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Trees, Race, All Over the Place?

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Beer league and tree skiing. Is there one boot that can serve both of these well?

I'm all in on beer league and occasionally eek out a single digit handicap.

When I ski out West I like playful skis that work in tight trees, glades, and bumps. I can ski groomers back home so its all off piste for me.

6'2" 210 lbs. A long, long time ago I had Salomon SX 91 Equipe boots with a flex adjustment. Yeah, they were rear-entry, but they were cool and the flex adjustment was effective.

My old Atomic CS130s are done. Hoping for a one boot that can do it all...
 
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Thanks Doc. No doubt there are a lot of great boots out there, and of course the important thing is to get one that matches your foot AND your skiing. A race boot with stiff flex is not what I need in the trees and bumps. Its probably a pipe dream but wouldn't it be great to able to change flex/stiffness with a boot. Technica's T-Drive looks like the "T-Drive" piece could be interchangeable. Also, maybe the Full Tilt / Raichle boots have a tongue you can change out?
 
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I take my Head Raptor 140 everywhere.
Of course you can. And you can ski race skis in the trees. The point is, are there boots that can "adapt" or at lend themselves to function at both ends of the spectrum. My guess is no...
 

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Of course you can. And you can ski race skis in the trees. The point is, are there boots that can "adapt" or at lend themselves to function at both ends of the spectrum. My guess is no...
For me, a highly responsive boot is the best thing to have in the trees and anywhere else on the hill. If I miss a turn due to a sloppy boot out on the hill, not a huge deal, if I miss a turn in the trees due to a sloppy boot, bigger problem. A high-performance boot that fits well has very few (if any?) downsides.
 

onenerdykid

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Thanks Doc. No doubt there are a lot of great boots out there, and of course the important thing is to get one that matches your foot AND your skiing. A race boot with stiff flex is not what I need in the trees and bumps. Its probably a pipe dream but wouldn't it be great to able to change flex/stiffness with a boot.
Well, to be honest, not really. The flex of the boot should be a reflection of the forces you put into the boot (weight, height, strength, etc.), not so much linked to where you ski on the mountain. Thinking that you want a softer boot for bumps & trees and stiffer boot for piste doesn't really address or reflect what YOU do to the boot. Could a CS 130 be overkill for what you need? Totally possible. But it's more linked to it being overkill for YOU rather than where you ski. Looking at boots outside of the recreational race category would be a good start. Something like the Hawx Ultra 130/120 will be way lighter, more agile, and less of a beast to manage than a Redster CS 130.
 
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For me, a highly responsive boot is the best thing to have in the trees and anywhere else on the hill. If I miss a turn due to a sloppy boot out on the hill, not a huge deal, if I miss a turn in the trees due to a sloppy boot, bigger problem. A high-performance boot that fits well has very few (if any?) downsides.
No one said anything about sloppy. Glad to hear a stiff race boot is perfect for you everywhere. Some may prefer another option in the pow.
 

François Pugh

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It's true that I put more force through the boot when carving or skiing at warp schnell that I do playing around in trees and, now that I know how to ski moguls a little better and don't treat a black diamond mogul run like a SG course, I use less force in the bumps. However, I found my "race" boots worked fine everywhere. They are just a little limiting in terms of how far I can move without having a great impact on the skis. Race boots work much better in bumps and trees than soft boots work when your racing.
 

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No one said anything about sloppy. Glad to hear a stiff race boot is perfect for you everywhere. Some may prefer another option in the pow.
Do you want guidance/opinions, or just for agreement with your initial statement?
 
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Do you want guidance/opinions, or just for agreement with your initial statement?
Looking for guidance/opinions on boots that may have the ability to change flex - or if they even exist. That is the topic. My apologies if I was not clear about that. I already ski a race boot everywhere so I know the pros and cons of that.
 
