Aracan
-
Posts
648 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
10
Content Type
Blogs
Gallery
Downloads
Store
Events
Profiles
Forums
Posts posted by Aracan
-
-
The liner has a size printed on it (7.5, 8, 8.5, etc) which is the Mondo size minus 20cm.
Not quite. If you look at UPZ chart, you'll see that a size 8 liner corresponds to MP 26.5.
I have 27.7 cm feet, I ordered Mondo 27.5 boots from UPZ, the liner says "7.5" and the lower shell says "7/7.5/8" There's no way I could fit a US or even a UK size 7.5 boot. I've had 3 pairs.I don't know if UPZ boots are actually larger than the number says, or if the shape is simply better. However, I (and others that I have heard of) can downsize with UPZ, compared to other hardboot brands.
E.g. I had a Deeluxe MP 29, which fit (shell/finger test was also o.k.). With UPZ, I am comfy in a size 10 liner, which corresponds to MP 28.2. The shell also seems shorter than the Deeluxe, though about equally long on the inside.
-
The most conclusive numbers are those on the lower shell. In this case, the shell will take liners from three EU sizes: 8.5, 9 and 9.5. According to this table, those sizes correlate to MP sizes 27.5, 27.8 and 28.2 respectively.
-
Paolo wrote:
i have the upz boot but i read from thor Wint. review about some problem with back plate.do you have some info about this problem? Any solution?
Paolo, I think what Thor meant is this: With UPZ boots, the ledge on heel is basically under your foot. That makes it a bit harder for some people to get the ledge into the binding bail. With some bindings it is a bit harder than with others. It's not really a problem with function. It just takes some getting used to.
The first time I rode my UPZs, I fell over when I was getting OUT of the binding for the lift: Once the heel ledge was under the bail, it wanted to stay there and would not come out as easily as with, say, a Deeluxe boot.
But as I said: It's probably not a *real* problem. Go ahead and give Robert from Hang Loose some business!
-
You will love that board! Next step: Book a Pure Boarding camp. Most people do it the other way round (get hooked at a camp, then buy the board), but a very few chosen ones like you and me start with the board. I noticed quickly that the Bastard can do a lot more than I can, and I wanted to change that, at least a bit ;-)
-
For sale: my Deeluxe Indy with BTS (yellow springs, Bomber original). As you probably know, these are predecessors of the Track 700, with the same shell shape but the ratchet-style buckles.
Size as printed on liner: MP 29.5
Sole length shell: 319 mm
Shells
The shells have been used for a number of seasons and show normal signs of use – abrasions here and there, but no cracks that I could find!
Liners
The liners were only used for about 2 seasons, before I switched to Thermoflex liners. As is visible in the picture, the plastic has tears around where the tongues are attached. This doesn’t affect their function, however.
BTS
The BTS was bought at the beginning of the 10/11 season. Due to an injury I only used them for the 11/12 season. So these are very new. Some of the paint has come off the springs, nuts and center pieces show minor scratches. Apart from that, very nice condition.
Asking price: EUR 160,-, international shipping included!
Boots are in Austria
Mail me for details: balacin1 at gmail dot com
-
If the buckles are tight(er) it will compress the liner and potentially give you unwanted space. I went through this process and it makes a huge difference.
Also, there is a "how to bake your liners" video around somewhere on the web. Near the end of the vid, the guy flexes the boots backwards and forwards.
If you have too much room in the cuff, DO NOT do that.
I did the first time, and the liners were far too loose around the shins. The second time I just closed the buckles enough to feel they were closed and stood still (toes raised) during the cool-down. Much better fit!
-
Maxlanaudiere,
this may or may not work. Keep in mind that after a TF liner comes out of the oven, the material can only be compressed. If your feet are *too* skinny, you will need a technology where the liner can also expand to take up excess volume. In other words, a foam-injected liner. Or a shell with less volume.
My wife had the same problems with her Heads and switched to UPZs instead. She got a good deal, so the boots cost less than she would have paid for injection liners.
And just out of curiosity: Why use a size 30 liner instead of a 29?
-
-
I went straight from skis to hardboots. Had been skiing since about age 2 or so, made the switch in my early 20ies. This was back when alpine still owned about a third of the snowboard market, and alpine was the budget option since you could use your ski boots for the first season ;-)
So, I'm not in the 90 %, never having tried softies.
-
Thanks for all the answers! I don't think I will change the liners, the stock ones fit just too well.
I did develop a sensitive spot on the rear shin after my second day in them. On the third day, I took to pushing down the tongue into the shell after each run - no problems after that.
I'll first try the red tongues, and if that isn't enough, maybe the springs themselves can be changed - thanks to Fruno for the suggestion!
-
Fruno,
thanks for the input! I was considering the red tongues. Is the difference between black and red really noticeable (stupid question, I know, but still)?
Also, Wolfgang seemed a very customer-oriented guy when I met him this spring, but I fear he will expect to be paid for a set of tongues. While I already have the BTS, from my previous boots.
-
Hilux,
I have the RX8 (predecessor to the RC8, with a slightly different liner and the 3rd buckle slightly forward). Yes, I have had them on the snow, otherwise I wouldn't dare say anything about the fit. Still, I think I could profit from a bit more flex. I suspect the springs in the stock system are too stiff (and maybe too short) to really do much for me at about 150 lbs.
