New ski boot to go on the market at $1,295

[mishka]

WOW $1,295

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-s...7.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=

http://apexsportsgroup.com/

 

[Philpug]

First thing I thought was...Hanson. Now we know what they are priced at.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

First thing I thought was...Hanson. Now we know what they are priced at.

Thanks now I have the song MMMM Bop in my head..

 

[jack97]

wow, I saw just a glimse of the design.... I don't say this about ever gear I see but I want to try it. Price tag is just to steep for me tho

 

[RootDKJ]

No thanks!

 

[andrec10]

My son's Nordica Doberman wc 130 EDT boots list for $1125! Thank goodness for the race form! The boot is amazing, but over a grand for a boot is getting to be a bit much!

 

[tylerjames]

well Black Diamond Facotrs retail for around 800 dollars so another 400 is expensive but not unheard of. i would rather pay the 1200 for an amazing one quiver boot than a 1200 dollar pair of skis

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

nobody pays retail except if you are buying right at the resort..and if this boot improves the quality of someones ski experience for several years..then it's worth the price..for me my last three pairs of boots were $350, $70 and $200...The $70 was a pair of Lange L10s that were a few years old but brand new...stiff mofos..

 

[tcharron]

Course it's expensive. They combined a snowboard binding, with a snowboard boot, and strapped it into a binding. :-D I mean hell, there's 400$ right there, plus like 8 hudred shipping and handling!

 

[deadheadskier]

sounds like a bargain to me when you can spend 8-12K on a jacket or 12-19K on skis from Carradan

http://www.carradanskis.com/

 

[wa-loaf]

Seems to me if you made more of a full wraparound cuff on the thing it would improve performance and comfort

 

[hiroto]

I think the major flaw of this product is that it introduces new separate piece of hardware (carbon chassis) you have to carry around.

I cannot picture myself bothering to take the walking boots out of the chassis every time I'm taking break just for the added comfort. Sure, at the end of the day, you can take the chassis off and walk back comfortably to the car, but it is added choir to unbuckle, take it off, putting it away somewhere to carry it back. And the chassis itself looks pretty big and bulky that it occupy as much space as a pair of ski boots.

I think comfort of the boots itself may have merit, but I bet most user would never walk in the walking boots and just keep on walking with chassis attached or simply take the whole boots off with chassis on and carry them back.

 

[deadheadskier]

good points

I'm there to ski. I don't really care how comfortable a boot is in the lodge. My Krypton's are just fine. I might get an AT boot someday if I feel my time spent in BC areas warrants the expense.

 

[Beetlenut]

If the boot is more comfortable, and still gives good performance, I'd be willing to spend $150 in a year or two after they don't catch on!

 

[marcski]

Seems absurd to me. I have a pair of Nordica speed machines and I don't even unbuckle when I'm taking a break or on the lift.

Plus....as I've said before, its the skier not the equipment. Also, the site says if you ski powder all day or long groomers. What about tight trees and steeps? Seems like they are basically saying the boots aren't up for really hard skiing....?

 

[jack97]

If the boot is more comfortable, and still gives good performance, I'd be willing to spend $150 in a year or two after they don't catch on!

You might have your wish, here's a review

http://www.skinet.com/skiing/blogs/2009/07/apex-boot

Doesn't surprise me, a boot that has more forward lean and resistance similar to the Krypton and Full Tilt will never catch on. The "having a stiff boot is better" mantra (due to the alpine racing influence) is hurting the sales of a soft forward flexing boots.

 

[mondeo]

It's not even flex. For the best control, you want basically a cast around your foot - that's what the combination of good boot fitting, custom liner and custom footbed do. The good thing about the Krypton is that it allows a soft forward flex with torsional stiffness. With the only real structural part of the boot being along the ankle, you're never going to get good control over the ski in rotation about your leg - it'll be pinned at the heel, and flopping around at the toes.

From the original article:
"Ingemie, of SnowSports Industries America, said all ski boots can be comfortable if skiers take time to get them fitted properly. He said the market for the Apex boot will be tough among skiers looking for high performance, but the boot could draw customers looking for comfort straight out of the box."

That's my take on it. I have no problems being in my Kryptons all day, day after day. And they give me great control over the ski. I'm lucky to have the foot Dalbello makes their molds from, but even if I didn't a good bootfitter could get me comfortable. But for those that are willing to blow $1700 on a pass to Steaux and ski 6 days a year, and then spend $8K on a jacket, I could see it.