Hotbeans Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I'll toss this one out for opinions. I've only had stratos pro boots (no mods) and wonder are these stiff or soft comparitively? How would I know if I needed stiffer (or softer) boots? I'm sure the topic of "support" might come up, but how would I know if I needed more..or less? My boots feel pretty good now, but occasionally (and usually always in wet snow) the board will fold up under me (or my feet cant keep it carving straight..). Soft vs hard, stiff vs flexi... ARRGGGG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I use 4buckle Blax (similar to heads) for hard carving days, & old 124 3buckle Raichles for powder, bumps & all mt. riding. Also I somtimes swap the stiffer tongued liner from the blax with the much softer thermoflex liner from the raichles, changing the liners is like having 2 different flexing boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadBrad Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I believe the Stratos Pros are relatively stiff, but I have not actually ridden them. If you crank your buckles down really tight and you still feel like you want more stiffness, then you might want a stiffer boot. If you like to ride the boots buckled fairly loose to the point that there is some slop between your foot and the boot, then you want something softer. It sounds to me as if your setup is working pretty well for you. Different liners can also vary the stiffness of your boot setup. I put some ZipFit Grand Prix liners in my Burton Winds and they stiffened them up considerably, especially if I tighten the laces and use the power strap. They actually made the boot too stiff for me, so I have ordered some Intuition Freeride liners hoping to get some more flex back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I think it all depends on what you weigh (and to some extent your height... i.e. the length of the lever with the weight on the other end). I'm 160 and find the HSPs to be very stiff. Or... I did. They're just about perfect with an intuition alpine liner and BTS (yellow). Might try some of the external cutting before the season's over, since the effect is essentially correctable with stiffer BTS springs if I don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I had a pair of the LTDs (slightly softer than Stratus Pro) and stiffness was irrelevant as the two middle buckles, in my particular size (25) were so close together that they allowed onlya teeny amount of forward flex, rendering them useless to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Stock, the HSP is a very stiff boot. But if it feels good to you, then that is maybe what you need. I found that mine were too stiff for me when I bought them initially. They would not permit me to compress into a compact body position and the result was that I was doing a lot of riding very stiff legged, which obviously poses a severe disadvantage on anything but perfect snow. If you weigh a lot or ride really fast they may be perfect as is. As has been covered a bazillion times, they can be cut to soften them, and the results are pretty terrific if you like a responsive and supportive boot that is still capable of flexing relatively easily. I weigh about 175 and ride relatively quickly, though not super fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotbeans Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 thanks for the input. Maybe I'll catch up with someone who has a modified shell that is same size as mine and try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 The nice thing about going the BTS route is that it's completely reversible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Stock, the HSP is a very stiff boot. it is not! softest boot I've had in the last decade! compared to Burton reactor, fire and wind. Raichle AF 700/deeluxe indys. UPZ RC 10 and UPZ RSV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 it is not! softest boot I've had in the last decade! compared to Burton reactor, fire and wind. Raichle AF 700/deeluxe indys. UPZ RC 10 and UPZ RSV Of course, if you;re like me and have been riding the non-Indy/AF700 Raichle/Deeluxes, the HSP might be the stiffest boot you've ever worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 it is not! softest boot I've had in the last decade! compared to Burton reactor, fire and wind. Raichle AF 700/deeluxe indys. UPZ RC 10 and UPZ RSV Those are all pretty stiff, and out of production boots. From my experience though, the HSP is stiffer than the winds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 the UPZ rc 10 boots are in production the new deeluxe 700s are close to the suzuka from what everyone has said. if this is true the heads are about the same as the new track 700s. still soft. the wind is stiffer, by default though the spring setting on the wind and fire is quite loose. if you crank down the springs and either tighten the boot a ton or put a decent liner in it the boot is MUCH stiffer than any heads with the same treatments applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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