I have also seen the mod on the EC forum. Basically, they took an ACSS for Head and added a block at the bottom so it could be screwed to the shell. The protrusion on the lower part of the UPZ shell seems to be too slight and too far down to simply drill through it and use a mounting pin.
When all is said and done, this brand has become very popular over the last few years, so, like you, I wonder when someone will start playing with this issue?
-
Dear BOL,
has anyone successfully adapted a BTS for UPZ boots? And if yes, how did you do it?
The reasons I am asking:
One, I love the fit of my UPZ. They fit my feet better with stock liners than the Indys did with TF liners. And the way they grab my heels is simply great. But I find them a tad too stiff.
Two, I have a pair of BTS on hand. Note that I'm talking about the Bomber BTS, not the ACSS originally meant for Head nor the other ACSS for Deeluxe boots.
So, any ideas?
-
TFs are great, and they helped me a lot. The one thing they cannot fix is fitting a skinny foot in a shell that has too much volume for the foot (because the heated TF liner can only compress, not expand). But otherwise, I can truly recommend them.
-
There used to be 3 manufacturers in the business: Head/Blax, UPZ and Deeluxe. From what I know, Head has stopped producing hardboots, although you may still find them NOS or slightly used.
UPZ offers one basic shell shape in 3 different flavors and degrees of stiffness. UPZs are generally narrow in the heel, with a wide toebox.
Deeluxe has two shell shapes, one symmetric, one asymmetric.
At the end of the day, though, the best boot for you is the one that fits best, and a good fit can only be ascertained on the snow. Try as many as you can.
-
I haven't tried it. What I have tried is a Deeluxe Indy (orange version) with skiboards. I can't imagine the RC10 to be much stiffer than the Indy (especially fore-aft), so I would guess that the answer to your question is NO.
If you do use the DIN blocks, you should make sure to use T-nuts that not just for the heels but for the toe pieces as well.
-
+1
Get the boots with the best possible fit, or your fun will suffer. Unfortunately, without previous experience with the various models, it's impossible to tell if a boot fits before you have tried it on the mountain - you have some trial and error in your future. The good news is that there are only two boot manufacturers left in the western hemisphere.
That said, let me quote Pureboarding's Joerg Egli: "Once you have tried hardbooting, everything else seems irrelevant."
-
I was just about to say the same.
-
In passing the cynical part of me wonders if some of the popularity of soft boots then is not related to the lower manufacturing costs of them. If you want fashion stuff which people throw away regularly, the manufacturing costs need to be kept to the minimum.
You may be on to something - a softbooter colleague replaces his boots on a yearly basis (for safety reasons - he doesn't trust them to hold up to his mass over more than one season). Now take the manufacturing cost vs. the street price of average softboots, and you have got a solid business model
That said, I agree wholeheartedly. What makes hardboots unique is the combination of high control and low overhang. My feet are MP 29.5, and I simply do not want to ride the angles ski boots would force on me, nor a board so wide it could accomodate my angles without overhang.
If a new concept comes along that delivers this combination, it might be a winner.
-
The only major innovation in carving in the last 6-8 years has been in the "non-tooled" areas.
Exactly. There are dozens of small, dedicated board manufacturers out there, because all you need to become one is, basically, a press and know-how (and the materials, of course). The entry cost into the boot business is simply prohibitive to that kind of entrepreneurial spirit.
-
it means you need to make at least 6 molds to have a certain range / line of boots....6x20K = 120 K
Sorry, but I think your math is way off.
Let's say your size range is 24-31 MP. That's 15 half-sizes. If one shell size covers 3 Mondo half-sizes (optimistic, but probably feasible), you need 5 molds for the lower part of the boot.
Let us also say that the tongue and cuff can cover 5 half-sizes. You need 3 molds of each, 6 in total.
That's 11 molds in total.
Times 2, because you want to make left AND right boots.
So, you need 22 molds, or $ 440 K. Also, I'm not sure that you could get each of those molds for 20 K, since some of the shapes - especially for the lower part of the boot - are quite complicated, with hollow parts etc.
Plus the costs you already mentioned, plus the cost for liners, buckles, spring systems ...
-
As far as I can tell (I'm not an engineer), the problem with re-making the Point boot is largely that with designing and producing any new hardboot: The molds for making the plastic parts (for a full size range) would be very expensive. 3D scanning will not solve that problem.
3D printing in usable plastic would, but as Wampum pointed out, 3D printing is not there yet.
Ever wonder why not a single new hardboot has emerged in the last 10 or so years? And by "new" I mean a shell design that's really different from what a given manufacturer produced before. All the boots currently in production have been around for a long, long time. Of course, there is a huge difference between, say, an RC 10 and an RSV Superlight, But the basic shape is still the same. I believe that's because of the huge initial investment it would take to produce a different shape.
-
Up & reduced price.
-
If i understand correctly 69 is not asymmetric boot
But the 69 is still basically the same as the 225/325, which is now nearing its 20th anniversary, I think.
Knee compression sleeve experience?
in Carving Central
Posted
I have a bit of a cartilage problem in both knees, so the patellae do not slide as smoothly as they should. I always ride with these knee bandages and they make a big difference! They have a ring-shaped padding which keeps the patellae in place, and plastic reinforcements which help stabilize the knees. I have no experience with the ones you mention, but I would never ride without mine. I feel the difference after each day of riding.