FS: Liners, 2006 Speed Thermo sz 26

[Markman]

Deeluxe Speed Thermo liner, 06 model, size 26 for sale. I just bought these the other day, but they are too puffy for my minimalist fit UPZ boots. These were tube heated once so can be oven heated 5 times. Liners didn't even make it to the hill. Bomber sells for $139, I'll take $100.

[jimcheen]

Is that with or without shipping to the US?
Thanks
JC

[bobdea]

try using the oven
the thermoflex liners will pack down the 1/8th or so if you do it right
the stalks don't quite cut it for those, the entire liner needs to be heated.

[D-Sub]

ditto what bob says. tube heater simply will not work correctly

[Markman]

To JC:

I usually go half/half on the shipping cost with the buyer. That will be between 5 and 10 bucks as an additional cost.

Tube vs heater:

I follow what you're saying. Tubes are used as a start to get a rough idea if the liner will actually be ok, if so, then to the full oven treatment. Deeluxe liners compress about 15 to 25% (tops), Intuition liners (the stiffer ski boot model) compress up to 50% and Scarpa liners are between the two. For my boots I have a minimal space, and these liners just will not compress enough. The Intuition liners are just a bit short, but I will go with them.

FYI, all EVA thermoform liners become more stiff with each heating so the less heat you use to achieve your fit, the more supple they stay. Some of the telemark guys will actually take their unheated liners and just stuff them in their boots, suffer for 5 days, and get a soft yet formed fit (not the way I would do it!).

[sheffy]

Markman which liners are you using for your UPZ s ....i hate the ones that came with mine and im looking to replace them any advice????
cheers
sheffy

[Markman]

Deeluxe liners are sold. Thanks!

Sheffy,

I'm always surprised by what crap-ass liners manufacturers use as stock in many boots -- ski, snowboard, telemark -- take your pick. Case in point is the UPZ liner. It has almost no structure and the "thermoformable" part of it is no more than a couple of EVA patches on either side of the ankle. The more surprising part is that these stock liners probably cost more to make than either the Deeluxe or Intuition liners which come from China -- and are substantially better.

Overall, I am more impressed with the Intuition liner (the taller ski boot model). It heat-compressed nicely, holds its shape under continued use, and your feet never get cold. It is thinner than the Deeluxe, which worked well with my RSV's (I probably should be in a set of 27-27.5's, but I wanted a really close fit so took a pair of 26-26.5's with the thinner shell). The down side is that they are not as soft as other liners, and are short for the UPZ boot -- they just make it out of the shell. This is really only a problem getting into the boot when you have to tug upwards on the liner. You can get the Intuition liner from either Dave Morgan at www.yyzcanuck.com or Esta Evans at www.intelligentfit.com (both are in Toronto and both charge about $140 CAD).

Another alternative is the Scarpa tall liner. It has similar structure to the Intuition (ie., the whole liner is moldable, no fixed neoprene toe cap like the Deeluxe) but is tall enough for the UPZ boots. I have a pair of these on hand that I have yet to try, but they look good -- I was able to cut the liner foam at the overlapping forefoot areas to give me more volume without having to do any stitching, etc. www.mec.ca says that most sizes are sold out, but there seems to be a good stock of them at the Vancouver (Burard St.) MEC -- easy to get them to mail order to Vernon. Call the store first, tell them to hold onto a set for you, then call the toll-free MEC Online number and they'll take care of the rest. Down side is that they cost $199, but they are made in Italy and look to be better quality out of the box (if that counts for anything).

I'll be out at Silver Star end of January, but I'll be riding my Nitro Dark Horse (it actually carves way better than many of the speed sticks I've owned).

M