The first full take on next season's ski bootsThere's loads going on with ski boots next season
Boots are getting clever. They flex when you need it and walk when you do. And they're still made of hard materials which connect you to the snow as closely as they ever did. In alphabetical order, let's kick off with...
...Atomic
Atomic have something new. Again. Three years ago they launched the Hawx, with a flexible area in the front of the boot. The trade started slightly sceptical and now we love it. So for next season here's something we flappy-footed UK skiers will like: flexible panels set into the widest part of the boot to allow for wide feet to be fitted without loads of work. Live Fit gives a 103-108mm fully flexible fit. The range starts with 60 flex at £175 - key boot is expected to be the 90 at £250. We tried a pair on, the stiffest 120 flex model, and watching the panel flex was both pleasing and slightly weird.
There's a new last called the Enduro - it's a 98mm width, making for a performance fit, but has a tad more height above the instep than you might imagine. This last is found across three categories. Fall-Line liked the look of the Tracker 130 Intuition, complete with walk mode, fancy karabiner buckles and a rubber lugged sole for freeriders looking to hike for the odd line. At £450 it's in line with the Scarpa Typhoon and Garmont Adrenaline. Drop the Intuition liner and it's £375. The Renu eco-prodced 110 is also in the range.
Black Diamond
The Quadrant boot (£400), sporting a suitably vivid Pebax lime green shell, is part of the new Efficient Power series and is a fairly stiff four-buckle touring boot. The walk mode on BD boots is very flexible.
Dalbello
New in the world of boots, at least for the UK in any depth, is Dalbello. They're landing hard with a full range, from raved-about race model, through to yet another tourer, this time with and innovative tongue release clip to allow increased flexibility whilst retaining the foot in place. The lairy Blender and useful-looking Voodoo all share the three-piece construction. Prices are bang on the button too, after their purchase by the K2 group of companies. They share similar construction with the Full Tilt range, but with a more mainstream approach to graphics and range positioning. We've been testing a pair of the Axion 10s at the end of this season and they fit wide feet like a dream, so there will be a write-up in an early issue of next season's Fall-Line.
Lange
For Lange, the biggest story is that they’re offering top end boots in two widths. There were some cheers from the Fen-dwelling flappy-footed end of the office when we heard this. There’s either a 97mm or 100mm-wide last in both the RS racing range and the all-mountain RX series. The first comes in a fancy new blue colour, and the latter gets a useful rubber sole for short hikes and less up-ending around the resort. Both get a new last with more tweaks to the fit – as more data becomes available all the boot manufacturers are working hard to keep their moulds up to date and Lange is no exception.
Head
Boot-wise, we liked the look of the wide-fitting (103mm last) Vector 100 all-mountain number and the Raptor 130 RS with a 98mm last. Like Lange, Head have two widths for this model – the 130 RC has a narrower 95mm last for those needing a race-like fit. Both get fancy Spineflex buckles and a beefy Booster elasticated power strap, so should deliver some sort of goods if the skier is able.
Nordica
Most famous for boots in Britain, there are a couple of models worth seeking out which define Nordica’s aspirations. The Ace of Spades freestyle boot (£340) has a variable flex and articulated liner which allows for softer flex until pressure is applied. At this point it’ll stiffen up to deliver up to 30% more stiffness.
The Enforcer freeride boot (£370) is based on a medium-narrow last, gets Vibram grippy soles and a medium/powerful flex. Both get shock absorbing soles and tongues.
Salomon
Welcome to a quiet revolution in British boot buying: the Quest boot. It has a walk mode, interchangable soles and comes in a range from £250 -£400. It’s based on the Impact last, which is a hugely popular fit in the UK, and it smacks of quality. Where the specialist touring boot guys have delivered excellent product over the past years, what they haven’t had is Salomon’s presence. When skiers realise they can buy a boot that grips around the resort and has a walk mode for £250, we think the appeal will be huge. Obviously we fell for the top-end Pebax model with all the whistles, but you’re clearly not losing out lower down the range.
