Boots too much flex.

[Aklin458]

I started skiing this year.(moved to salt lake last summer so I had to start skiing.) I picked it up pretty quick, I am fairly comfortable going down blues. I’m currently using rental boots and skis. They are 80 flex Salomon boots and Salomon force skis 76mm underfoot, 175cm. I am 6’3” 205 lbs and have an athletic build. On steeper terrain I feel like my skis are slow to react to my inputs and I’m able to flex my boots a lot. This feeling is even worse on anything that isn’t groomed. My feet fit well in the boots, they don’t slip and are just roughing the end of the liner. Just wondering if this is something technique wise that I am doing wrong, or should I get stiffer boots?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Tytlynz64]

I started skiing this year.(moved to salt lake last summer so I had to start skiing.) I picked it up pretty quick, I am fairly comfortable going down blues. I’m currently using rental boots and skis. They are 80 flex Salomon boots and Salomon force skis 76mm underfoot, 175cm. I am 6’3” 205 lbs and have an athletic build. On steeper terrain I feel like my skis are slow to react to my inputs and I’m able to flex my boots a lot. This feeling is even worse on anything that isn’t groomed. Just wondering if this is something technique wise that I am doing wrong, or should I get stiffer boots? If so, how stiff?
Thanks in advance!

The best advice anyone can give you is get a bit of video in the can on how you ski and go to a reputable bootfitter. Flex in the abstract is a useless starting point because it's not uniform within or across brands. Let an expert help you.

 

[ss20]

80 flex is pretty forgiving for someone your size that's skiing anything beyond the pure beginner hill. If you're doing blues I'm thinking something in the 100-110 range but different brands have different flexes as @Tytlynz64 says

I recommend Sportsden in SLC. The best bootfitters are in Park City but you'll pay 50% more and at your level the performance gain would not be noticeable. Sportsden does plenty of high performance work! Numerous "insiders" like myself use them. Actually saw a fellow instructor there a few days ago as I was getting work done on my own boots!

 

[Tony Storaro]

The best advice anyone can give you is get a bit of video in the can on how you ski and go to a reputable bootfitter. Flex in the abstract is a useless starting point because it's not uniform within or across brands. Let an expert help you.

Yes and no. 80 is kids boots. My wife who is under 100 lbs skis 90 flex boots. No fully grown 205 lbs man should be in 80 boots no matter what.
120-130 Lange or 110-120 Atomic is the way to go.

 

[François Pugh]

80 flex is too low for a 140 lb man, and way too low for you.

A lot of shops sell 80 flex boots to beginners, no matter their weight, probably because that means a second pair of boots will soon be sold.

 

[markojp]

Yes and no. 80 is kids boots. My wife who is under 100 lbs skis 90 flex boots. No fully grown 205 lbs man should be in 80 boots no matter what.
120-130 Lange or 110-120 Atomic is the way to go.

Respectfully, how did you determine a boot brand to recommend without seeing the foot that goes in them? The brands you mention are very different.

 

[markojp]

80 flex is too low for a 140 lb man, and way too low for you.

A lot of shops sell 80 flex boots to beginners, no matter their weight, probably because that means a second pair of boots will soon be sold.

Very few if any shops I know of do this.

 

[François Pugh]

Yes and no. 80 is kids boots. My wife who is under 100 lbs skis 90 flex boots. No fully grown 205 lbs man should be in 80 boots no matter what.
120-130 Lange or 110-120 Atomic is the way to go. Sorry, I can't recommend flex ratings for other brands; flex rates differ by brand. Buy the brand that fits the best.

FIFY

 

[Philpug]

Yes, you need to get a better boot. Most 80 flex boots are not necessarily beginner boots but price point boots. To get to that price point, they use the lowest quality materials, especially in the liner that they can get away with.

But you are in SLC where you have a plethora of good fitters like Brett Amsbury at his shop and Ernie (Bootwerks in PC).

 

[Tony Storaro]

FIFY

Yes but this is the stiffness he should aim at. Give or take.
And I don’t completely buy that “flex rating differ by the brand” stuff. There is difference but it is not YUGE.
Show me a brand whose 80 boots equal to Lange 120 or Atomic 110 and I will agree.
And also-no sane bootfitter who is worth his salt will recommend to a guy that big boots bellow 100. It just ain’t happening.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Respectfully, how did you determine a boot brand to recommend without seeing the foot that goes in them? The brands you mention are very different.

