tripine Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Mine ripped in the right boot between the big toe area. Any body else have this problem. 2 yrs and about 70 days on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big D Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I have the orange head Pros, they seem fine but I only have 30 or40 days on them. Guess you got some new upgraded liners now. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrol Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Had that same season ender happen to Both of my old & beloved Reactors last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Be careful when buckling in... if you have the overlap done wrong... in cold conditions it will tear the shell. I typically turn off all my car vents except the floor and heat my boots (air blasting directly into the cuff) for the last 20 minutes of the drive with the windows cracked open about an inch to soften them.. They mold like slippers. No chance to tear them either. (don't try this with heat molded liners) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripine Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I miswrote. I tore the shell. Head is being difficult about backing the warrantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 I miswrote. I tore the shell. Head is being difficult about backing the warrantee. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll dig around and find the name of a rep for Head/Tyrolia North America (east coast, too). I don't remember his name but I remember the guy was super helpful and I also know he is still with them. I'll get back to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 tripine, like John Gilmour said, " Be careful when buckling in... if you have the overlap done wrong... in cold conditions it will tear the shell." I my modified Head Stratos, but if their is one thing I'd like to see it would be a w i d e r tongue. I even thought about trying tongues (I like the orange) from a larger shell size to see if they would be any wider. There is very little overlap down the side of the tongue to the shell. I figured it was because I have a wide (5E) foot, but it is sounding like others may have same issue? I found I really need to be careful (like put my glasses on) to keep the tongue overlapping the shell properly. More than once when riding, something just didn't feel quite right and I could not put my finger on it until I went to take off my boots and noticed the tongue 1/2 under and 1/2 over the shell. Thus causing it to bind (that's what didn't feel right) and causing small tears in shell :( and tongue. Not sure if this is what caused your issue, but that is my experience, and it sounds like JG has had it also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 My issue with the Stratos is that the tongue was not wide enough. So right where the tongue ended..I would get a hot spot of shin smash.. I'd try dragging the tongue over to protect this spot.. but it did not always stay exactly where it was needed. I also packed out the liners in under 25 days.. and you really have so much trouble ordering liners.... you may as well order another set of boots. That and my inability to ride Raichle/Deluxe boots (too high wrong flex for me) has me high and dry from hardboots. At 25 days or in one case about 14 days to a packed out liner... it's just very expensive. It takes me a few days to get the Head Stratos boots custom fitted anyhow. I for better or worse- really like to aggressively drive a boot to fire into the board to set an edge just when I want it to engage. Oddly my much older Nordica TR-9 (a firmer variant of the Nordica SBH) boots held up for a full season or two of aggressive riding in much harder snow conditions (East coast Ice) than in Aspen in Head Stratos. I liked the power the Stratos gave me- but I'm not sure I really needed that stiff/heavy a boot...I always wanted a higher front than back (to prevent shin bang) but allow for my calf muscle not to smashed/choked in heelsides. Instead I find myself having to ride lower cut boots...in order to get a strong heelside... but suffer for having too low a boot on the toeside. I know...crazy right??? Gilmour wants a Boot significantly higher in front than back.. ???? But a lot of what we thought was right back in the day- is now questioned in snowboarding. Back then: Fins and center skegs, boards shaped like fish, narrow 15- 17 inch alpine stances, double as much nose as tail, asymmetric boards , regular camber, Radial sidecuts. Side profiles that peak in thickness rapidly in a spot like a ski in the middle. Snowboarding with your knees together as one unit like skiers. hmmm all of the above were things we thought would help us be more like skiers... Fins and skegs were water ski/surf derived.. More nose than tail...skiing asymmetry to allow for direct lateral movement ...like skiing. Camber...again like skis. boots higher in back than front.. skiing again.... But look where we have gone. Super sidecuts asymmetric riding on symmetric boards rocker reverse camber decentered Side profiles that are thinner between the feet and thicker underfoot. Magnetraction. (some boards) Carving with knees apart. The snowboard industry with many players is willing to try new things.. we are the risk takers... (the ski industry eventually follows us) and can afford to do so... boutique companies do such small runs that we have a lot less at stake to try new things. When I firmed up the nose on boards... the prevailing thought was that Tail riding was good form (Rossignol tail riding..was everywhere). People asked me.. "Gilmour, why would you want to do that? Tail riding is how you should ride" I said..'Well since we have to move our weight forward so aggressively, and that during turn initiation we load more on the front foot - why would we want to risk over de-cambering the nose (folding the nose)? Besides once the channel is established you could ride 50/50 weight distribution through the apex and the board would stay in the channel anyhow... but you could be much more aggressive in setting your edge without fear of the nose folding." (As happened to me with many decks prior to the Madds). People thought I was nuts but I had no interest in riding a product that I did not personally like. I realized when we made the Madds that VERY VERY VERY few people would be able to ride them....because most people were tail riding. I had to take people out personally for "Demo Rides" and ride with them to try and change their riding style so they could understand what the boards could do... About 60% of the people could not adapt in a run or two... thought our boards were nothing special mostly because they were just on the tail. They did not think they were bad... but just not much better than the their decks out there and not worth the price difference. 