Do you unbuckle your boots on the way up the lift?

[abc]

I've come to realize over the years that if I find myself wanting to unbuckle my boots on the lift that it's because the liners have gotten so packed out that I want/need to buckle them tighter than usual to get the downhill performance that i'm looking for from and that it's likely time to SERIOUSLY consider new boots!

Eeeeexactly!!!

I'm at that stage right now... (I didn't 2 seasons ago, only occasionally last season, every run this season)

 

[Scruffy]

No, I do not touch the buckles all day, even at lunch. With proper fitting boots and Orthotics, you do not need to make a tourniquet of your boots.

I ski with some who are always unbuckling and buckling each time on and off the lift, it's damn annoying waiting at the top for them to adjust their boots :grin:

 

[Bene288]

I buckle up in the lodge or truck, by the time I walk to the lift for the first run I usually tighten a bit then don't touch them for the rest of the day.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I don't have buckles.I do have to tighten the laces occasionally as the leather stretches out after getting wet.:smash:

 

[wtcobb]

I usually leave them loose for the walk to the lift then tighten up at the top. Then I leave them be throughout the day.

 

[jrmagic]

I don't touch them much but some days temperature changes require me to loosen tighten a bit to adjsut for the shell softness/hardness.

 

[legalskier]

No, mine fit really well. Plus I often have Boot Gloves on them.

 

[Cannonball]

I usually leave my boots alone. But I do prefer to unbuckle my pants for the ride.

 

[Riverskier]

No, I don't unbuckle. They stay buckled until I am done for the day, even if I take an extended break. There may be valid reasons (perhaps just being more comfortable for some), but I always felt that if you need to constantly buckle and unbuckle that your boots probably don't fit right.

 

[Glenn]

I don't. I don't think it's needed unless you're breaking in new boots...and you don't have them quite dialied in yet.

Here's a few other rants: Racer kids shouldn't ski with their pants rolled up over their boots. See above statement about not needing to unbuckle.

Race coaches don't need race stock skis. Unless you're running gates for medals, off the rack skis will do ya just fine.

 

[GlassesMolasses]

Not between runs

 

[ToddW]

Odd man out here.

Unbuckle lower 3 buckles so I can wiggle my foot on the lift to increase circulation (not because of discomfort.) A properly fitted plug boot with race foam liners can lead to cold feet otherwise. It's a small price for the huge performance boost of foam.

 

[Cheese]

Odd man out here.

Unbuckle lower 3 buckles so I can wiggle my foot on the lift to increase circulation (not because of discomfort.) A properly fitted plug boot with race foam liners can lead to cold feet otherwise. It's a small price for the huge performance boost of foam.

I unbuckle the lower two on every run. I do crank them down to a lack of circulation tightness though. If I forget to unbuckle before the chair ride up, the next run is usually rough. If I forget to unbuckle before standing on a tram for the ride up, I may have just ruined a good hour of my ski day.

 

[Bobt2ski]

I leave my boots buckled for the day!!

 

[Hawkshot99]

You guys buckle your boots for the ride down?

I sometimes(every 3rd or 4th run) will unbuckle my tow buckle for the lift ride.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.

 

[drjeff]

I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.

My wife has that buckle-unbuckle "syndrome" - I figure over the course of a day if I'm skiing with her, it costs me about a run. I've also come to accept that there are bigger things to fret over than that! Now if it's a powder day, then it turns into "text me when you're done skiing dear and tell me where you'll be!

 

[timm]

I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.

Seconded.

 

[Cheese]

Occasionally, I'll lock em down a bit for a bump run

It's just a little shin bang, how much can that hurt?

 

[goldsbar]

Now for the real question: When you put your boots on, do you buckle from the top down or the bottom up? I'd say 90%+ do bottom up. I've read the correct way is top down as the higher the buckle, the more important (i.e. how well the boot holds your ankle is much more important than how it holds your toes) so you want to focus on getting a good fit in that area.

I agree higher buckles are more important, but don't really know if the direction matters. For the record, I do top down. I have really thin ankles and the buckle notch I use is actually hard to buckle with my foot out of the boot.