Mountain Slope curious -

[David Kirk]

 

I’m Mountain Slope curious.

I’ve been using Raichle/Deeluxe boots for a very long time and they work well for me and I have no real complaints. That said, I see nearly every World Cup racer using Mountain Slope boots and I wonder why? What is it about Mountain Slope boots that makes them the go-to choice of so many racers?

Who here has actually used them and can relate their first hand experience?

Dave

[Mr.E]

Morning Dave- Eric Estlund here.

I have pretty narrow/ low volume feet, and I didn't have to do any boot work on mine. I find the heel hold superior to Deeluxe/ UPZ, and I can run looser buckles (no foot cramping) and get improved toe and heelside feel.

The spring system is also easily tuned (with their springs or aftermarket).

So I got a) better fit b)improved performace c)improved comfort.  I was fully prepaired to buy another pair of UPZ's last year, but on trying these on it was the best shell fit for my feet on the market.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Mr.E

[hknz]

I use 951 just because they offer the smallest hardboot shell AFAIK and as far as i can try on. They are too stiff to my taste and weight. Perhaps that's what WC racer needed. They are not cheap but not unaffordable at all.

[daveo]

I use them with zipfits which I never used with any other boot, so perhaps the comfort I feel in them is from that. Deeluxe don't fit my foot. UPZ felt reasonably good, but 951 for me is most comfy by miles. All day comfort and no heel lift.

So comfy, in fact, I'm buying a second pair.

Edited April 6, 2021 by daveo

[bigwavedave]

1 hour ago, David Kirk said:

 

I’m Mountain Slope curious.

I’ve been using Raichle/Deeluxe boots for a very long time and they work well for me and I have no real complaints. That said, I see nearly every World Cup racer using Mountain Slope boots and I wonder why? What is it about Mountain Slope boots that makes them the go-to choice of so many racers?

Who here has actually used them and can relate their first hand experience?

Dave

Which model of Deeluxe or Raichle are you using? There's a big difference in stiffness between models. The softest MS (.951) is still way stiffer than the softer offerings from Raichle and Deeluxe.

I had Deeluxe T700s for a season. They were really great boots, except they killed my feet, heel slip & toe crunch.

My UPZs (rc10s) were great but the stiffness changed noticeably with the temperature and you had to retrofit with the race cuffs to get the lateral stiffness you get with MS. I believe the newer models have fixed both those issues.

MS boots have the same stiffness whether below zero or above freezing.

The flex in my .951's feels like it's controlled more by the spring system and less by the flex of the plastic.

There are still plenty of racers using UPZs and Deeluxe. Most important is what fits your foot best.

[David Kirk]

Cool - good info all. Thank you.

I have a size 10.5 foot, narrow heel, skinny calves, fairly normal fore-foot and a VERY high instep. The high instep is a problem in most any foot wear I want to buy. The Deeluxe shell accommodates the instep fairly well with minor mods. The instep is so high that I can't slip my foot into a traditional overlap ski boot shell with the liner removed. Slip on casual shoes won't work because I literally can't get my feet in them. You get the idea.

I used the Deeluxe 325T's with the stiffest tongues and I would not want them to be any softer and feel like a bit stiffer would be good. So the SB will work but I wish I had a bit better heel hold with less cranking of the buckles to get it.

I've tried the Deeluxe 700 series and they did not even come close to working with my foot. I spent 15 minutes in them in my living room before putting them back in the box and returning them.

Based on the above is it worth buying some MS boots to try on with the idea of returning them if they don't fit well or would it be a waste of time?

 

dave

 

 

[bigwavedave]

I'd say it's worth a try. The high instep might be a problem. I had a tough time squeezing my foot into the .951s because it killed the dorsum of my foot, especially getting in and out. I switched to ZipFit liners and started putting them on first and then slipping into the shell.

The new improved liner with MS is reportedly much better.

[Jack M]

Excellent heel hold down.  Laterally stiffer than Deeluxe and UPZ (WC version anyway), forward flex adjustable by springs.  I can wear mine buckled all day and not touch them, a first for me.  Your instep sounds like it could be a problem, but like bigwavedave said worth a try and I like his liner trick.  The stock liner is moldable and works for me, but it may not for you.

[MountainSlope]

Thanks for your questions and interest in our boot.

HR (the developer) also has a very high instep. He uses our standard liner and has also used the bootdoc injection liners.

If you are 10.5 then a more accurate measurement is needed because this is between size C and D. 

We usually suggest people to measure with their foot up against a wall standing on a ruler from heel to longest toe on both feet. The measurement in mm will give us your exact mondo size. 

And to answer your original question "Why do so many professional athletes use our boots? The performance, setting options and comfort.

If you have any other questions. Let us know.

Greetings Jennifer

 

[MountainSlope]

1 hour ago, bigwavedave said:

The new improved liner with MS is reportedly much better.

Our very first liner was a thermo liner which was a very tight fit and worked best with thinner feet.

It worked really well for some athletes (in the beginning, most of our customers were the World Cup riders as we were new on the market in 2017/2018) Ramona Hofmeister won bronze at the Olympics riding our standard liner.

That being said, it didn't fit wider feet or high instep feet. This is why our newer liners are roomier and come with extra insoles for better fitting. 

[David Kirk]

22 minutes ago, Puhutes said:

Thanks for your questions and interest in our boot.

HR (the developer) also has a very high instep. He uses our standard liner and has also used the bootdoc injection liners.

If you are 10.5 then a more accurate measurement is needed because this is between size C and D. 

We usually suggest people to measure with their foot up against a wall standing on a ruler from heel to longest toe on both feet. The measurement in mm will give us your exact mondo size. 

