Fischer's Vacuum boot...aid or hindrance towards bootfit

[bigbog]

Link taken from over on Epicski. Thought I'd just throw it in.

http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/100755/2012-fischer-vacuum-ski-boot-a-game-changer


$.01

 

[deadheadskier]

pretty interesting technology

makes you wonder what things will be like 30 years from now. I wouldn't be surprised to see machines someday that take measurements of your feet and legs at every angle and use those measurements to create a custom boot to order.

 

[bvibert]

Definitely sounds pretty cool. I'll be interested to see how they perform in real world conditions.

Looks like my local shop will be carrying them in September this year.

 

[Glenn]

That's interesting! I'm gonna ask the boot guy we use if he's got any info on this.

 

[drjeff]

pretty interesting technology

makes you wonder what things will be like 30 years from now. I wouldn't be surprised to see machines someday that take measurements of your feet and legs at every angle and use those measurements to create a custom boot to order.

I've got some seriously crazy technology like that in my profession right now. Various either direct image capturing via digital scanners allowing an actual 3-D model of the teeth we're working on to then be milled from various materials for a result that gives a fit that is phenomenal, or even to take it to another level, in BIG reconstruction cases, BEFORE any treatment has started, a CAT scan can be taken of the area, a full sized, 3-D model of the area can then be made and then all the final surgical guides and final restoration made before any treatment has begun! Cool stuff!

I could in a way see this happening to boot fitting. A CAT scan, or some yet to be developed imaging technology takes the images to allow a full sized 3-D model of your feet/ankles/calves to be obtained, then a full sized model is milled and a boot shell and liner is made from that EXACT model of your foot/leg! Would technology be in every shop, nope, but would some shops have it, probably if it were around!

 

[hammer]

I've got some seriously crazy technology like that in my profession right now. Various either direct image capturing via digital scanners allowing an actual 3-D model of the teeth we're working on to then be milled from various materials for a result that gives a fit that is phenomenal, or even to take it to another level, in BIG reconstruction cases, BEFORE any treatment has started, a CAT scan can be taken of the area, a full sized, 3-D model of the area can then be made and then all the final surgical guides and final restoration made before any treatment has begun! Cool stuff!

What is that technology doing for the overall cost of treatment?

I like new technology, I'd just rather wait until the cost of it settles down a bit...

 

[deadheadskier]

There's similar technology in the Meat Industry. "Robot Butchers". The machines cost about 1M and only a handful of plants in the country have them.

Whole Primals are fed into the machine onto a scale. Then multiple cameras take pictures of the whole Ribeye, Striploin etc to determine it's dimensions. The "Butcher" programs the size steaks desired and the machines cuts up that 15# Whole Ribeye within 2% precision. It is twice as fast as the best human butchers out there and most seasoned butchers typically cut to within 10% precision, so it's far more accurate as well.

 

[Glenn]

There's similar technology in the Meat Industry. "Robot Butchers". The machines cost about 1M and only a handful of plants in the country have them.

Whole Primals are fed into the machine onto a scale. Then multiple cameras take pictures of the whole Ribeye, Striploin etc to determine it's dimensions. The "Butcher" programs the size steaks desired and the machines cuts up that 15# Whole Ribeye within 2% precision. It is twice as fast as the best human butchers out there and most seasoned butchers typically cut to within 10% precision, so it's far more accurate as well.

That almost sounds like the technology they use in sawmills now. They scan the log and the computer calculates the optimal cuts based on the size of the log. Pretty crazy.

 

[o3jeff]

That almost sounds like the technology they use in sawmills now. They scan the log and the computer calculates the optimal cuts based on the size of the log. Pretty crazy.

Seems like computer optimizers are being used in a lot of industries now to eliminate a lot of waste and also a lot quicker, I know in my industry(windows) almost all manufactures are cutting all the glass on them,

 

[drjeff]

What is that technology doing for the overall cost of treatment?

I like new technology, I'd just rather wait until the cost of it settles down a bit...

The CAT scans will set you back anywhere from a couple hundred to a $1000 depending on the area of the country you have it done in. The model fabrication runs anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand depending on how much of the jaw(s) are involved in the planned restoration, so its not cheap. But in the roughly 5 years since this technology hit the market (and it's stll in relatively limited use) the costs have already come down by a solid 1/3rd. And its being debated now in my profession if having a CAT scan prior to large restorative cases and/or some other dental procedures will be the standard of care in the future. As such, dental specific CAT scanners are hitting the market that are much smaller than a full body scanner, but still have a price tage between $100-$150k, so they're not exactly a small, cheap technology upgrade yet!

 

[Philpug]

Fischer Vacuum boots are the real deal. While I have not been in them yet, Jim Schaffner, owner of Start Haus has been in them since the SIA show in Denver. Jim is one of the premier fitters not only in the US but the world, advisor to more than one manufacturers and long time SKI magazine boot tester.

Jim has been in a Nordica Dobermann for the past years with these boots having literally 80 man hours in them to get them skiable for his feet. Even with this he had to unbuckle them after every run. Schaffner got fit with the Fischer Vacuum at SIA show. He has skied the boot ever since and has done minimal work to ski it (probably because we don't have our machine yet to remold it) and doesn't even need to unbuckle between runs now. Needless to say we are believer now.

Will the Fischer replace ALL boots this year? Absolutely not. There are too many great boots out there, particularly the orange and blue ones, they are still some of the best out there. While the Fischer is fantastic, it not the answer for everyone. Personally, I fit very well in a multitude of boots that are $200.00 less (MAP) that will perform on par with Vacuum. On the other hand, Snowhot has a tough and extremely low volume foot with a high instep and alignment issues and the Fischer will be on her short list of boots next year.

While the Fischer will be an option of a boot next year, it isn't everyones first option.