Scarpa
Fighting off the increasing challenge from mainstream boot manufacturers, Scarpa have both a powerful freeride range and also a new touring series for next season. The Hurricane is the former, at around £450 with a very strong construction and stiff flex for the hike and ride generation. Back in their traditional hunting ground is the lightweight but still four-buckle Maestrale (£450), with a Dynafit-binding compatible sole for the charging lightweight types out there.
Tecnica
The biggest story for the upper-end bootmakers is a new easy fitting system called Airshell. It won a major European innovation award and it’s based on an inflatable bladder which you pump up and let down with a couple of press-buttons on the back of each boot. We’ve seen the bladder system in clothing to increase warmth, where the concept landed, stumbled and fell into a big hole, never to be seen again. We think it’s got a lot more possibilities with boots because it simply fills in the gaps between your foot and the shell.
In more specialist areas the Agent performance freestyle boot, with a 98mm last, now has a backcountry (BC) and three-buckle all-terrain (AT) variant added with walk mode and rubber soles. The BC is £425 and the regular Agent is £370, and all get the lightweight, low profile buckles seen on the Dragon last season.
The Inferno and Diablo models, with flex ratings from 120 and up, get a metal plate added to the sole to increase torsional transmission. Called Powerchassis, it means that the ski responds as fast as you crank into the turn. It’s one for the high-performance mob.
We suspect the Viva Phoenix women’s line with Airshell will be a hit too, and the Inferno Fling in white with a black cuff should sort the higher performance women skiers out.
Find your way through the splurge of next winter's gear:
Snowboard line for 2011 unveiled in Manchester – first previews at Slide in Manchester
What to expect next winter – kind of like an intro
What to expect next winter: trends – start the journey with a dip into reverse camber
What to expect next winter: trends – getting on an eco tip
What to expect next winter: Forum, Special Blend, Foursquare
What to expect next winter: Protect your noggin – a little expose on helmets
Next winter's gear: snowboards, boots and bindings
Next season's kit previewed: Goggles
Posted by Online Editor - Mon, 22/02/2010 - 2:59pm
There's loads going on with ski boots next season
...Atomic
Atomic have something new. Again. Three years ago they launched the Hawx, with a flexible area in the front of the boot. The trade started slightly sceptical and now we love it. So for next season here's something we flappy-footed UK skiers will like: flexible panels set into the widest part of the boot to allow for wide feet to be fitted without loads of work. Live Fit gives a 103-108mm fully flexible fit. The range starts with 60 flex at £175 - key boot is expected to be the 90 at £250. We tried a pair on, the stiffest 120 flex model, and watching the panel flex was both pleasing and slightly weird.
There's a new last called the Enduro - it's a 98mm width, making for a performance fit, but has a tad more height above the instep than you might imagine. This last is found across three categories. Fall-Line liked the look of the Tracker 130 Intuition, complete with walk mode, fancy karabiner buckles and a rubber lugged sole for freeriders looking to hike for the odd line. At £450 it's in line with the Scarpa Typhoon and Garmont Adrenaline. Drop the Intuition liner and it's £375. The Renu eco-prodced 110 is also in the range.
Black Diamond
The Quadrant boot (£400), sporting a suitably vivid Pebax lime green shell, is part of the new Efficient Power series and is a fairly stiff four-buckle touring boot. The walk mode on BD boots is very flexible.
Dalbello
New in the world of boots, at least for the UK in any depth, is Dalbello. They're landing hard with a full range, from raved-about race model, through to yet another tourer, this time with and innovative tongue release clip to allow increased flexibility whilst retaining the foot in place. The lairy Blender and useful-looking Voodoo all share the three-piece construction. Prices are bang on the button too, after their purchase by the K2 group of companies. They share similar construction with the Full Tilt range, but with a more mainstream approach to graphics and range positioning. We've been testing a pair of the Axion 10s at the end of this season and they fit wide feet like a dream, so there will be a write-up in an early issue of next season's Fall-Line.
