Boot Advice

[Paul]

when you are buying a boot do not let anyone tell you what fits or steer you towards a certain boot. It is a business and they want to sell what they make the most money on. When you are strapped in a boot make sure your heel does not move AT ALL. If your heel is tight it allows you to get good lean over your ski which means good turns(just as Greg said above). Also do not get a boot that is too stiff. If you get a high flex rated boot your gonna need to ski the piss out of them to get results. A softer boot will flex easier and will allow you turn better as an upper intermediate skier. I ski pretty hard and i have technica vento 10's. I would not recommend this boot for someone that does not like ski hard all the time. I do love my boot and if you ski hard and fast go for it.

Interesting, I also have the Vento 10s. I ski hard occasionally, but they serve me just fine when I'm cruisin' with the kiddo. they were the only ones that had a toe-box that felt good.

 

[basemoto]

i feel like it is hard to cruise when i am using them. I feel that the boot doesn't flex enough unless i am skiing hard. It could also be my skis. I have sx11 which is a stiff ski and hard to turn. So ultimately it is a combination of the ski and boot and probably more the ski.

 

[wa-loaf]

i feel like it is hard to cruise when i am using them. I feel that the boot doesn't flex enough unless i am skiing hard. It could also be my skis. I have sx11 which is a stiff ski and hard to turn. So ultimately it is a combination of the ski and boot and probably more the ski.

You might want to visit a boot fitter. If your for/aft balance is off it can make it hard to flex the boot properly. That can also be a problem if the boot is too big.

 

[basemoto]

nahh the boot is awesome and it fits perfectly i am just saying to get the most out of the boot you have to ski hard. I am not saying i am constantly in a race type of skiing but the boot really performs when you ski them hard.

 

[Paul]

nahh the boot is awesome and it fits perfectly i am just saying to get the most out of the boot you have to ski hard. I am not saying i am constantly in a race type of skiing but the boot really performs when you ski them hard.

Yup. I also will set them to soft when not skiing aggressively. So that can make a difference as well.

 

[MR. evil]

Well after skiing in the bumps all day on Friday at Hunter with the AZ crew, I realized just how badly I needed new boots. Even with all the buckles locked down at max, my feet were moving all over the place in my boots. So today Randi and I took a drive to Ski Market in Avon to check out the store and see what they had there for a selection. My plan was to make an appointment for a fitting with Dave Newman and go back sometime this week.

While we were milling around looking in the boot section the guy in charge came over to see if we needed any help. I didn;t catch his last name but I am pretty sure his first name was Dave, and he was the one every one else working there in the boot area was coming to for advice. So I think I may have lucked out and got to work with Dave N. Either way, this guy was great. He spent a lot of time with me. He first shell sized me and I then tried on a pair of Nordica's with some foot beds that felt really good. From there he pulled several other boots that he though would work for me and I tried all of those on with foot beds as well. On some of the boots we even tried different foots beds to see if we could find the right one. In the end the first pair I tried on were the winners. From there he started to ask me if there were any small hot spots of loose spots for him to work on. There were no hot spots, but my heel didn't feel as secure as i wanted it to side to side. I didn't know if the boot was the right one, or if this was how a boot was supposed to fit.. So he taped on two small neoprene shims to either side of my heel. This adjustment locked my heel in really secure but didn't feel as comfortable as with out. So we removed the shims. He told me to ski in them a couple of times and then see if I wanted the shims added. The guy was great to work with! I ended up getting a pair of 2008 Nordica GTS 6 boots. I could have found them online for about $60 cheaper. But the extra money was well worth the attention I received. While there we also picked up Randi a pair of foot beds for her boots as well.

I am sitting on the couch breakiing on the boots as I type. It also looks like Randi and I are going to head to Sundown tonight, so I will also get a chance to test these babies out.

Thanks for all the advice.
Tim

 

[wa-loaf]

I am sitting on the couch breakiing on the boots as I type. It also looks like Randi and I are going to head to Sundown tonight, so I will also get a chance to test these babies out.

Before you head out did you have your bindings set for the new boots? Enjoy the Nordicas, I love mine.

 

[MR. evil]

Before you head out did you have your bindings set for the new boots? Enjoy the Nordicas, I love mine.

I re-adjusted the bindings myself.

 

[Greg]

Nice Tim. Good luck. You're pretty well set up with equipment. Now it's time to just log those miles!

 

[MR. evil]

got to test out the new boots and foot beds tonight at Sundown....they were very nice! I felt much more secure in my boots and in control.

 

[bvibert]

Glad Ski Market worked out so well for you Tim.

 

[severine]

got to test out the new boots and foot beds tonight at Sundown....they were very nice! I felt much more secure in my boots and in control.

Glad to hear Ski Market worked out for you! :beer:

I think that guy was in there one time when I was looking for something (what exactly escapes me at the moment). If it was, I was impressed with how thoroughly he was helping some customers.