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Whats the difference between the Raichle SB and the AF series


Bobby Buggs

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http://www.yyzcanuck.com/E_tech_article06.htm

My complaint on the SF series was snow had entry points when the boot was flexed; near the ankle joints and near the front of the boot at the tongue hinge point. This lead to colder feet and a bit of extra moisture or dampness in the liner. At one point I placed duct tape over the tongue hinge to block the snow. I do ave not experienced this with two pairs of AF seriers.

To your original question . . . equal sized boots, "fit" was the same between the two styles. Biggest change in "fit" for me was change in footbeds. The footbed base my Raichle's was soft or flexible in the toe area. Found this curled and made a compressed fit within the boot. This year I am using my ski-boot footbed which has a firm or rigid base in the toe area and allows for a bit of wiggle room with toes and more comfort.

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I actually put tape under the front edge of the tongue on top of the liner and then tape the top. I could not figure out why every time after lunch my boots were wet:(

I have been having some issues with the sides of my feet just below my little toes. By the end of the day I lose the feel of my last 2 toes. I thought I read the AF has a better toe box area. Not to mention lack of snow intrusion.

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I thought I read the AF has a better toe box area. Not to mention lack of snow intrusion.

The AF boots are, at least to my eyes, better in all respects than the SB series, so the question doesn't even get asked, but yes, the fit of the AF series is certainly much nicer if you have "wider" feet. Going from otherwise identically sized SB225s to AF700s was a revelation for me, I went from having slightly cramped (and cold) toes to being full-on comfortable. Using the exact same pair of custom footbeds, of course.

On the other hand, the AFs are a b*st*rd to put on compared to the SBs (technically, according to my footsize, I "should" be wearing a half size up, 28.0 vs 27.5, but then I get heel lift issues - going down to the 27.x shells and adding good footbeds solved that problem). The main issue is getting that little bit of liner tongue at the bottom in the right place when you're fighting the "race" tongues on the shells - this was easy on the SBs as you can "flip" the shell tongue out of the way.

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