Caber Bio Race Boot?

[wnyskier]

Was listening to an @tomgellie podcast during which he was talking about using a "new and innovative" footbed that has a ridge on the underside allowing the foot to articulate laterally to provide greater pressure to the edges. Anyway.... I recall that my brother had a pair of race boots in the early 80s with a similar feature. I believe they were made by Caber and were called "Bio" or something similar. Two tone blue with a navy lower and medium blue upper.

I can't find any info on the boots. Anyone have any insights?

 

[Muleski]

Might have been the Alpha? Legit WC boot of choice for Stenmark, and others.

Why Racers Marry Their Ski Boots | International Skiing History Association

Ingemar Stenmark spent almost his entire World Cup career in Caber’s blue Alfa boot (top of page). He ran his first World Cup race, at age 17, in 1973. The Alfa was introduced in 1974, and Stenmark won his first slalom championship in 1975...

www.skiinghistory.org

 

[cantunamunch]

 

[James]

Well what was it doing?
Gotta love the advertising of that era.

 

[Moose32]

 

[Uncle-A]

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What was the date of this add?

 

[dbostedo]

"Similar to the feel of quality Swedish walking clogs."

Oh sure... that's something everyone is familiar with and can relate to.

 

[Tony S]

Was listening to an @tomgellie podcast during which he was talking about using a "new and innovative" footbed that has a ridge on the underside allowing the foot to articulate laterally to provide greater pressure to the edges. Anyway.... I recall that my brother had a pair of race boots in the early 80s with a similar feature. I believe they were made by Caber and were called "Bio" or something similar. Two tone blue with a navy lower and medium blue upper.

I can't find any info on the boots. Anyone have any insights?

I had those.

 

[cantunamunch]

"Similar to the feel of quality Swedish walking clogs."

Oh sure... that's something everyone is familiar with and can relate to.

It was the late '70s and Carter was still president - so more than you'd think.

Closed-cell EVA foam only got popular for shoes ~10years later and then someone had to invent the Crocs brand name for millenials to know what a S.W.C. is

 

[cantunamunch]

I had those.

...and did they really put your foot in a climbing slipper type arch pre-load like the ad says? 'Coz -oof.

 

[wnyskier]

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! LOL. Thanks, that would be the boot.

Well what was it doing?

Best as I can recall - and that's through a very murky lens of 40 years of memory - is that the underside of the boot board was shaped into a mild vee shape, think boat keel, with a bias to roll the foot into a slightly supinated position. When you would roll the ankle to the medial side to initiate edging the footboard would roll to enhance pressure along the the big toe side and create a more stacked kinetic chain over the inside edge of the outside ski.

Not sure about the "Swedish clog" reference, but I don't recall a footbed with arch support, it was all done under the footboard.

FWIW - I think he took out the OEM footboard and replaced with a conventional design, possibly from a Garmont Gara, but I could be wrong.

 

[Tony S]

"Similar to the feel of quality Swedish walking clogs."

Oh sure... that's something everyone is familiar with and can relate to.

You had to be there. This was after Earth Shoes and Dr. Scholl's wooden sandals were everywhere.

 

[dbostedo]

It was the late '70s and Carter was still president - so more than you'd think.

You had to be there.

OK... so they might have been popular, and I'm not aware... how popular were they? Would it be like talking about Uggs or Crocs today?

 

[skiJ]

What was the date of this add?

1979.
I looked hard at Cabers that year and did not buy.

the boot board was convex - a short-lived (innovation ) ;
the claimed cavus position was a subtle modification of what I believe is currently referred to as ramp angle.


Thanks for the memories... skiJ

 

[cantunamunch]

Anyone remember (better yet, have a pic of) the liners on these things?

the boot board was convex - a short-lived (innovation ) ;

Kinda makes you wonder when exactly people started flattening boot boards.

 

[James]

the claimed cavus position was a subtle modification of what I believe is currently referred to as ramp angle.

Ramp angle is just the fore/aft angle of the boot board or zeppa. Think boat ramp.

The whole cavus thing just sounds like a bunch of nonsense frankly.
As far as I see cavus means a foot with a high arch and isn’t desirable.

With that boot it’s necessary to take Dihydrogen Monoxide at least once a day and more over 7,000ft altitude.

 

[Tony S]

...and did they really put your foot in a climbing slipper type arch pre-load like the ad says? 'Coz -oof.

I was young and clueless. Probably my pair didn't even fit right. Who knows, 40 years later.

FWIW I don't remember that the boot board put your foot in any particular kind of flexed position. It was more like a bongo board that only operated in the medial-lateral plane.

 

[James]

It was more like a bongo board that only operated in the medial-lateral plane.

So did it feel unstable?

 

[Tony S]

OK... so they might have been popular, and I'm not aware... how popular were they? Would it be like talking about Uggs or Crocs today?

Not quite, because there was an alleged tie-in to health and will being with those old shoes.

 

[Tony S]

So did it feel unstable?

Dunno. I was like 20. I ended up deciding that I didn't like the boots, but there could have been lots of reasons for that. I was not well educated about boot fit. Probably very few people were.