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It's true that I put more force through the boot when carving or skiing at warp schnell that I do playing around in trees and, now that I know how to ski moguls a little better and don't treat a black diamond mogul run like a SG course, I use less force in the bumps. However, I found my "race" boots worked fine everywhere. They are just a little limiting in terms of how far I can move without having a great impact on the skis. Race boots work much better in bumps and trees than soft boots work when your racing.
Agreed. Race boots work "fine" in soft snow. Been doing it forever. Can't help but think that a boot flex matched for soft snow would offer better feedback and would be easier to ski. And as I get older I'm all about easier and smarter (wiser). Just make it as easy and fun as possible to enjoy glades, trees, bumps. I don't bomb crud at mach schnell.
 
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THE TOPIC IS: Are there boots out there with some sort of flex adjustment?

My apologies for not stating it clearly in the original post.
 

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  • Ages ago I had the Raichle Flexon Comp (aka the Full Tilt), I swapped tongues in them to adjust flex.
  • My previous Nordica Speedmachine had an easy adjustment via an allen wrench that 1) would not stay in place (Hard/130 and Soft/120) and 2) never made an appreciable difference that I could notice during skiing.
  • My current Head Raptor 140s have bolts that require more work (and drilling out the holes depending on how much you wish to adjust them). I've not felt a need to modify flex for all manners of skiing from SL and GS racing to soft snow.
You said you are an ex-racer and at 6'2" and 210 I would think a softer boot is going to feel like a wet noodle on your foot when you most want it. A softer boot gives less feedback, which is what you said you wanted.
 
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  • My previous Nordica Speedmachine had an easy adjustment via an allen wrench that 1) would not stay in place (Hard/130 and Soft/120) and 2) never made an appreciable difference that I could notice during skiing.
  • My current Head Raptor 140s have bolts that require more work (and drilling out the holes depending on how much you wish to adjust them). I've not felt a need to modify flex for all manners of skiing from SL and GS racing to soft snow.
You said you are an ex-racer and at 6'2" and 210 I would think a softer boot is going to feel like a wet noodle on your foot when you most want it. A softer boot gives less feedback, which is what you said you wanted.
Still race beer league, so I need race level boots for that.

Was on a business trip many years ago and unexpectedly was invited to go skiing. Renting good skis is not a problem. Renting boots is. I knew the boots would suck but I was shocked at how bad the boots worked. No control over the skis.

Is it possible that a stiff race boot is not the optimal boot for soft snow? Can a little more "elasticity" (not loss of feedback) be more beneficial in soft snow than a rigid boot?

Maybe it just comes down to personal preference. Hell, its been so long since I've skied anything but a race boot you might be right - I might hate it.
 

onenerdykid

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Is it possible that a stiff race boot is not the optimal boot for soft snow? Can a little more "elasticity" (not loss of feedback) be more beneficial in soft snow than a rigid boot?

Maybe it just comes down to personal preference. Hell, its been so long since I've skied anything but a race boot you might be right - I might hate it.
I would still come back to the point that it's less linked to snow condition and more linked to you & your subjective build. Atomic has some of the best powder (and park) skiers in the world using the Redster CS 130 & 110 because those work for their bodies the right way- the flex of the boot matches/reflects the forces they are putting into it. Changing a flex index for snow condition or skiing style is honestly a bit of a gimmick. Meaningful flex adjustments definitely exist (we have them on our boots), but again they are there to fine tune the boot to your subjective build.
 
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Well, to be honest, not really. The flex of the boot should be a reflection of the forces you put into the boot (weight, height, strength, etc.), not so much linked to where you ski on the mountain. Thinking that you want a softer boot for bumps & trees and stiffer boot for piste doesn't really address or reflect what YOU do to the boot. Could a CS 130 be overkill for what you need? Totally possible. But it's more linked to it being overkill for YOU rather than where you ski. Looking at boots outside of the recreational race category would be a good start. Something like the Hawx Ultra 130/120 will be way lighter, more agile, and less of a beast to manage than a Redster CS 130.
How would the Hawk Ultra 130 perform in a GS course for a decent beer league racer?
 

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