I spoke at length yesterday with Jim Schaffner (one of 3or 4 authorized dealers ) on the Dodge Boot. Here are a few things that I had not heard before. On tests with high level juniors and with WC level racers, skiing the same course with the Dodge boot and with their current set up (plastic) almost everyone was seeing .5-1 second improvements in time!! A half second is huge in a WC race, a full second is a game changer!! Jim said that not only was there less ski displacement (skis staying on the snow more consistently than with plastic boots) but skiers were able to carve tighter arcs and take much tighter lines. The CF is just that much more damp and clearly it is giving greater leverage to carve tighter arcs. Jim repeated what he has said before and Harald Harb has echoed, you will see this boot shortly on a WC podium. As well it is likley that in 5 years the entire WC circuit will be racing in these. Again the question everyone asks is who will be the first of the major players to buy this company. As of yet, no one has come close to stepping up.
Lastly, I asked Jim about this as a boot for freeskiing. He said on groomers doing high edge angle turns it would be awesome and a joy to ski. He is not sure that this boot will ski off piste well. He says it is just totally stiff, with absolutely no give. Because of this it may just be a bear on anything other than hard grooomed conditions.
He is going to have a demo boot in each size in a month or two. I am going to head up with Thor Kallreud and try them for a day. Harald Harb may also have a pair to try while I am out in Colorado. Will give a full report after I try them.
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