J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

It's certainly got a lot colder, I wished I'd put a different jacket on today actually. It's about -8' now at 1500m which is not bad for March. The new snow has improved the conditions here at least, last week I was hooning around on slalom skis on hard back and today it's gunning chutes at high speed in powder, what a difference a week makes )



more photo's http://snowslider.net/2008/03/05/woke-up-this-morning/

bandit wrote:
I believe, IIRC, these have a heat form liner.

those things just don't stop :D they'll keep forming for ages, if there's unfilled volume in the boot/inner that'll end badly.

Tony_H wrote:
Should I simply put this down to the conditions, the new skis, my improved performance and maybe try an insole, or do I really need new boots as ISE seems to think?

Just a proper foot-bed might do it, all depends on the your foot shape etc etc. If you have to put two foot beds in then they don't fit in all likelihood. If you have a very high arch you need a proper foot bed anyway with stabilising blocks in the arch area. If you have a really, really high arch it'll impact everyday life and you'll need support there as well in other shoes.

iLoveSkiing wrote:A bicyle helmet is a cheap alternative to a ski helmet although some bicyle helmets cost as much as ski helmets.

an old cardboard box is an even cheaper alternative :) or a really thick wool hat with a big bobble on it :roll:

iLoveSkiing wrote:It is definately better protection than wearing no helmet at all.

Ask yourself how can wearing a protective head covering offer less protection than no helmet at all. Wearing a helmet with a hat underneath or the wrong type of helmet or a poorly fitting helmet will still offer some protection.

That's not a very difficult question to answer, they're designed to deal with completely different impacts, cycle helmets are not required (by standards and law) to deal with impacts with tight radius or angular surfaces which happen skiing, cycle helmets are required to deal (only) with impacts onto flat surfaces, ski helmets deal with rear impacts which cycle helmets don't etc etc.

francesca1 wrote:Hi I'm new to this forum and need some advice.Should of been going to borovets on the 15th, but found out today they have overbooked on flights so we have looked around and booked to stay at the hotel Lek in Kranjska Gora in slovinia.As we have had to change our holidaty we are now been classed as a late booking, as a result First Choice have told us it is to late to book...full ski package for 1 child. 2 adult ski hire and lift pass and private lessons for me. We have to sort our selves out when we get there (poor service from holiday company ) any way never been to this resort before any advice or contacts and what to pay would be very helpful. Hope some one can give some advice..thanks francesca :roll:

I can't imagine their tourist office is any different from anywhere else, they're just sat there waiting for your call/email.

They've a nice website at http://www.kranjska-gora.si/Tourist-information

Dave Mac wrote:Ise, I obviously could not say if my case is exceptional. Had a chat with a couple of ski buddies on the issue today, and they both concurred with me that they would not expect to have any pain problems with boots. I don't accept that this is luck. My wife also bought boots on the same day as me, and she too has never had problems, in terms of pain/breaking in.

Maybe...this is something to do with the boot design. You correctly identified that we bought our boots 15 years ago, from the fact that they were rear entry.

Those older boots user liners that don't pack as much, one of the changes in boots over the years has been the use of thermo-forming liners and softer liners to help get a good fit.

I actually already guessed you have Raichle boots and should have said so to astound and impress :D They were pretty much state of the art and probably the high point of rear-entry boots. Nevertheless, I'd not get confused about the state of the current products, most modern boots are still better than any older boots for 99.99% of skiers. FYI, a company has started making Flexons again using original designs, http://www.fulltiltboots.com/

Tony_H wrote:My boots fitted like a sock when I got them, and have done the weeks I have ski'd in them, until last week, and even then there was no pain, but an observation that I was doing them up tighter than usual, and sometimes onto the furthest adjustment, leaving nowhere to go. Like I said, no pain or discomfort, but they felt looser.

That's really just screaming that they didn't fit to start with. You need to try the shell test, as mentioned above, and determine if the shell actually fits or not. Did the "fitter" do that or not? If the shell fits then it's an option to get new liners but I doubt for a recreational boot it's worth it, they're cheap enough to buy particularly end of season.

You would expect some discomfort for the first week or so as the liner settle and packs to your foot a bit, that would be a fairly even pressure all over the foot. I can see this is a real issue if you're skiing two or three weeks a year and you hardly want to spend a week feeling uncomfortable but I guess you can go to a indoor slope or something.

For me, I think many "fitters" are actually guys who work in shops and I'm about as likely to take their advice as I am from a lad in Dixons or PC World. So it's worth finding these experts. Bandit is a walking directory of UK boot fitters, she can probably recommend someone who can help out. The guys she knows will rescue your current boots if they can.

Dave Mac wrote:Beg to differ Ise, I guess we all base on our personal experience. My boots felt like carpet slippers when I bought them, and they still feel very relaxed. I did spend 3 hours in the ski shop, before paying.

There's something exceptional about your experience in that case, obviously I can't know what it is remotely but it's a fact that liners do pack over time. Is there something special about yours? Are they foamed? Thermo-formed? Of a particular vintage that precludes the modern materials most boots have been made from in the last 10 years or so?

Dave Mac wrote:They are rear entry

oh, well, that answers my question, they're very old and don't represent the boots anyone would have bought for 10 -15 years.

Dave Mac wrote:Your boots were good in previous four week usage, they should be good now.

I think bandit had it right really, 4 weeks is just about breaking in for a pair of boots, the expectation the liners would compress ought to have been on the fitters mind.

As to whether a pair of boots that's too big is better or worse than a pair with a couple of foot-beds in is hard to guess, both are going to bad. The extra foot-beds might be more comfortable but the performance will be awful. Best check the fit as suggested above, i.e. the shell test.

As an indication of real packing, I've some Salomon Xwaves, the liners have packed on these after around 120 days use and even now it's not at a point that they don't fit, I don't need to tighten the buckles more or add more foot-beds. The boots I'm using this season have 50 or 60 days (I guess) and there's no question of them packing, they're just bedded in nicely now and should be perfect over the coming spring skiing.