Ski Boot Reviews 2005
by Steve Cohen and Jeff Rich
Test Management by the MasterFit University Educational Staff:
Jeff Rich, Bob Gleason, Greg Hoffmann and Mark Elling
Textile Boots Wane; Focus shifts to "Four-Edge" Skiing
Didja blink? If so, you missed it. The textile craze that enveloped boot design the past two season has melted faster than a snowball in a high mountain hot tub. All manufacturers except Rossignol, the originators of the Soft boot design and the only one that has achieved even a modicum of commercial acceptance, have tossed in the towel and are readying their experimental bolts of cloth for eBay auction. If your collectibles shelf is packed with vintage ski equipment, a textile boot may soon look mighty nice next to an early Eighties knee-high.
As the interest in textile boots wanes, factories are refocusing on fit, comfort and convenience but through use of softer plastics instead of textiles. Sharp attention is also being paid to tuning boot performance to better meet the changes in technique spurred by shaped skis.
Shaped skis have changed ski technique dramatically and it’s most visible at the peak of the pyramid. Action photos of U.S. World Cup star Bode Miller—his body contorted to extreme angles, snow spraying off his firmly set uphill ski—may be the most illustrative example that skiing has become more of a two-footed, four-edge game. The uphill ski is more involved than ever in turns, no longer serving as a mere outrigger. That has forced a reexamination of how to build top end boots.
“There’s no questions skiers are positioned more over their inside edges than in past,” says Tecnica product manager Bart Tuttle who oversaw development of the company’s new Diablo project. “All the best skiers are now in a continually flexed static position with turning forces come from lateral angles.”
Dalbello’s Scott Russo concurs. “You simply don’t need to drive tip or tail like you used to. Most older boots have too much shell, boot board and cuff inclination,” he says.
That has led manufacturers to straighten foot position, lower ramp angle to provide more ankle flexion and soften forward flex a bit in their performance models. At the same time, they’ve boosted lateral rigidity with liner and shell reinforcements. In a novel approach, Salomon has beefed up inside edge support while providing softening uphill edge flex with its Spaceframe matrix cutouts.
At the recreational end, many new developments owe a debt to the Rossi Soft in that they utilize the concept of multi-piece, multi-density plastic construction to better wrap the foot while easing entry and exit. Salomon’s Ellipse led the way last season with its “Coupe Chassis,” a concept that has been adapted in a completely redesigned Performa series, the world’s most popular boot and the original hands-free entry.
Three-piece, open-throat constructions are also debuting from Dalbello (Z-Tech) and Lange (Epsilon) which uses a bi-injected instep. “The overlap is so soft it is essentially an open-throat design,” says product manager Tait Wardlaw.
Alternative closure systems are also a dominant theme this year. “It’s no longer necessary to use four-buckles for a good fit,” says Dalbello’s Scott Russo. “With shaped skis you simply don’t need vice-like grip to secure the foot,” he says. “Lateral rigidity and good balance are more important.”
Salomon has had perhaps the most visible success here with its speed lacing on the Verse shell. Now the hot deal is buckles that do double duty. Nordica’s Litech uses a TwinLock cable buckle on the lower. The buckles on Lange’s new Epsilon and Double feature wishbone arms that are anchored in two spots on the medial side. The Double, as its name implies, uses only two buckles for closure. Dalbello’s Z-Tech uses three buckles but provide additional security by tethering the instep buckle to a band that wraps around the heel.
So what’s all that mean? Well, after we saw all the stuff at the annual ski show in Las Vegas we gathered a test crew composed of America’s Best Boot Fitters master boot fitters, instructors, racers and other professionals last spring at Killington, VT and Mt. Bachelor, Ore. to put dozens of different models you’ll find in shops through their paces. Click any the links above for a manufacturer by manufacturer brain dump on what we found.
