New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

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New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Swoard team » Wednesday 23 October 2019, 15:08

WOW! 8O A dream has come true.
In a previous subject we explained how the story started in 2013. Our perseverance has paid. :bravo:

Swoard-UPZ-EC12-package-info.jpg
Swoard-UPZ-EC12-package-info.jpg (105.86 KiB) Viewed 36879 times

Release in November 2019! :birthday:
Finally here are the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use! The POWER of hardboots, the MOBILITY of softboots.

Addressed to alpine snowboarders and former softboots riders who want to push the limits of carving and extremecarving. Designed for wider alpine boards and reduced bindings angles, they will allow you to absorb bumps and to ride with fluidity at any speed.

This model is the result of a collaboration between UPZ and the Extreme Carving founders for two years. UPZ is the famous Austrian company, whose owner Wolfgang is a nice guy, 25-years experienced in boots making! He knows everything on the subject and is making the most advanced products of the market, in our opinion. There is a wide range of models, from racing to freecarving.

Used to customize their hardboots since the nineties, the SWOARD team has selected and modified various plastics and tongues to get best performances for their ride technique inspired from surfing. If rotation of the chest is one of the basics, movement of the legs and the ankles are really important ("push-pull").

The new spring system EC-Box is SWOARD exclusive and made in Italy. It was designed by Arnaud (specialist in plastics and CAD), who was already producing spring kits ("ACSS") for many years to make the boots softer. Remember also that Patrice and Jacques modified their spring system in the nineties, what started a trend in 2002 for spring kits which we still see nowadays for all boots. Now for the first time, there is a real EC system mounted on the boots, ready to use. Nothing to install. No plastic to cut. No holes to make.

The EC-Box gives a linear and progressive flexion. Both ISO springs can be easily changed and tested to fit rider's weight and preference. You can also play with the tongues, provided in two stiffnesses. The flex adjustment is really important, and your taste can vary with time. That's why the EC12 is proposed as a package.

The high-end plastics are not affected by temperature: flex remains the same in the cold.

The new FLO-thermo liners are very comfortable. They form thermally to your feet with time.
Available in 20 sizes, from UK 3 to UK 12,5.

Feet-sizes-conversion-chart.png
Click to enlarge.
Choose your usual size of street shoes. Do not take a bigger size.
Measure the length of your nude foot after drawing the contour on a paper lying on the floor.

Distribution: SWOARD online shop (in November 2019)
Shipment: worldwide from France with UPS
Price of EC12 package: 655 € + local VAT (in EU, there is no custom tax)

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Swoard team » Wednesday 23 October 2019, 16:17

Here are a few words about the long development of EC12, just to make people realize all the work it represents. Indeed these boots are really different from RC12, RCR and AT8, even if the molds used are those of UPZ (to limit the final price). This is not a question of color, but of very different technical choices and a specific tuning. In the same way we develop snowboards, we have to spend many days testing on the snow and modifying prototypes. :D

What are the important parameters to be studied and tested on the snow?
- the types of plastics for the shell and the cuff
- the tongues (shape, stiffness, ...)
- the spring system (shape, length of springs, stiffness, ...)
- the way all the boot is working in flexion (or not!)
- the lateral supports
- the dampening (in bumps)
- the precision
- the comfort (liner and geometry)
- and more!

How are made the tests?
All the parameters have to be tested one by one. And to make comparisons, it is required to make quick changes on the snow. Thus several pairs of hardboots are required, ready with different setups, prototypes of spring systems or other customizations. They are taken to the slopes and kept if possible in a warm place. For example, Patrice had bought 4 pairs of UPZ (in addition to 4 pairs of another brand). It seems crazy, 8O but necessary for efficient comparisons. Anyway, when the tests are over, the boots can be used by other riders.

What program and setup?
If carving and extremecarving are the goals, we also make drifted turns or straight runs. Riding with only one attached foot is also an interesting test. :D
Bindings: Redline.
Bindings features and setup: flat, with good lateral flex, not high bindings angles
Boards: Extremecarver Gen5 and Pro2.

On what slopes?
From blue to black (double diamond), all day long.
If there is nicely groomed snow in the morning, it's important to also ride at the end of the day, when there are bumps and ice in between. A crucial point is the behavior of the boots in moguls: stiff boots are shaking the rider and prevent fluidity. For EC on the ice and in the steep, we also need progressivity of the boots flex to lay down the turns with smoothness.

Conclusion
In our group of engineers, plastic specialist, CAD designer and physicist, with different know-how, we give priority to the tests on snow. Though theories and concepts are important, finally all the tests on snow lead to the best result. As passionate riders, we are very excited by launching the EC12 and carving with them. :bravo:

The Swoard team

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by jax » Wednesday 23 October 2019, 18:41

Great News! :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Vitaly » Wednesday 23 October 2019, 19:03

:clap:

This news scares me! I'm already afraid to give up on my old gray NW boots.
Will I have to buy new orange bootts? :roll: :lol:


ps

UPZ boots are self-disassembling. The screws of the washer regularly remain in the snow on the slope. But you can’t buy them in the store. Plastic is very fragile upon impact, instantly bursting. These problems have been noted previously. Are these problems resolved in the new boots?

