New boots

[korc]

Hi all. Sorta new here. Was on site a couple of years ago but I guess your user ID expires if you don;t use it for a while. Anywho, I need peoples opinions on the different boots available. I am looking at getting either the UPZ race boots or the Dee-luxe Indy boots. I am only considering these two because they are the only ones I can get in Canada. Now I wish I could try them on but unfortunatly I can't. So I need the expert opinion of you guys for a best possible fit. My problem is that I have extremely flat feet. When i step down, my arc collapses and makes the middle of my feet very wide. Now the boots I have used in the past are Burton Wind, salomon ski boots, technica ski boots, and my present boots from Alpina H20. Now all of my past boots including the Alpinas are way too narrow for me. the Burton's fit me the best (still too narrow) but they were a few sizes too big. So which of the two boots have a wider mid section? Do the moldable liners really help that much? I figure I could learn to adjust to the flex of the boot as long as my feet will be somewhat comfortable. Also I ride mostly freecarve. No gates or racing. (Sorry aboot the length of post)

Thanks

Simon

PS I ride a Prior wcr175 w/ catex olympics

[Derf]

The best thing you could try would be to get custom insoles. Custom insoles can prevent your arch from collapsing. You could try them in your Burton Wind. If the fit is still too narrow, thant you might think of checking out the Head Stratos or the UPZ.

I have wide feet and tried some Deeluxe Indy's in store and they are a little too narrow for my taste, and I wear Burton Furnace boots (that I find too narrow also), which might be similar to your Burton Wind. I tried the Head in store and they are quite comfortable, perfect width and height (instep) for my linking, but I did not buy them, not in my budget (500$CDN when I checked). I have read that the UPZ (former UPS) are quite wide also.

P.S.: I have never tried custom insoles, but I have read a lot here and some riders here only swear by them.

[ARCrider]

Like Derf says: Start with custom insoles or proper orthotics especially if you have some health insurance that will cover them when prescribed by your doctor.

My first boots were Burton fire. Great feeling fit when brand new but they quickly packed out and were too large. I bought too large a boot.

Replaced them with some Raichle AF600s now Deeluxe suzuka. Felt too tight but the shop insisted it was what I needed. They were right, absolutely bang on for sizing. I have a wide foot but after bumping the toe box wider they were perfect. My orthotics also take away some of the standing width.

check with Michelle here at the Bomber store for boots and foot measurement for proper sizing

[Guest boogieman]

ive got the new upz boots and i find them a bit narrow to but maybe my liners still need to adjust a little to my feet

I used them only twice now and the secend time my feet hurted les then the first time

My old blax boots fit really good but old boots always fit better then new ones in the beginning

[korc]

Thanks for the replys. So how much stiffer are the UPZ's compared with the Indys? Are the UPZs a pure race boot? Can they be adjusted to be more flexible?

[Guest boogieman]

i dont have indys so i cant compare

but you have a spring system on the upz boots so you can adjust the flex

and for me they are just fine like they are i could stiffen them up if i wanted to but for me they are perfect like they are

hope that helps

but i must say the heads do look verry nice and my old blax boots(head now) were verry good boots to its just the spring system and the 5 buckels that made me choose for the upz boots

and the plastic cheep looking buckels on the raichle deelux made me not buying those

but then again the heads have thermoliners and they look great i think so... but its to late for me now.

not that i dont like my upz boots they are great i just always want what i dont have and i can never make up my mind.

[NateW]

I just received my UPZs. They're smaller than my Raichles (26 vs 27) but the width feels about right, whereas my Raichles had to be widened. They don't seem to be as tall, though I haven't tried putting on one each foot yet to be sure about that.

They have more fore-aft flex than my Raichle 324s but that's to be expected since they have the spring mechanism. Not sure if I like that idea, but I'll give it a try. :)

The velcro strap kinda worries me though, I hate those things. But again, I'll give it a try.

[Jon Dahl]

at the very least, get some over the counter Superfeet insoles. When I rode soft boots, I always had ball of foot pain. I have really high insteps, and in my last softboots I couldn't walk across the parking lot without that burning pain sensation, and that orgasmic pain relief feeling when I took off my boots at noon! Just using those footbeds cut my pain by 60/70%. They also pulled my toes out of the end of my boots. In the future I see custom orthotics as the only way for me to ride/hike/climb. Oh, also, get thermo liners 'cause that perfect fit to your foot is worth it.

[Guest Randy S.]

I'll echo the footbed suggestion. My guess is the UPZ will fit you better than the Raichle. I have flattish wide feet. The UPZ fit me better, but I also have Thermoflex liners in them with custom footbeds. That combo is great. Better than Raichle.

NateW, you might consider replacing the stock velcro strap with a Booster Strap. My UPS boots didn't come with the velcro strap, but I added a Booster to increase stiffness. They did that, but they still have flex b/c the Booster strap has an elastic in it, as opposed to the rigid nature of most power straps that come stock with ski and snowboard boots.

[CarvCanada]

Do velcro/booster straps really increase stiffness? My thought would be that they just pull on the top rear of your boot and tighten up the top against your leg, without increasing fore/aft stiffness. I would think they just press the shell against your shin.