Hard boots - choices?

Post by **azaz44** » Monday 21 February 2011, 11:55

Just looking around to buy some hard boots (my first).

Head Stratos
Deeluxe (several models)
UPZ

Am I right these are the only options available? What is a difference between Deeluxe Track "T" and "no T"?

I tried Deeluxe Track 325 (not sure about "T") and they fit perfectly for my feet (size 29). I was riding with them (but with size 29,5 which I found too big at the end) and it was fine. I tried Track 700 as well but didn't ride with them - I had a feeling I would need to leave the piste at 1 pm with them, so not good for me.

I hardly have a chance to try other brands in my city. It would be great if the boots could be tuned with some spring system in future in case I want to have it one day, and possibly try the Swoard. Any advices?

Post by **pokkis** » Monday 21 February 2011, 11:56

T means that liner is thermo. Boot is same anyway.

btw why you felt that 700 would be killing your feet?

Post by **azaz44** » Monday 21 February 2011, 14:01

pokkis wrote:T means that liner is thermo. Boot is same anyway.

btw why you felt that 700 would be killing your feet?

The guy at the shop told be they (700) are more stiff, but I didn't really feel this (tried to go lower on my knees). But I felt more pressure everywhere over my feet and a little bit of a pain - the one which typically happens when the boot is too narrow (or foot too wide).

Both 325 and 700 were same size - 29. But I don't know now, if any of them was thermo or not.

Post by **pokkis** » Monday 21 February 2011, 14:06

Sounds that you had correct size boot

Post by **azaz44** » Monday 21 February 2011, 15:05

pokkis: what do you think about the thermo liner - good to have it?

Post by **pokkis** » Monday 21 February 2011, 15:14

Absolutely. As long as they are good ones. Love my Palaus

Post by **Snegorez** » Monday 21 February 2011, 16:54

azaz44 wrote:The guy at the shop told be they (700) are more stiff, but I didn't really feel this (tried to go lower on my knees). But I felt more pressure everywhere over my feet and a little bit of a pain - the one which typically happens when the boot is too narrow (or foot too wide).

track700 is wider then 225-325.
reason of this pain is 700 stiffer .
when you close the boot tightly - foot changes the form by the pressure and you feel the boot is narrow. To avoid it use custom insole. The custom insole prevents foot to be bent under pressure - and no pain.

Post by **Snegorez** » Monday 21 February 2011, 17:01

azaz44 wrote:pokkis: what do you think about the thermo liner - good to have it?

yes, good to have it.
but it depends on what kind of thermo liner is in new boots.
Palau is great but sells separately.
Deeluxe liner like the picture is the worst I know.

Post by **azaz44** » Monday 21 February 2011, 18:43

Hmm. I strongly consider Track 325, because they fit me perfect and I had the whole great riding day with them. But then, is it better to give Thermo a shot, or get a normal one (much cheaper) because Deeluxe thermo is not worth the money and it's better to replace the inner shoe later?

If track 325 is a bad choice, tell me this as well. Of course I will ride them in the end, but these are my first HB so what do I know...

My vision for next 2-3 years is a lot of carving, but not necesarily EC, as I've just bought a Silberpfeil and will try to put it to its extreme first. I just love how safe it feels at high speeds and how well it holds the edge - much better then the Eliminator which i was riding so far.

Post by **pokkis** » Monday 21 February 2011, 19:07

I have saved my original, never used standard liners, and replaced them right away with proper thermos. When i will sel my boots i will sell them with never used liners and get better price

Post by **Snegorez** » Monday 21 February 2011, 22:09

azaz44 wrote: I've just bought a Silberpfeil and will try to put it to its extreme first. I just love how safe it feels at high speeds and how well it holds the edge - much better then the Eliminator which i was riding so far.

did you ride eliminator in hardboots?
I ride it sometimes. Holding the edge increases dramatically in comparision to soft boots on the same boards.

Post by **azaz44** » Monday 21 February 2011, 23:48

Snegorez wrote:did you ride eliminator in hardboots?
I ride it sometimes. Holding the edge increases dramatically in comparision to soft boots on the same boards.

I rented the hard setup for one day and first tried hardboots with eliminator, for some two hours. It was better than with softies. But switching to Silberpfeil made incredible difference. My expectation was that hard boot will make a big difference, and board not so much, but it was the opposite. HB made 20%, then the board made 80%.

I should maybe notice that I used Burton DriverX as soft boots which are already quite stiff. When I switched to HB I used same angles (45, 39), but somehow HB forced me to have somewhat different position. Especially it was hard to go lower in Burtons, while hard boots just force it.

What hard boots do you use then?

Post by **azaz44** » Friday 25 February 2011, 14:08

Just FYI, I ended up ordering deluxe track 325 T at blue tomato (interesting thing is they have different prices depending on the size). I'll see how they are. I really liked the fit of them so I hope to stay with the liners as they are out of the box, unless I get problems.

I also wonder why one would order stiffer 700, and then soften them later, but I just gave up with this, as they didn't fit me so well. Thus the risk of bad fit is too high. Tried not to see their ugly colours

Post by **benttech** » Monday 28 February 2011, 21:37

azaz44 wrote:I also wonder why one would order stiffer 700, and then soften them later, but I just gave up with this, as they didn't fit me so well. Thus the risk of bad fit is too high. Tried not to see their ugly colours

Not "soften", just allow for more flex. I for example have Head Stratos Pros and I love them nice and stiff (I use the stiffest gray tongues) but I modified them to bend a lot more forward and for it to be as smooth as possible.

Post by **pokkis** » Monday 28 February 2011, 22:06

azaz44 wrote:I also wonder why one would order stiffer 700, and then soften them later, but I just gave up with this, as they didn't fit me so well. Thus the risk of bad fit is too high. Tried not to see their ugly colours

Cause they are more expencive so tey are better

Note that there are also other parameters than lengthwise stiffness what can be changed with softer springs.