• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

OG Nordica Grand Prix

gary posekian

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
18
Location
mammoth
As a result of Divine Intervention, I recently acquired a brand new pair of the finest performance boot ever made. This particular pair is from the circa 1990 ish vintage shiny black with fluorescent green buckles.
I don't think even Sven knew how good these boots were going to be when he designed them in the early seventies. So much folklore surrounding these boots back in the day.., I honestly think they became a burden to Nordica through their evolution - they were and remain such a sculpture.
I have skied 150-200 days at Mammoth for 45 years, I've screwed with every ski boot out there.
I've skied these OG's for over a week now and, as a physical wreck at 66 my skiing has been Transformed.
Thanks Sven, I hope this finds it's way to you.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
As a result of Divine Intervention, I recently acquired a brand new pair of the finest performance boot ever made. This particular pair is from the circa 1990 ish vintage shiny black with fluorescent green buckles.
I don't think even Sven knew how good these boots were going to be when he designed them in the early seventies. So much folklore surrounding these boots back in the day.., I honestly think they became a burden to Nordica through their evolution - they were and remain such a sculpture.
I have skied 150-200 days at Mammoth for 45 years, I've screwed with every ski boot out there.
I've skied these OG's for over a week now and, as a physical wreck at 66 my skiing has been Transformed.
Thanks Sven, I hope this finds it's way to you.
@Sven Coomer to the SkiTalk Courtesy Phone

If he doesn't see this, I will see him at this Hall of Fame induction ceremony, I will let him know.
 

onenerdykid

Product Manager, Atomic Ski Boots
Masterfit Bootfitter
Manufacturer
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Posts
1,267
Location
Altenmarkt, Austria
I have skied 150-200 days at Mammoth for 45 years, I've screwed with every ski boot out there.
I've skied these OG's for over a week now and, as a physical wreck at 66 my skiing has been Transformed.
Just out of curiosity, what skis are you pairing them with?
 
Thread Starter
TS
G

gary posekian

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
18
Location
mammoth
I've been skiing them with Enforcers 100, 193cm. The sensations underfoot with these boots is unlike any other (Dobermans, Lange, Salomon-all plugs) I've skied since I was in them 80's thru 90's. They are quite different structurally from modern day race boots in several ways and I wonder if those characteristics yield the sensations these boots deliver.
Anyway, here's a photo and thanks for your interest!
 

Attachments

  • SHOT2102.JPG
    SHOT2102.JPG
    231.7 KB · Views: 105

ted

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Posts
595
Biggest difference I see is cuff pivot location. Looks kind of upright but that may just be the photo angle.
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,402
I had a pair of Fischer boots that were almost that "good looking".

Kidding a little bit, but I do love the OG Nordica stuff. As a know-nothing kid in junior high, I about flipped when my folks gave me a pair of the original banana boots for christmas.

Ski Boot Ugly.JPG
 

onenerdykid

Product Manager, Atomic Ski Boots
Masterfit Bootfitter
Manufacturer
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Posts
1,267
Location
Altenmarkt, Austria
I've been skiing them with Enforcers 100, 193cm. The sensations underfoot with these boots is unlike any other (Dobermans, Lange, Salomon-all plugs) I've skied since I was in them 80's thru 90's. They are quite different structurally from modern day race boots in several ways and I wonder if those characteristics yield the sensations these boots deliver.
Anyway, here's a photo and thanks for your interest!
I would guess that some of the main differences you would notice are: cuff height and plastic thickness. If you were to remove the liners from your GPs and Dobermanns, measure from the boot board up to the front of the cuff, I would bet that the GP is lower. The plastic might also be a bit thinner, but you would need a special type of caliper to measure that. Also, since the liners are out of the shells at this point, is the GP liner much taller?
 
Thread Starter
TS
G

gary posekian

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
18
Location
mammoth
I would guess that some of the main differences you would notice are: cuff height and plastic thickness. If you were to remove the liners from your GPs and Dobermanns, measure from the boot board up to the front of the cuff, I would bet that the GP is lower. The plastic might also be a bit thinner, but you would need a special type of caliper to measure that. Also, since the liners are out of the shells at this point, is the GP liner much taller?
Yes Matt, it is a lower cuff height and seemingly thinner plastic in places (at least that's how it feels compared to my Salomons, Dobes, Lange). The GP liner is much lower than the one I have in their now which is from a Rossi Allspeed Elite 130 - it towers above the cuff.
Also, as Ted noted the rivets that attach the cuff to the lower are a different configuration from current versions. The GP attachment seems to create less of a 'hinge' at the ankle (maybe a good thing?) than today's performance overlap, which has two rivets closer to the Malleoli than the GP's, as well as the two vertical rivet attachments on the spine. The lower in the GP comes up higher on the both lateral and medial sides than current. The GP has a different boot board, the bottom of the boot sole looks entirely different. Current boots feel like a cast by comparison. I feel as if they create a 'point load' delivered to the ski edge that can be at times difficult to modulate because the leverage is coming so much from the upper cuff. It feels like the mountain is levering me, in the GP it's the other way around. The power and accuracy seems to come from beneath the sole, and the rest of the boot above just seems to 'disappear'. It's hard to describe but I'm going to try to mod some of the boots in the quiver to mimic (no pun) the structure and 'Magic Carpet' feeling of the GP.
Sorry for rambling a bit but it is a bit of a revelation and at this point in life that is a good thing!
Thanks for your interest.
 

ted

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Posts
595
Intellectual curiosity cost me 50 Bucks. Found a pair in ebay, on their way.
 

JPL

JPL
Skier
Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Posts
66
I'm not saying this is 100% true, but I was told the OG Grand Prix's sole flexed more than plug boots today do. You where better able to feel what the ski was doing.
 

ted

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Posts
595
I'm not saying this is 100% true, but I was told the OG Grand Prix's sole flexed more than plug boots today do. You where better able to feel what the ski was doing.

This makes sense as I rember hearing a story that Daron Ralves and Sven were experimenting with slitting WC boots for this effect and it lead to the original hawx boots with the gills.
 
Thread Starter
TS
G

gary posekian

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
18
Location
mammoth
I agree, there's something about the feeling underfoot skiing on these OG's as well as the fact that the rest of the boot just 'stays out of the way' that makes the sensations mystical and enchanting. Though, it doesn't quite feel like it's flexing...,
All I know is when I turn 'em loose, I hear the boots whisper "I got your back"
 
  • Like
Reactions: JPL

Rudi Riet

AKA songfta AKA randomduck - a USSS coach, as well
SkiTalk Tester
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
2,462
Location
Washington, DC
A question to you @gary posekian: what flex are they? If it's the plug version of that era of Grand Prix it should have a flex rating on the heel lug, inner side, not on the walking part. They had a soft, medium, and hard flex in the plug iteration.

Also: be very mindful that the plastic on these will crack, especially given the age of these boots and the attendant degradation of the composite over time. The cracks typically happen in the clog and will spread far enough to separate the cuff from the clog if not attended to.

I agree: it's an awesome boot. I loved mine when I was racing.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top