Lange
For Lange, the biggest story is that they’re offering top end boots in two widths. There were some cheers from the Fen-dwelling flappy-footed end of the office when we heard this. There’s either a 97mm or 100mm-wide last in both the RS racing range and the all-mountain RX series. The first comes in a fancy new blue colour, and the latter gets a useful rubber sole for short hikes and less up-ending around the resort. Both get a new last with more tweaks to the fit – as more data becomes available all the boot manufacturers are working hard to keep their moulds up to date and Lange is no exception.
Head
Boot-wise, we liked the look of the wide-fitting (103mm last) Vector 100 all-mountain number and the Raptor 130 RS with a 98mm last. Like Lange, Head have two widths for this model – the 130 RC has a narrower 95mm last for those needing a race-like fit. Both get fancy Spineflex buckles and a beefy Booster elasticated power strap, so should deliver some sort of goods if the skier is able.
Nordica
Most famous for boots in Britain, there are a couple of models worth seeking out which define Nordica’s aspirations. The Ace of Spades freestyle boot (£340) has a variable flex and articulated liner which allows for softer flex until pressure is applied. At this point it’ll stiffen up to deliver up to 30% more stiffness.
The Enforcer freeride boot (£370) is based on a medium-narrow last, gets Vibram grippy soles and a medium/powerful flex. Both get shock absorbing soles and tongues.
Salomon
Welcome to a quiet revolution in British boot buying: the Quest boot. It has a walk mode, interchangable soles and comes in a range from £250 -£400. It’s based on the Impact last, which is a hugely popular fit in the UK, and it smacks of quality. Where the specialist touring boot guys have delivered excellent product over the past years, what they haven’t had is Salomon’s presence. When skiers realise they can buy a boot that grips around the resort and has a walk mode for £250, we think the appeal will be huge. Obviously we fell for the top-end Pebax model with all the whistles, but you’re clearly not losing out lower down the range.
Scarpa
Fighting off the increasing challenge from mainstream boot manufacturers, Scarpa have both a powerful freeride range and also a new touring series for next season. The Hurricane is the former, at around £450 with a very strong construction and stiff flex for the hike and ride generation. Back in their traditional hunting ground is the lightweight but still four-buckle Maestrale (£450), with a Dynafit-binding compatible sole for the charging lightweight types out there.
Tecnica
The biggest story for the upper-end bootmakers is a new easy fitting system called Airshell. It won a major European innovation award and it’s based on an inflatable bladder which you pump up and let down with a couple of press-buttons on the back of each boot. We’ve seen the bladder system in clothing to increase warmth, where the concept landed, stumbled and fell into a big hole, never to be seen again. We think it’s got a lot more possibilities with boots because it simply fills in the gaps between your foot and the shell.
In more specialist areas the Agent performance freestyle boot, with a 98mm last, now has a backcountry (BC) and three-buckle all-terrain (AT) variant added with walk mode and rubber soles. The BC is £425 and the regular Agent is £370, and all get the lightweight, low profile buckles seen on the Dragon last season.
The Inferno and Diablo models, with flex ratings from 120 and up, get a metal plate added to the sole to increase torsional transmission. Called Powerchassis, it means that the ski responds as fast as you crank into the turn. It’s one for the high-performance mob.
We suspect the Viva Phoenix women’s line with Airshell will be a hit too, and the Inferno Fling in white with a black cuff should sort the higher performance women skiers out.
Find your way through the splurge of next winter's gear:
Snowboard line for 2011 unveiled in Manchester – first previews at Slide in Manchester
What to expect next winter – kind of like an intro
What to expect next winter: trends – start the journey with a dip into reverse camber
What to expect next winter: trends – getting on an eco tip
What to expect next winter: Forum, Special Blend, Foursquare
What to expect next winter: Protect your noggin – a little expose on helmets
Next winter's gear: snowboards, boots and bindings
Next season's kit previewed: Goggles