I didnt mean the shape sorry, rather-the stiffness.
No I don’t recommend a brand, that’s not possible.

P.S. completely unrelated but how are they very different? I mean I fit perfectly well in both RS 130 and CS130. The only difference is that Atomic’s 130 is what Lange would be if they were 140.

 

[markojp]

Yes but this is the stiffness he should aim at. Give or take.
And I don’t completely buy that “flex rating differ by the brand” stuff. There is difference but it is not YUGE.
Show me a brand whose 80 boots equal to Lange 120 or Atomic 110 and I will agree.
And also-no sane bootfitter who is worth his salt will recommend to a guy that big boots bellow 100. It just ain’t happening.

What do we know about his ankle mobility? Nothing. He's in SLC with access to great fitters. Any boot advice given here by any of us is worth exactly what he paid for it.

 

[Tony Storaro]

What do we know about his ankle mobility? Nothing. He's in SLC with access to great fitters. Any boot advice given here by any of us is worth exactly what he paid for it.

Absolutely. He should go to a bootfitter by all means. That’s rule No1

 

[crgildart]

When it comes to higher level skiing, higher level gear helps. Go shopping, gather some info but an experienced boot professional will certainly be helpful to steer you in the right direction. Folks here will split hairs over boot tech for years... but usually some of them are right, and some are wrong. That's why before the decision you should go to a shop with a good boot pro.. sooner rather than later helps reduce the noise..

 

[gratedwasabi]

Very interesting thread to follow.

My one trip to a master bootfitter that's been recommended on these forums was quite disappointing. He seemed much more interested in chatting with buddies than helping me out.

So it's nice for newer skiers to be able to find information independently, like any activity sometimes if you're new you don't get the same treatment as regulars/experienced folk.

I've been using S Pro 100s and honestly have no clue if they're the right stiffness for me.

 

[Posaune]

The OP is using rental equipment that seems to probably be a season rental. Most season rentals allow the renter to trade out equipment if it isn't right for them. Maybe the first step should be to go back to the place he rented the boots from and look at a swap. That way he could try out various flexes before going all-out with a purchase. Having something to base your choices on is a lot better than just taking someone's word on it. Certainly, it may be that the shop has already rented all of the boots that would work, but it doesn't hurt to try.

In the end, buy a boot, don't rent, but before you buy become a more knowledgeable consumer.

 

[Aklin458]

The OP is using rental equipment that seems to probably be a season rental. Most season rentals allow the renter to trade out equipment if it isn't right for them. Maybe the first step should be to go back to the place he rented the boots from and look at a swap. That way he could try out various flexes before going all-out with a purchase. Having something to base your choices on is a lot better than just taking someone's word on it. Certainly, it may be that the shop has already rented all of the boots that would work, but it doesn't hurt to try.

In the end, buy a boot, don't rent, but before you buy become a more knowledgeable consumer.

Correct, they are seasonal rentals. I went back trying to get stiffer boots and they said they don’t get any over 80 flex. They did swap out my skis to longer ones. My original rentals were 167cm. Going to a 175 made a huge difference in stability, but the added length made the boots feel even worse.

I appreciate all the help here, I will definitely pay a visit to a boot fitter. I just wanted to know that I was on the right track with stiffer boots.

Since I will be buying boots, I will also need skis since I won’t be doing seasonal rentals. Any recommendations? Looking for an all mountain ski for Utah that is forgiving, and I can continue to advance on.

 

[Tony Storaro]

VeryI've been using S Pro 100s and honestly have no clue if they're the right stiffness for me.

If you don’t know if your boots are OK for you, it doesn’t matter what boots you are in.

 

[Tony Storaro]

I appreciate all the help here, I will definitely pay a visit to a boot fitter. I just wanted to know that I was on the right track with stiffer boots.

100%

 

[skiki]

Since I will be buying boots, I will also need skis since I won’t be doing seasonal rentals.

But haven't you already paid for the season rental package? If you've paid for it, why not continue to use the skis? Will they give you a refund on everything since they don't have appropriate boots? If anything I'd ask if they could pro-rate the package since they don't have boots that work for you, and continue to use the skis so you have something to ski on while you can take time to demo and figure out what you want in a ski before making a purchase.