newbie info

[crazycanuck]

hey all, I need some expert advice. I just bought a Prior 4WD and now need to find some boots and bindings. I can't get anything locally but don't mind ordering over the internet. I'm just not sure about boot sizes. Normally I take a size 10.5(US) which I guess translates to 28.5 mondo on charts I've seen, but if I measure my foot as they suggest on the bomber site than I'm a 27. I tried on some ski boots today at a local shop, the nearest size they had was a 27.5, it seemed snug. The Deeluxe boots don't have half sizes, so should I just get the 27 because the liner should pack in some right? I was going to get the TD2 bindings, I know its a matter of preference, but I wouldn't mind hearing comments on standard vs stepins, and if someone could make a recomendation on the degree of cant for the bindings I would be eternally greatfull. I know its up to personal preference, and I'll be new, but I wouldn't mind growing into the setup, I know this is alot to ask for with feedback, but I would be very appreciative, thanks all.

[bobdea]

I would recomend one three and one flat
I use flat and six
I do know a few guys that insist that flat and flat is the best way to go maybe try two flats and buy a three allso or buy some Cateks to find out exactly whre you need to be
I change my cants for different boards for exaple on my big board which I have a wide stance on I use three and six
if I ride a small board with a narrow stance I go to flat front and three in the back

[bschurman]

I ran into the same problem with boot sizing last year, but if you buy what your foot measures in cm, you will find them to be snug. Don't worry as they will pack out a bit and the Thermflex liner has to be molded to your foot. You want the boot to be snug but not cut off your foot circulation. Your toes should touch the front of the boot when standing but not be crushed into the front. When you lean forward your toes will pull back from the front. The only way to tell is to take out the liners and put your bare foot in the shell and put your toes all the way to the front of the boot (once again, not crushed up there) and then place your fingers (stacked on each other not beside each other) behind your heel. If you can get one but not two back there then you have the right size, if you can't get even one back there then they are too small. If you can get more then two fingers then they are too big.

I believe that bomber will allow you to send back boots that you feel don't fit as long as the liner has not been molded and they have not been ridden.

As for the bindings. I would get 3* on both front and back and see how you like that. If you want another disk just buy the one you want and sell the one you don't like on the classifieds. You shouldn't really lose too much on that deal. I would also get the step-ins as they are very convienent to use.

These are only recommendations and I don't really know much, but there are others here that know a ton and why you should get what they recommend.

->Ben

[Steve Dold]

I have size 10.5 feet. After reading that you could drop down a size with the thermoflex liners, I tried a pair of 27's (AF-600). Big mistake, there was no way they would fit without a lot of pain, even with a good bootfitter. I've had Raichle 324, 423 and 413 all in size 28-28.5 now and they're perfect, even after some packing out. If comfort is important to you I would suggest nothing less than 28 if you have 10.5 feet.

[Mike T]

I think the effectiveness of downsizing probably depends on your foot shape (among other things). I've got low-volume feet and my toes tips form a straight line sweeping back at about 30 degrees ... I'm swimming if I don't downsize. For those with a more squared-off line of toes downsizing has got to be agony on the outer part of the foot!

[Mark.Andersen]

My feet measure 29.4 cm, and I love my 28.0 225s. I'm even using the standard liners that seem to be less roomy than the thermos.

I think that foot volume has a big impact. I have rather low volume feet which probably is why my 29.4 feet fits well into 28.0s.

Buy em both, pull the liners out and put your feet in. 1-2 fingers behind your heel with your toes touching the front of the boot is good, 2+ is too big.

Good Luck!

[GeoffG]

I went through this last year--I looked everywhere in the southern BC Interior, couldn't find anything, and ended up buying boots from Bomber online. Got some older Raichle 224's on closeout. I phoned them, Michele was a great help--she convinced me that yes, I should buy the mondo size that corresponded to my foot measurement (26). Since I have otehr boots that are larger, I was skeptical, but the Raichles fit great and I am very happy with them. Call Bomber, they'll talk you through it.

Since then, I have discovered that the North American distributor of UPS boots lives in southern BC (actually, about 10 minutes away from me in Rossland). His name is Dan Yoja, and his company is upsboots.com (http://www.go.to/upsboots). You might want to give him a call, especially if your feet are wide (although I find my Raichle's are OK for my medium wide feet). Dan also sells Snowpro bindings and Goltes raceboards.

[Pre School Rider]

Mike nailed it! One of the things to consider IS foot shape,not just "size".Fat,blunt feet don't like narrow shells,and long,skinny feet don't like short shells.I have two different feet,one with a good arch,and a merely 'wide' profile. My other is longer,fatter,and has less arch.Thus,Thermofit liners are really the only way a matching pair would truely fit me within a given shell size.As it is,I widen(by heating,then pressure-stretching the shell)one boot a good CM wider to deal with that flatter,wider foot.Toebox room is Very important here,and Skiboot Fitters rarely get the picture until you do a Bohemian Ballet in the shop on your very tip-toes(preffereably while wearing Hardboots,for effect,of course) to simulate toeside carves on edge.However,going too big also has it issues,particularly in heel-hold,but also in directional control.If your foot twists or lifts while in a snowboard hardboot that's clipped into a snowboard binding,the boot's too large. By what I've read here,a mondo 27.5 is right if it is a Thermofit liner.If not try the 28,but see if your feet do 'squirm' in the boot,clipped in.If it's the 28,but a tad of 'squirm' exists,be sure to put some bootfitting into those boots to take up the slack.This may end up at season's end being loose yet,as the boot may break in and get a bit sloppier,so be aware that's a possibilty here.Do your research homework on Thermofits,be sure your local shop can deal with them before buying them.If it can handle Thermos,and you 'shell fit at a 27 mondo,that's the better way to go imho for the long term.However,a shimmed-up 28 will at least get you going,even if it may not last in terms of fit over the span of a season.

