Aracan

Also, be aware that with Head boots, there is no difference between a full size (e.g. 29) and the next half size (e.g. 29.5), except the footbed. At least that's what the Hardbooter's Almanac says and what I have found in the Head boots I've seen so far. Your choice would be between 29, 30 and 31.

Two more things: Firstly, Snowpros haven't changed over the past 9-10 years. I know, because I have various vintages. Secondly, if these bindings are identical Snowpros, they have 3° inbuilt canting.

AFAIK, Deeluxe thermo liners are uniform on the outside, while standard liners have patches of different materials. I believe there's also a vortex-like logo that comes only on thermo liners. How 'bout posting a pic?

Judging from the pic, they look absolutely identical to my Snowpros. Can't tell if it's the Race or one of the lower-end models. If you are lightweight and not *extremely* aggressive, I can recommend these.

That's a big "if". As I have mentioned in another thread, customs and duties are not *that* bad when importing a board - for Austria, add about 25% to the sum of invoiced price and cost of shipping. Especially if you compare a Coiler and, say, a Virus. The irksomeness lies in the shipping. The farther away you are from global cargo hubs, the more a small shipment (like a board) costs. Maybe you can ship Canada --> UK for $ 70,-. For Switzerland, $ 200,- or even 250,- is probably closer to the mark - and don't forget to add tax to that When all's said and done, that Coiler will probably still cost significantly less than a Kessler, though. Even less if you find one or two other carvers in your area, so you can split the shipping.

Never ridden NWs, either. From what I've gleaned on forums, the location of the hinge point is often regarded as near-perfect, better than on any other hardboot. The flex also gets praise.

Simple, well built and easy to use? I can recommend the Snowpro Race from personal experience. Beefy bindings, metal baseplate, 6mm bails, never had any issues. The bindings always feel solid while still offering a bit of flex - you don't feel bolted down in them. I have to add a few caveats, though: I can only speak for the standard bail model, the SI (F.A.S.T.) system gets mixed reviews. The bindings are still easy to find in Europe for little money. Not sure about the U.S., though. I weigh only about 155 lbs., so your mileage may vary. I have no experience with other bindings. Just from hearsay, I would go with either the SP Race or the TD3 SW.

That's what I thought, believing in the old adage that you can have things fast, cheap or high-quality: pick two. However, after a few days of searching the web, asking around and posting on a number of discussion boards, I'm beginning to doubt it. For such a small shipment, there is apparently no real trade-off of time against cost. The only choices seem to be "fast & expensive" and "even faster & outrageous".

Thanks for the offer! But as I said, I haven't ordered a board yet - I think three weeks is rather short notice :(

You might try asking over at the German forum, some of the people there have been to Kitzbühel and might have specifics.

Not wanting to disappoint you, but alpine rental gear has become hard to find in Austria. I don't know about Kitzbühel specifically (I have only ever driven through Kb), but a rental shop carrying alpine equipment is the exception, not the rule. It might pay to plan ahead, maybe call some of the shops in Kitzbühel and others in the area, to see where you get what you want.

Asking Bruce was the first thing I did, of course. He couldn't come up with anything below the rates I quoted, at least not off the top of his head ... Maybe it's because the Netherlands are more of a global freight hub than my neck of the woods?

Under 2 meters. Still, Canada Post will charge CAD 270 (about the same as the lowest UPS rate), and I'll have to pay 20% tax on top of that. Any ideas? Bear in mind that I am willing to wait. I just want to avoid paying a lot of taxes just for the shipping.

Hi all, I am arguing with myself about whether or not to order a Coiler. The rub lies in the cost of shipping from Canada to Austria. Has any of you worked out an inexpensive way to do that (noticeably less than $150)? Needs not be fast, just low-cost and reliable. Regards, Stefan

Hello, a quick question: Can anybody tell me if the thermo liners from Scarpa (Plusfit race) will fit in a Blax/Head shell of the same MP size? Thank you!

From what I have gleaned on the EC board, the EC guys mostly prefer the Stratos over Deeluxe. The Northwaves are special because many racers find them best suited for racing. The boots have last been made about 10 years ago (maybe longer), and the molds have been destroyed. Every 2 years or so a rumour will pop up about the molds having resurfaced, ended up with some small company which will bring back the NW point boots, which then doesn't happen.

My personal experience: I bought Deeluxe Indys (orange model) around 2002, I believe. I went with the 29.5 then, and they fit lengthwise. Later I upgraded to Thermoflex liners. Following popular wisdom, I took the 29.0, not the 30.0, and they are fine. If I were you, I'd get the 28.0 with a moldable liner.

Very impressive (a slalom board is my ONLY board, and I definitely can't rip like that), makes me long for the next winter! That said, are you sure about going one-legged? I would never dream of it. Call me a coward, but I have only one knee per leg, and I am very attached to them.

I would if they were 29 ...

+1 on that. I mean, grassroots movement and all that is a fine thing. But the way you tell the story, it sounds like you paid for a brand new metal board, which is not safe to use. And the manufacturer says it's okay for you to try and render it usable? On your own time, with tools you had to buy for the job? Call me bitchy, but should I ever be in the happy situation to order a new board (which I hope will come) ... well, you can finish that sentence for yourself, I guess.

For riding purposes, yes. However, if I understand correctly, this thread is supposed to provide buyers/sellers of used boots with a means to identify the boot size. For that, a number stamped on the outside of the boot, as the sole length usually is, might be better.

Yep, it's definitely an asy, but I can't make out the logo. F2? Pogo?

AFAIK, the shape is more or less the same. However, the plastic is much softer. Moreover, the Cirrus has a forward lean mechanism withouth the spring. You can adjust the angle and then lock it. This also means that the Cirrus mold differs from the Stratos mold in the rear and will not take the BTS or ACSS as easily. Finally, the liner is probably different (lower quality, no heat-moldable areas), since the Cirrus used to be less than 1/2 the price of the Stratos, usually closer to 1/3.

I think that depends. A typical ski boot manufacturer already has dozens of molds in different shapes an sizes, which they can recombine and/or tweak to make "new" models. Scarpa, which you mentioned, have been using the same molds for many years, AFAIK - just like Deeluxe, UPZ and Head. What *might* be feasible: Convincing a ski boot manufacturer to design a new hardboot using molds they already have. (See Raichle, Head et. al.) What is highly unlikely: Someone designing a new hardboot from scratch. If you want to cover a decent size range, you are probably looking at investments of $ 1-2 million FOR THE MOLDS ALONE. I guess you'd have to sell your new boot to every single hardbooter on the planet to recoup that - and we haven't even talked about buckles, forward lean mechanism, liners and actual manufacturing. Edited to add: [geek mode]/ Yay! Post #42! [/geek mode]

Thank you for replies - guess I'll stay away from that boot, then.