Have I told you how much I love my boots?

[midwif]

It's true.
Yes, I know. You all have seen, heard (maybe 2nd/3rd hand) about the grunting, groaning and grimacing
that accompanies putting those babies on early season. And the effort to take off!!!(when not patient enough to let them warm up)

Well, I need to apologize to my boots. I never seem to remember, early season, how smooth they are mid and late season. How they perfectly encase my skinny, long feet and lower leg by mid January. No sloshing around in these boots.

So, y'all. Next early season, if you hear ANY complaints from me about those boots, PLEASE REMIND ME HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT THEM!!!!

Off to Utah tomorrow. To commune with my boots and my boards. And with Jim too.

[speed163]

Flip-flops for boards they are not! Stilettos wouldn't do the job either. Therefore, if your boots are the "perfect" fit to your boards, then you have accomplished what EVERY skier desires in control, comfort, and foot placement. No wonder Jim has no option but to ski the trees.......with such grace under foot, he is bound to be watching ALL turns from the best suited angle.

Every woman requires the "proper" foot attire in order to prevent any podiatrist appts.  Decipher that one as you will gentlemen.

Lyn: It also sounds like you need to sell some tickets to your "boot extrication" events at the end of a blissful day.  It might pay for your liquid refreshment or other ski marketing ploys! 

Utah will never be the same.........ENJOY!

Terryl

BTW: do tell what surrounds your pieds as you carve some turns

[jim-ratliff]

Lyn: It also sounds like you need to sell some tickets to your "boot extrication" events at the end of a blissful day.??

Utah will never be the same.........ENJOY!

Terryl

Terryl:  Has already happened, and Beaver Creek will never be the same.    I wasn't there, but Gary and Ron were, and their reports of Ed helping Lynn on with here boots when they were pretty new still live in infamy.  I won't repeat the verbal exchange between Ed and Lynn as she tried to get her foot into the boot, suffice it to say that a store attendant left his shop to watch the proceedings, and was probably quite disappointed that it was just a woman putting on her boots.

Hey Lynn, how's that for not repeating the story???
I will independantly corroborate, however, that December was a huge challenge and since then she's had no problem getting her boots on or off.  I was actually trying to help in December, help has not been needed since then.

[jim-ratliff]

It's true.
Yes, I know. You all have seen, heard (maybe 2nd/3rd hand) about the grunting, groaning and grimacing
that accompanies putting those babies on early season. And the effort to take off!!!(when not patient enough to let them warm up)

Well, I need to apologize to my boots. I never seem to remember, early season, how smooth they are mid and late season. How they perfectly encase my skinny, long feet and lower leg by mid January. No sloshing around in these boots.

So, y'all. Next early season, if you hear ANY complaints from me about those boots, PLEASE REMIND ME HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT THEM!!!!

Off to Utah tomorrow. To commune with my boots and my boards. And with Jim too.

Hmmm.  Writing to her boots on the ski forum instead of apologizing in person.  Sounds like some conflict resolution mediation is required here.    

[midwif]

Every woman requires the "proper" foot attire in order to prevent any podiatrist appts.? Decipher that one as you will gentlemen.

Utah will never be the same.........ENJOY!

Terryl

BTW: do tell what surrounds your pieds as you carve some turns

AAHH, a woman after my own heart. Yes, one needs the right foot covering  for a wide variety of life circumstances. Usually, in different colors as well.

Well, the "little ladies" are covered by Head boots. The shells are about 5-6 years old. They have been ground out, canted ( on the sole with plates), heated ( to perfection I might add by the Hotronix system), have custom footbeds. They shells have been reheated and reformed to swoop in around the ankle. The insert is an aftermarket Noridica foam liner. Quite stiff initially, very difficult to negotiate the foot thru the first couple of weeks. They are formed to my foot/anklle even more in the last two seasons and really give me a sense of the skis and snow.  I shudder at the idea of going thru the process of new boots. HH looked at my footbeds and boots and said I have a couple more seasons in them, so no rush to get anything new.

Not nearly as pretty as Zanotti's or Choo's, though.

[speed163]

Hmmm......you may want to start your boot hunt earlier than you think.  It sounds like you have customized your boots dramatically, finally arriving at the ultimate fit for your foot.

