Messages posted by : AllyG
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I think PSC is already there now.
However, I thought I'd mention another helpful tip for those changing stations in Paris. You can buy a carnet of 10 single metro/RER tickets at St Pancras from the Eurostar office. The ones I bought lasted a year (I used them for 2 ski holidays) and were ridiculously cheap - I've forgotten exactly how much they cost - but somewhere around 1/5th of the price of London underground tickets. Buying the tickets ahead of time saves queueing at a machine in Paris, and struggling to use it. I try and leave an hour and a half between my Eurostar train arriving at the Gare du Nord and the TGV leaving from the Gare de Lyon for Moutiers etc., even though it is only 2 stops on the RER and could in theory be done much quicker. The Eurostar could be late, or I could get confused and go the wrong way on the RER, and I hate having to rush - especially with loads of luggage. Ally |
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Thanks Brucie and Pablo,
It's just that I have a very enquiring mind and I like to 'know things' - hence all the wibble I tend to come out with. Boots with an adjustable flex sound like a very good idea - to save you having to carry several pairs of boots around with you, depending on what you're doing. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the same flex number was actually a different flex in different boots - I wonder which way they measure it? Ally |
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Thanks Brucie :D
I think my boot fitting technician said that downhill slalom racers need maximum boot stiffness, which I think is 140. I'm sure he said that 100 is the mean, so presumably the least stiff boot is a 60, which I suppose would be a beginner's boot. He also said instructors usually have a boot with a flex of about 120. It is all very surprising to me. Until I started thinking about buying my own boots it never crossed my mind that there was a difference in boot stiffness between a beginners boot and an instructors. I suppose it means that it's not worth buying ski boots as a beginner, because with a bit of luck one would soon need to buy stiffer, more expensive boots. Do you think women usually have a boot with a lower flex than men, simply because they're generally not as strong or heavy (or doesn't weight come into it at all?). Ally |
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Sorry Rossyhead, I meant, what's the flex of your new painful current boots? My new boots are mens with a flex of 90. I have big feet for a woman, size 8, which match my height, 5 foot 10. I usually find I can't wear women's shoes because even the ones that are supposed to be size 8 are a woman's 8 which is smaller than a man's 8. So I wasn't really surprised when I ended up with men's boots because they didn't have any women's boots in my size. As far as I understand it, the flex one requires is some strange function of; ski-ing ability, how much energy you put into ski-ing, personal preference, and presumably body weight. I don't know what else comes into the equation, unless it's perhaps the sort of ski-ing (like slalom, or off-piste, or competition). Ally |
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Kate, It would be very nice if it did mean that I'm normal, but what I think it actually means is that in that scan I am 'normally' crooked, as compared to the one where he's corrected my stance and labelled it 'ski' (presumably he means the position he's put me in to ski). Basically he's straightened me up, and I'm used to being crooked, which is why I was having so much trouble trying to ski like that (plus the plums of course) :lol: Ally |
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Hi Salski, I honestly think I'm more pleased with my trolley boot bag than with the new boots :wink: I don't think the actual boot fitting was very technical - it was more the preparation of the insole that was technical. In fact, I was very surprised that they didn't have something like a 'feeler gauge' to put down the back inside the boot behind my heel to check how much space there was (without the liner in). All he did was peer down the gap with a torch and estimate the size of the gap. As far as I could see most of the actual boot fitting was done on how I felt while wearing the boot - he couldn't tell me which of the two different boots I was trying would be the best for me. Of course, I don't know how many people would benefit from the specially made orthotic insole. I had wondered if there was something wrong with my right foot/leg because I know that I get uneven wear on the sole of my right welly boot, and I used to do a lot of horse riding and my right thigh would never grip as well as my left, and I can't balance nearly as well on one leg on my right as compared with my left. So, I think it was worth paying the extra money to get myself properly balanced for ski-ing. I am hoping that it will make a big difference once I become adjusted to my new stance and ski-ing with squishy plums in my boots. In fact, I was wondering if it was worth getting special insoles for my wellies as well. I will let everyone know how I get on with the boots next time I'm ski-ing, so they can judge if it might be worth them paying the extra money for the special boot fitting etc. next time they buy ski boots. And Claire, I might be going back to Milton Keynes at the end of June - I will try to remember to say so in case you want to come as well :D Ian - the scans are quite colourful aren't they? Ally |
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Sorry if these scan pictures are a bit too large - I don't know how to make them smaller.
The first one is of my feet when I'm standing normally (not pretending to ski or anything). You can see that my right foot is twisted outwards and that most of the weight is on the ball of my foot. 
The second one is of my feet after the technician had corrected my stance. My feet are now straight and the weight is distributed nearly evenly between my left and right feet. 
The third one is from the brochure - I don't know if this is meant to show ideal stance and balance or not.  |
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Hi Snowbandit - Nice to see you back again :D
Rose - that's really sad :cry: Was he anyone you knew? Ally |
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