I posted this on another thread and it led me to post it here as I try to understand the future of ski boot design parameters.
During my discussions over the years w/ my Master Boot Fitter, to get my boots "Flat" w/ my uniquely imperfect body mechanics and terrible alignment, I needed a boot w/
a) Instep buckle adjustment
b) boot cuff alignment adj
c) heel and toe Cant adjustment
These were all available on my Salomon Impact Pro's. Now I ski the Impact CS 120 version of that boot w/ all those same adj available. I'm attempting to understand how the new heated shells accomplish all this in light of the fact that it took an entire season of runs to micro adjust all the parameters to achieve maximum performance. For me, boot fitting is a living and breathing process that involves both my fitter and I educating each other about performance and both making micro adjustments and relaying the results back and forth to achieve a consistent goal, together. The process involved experimentation w/ what worked, as well as what did not. As my skiing progresses during the season, the musculature of my calves, feet and lower legs change. This requires micro adjustments during the season to maintain optimal performance.
It seems the trend of newer recreational heated shell boots is to do away w/ those micro-adjustments in favor of having to re-heat your shell to achieve optimal integration. How many times can you reheat modern shells to make adjustments? If a particular brand fits your feet perfectly and they eliminate those adjustments it can be truly frustrating for the consumer. If you have perfect anatomy then your task is easy, switch brands. For those w/ less than perfect anatomy, this process is frustrating.
Please chime in on this w/ more solid info as mine is only one guy's evidence based experience. Please understand that this is in reference to "Recreational" skiing and/or Coaching level boots that require that you be in boots all day long w/ comfort as a priority over top level "Race Stock" (purely unintentional shameless plug on that one!) performance which requires boots that are specialized and tuned way beyond mere mortal tolerances.
During my discussions over the years w/ my Master Boot Fitter, to get my boots "Flat" w/ my uniquely imperfect body mechanics and terrible alignment, I needed a boot w/
a) Instep buckle adjustment
b) boot cuff alignment adj
c) heel and toe Cant adjustment
These were all available on my Salomon Impact Pro's. Now I ski the Impact CS 120 version of that boot w/ all those same adj available. I'm attempting to understand how the new heated shells accomplish all this in light of the fact that it took an entire season of runs to micro adjust all the parameters to achieve maximum performance. For me, boot fitting is a living and breathing process that involves both my fitter and I educating each other about performance and both making micro adjustments and relaying the results back and forth to achieve a consistent goal, together. The process involved experimentation w/ what worked, as well as what did not. As my skiing progresses during the season, the musculature of my calves, feet and lower legs change. This requires micro adjustments during the season to maintain optimal performance.
It seems the trend of newer recreational heated shell boots is to do away w/ those micro-adjustments in favor of having to re-heat your shell to achieve optimal integration. How many times can you reheat modern shells to make adjustments? If a particular brand fits your feet perfectly and they eliminate those adjustments it can be truly frustrating for the consumer. If you have perfect anatomy then your task is easy, switch brands. For those w/ less than perfect anatomy, this process is frustrating.
Please chime in on this w/ more solid info as mine is only one guy's evidence based experience. Please understand that this is in reference to "Recreational" skiing and/or Coaching level boots that require that you be in boots all day long w/ comfort as a priority over top level "Race Stock" (purely unintentional shameless plug on that one!) performance which requires boots that are specialized and tuned way beyond mere mortal tolerances.
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