[Hugh]

Boots: I wear a 10.5 shoe, never a 10. Last year, I bought a pair of Raichle 413's, size 28 mondo with standard liners. When Bomber put the Thermoflex liners on sale, I scored a pair and got them heated and professionally fitted for only $20. I hear the going rate is more like $40. Before heating them, I inserted a pair of Downunders ($30 footbeds). Also, Intec heels are awesome, everyone has them.

Board: New or used 4X4? What size is it? Good choice for your first carving board.

Bindings: Get the TD2 step-ins. Just as bombproof as the Cateks and a lot easier to setup and transfer to other carving boards (demo days).

--Hugh

[philw]

As far as I can tell the TD bindings use a single wedge to adjust both cant and lift. Please correct me if I read this wrong.

Anyway, three degrees sounds like a useful amount to start with. You might bear in mind that if you get the right type of boot you can to some extent trade toe/heel left with boot lean, so that gives you a bit more range to play with.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Nothing to add about boot fitting but I would like to second the recommendation for step-ins. They are so convenient! In addition to being able to just click-in at the top of a lift and go (excellent if you ride with skiiers as I often do), they work well on the flats. Stuck on the flat? Yank your cable and start skating. Got some momentum built up? Step in and coast for a while. Ski-outs and access roads are now enjoyable rather than a huge pain in the ass.

I've never had a problem with slop of any sort although mine are not Bombers. If you do a search on the old site you'll find a consensus that well-adjusted step-ins are just as solid as traditional Bombers, if not more so.

[philw]

All that, plus they're excellent in the back-country as you can get in and out even faster than with standard plate bindings, and without having to reach up quite so far from the bottom of your tree well. Don't get me started on how long it takes 'em to get out of those elastic-band contraptions in the Burton fashion catalog.

I haven't [yet] tried bombers, but with other makes I've found that Intec heels at least feel more solid than the traditional wire-bail approach at the back.

:p I've always vaguely thought that my esoteric Intec step-in system reduces the chances of my expensive board getting nicked on the mountain. I suppose it's not fasionable enough for theivery, but they couldn't exactly ride away on it, even with ski boots.

--- (posted that before I'd finished somehow...)
Cant angle and stance width: that's a point.... next time I have one of those boards which forces me to stand like a prat then that's a good solution to the problem. I do pack a wedge kit for my bindings so it's going to be easy enough.

Whilst checking my canting before posting this I note that last weekend I rode quite happily with my bindings reversed! It was only indoors, but just as well I checked. I marked the things front & back now so I can more easily avoid making that mistake; you have to look pretty closely on these Proflex things to see where the wedges are.

[north east will]

another newbie with a boot question.

i just traced and measured my foot. its about 27cm long but i have really wide feet. measuring perpendicular to the big toe/heel axis at the ball of my foot i found my foot is 11.5 cm wide. my friends make fun of me because of my "paw" feet. what do you all recomend.

will

[Randy S.]

NE Will:

I'd suggest trying either the Heads or the UPS boots. They are wider. If you need to, you can get a bootfitter to stretch them.

[$trider]

I have very wide feet in a size 27 as well. I ride in the Raichle's with a 27. The standard liners that they came with made my feet really pinched because the shells are somewhat narrow. When I switched to thermoforms things were great. I highly recommend the thermos for comfort. I don't know if Head has wider boots, but I've never found a ski/hardboot that was wide enough for my foot to be really comfortable until I put thermos in them.

[jason_watkins]

wow... that topic sounds like something completely else :eek:

when you guys are doing the bare foot in liner test, are you tightening the cuff? if so, how much?

[crazycanuck]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback, to answer one of the questions, I bought my board direct from Prior, it was slightly used(twice) and got it for 575.00 canadian, instead of 750.00. Seems like a good deal. Their boards were recomended to me by the olympic snowboarder, Mark Fawcetts, father, I bike with him, and he rides as well. I didn't realize that the cant adjustment was separate from the binding itself, I thought that you ordered the binding with whatever degree you wanted and that was it, so for the extra cost I might pick up a couple of adjusters(or whatever you call them). I also found out that a local ski shop is set up to thermo mould the boot liners, so if those ones fit better than a reg liner maybe I will spring for the Deeluxe Lemans instead of the Raichle Bomber has avail. I did look at the UPS website. Boots look good, I just haven't heard of them before, are they just as good as Raichle/Deeluxe? Thanks again, I appreciate the response, no one was ever this helpful on the bicycing.com community.

[C5 Golfer]

I have one of the Prior 4X4 in my collection also ,, mine is a 174. It is usually the first one to come out each season after the rocks are covered.
where in Canada do you ride?

[GeoffG]

Originally posted by crazycanuck
I did look at the UPS website. Boots look good, I just haven't heard of them before, are they just as good as Raichle/Deeluxe?

I cannot answer this, as I have Raichle's and have never used the UPS boots, but I was recently talking with Dan Yoja in his office (I bought his used board) and he is really big on the UPS's (as you'd imagine, him being the distributor). One trick thing about them is they come with DIN heel/toe blocks so you can use them as ski boots, too. I asked if they would be too soft for skiing, and he says they are a bit soft but definitely doable, and he said some folks really like softer boots (eg. the head patroller here, who needs boots that are easy to walk in when attending injuries--I can relate to this as I used to do ski patrol in leather tele boots).

Of course, many of us don't need downhill ski boots very much (I haven't downhilled for about 8 years now).