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by AVel1990 » Thursday 24 October 2019, 2:10

Hello to all! Congratulations to the EC on the release of its own boot model! Great news.

Will there be a separate EC-box kit for tuning UPZ RC10, of which there are so many ...?

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by wangxyw » Thursday 24 October 2019, 9:54

Good News!!!!

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by denza79 » Thursday 24 October 2019, 10:43

whats the different between the new xc12 an this one ec12?

https://upzboots.com/shop/2020-xc12-shoxxter-orange/
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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Arnaud » Thursday 24 October 2019, 10:46

AVel1990 wrote:Will there be a separate EC-box kit for tuning UPZ RC10, of which there are so many ...?
No, the EC-Box is dedicated for the EC12 boots. But the ACSS kit is still available. Contact me by MP.
Swoard EC Pro2 168H - Swoard EC12 Boots - Gen5 168H - Stoke 162 M

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by joemzl » Thursday 24 October 2019, 12:00

Vitaly wrote:
Wednesday 23 October 2019, 19:03
UPZ boots are self-disassembling. The screws of the washer regularly remain in the snow on the slope. But you can’t buy them in the store. Plastic is very fragile upon impact, instantly bursting. These problems have been noted previously. Are these problems resolved in the new boots?
Self-disassembling has been only a problem on the first generation of RC10 years ago and was discussed on Frozen Backside forum intensively. No more problems since second generation. But to be sure, some guys use Locktite.

Plastic is fragile? In fact, I can´t remember to have read about any broken boot. So it only can be a seldom problem. But maybe in the cold at Ural? :think:

@denza: difference: name :mrgreen: , ec spring box, additional set with springs and tongues included at RX12? (to be confirmed by the team)
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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by pokkis » Thursday 24 October 2019, 12:11

RCR spring boxes are sold as spare parts:
http://carver.si/snowboard_hard_and_sof ... pz_rcr_box

But i assume it to be different than one with EC one :doh:

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by alex34 » Thursday 24 October 2019, 13:59

denza79 wrote:
Thursday 24 October 2019, 10:43
whats the different between the new xc12 an this one ec12?

https://upzboots.com/shop/2020-xc12-shoxxter-orange/
Good question ! I do not understand why UPZ released 2 types of shoes with similar programs ??

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Swoard team » Thursday 24 October 2019, 18:02

denza79 wrote:
Thursday 24 October 2019, 10:43
whats the different between the new xc12 an this one ec12?
Thank you for asking! We hoped that a clear image would be clear. ;-)
Here is more detailed info.

All developments on the snow have been made by the SWOARD team, what has led to the EC12 as explained above. Then in the factory the XC12 has been derived partially from this development: some elements are the same, some are not. It's a way to explore what the public will prefer on the snow for freecarving.

Roughly the XC12 is in between the RC12 and the EC12. It has been made in small series for Japan and a few distributors, so more shops can sell such softer hardboots (not only Swoard which is small). This is great because there is a real demand worldwide. In addition, bigger production has allowed a lower price for the customers. :bravo:

:arrow: Along to the pictures, you can see that the cuff (upper part) is not the same.

:arrow: A big difference is the spring system: the RCR-Box is originally made for the RCR model, which is a race model (stiff hardboots). It is assembled now with softer springs.
The EC-Box is really different (designed by Arnaud and made in Italy) and has various strong features:
  • it works without friction, thanks to a different geometry and other material
  • it gives a linear and progressive flexion
  • it comes with ISO springs: the colors are well known from the community and are a good reference for flex adjustment (from soft to hard: green > blue > red; then yellow is very hard)
  • the springs are really easy to change (what is not the case with the RCR-Box).
:arrow: Finally, another big difference is that the EC12 is a package. It includes:
  • anthracite tongues (soft flex) and black tongues (medium flex).
    The XC12 has only the anthracite tongues. Note that the price of extra tongues which can be bought directly by e-mail at www.upz-boots.at are 70 €, without shipment.
  • additional ISO springs (for frontside and backside), with the well-known colors.
    The hardboots are mounted with the softest springs.
Together, tongues and springs give various combinations.
We wanted such a package because the flex adjustment is really important. You can't give same gear to a 45 kg small girl and a 100 kg big guy. It's a bit like the concept of flex choice for SWOARD boards: you can find what closely matches yourself. Moreover, your flex preferences can vary with time. Easy adjustment is cool. 8)

Voilà! :D

The Swoard team

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by wangxyw » Friday 25 October 2019, 6:22

Is there any other color we can choose?

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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by denza79 » Friday 25 October 2019, 7:09

Swoard team wrote:
Thursday 24 October 2019, 18:02
Thank you for asking! We hoped that a clear image would be clear.
Here is more detailed info.
thanks for your detailed explanation :clap2:
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Re: New EC12: the first Extreme Carving boots, ready to use!

Post by Swoard team » Friday 25 October 2019, 11:26

wangxyw wrote:
Friday 25 October 2019, 6:22
Is there any other color we can choose?
No, only one color, to reduce the production costs and the final price for the customers.

The aspect is shiny, and in the light of the sun it is very beautiful. :D

The Swoard team

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