Have you tried a women's boot lately?  They tend to be narrower at the heel and achilles, which would work for your narrow foot and slender calf.  The skiing female contingency of my clan each have a differing make of boots.  The common thread being, we all have narrow feet (width AA to AAA) and calves to match.

Here is the breakdown:

Pair #1 Dalbello; praised for comfort and warmth.  Least discerning skier of the bunch.

Pair# 2 Salomon; initially tight but have "eased off" to be ideal for her skiing ability, height, and weight.  Only complaints were occasional cold piggies and snow does seem to find it's way beyond the shell and into the liner/bootie. Something a hair dryer or boot dryer remedies quickly.

Pair #3 Lange (mine); very stiff but extremely good fit and comfort. Beyond micro-adjustments, this boot did not need any tweaking.

Next requirement may be a red sole comparable to a pair of Laboutin's but I think that would be pushing the envelope in the ski boot manufacturers world.

The best advice might be to begin trying boots on and in two years, you will have your next "best" boots ready for the next new set of boards.  An enticing proposition you might say.

In the meantime, enjoy your modified "Heads"!!

Terryl

[Svend]

Just to pipe in here for a moment -- Terryl has the Lange CRL90 woman's boot.? These fit her narrow feet perfectly right out of the box, amazingly.? Sucks in her foot like a surgical glove (in your profession, Lynn, you would know what that feels like? ).? A no-nonsense, solidly made, great performing boot.

As you're probably aware, Lange is known for a narrow fit (one exception being the new Fluid men's boots, which are higher volume).? Their women's boots might be good ones to look at when it's time to replace your Heads.? No red soles a-la Laboutin, sadly.? Forward lean might be a little off, too, if Laboutin had his way 

OTOH, sounds like you've put a lot of sweat and tears (and grunts and yells too!) into those Head boots.? Bespoke tailoring for the foot.....

[midwif]

Terryl/Svend

Still in utah. Bone tired from skiing, so a quick reply.
I have had Langes. They quickly packed out. The Head boot I have now has a pretty narrow last.
I will probably end up with a Nordica for the next boot. Have heard they have a model that runs quite narrow.
Harold Harb and Co. have set my boots up and the evaluation they do of each persons geometry is pretty amazing.
It would be difficult for me to go elsewhere since I have personally experienced the hoops they go thru to make boots work for the skier.

Jim and I skied Alta today. He had quite a fall, tumbled, slid and finally "arrested". But is okay. It was a steep trail with trees and bumpy crud and not the pitch either of us was looking for. We both aborted and climbed out. Taking tomorrow off to drive around and sight see, then a final day of skiing at Solitude.

We should try for a Realskiers in Utah sometime. So many great places to ski within an hours drive radius.
We have done Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Deer Valley, The Canyons and the above mentioned Alta. Each has a different flavor and feel.

More detail when we return.

Lynn

[gregmerz]

We should try for a Realskiers in Utah sometime. So many great places to ski within an hours drive radius.

Two thumbs up...

[Svend]

We'll meet you in Utah anytime! Thumbs up from us too.

Lynn -- Terryl's Langes have three seasons in them now (probably about 80 to 100 days total), and no sign of packing out.  She still wears very thin sport socks, too (Vapor Thin brand), with no need for thicker ski socks.  Not sure how long ago you had your Langes, but perhaps they've improved their liners since then.  My Tecnicas, conversely, are now quite packed out after three seasons -- not impressed.  Time for new boots for me soon.....

The one negative thing about Lange appears to be the lack of adjustment for canting, etc..  I think the only thing that they offer is angled replacement sole plates.  After that, you're into foot beds, etc..  Compared to my Tecnicas, where you can adjust them every which way to Sunday (they're fantastically adaptable to different stance types), the Lange's are pretty sparse in that department.

Not trying to steer you one way or another, just passing on Terryl's experience with her boots.  Like I said, they really grip the foot extremely well, esp. at the heel.  And Terryl does have narrow feet ("A"-width, I think).  Most female racers seem to be in Langes, too, so the performance pedigree is definitely there.  OTOH, Nordica also appears to have an excellent reputation, but we've no experience with them.