10% of the riders could not handle the board at all. But the 30% that adapted...went fricking nuts over them. I think the same thing could happen if we made a hardboot the right way. Initially only about 30% of the people would like them.. the rest would argue for a few years that they liked their old boots better..and over time... people would come around to understanding that a boot that works with your needs is better than one that does not. It just takes a bit of time. How many people today would feel great about getting off a coiler and onto a (soft nosed) Burton Stat 6 or an original (soft nosed) Rossignol 163 throttle? How many people would go right over the handlebars? Well the area the snowboard industry has the least control over... is the ski boot molding factories.. We almost don't exist in such small unit numbers. You heard it first here.. We have been doing it backwards..... forever. We don't need higher backs like skiers do to keep from getting thrown to the heel edge.. in fact.. we need to get over the heel side edge. We need shin protection in the front..and tunable/turnable asymmetric cuffs to help us ride our symmetric boards asymmetrically. We need boots that work for us...not bastardizations for skiers or randonee skiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big D Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Wax on Sir Gilmour, wax on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Considering the cost of molds, and the number of molds needed (at least 6 different sizes), no one will produce a new boot for alpine riders. It's just way too much money, for a tiny segment of the market. However, I could see someone producing aftermarket uppers for people to retrofit to their production lowers. The same uppers can span several sizes, and it seems like most of the changes you mentioned could be done without changing the bottom of the boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Gilmour, have you tried putting Intiution liners into the Heads? From what you say, it sounds like they may work well for you. Combined with a booster strap to replace the stock power strap, I'd bet your shin bang issues would go away. I think its the Powerwrap one that's pretty much the same height all the way around. I've actually been pretty happy with the stock liners, but we must be different. They pack out a little, but not bad for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jussio Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Mine ripped in the right boot between the big toe area. Any body else have this problem. 2 yrs and about 70 days on them I had a problem with mine some years ago. Unused boots but about 3 years old. After only some days I noticed a failure in one - repaired it but soon after the other one cracked, too. Repaired it but did not dare to use it. Received a replacement pair type Head Vega (low end or their models) and did not accept it. After 1 1/2 years of emailing and finally sending a letter to Austria I received new Stratos Pros'. A lot of patience was needed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripine Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks for the info Dave... Looking forward to that name and number Appreciate all the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAK Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I broke the heel off a Statos Pro a couple years ago. I could not have possibly received better service from Head. They even rushed the shipping to me so I wouldn't get held up before a race. I dealt with the following gentleman: Charles Lemieux Warranty / Pro Service Head Canada Inc. 360 Michener Road, Unit A Guelph, Ontario N1K 1E4 T 1-800-265-7257 x 232 F 1-800-387-3733 E clemieux@ca.head.com E proservice@ca.head.com head.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Well that certainly is a worthy endorsement of Head. Worth thinking about for my next boot purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Gilmour Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Gilmour, have you tried putting Intiution liners into the Heads? From what you say, it sounds like they may work well for you. Combined with a booster strap to replace the stock power strap, I'd bet your shin bang issues would go away. I think its the Powerwrap one that's pretty much the same height all the way around.I've actually been pretty happy with the stock liners, but we must be different. They pack out a little, but not bad for me. I did use the intuitions with my heads.. I found that the material was comfortable if carving lightly- but when pushed hard on steeps pulling g's the material compressed and the plastic was felt HARD on my Shin. So great for tooling around teaching people to snowboard....but very painful to riding hard. I tried both the regular density and the dual density gold ones by Intuition while I was in Aspen. The stock HEAD liner had better padding IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekempmeister Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Tripine, I have not forgotten you. I rode a chair with someone a week or two ago and discussed this very same Head rep. That's how I know he still works for them - the guy I rode the chair with just had a positive experience. I could not put my hands on the info at home and so emailed the fellow I spoke with recently to send it to me. As soon as I get word..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Mine ripped in the right boot between the big toe area. Any body else have this problem. 2 yrs and about 70 days on them ripped similar to this?...see post #53 http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=23100&page=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripine Posted January 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Dave.... Thnks again Hilux. Mine is a lot longer.... No bragging intended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveBomber Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I had a problem with mine some years ago. Unused boots but about 3 years old.After only some days I noticed a failure in one - repaired it but soon after the other one cracked, too. Repaired it but did not dare to use it. Received a replacement pair type Head Vega (low end or their models) and did not accept it. After 1 1/2 years of emailing and finally sending a letter to Austria I received new Stratos Pros'. A lot of patience was needed.. I ride those same boots, love the color, I had some small cracks develop and I made sure drill a small hole at the end of each one to make sure the crack didnt get any bigger, Im guessing you didnt do that? then I also used a bit of heat to soften the area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tripine Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 I did drill the hole. Didn't heat boot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jussio Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 I ride those same boots, love the color, I had some small cracks develop and I made sure drill a small hole at the end of each one to make sure the crack didnt get any bigger, Im guessing you didnt do that? then I also used a bit of heat to soften the area You are right- I did not drill a hole. On the other hand the I did not notice any growth of the first crack before the second one appeared. Received the new pair which is black. Now riding with Raichle af700 with BTS though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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