... If I can get a comp day off on Friday, I may sign up.

Bummer you didn’t see the announcement. I think there were only two of us who had been on the machine before. Would have loved to see how it’s done by someone who has many hours on it. I’m so close to parallel and have hopes I’ll be there by Christmas with another four pack of lessons I bought for us again this fall. Funny how the simulator will quickly highlight flaws in technique. Last run of the night, 10 seconds left and I went down. I got parallel tho according to the Whitetail instructor.
They are doing the Women of Whitetail on the weekends again this year. So tempted to do it but I don’t have a season pass and the first weekend I’ll actually be at Snowshoe.

 

[HikenSki]

Agree - just curious as I didn't remember what kind of boots you had.

My apologies for not catching your reply was to marzNC. Trying to keep track of the tangents in the thread. LOL. I’m envious of your Sierra snow. Someday hubby and I will finally get to the Tahoe area. We’ve been many times off season and dream of the powder.

 

[Jersey Ski Girl]

So excited for winter to come! Last season, I was having to really ratchet down my buckles by the end of the day to get a snug fit and felt like I was over flexing my boots to drive my skis when conditions started to get bumped up. I was just getting so worn out. I knew I was going to need to replace my Salomon Xpro 80s this season. I’m a much stronger and better skier than when I purchased these (my first non rental boots) back in 2016 and knew I needed stiffer more form fitting boots.
I swung into ProFit Ski in Leesburg VA to see what they had for their Labor Day sale. I didn’t have high hopes for finding something on sale in a size 27.5. Found out I have long feet that are slightly wide with a narrow ankle and small instep. That coupled with my height, weight, and long lower leg length meant we went straight to the men’s low volume boots. 2+ hours later, I walked out with these bright beauties - 2019 Lange RX 120 LVs! Brian Deely is amazing with non-average feet and getting that perfect fit for customers. It looked like a tornado went thru the shop with all the boxes Brian pulled out to find that as-close-to-perfect-as-one-can-get boot. He added in some heel lifts which helped suck my heel into the pocket and punched out a little room in the forefoot area so my pinky toes weren’t getting smashed. Still expecting a little more work once I’ve had a chance to wear them around the house for a bit. I’ll likely need some tongue shims to tighten up the front of the ankle after they break in. It just feels so good to have a pair that hugs my heel and ankle area and are a lot easier to get on and off! I am hoping to get some time on the indoor ski ramp to dial in fit before we hit real snow.
I’m just so excited to see how much more control I have with these when I’m going hard and how different my skis are going to feel! Just hoping my feet don’t get too cold with the non-plush interior and tighter fit. I’m sure the Boot Gloves will be used a bit more this season.

View attachment 11185

Very nice! Enjoy them!!

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Bummer you didn’t see the announcement. I think there were only two of us who had been on the machine before. Would have loved to see how it’s done by someone who has many hours on it. I’m so close to parallel and have hopes I’ll be there by Christmas with another four pack of lessons I bought for us again this fall. Funny how the simulator will quickly highlight flaws in technique. Last run of the night, 10 seconds left and I went down. I got parallel tho according to the Whitetail instructor.
They are doing the Women of Whitetail on the weekends again this year. So tempted to do it but I don’t have a season pass and the first weekend I’ll actually be at Snowshoe.

I’ve been taking lessons along with @alison wong and you are right there’s no room for cheating on the carpet. I have to do things exactly right to get and stay parallel. Otherwise I have to wedge to slow down, balance, or reset. I haven’t been able to manage more than one or two good turns before having to reset myself. I saw an instructor supervisor from Liberty practicing and, according to our instructor, he was working on engaging his inside skis. He was parallel 99% of the time and was only in a wedge at the beginning and when he had to take a breather. Even so, there was a couple of times he tipped at the wrong time and caught his edge. Didn’t go down though! It was a beautiful thing to watch.

Depending on whether I’ve summoned enough courage to do the frontside blues by then, I might do the Feb 14th Women’s Day at Whitetail.

Forgot to add — congrats on the new boots!

 

[HikenSki]

We are looking forward to our lessons coming up in a few weeks. Would love to do more but it's not cheap. I'd much rather spend money for on snow lessons.

I wouldn't worry about needing to ski the blues at Whitetail to do the Women's Day. I had never been to Whitetail when I did the women's day back in January. I was in the intermediate group and we spent all our time on Sidewinder and Snowpark doing drills, drills I found very valuable and repeated on future visits on my own. Our last run of the day was on Fanciful after some of the group opted to try our hand at a blue. It was nice having an instructor be there for my first run on a blue there, which I find actually more difficult than the blues at Snowshoe where we normally ski.

 

[Mary Tee]

Am I the only one that looks at this thread title and always thinks “ wow what good thing is going on in @newboots life!”

 

[newboots]

@newboots is going into her fourth year in those very boots!

 

[alison wong]

Am I the only one that looks at this thread title and always thinks “ wow what good thing is going on in @newboots life!”

I don't.... but now I do (after reading your post).

 

[alison wong]

I saw an instructor supervisor from Liberty practicing

He is not any instructor supervisor, he is a PSIA examiner (according to the staff).
He is really good, i can watch him all day skiing on that ski carpet, good forms and he makes it look so easy and effortless.

I'd much rather spend money for on snow lessons.

I am the opposite. I prefer to spend the money on skiing the carpet. Because skiing on real snow, there are many variables (bumps, icy spots etc), it is hard to feel what I should be feeling w/ all these variables in the picture.
Carpet skiing removes these variables, I can focus on my form and technique, how I rotate my legs, stable / quiet my hip, edging, when to flatten downhill skis..etc.

My friend and I started taking lessons at Inside ski since last year. Both of us felt our skiing has improved. So we signed up for group lesson package this year again.

My first ski day last season was in Japan (after 8 lessons at Inside ski). Initially, I was bit skeptical and doubtful that carpet skiing would help. But as I made my first run, i felt the difference. It was as if the skiing has never "left me" despite 8 months not on the snow. I did not have to "reacquaint" myself with the sport....

The caveat is, I have a good instructor to work with. We only book lessons w/ her and no one else. She teaches adult dev women's multi week program at Liberty. Her class usually has 10+ students at Liberty. Get to work with her at inside ski is a plus, because I get more attention from her... since it is usually 2 students on the ski deck each session.

 

[HikenSki]

)But as I made my first run, i felt the difference. It was as if the skiing has never "left me" despite 8 months not on the snow. I did not have to "reacquaint" myself with the sport....

My husband and I both felt this way last year. We did a four pack before we went on our post holiday trip to Snowshoe. First run back on the snow and we were off and running. No time needed to get our feet and bodies used to the motions again. We remembered the tips we received on the carpet and saw immediate improvement. I signed us up for another four pack before our trip again this year. Good way to reacquaint the feet and really get a feel for the new boots and any potential hot spots. I do like the carpet for getting a feel of what my feet are doing, where I’m putting pressure, something I can’t focus on completely on the slopes with so many other things to think about.