And to answer your original question "Why do so many professional athletes use our boots? The performance, setting options and comfort.

If you have any other questions. Let us know.

Greetings Jennifer

 

Thanks you so very much for speaking up.

 

Do you have any photos of how the tongue works on your boots? With the Deluxe boots the tongue can pivot fully forward and out of the way and it makes getting my silly tall instep foot very easy.

I'd love to see what things look like if the tongue can pivot out of the way. Can you post a few photos?

 

thanks again.

dave

[hknz]

2 hours ago, David Kirk said:

Cool - good info all. Thank you.

I have a size 10.5 foot, narrow heel, skinny calves, fairly normal fore-foot and a VERY high instep. The high instep is a problem in most any foot wear I want to buy. The Deeluxe shell accommodates the instep fairly well with minor mods. The instep is so high that I can't slip my foot into a traditional overlap ski boot shell with the liner removed. Slip on casual shoes won't work because I literally can't get my feet in them. You get the idea.

I used the Deeluxe 325T's with the stiffest tongues and I would not want them to be any softer and feel like a bit stiffer would be good. So the SB will work but I wish I had a bit better heel hold with less cranking of the buckles to get it.

I've tried the Deeluxe 700 series and they did not even come close to working with my foot. I spent 15 minutes in them in my living room before putting them back in the box and returning them.

Based on the above is it worth buying some MS boots to try on with the idea of returning them if they don't fit well or would it be a waste of time?

 

dave

 

 

If thing is working now, it is not worth to try 951 (though it is good) because you have high instep. 951 is very tight on the instep. If you still want to buy, i highly suggest you buy one or two size up.

 

Photo of tongue shown. However, you can put your foot in the boots , doesnt mean it fit you. Imo, 1 or 2 size up.

Edited April 6, 2021 by hknz

[daveo]

18 minutes ago, hknz said:

Imo, 1 or 2 size up.

Sizing up always ends in disaster I reckon. 2 shell sizes up is pretty much guaranteed to not work imo.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Talking to a racer friend of mine who paid big bucks back in the day for NOS Northwaves, he said it was the forward flex characteristics that he liked and no other boot was as good in that respect.  Take that FWIW, I have never tried them.

[James Ong]

16 hours ago, David Kirk said:

Cool - good info all. Thank you.

I have a size 10.5 foot, narrow heel, skinny calves, fairly normal fore-foot and a VERY high instep. The high instep is a problem in most any foot wear I want to buy. The Deeluxe shell accommodates the instep fairly well with minor mods. The instep is so high that I can't slip my foot into a traditional overlap ski boot shell with the liner removed. Slip on casual shoes won't work because I literally can't get my feet in them. You get the idea

dave

 

 

getting into the ms boots is a bit painful for me ( mildly high instep) once i'm in though i don't want anything else

 

[hknz]

22 hours ago, daveo said:

Sizing up always ends in disaster I reckon. 2 shell sizes up is pretty much guaranteed to not work imo.

Given what he said that he has a VERY high instep, i really suggest up 1 size from his current boots. Yes, usually, up size is disaster, but not for his special case.

Also mind that 951 is in 1.5cm increment. If david has 2 size to choose from, choose the bigger imo.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by hknz

[slapos]

Or go with zipfit liners that have an adjustable instep and tongue. 

You can choose how much material do you actually need there.

In the upper left pic the blue window is the instep area, where you can choose how much material you want to have there.

[David Kirk]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:53 PM, Puhutes said:

Thanks for your questions and interest in our boot.

HR (the developer) also has a very high instep. He uses our standard liner and has also used the bootdoc injection liners.

If you are 10.5 then a more accurate measurement is needed because this is between size C and D. 

We usually suggest people to measure with their foot up against a wall standing on a ruler from heel to longest toe on both feet. The measurement in mm will give us your exact mondo size. 

And to answer your original question "Why do so many professional athletes use our boots? The performance, setting options and comfort.

If you have any other questions. Let us know.

Greetings Jennifer

 

Hello Jennifer -

I took measurements of my two feet with thin socks on. The right foot measures an even 28.0cm and the left is 28.5cm.

I'd be inclined to size to the smaller foot and punch the shell if need be to fit the larger foot. One of my least favorite things is a loose fit.

With my high instep and the actual foot measurements in mind what size Mountain Slope boot should I be looking at?

I look forward to your input.

dave

 

[daveo]

6 hours ago, David Kirk said:

Hello Jennifer -

I took measurements of my two feet with thin socks on. The right foot measures an even 28.0cm and the left is 28.5cm.

I'd be inclined to size to the smaller foot and punch the shell if need be to fit the larger foot. One of my least favorite things is a loose fit.

With my high instep and the actual foot measurements in mind what size Mountain Slope boot should I be looking at?

I look forward to your input.

dave

 

Similar size feet here. I'm in a shell c.

 

Ignore me and listen to Jennifer, though. She knows the details. 

[hknz]

On 4/10/2021 at 2:49 AM, David Kirk said:

Hello Jennifer -

I took measurements of my two feet with thin socks on. The right foot measures an even 28.0cm and the left is 28.5cm.

I'd be inclined to size to the smaller foot and punch the shell if need be to fit the larger foot. One of my least favorite things is a loose fit.

With my high instep and the actual foot measurements in mind what size Mountain Slope boot should I be looking at?

I look forward to your input.

dave

 

Agree with daveo, C shell is the minimum size you can fit. D shell is much bigger.

If C shell stock liner doesnt work, then go with zipfit.

In rare scenario (such as very high instep), you will need D shell

Edited April 10, 2021 by hknz