Missionman Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 As one of us who likes to softboot, hardboot (albeit poorly) and ski, it would be really cool to hear if someone was able to make these work on a carver (with some kind of mod to get more fore/aft flex maybe). As a ski boot i have read some good reviews (although not all have been good), but for my level of skiing they'd probably do. Even without the alpine snowboard application they still interest me for the softboot to ski transition. Thoughts anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missionman Posted April 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 in case people don't know what I am talking about - its a soft boot like a snowboard boot in a chassis that can be bound up into ski bindings (and plates too i gather). Take the boot out of the chassis and you can just strap into soft boot bindings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 I talked to the guy that designed these last year (he also designed the rear entry ski boot). He told me that there is a group of instructors at Beaver Creek that are using these to teach skiing and boarding, so they don't have to switch boots, which is what I ended up doing a lot the last 2 seasons. What's kind of funny is that for the last 4 seasons my supervisors kept asking me to teach in soft boots and I wouldn't, now there is a soft boot for skiing which is also a sponsor of the PSIA. If you go to the Apex website there quite a few different flex options available. I asked about using these with plate bindings and he wasn't sure the toe bail would hold securely. The shell itself is meant to step into a ski binding and is not designed to be mounted to a snowboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbvt Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Reminds me of the Burton Torque binding from the '90s, except for the addition of the ski binding interface. --mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missionman Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 very intrigued by these - I am actually disappointed that this community hasn't tried them at all (you guys seem to muck with everything!). Still love the idea of the one boot to rule them all - this solution with some tweaks would probably do it. I just got a good deal on some fairly stiff K2 T1's (softies), but am thinking of returning them now if I buy a pair of these. gotta say - regular price on these boots is a little outrageous though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forrest Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 I used a pair of there for a few days last year. Admittedly they were not the fancy high end pair but simply put they were awful. Truly painful to use as a soft boot due to lack of support through the top of the cuff. Also very wide through the foot so not comforting to ski in. I never tried to use them on plates, they have a long sole length so you would need to run high angles. I would also be concerned I'd be able to lean right out of them on toe sides. I do have narrow feet but these offered little in the way of heel hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I like new things. The idea of a lace up ski boot is so bad it could be good.... it sounds like it's not though. It reminds me of some of the attempts to make full suspension mountain bikes more usable in the Fens, where I live. It's flat here, and the roads are smooth. They brought out all sorts of "hybrid" bikes. Eventually NYC "hipsters" broke away and used simple geometries with no gears... that one thing killed 30 years of mountain bike fashion. I'm not sure where the snowboarding equivalent of the "hipster" is going to come from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) I had a good look at the apex boots, (on a skiers feet) this season. The forward flex of the exoskeleton for boarding seems negligible to nonexistent with no medial/lateral flex at all. I could see the possibility of the soft inner toe twisting out of the exo's toe pocket under extreme board carving forces in plate binders. the base sole length looks longer than some ski boots of the same size. Carrying around the carbon(read super stiff) chassis would be like having 2 pairs of boots when the whole Idea is one boot to do it all and what about snow/ice between the "walking boot" and "chassis"? I did not see the apex soft boot out of the ski frame but I'm not about to buy strap binders any way so I couldn't care less. As far as "soft" ski boots go, my solomon snowtrip boot are super comfy for skiing but don't quite have enough cuff flex for good boarding. sorry for the oversize pic, stole it from ebay My new scarpa pegasus (softer version of the maestrale) however ski great and board quite well w/out mods or much of a bsl penalty, if only they could accept a stepin heel. apex are an overpriced gimmick if you ask me Edited April 10, 2015 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missionman Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 cool guys. maybe that's all i need to hear. I have read good and bad reviews for the boots but no one discussed them specifically for soft boot snowboarding (and none of course for riding on plates). I had seen some on Ebay for $280 - the MC-1's. I agree at their regular price that they are a little insane but at $280 maybe worth the risk even if i couldn't ride them on plates. I Still like the concept but thanks to your feedback i'll pass until someone refines the idea I guess. My ski/sb hardboot are the ST1's (when not on the track 700s). I like them alot actually (although I really am pretty ignorant about what's good...). I am surprised they don't get more fanfare here because they can be bought new for pretty cheap relatively speaking, and you can BTS them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missionman Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) double post... Edited April 10, 2015 by Missionman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I would love to get the stormtroopers as I love my old raichles, but the scarpas were a great deal with dynafit for AT ski and splitboard but I do wish they had a 5 position lean. this looks like a ankle cast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladia Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 B0ardski, what binding are you using with Scarpas? I recently tried New Scarpa GT, I liked them very much, but they did not fit into Bomber toe piece. Probably they would fit with some grinding, but do I want to grind $ 500 boot just from the start without even knowing what the final result will be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 I've used them in snopros, burton race stepin (ratraps), old sims plates, old nitro/rossi plates, and with blax/raichle stepin toe pieces w/ burton stepin heels on the split board. Tried them in TD1s, too narrow at the bail shoulder lugs unless I carve away a slot in the sole at the ball of the foot like I've done to early Raichle snowboarders and nordica SBH, both AT based boot shells. I would think td3s would work as the bails are a bit wider than td1s but can't say for sure as I don't have any newer bindings than 10 year old snowpros. Not a big deal to me if I have to cut away a bit of vibram to "make it work" in the system I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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