A podcast series on boots worth listening to

[jmeb]

If you are interested in spending 3 1/2 hrs of your life listening to two people talk about ski boots, these are worth your time. Jonathan Ellsworth (the senior editor at Blister) has extended talks with Atomic Ski Boots manager Matt Manser. These two both know their stuff, but from very different perspectives: Jonathan from skiing and reviewing tons of boots as a recreational skier, Matt because he manages the boot program for one of the largest boot companies that happens to also have the two most dominant World Cup racers in the world -- Mikaela Shiffrin and Marcel Hirscher.

Episode 1 covers different boot plastics: https://blisterreview.com/gear-101/a-very-deep-dive-on-ski-boots-part-1-plastics-ep-54https://blisterreview.com/gear-101/a-very-deep-dive-on-ski-boots-part-1-plastics-ep-54

Episode 2 dives into boot flex: https://blisterreview.com/gear-101/a-very-deep-dive-on-ski-boots-part-2-flex-patterns-ep-55

Episode 3 is sort of Q&A centered on racers boots, power straps and forward lean: https://blisterreview.com/featured/a-very-deep-dive-on-ski-boots-part-3-racers-race-boots-ep-60

 

[ski otter 2]

I really enjoyed episode 3 in particular. It has a lot of details about Marcel Hirscher's boots, process and boot stories.

 

[ejj]

I really enjoyed episode 3 in particular. It has a lot of details about Marcel Hirscher's boots, process and boot stories.

YES! 30 pairs of boots for that fellow. It kinda makes sense, with different boots for your 2nd run gs/sl, or different plastics for different temps. Nuts. Very interesting.

 

[Jim McDonald]

Blister podcasts can be tedious at times, but the best of them are outstanding.

 

[James]

I take it he doesn't acknowledge that in the past Hirscher's boots were Atomic in name and stickers only. No idea what he's using now.

 

[ski otter 2]

I take it he doesn't acknowledge that in the past Hirscher's boots were Atomic in name and stickers only. No idea what he's using now.

He seems to have a lot of direct experience with Hirscher's Atomic process and whatever boots, not as much with Mikaela; though he says she is getting more and more elaborate, sensitive and detailed about her own preferences and selections as well.

He does acknowledge that Atomic is going back to a race boot design more like the previous race boot (the white and red one, I believe).

It seems like the main thrust of his comments is that the top successful athletes, and Hirscher more than any other, are amazingly sensitive to even the smallest detail or change in their boot equipment (let alone their skis, tunes, wax, etc.), in terms of the way it skis, and can tell when such tiny details are changed without them being told about it. (For instance, a different color to supposedly the same plastic and boot, concealed under the red Atomic paint.) In Hirscher's case, he has an uncanny ability to tell which of these slightly different boots is best for different uses: particular first or second runs, warm or cold snow, more or less rutted courses, steeper or less steep, etc.

 

[Scruffy]

It seems like the main thrust of his comments is that the top successful athletes, and Hirscher more than any other, are amazingly sensitive to even the smallest detail or change in their boot equipment (let alone their skis, tunes, wax, etc.), in terms of the way it skis, and can tell when such tiny details are changed without them being told about it. (For instance, a different color to supposedly the same plastic and boot, concealed under the red Atomic paint.) In Hirscher's case, he has an uncanny ability to tell which of these slightly different boots is best for different uses: particular first or second runs, warm or cold snow, more or less rutted courses, steeper or less steep, etc.

Makes perfect sense to me. Boots are the most overlooked part of the puzzle for most skiers, and yet boots are the connection interface between the driver's body and all the mechanics the boot connects to.

 

[HardDaysNight]

Very interesting and worth the listening. Thanks @jmeb for posting these!

 

[ejj]

I take it he doesn't acknowledge that in the past Hirscher's boots were Atomic in name and stickers only. No idea what he's using now.

Try listening to the interview. It doesn’t sound like that is happening these days.

 

[Sibhusky]

My boots are noisy, but not a whole podcast's worth.

Sorry, kept misreading the topic as Boots Worth Listening To.