Asym Boots for 13/14 Year Old Racer??

[jhcolman]

Hi All:

Well, fall is arriving and my son and I are starting to think about equipment for the upcoming race season. He's outgrown his old boots and so we are looking into what we will do for this season. We are trying to decide whether to go for a pair of Asym boots or not.

We do have another pair of used but almost new Raichle 423's that date back to about 2001 or 2002. These will fit although Michelle tells me that the boot flex might actually be softer than the old 225's that he has been wearing over the past few years. We got a great deal of these 423's and could sell or keep them.

Michelle told us about "asym" style boots, which flex at an angle, which many find performs better. However, the Asym boots might or might not be abit too stiff for my son. We are not sure. We're considering them, as little things are starting to make a significant differences for my son, at his current performance level. The race time differences between placing are also getting quite small, so little things do now make a difference.

We'd welcome comments from anyone who is coaching teenagers or has teenagers, who have tried or can comment on asym boots. We'd also welcome comments from any adult women riders of similar height/weight to my son. Frankly, any comments from racers on Asym boots would be appreciated.

Abit about my son: He's now been racing for about 5 years and is doing well, placing 3rd to 6th at provincial races. He's laying down some mean carves, but is obviously not as strong as some older teenagers. He's about 5 foot 2 and weights 112 lbs. He's a good strong all around athlete, playing team basketball and soccer in the summer and at school.

So, questions:

- would an Asym boot work for him? Why? Why not?

- would an Asym boot make much difference, compared to the Reichle 423?

- which particular Asym boots might work?

- I think that flex is still important (ie a boot that is not too stiff), at my son's weight and teenage strength. Am I right?

- will an Asym boot be too stiff?

- will the Reichle 423 be too soft, with a blue tongue? With a red tongue? (he was riding a Reichle 225 with a womens boot tongue?)

I welcome your comments. Please feel free to forward this message to any coaches out there. Just copy it and email it, cc to me ( jhcolman@rogers.com )

Thanks all.

Regards

Julian

[Bordy]

would an Asym boot work for him? Why? Why not?

Yes, I have seen many lighter weight riders rock suzukas and love them. The boot does proform better then any previous Raichle. There is a reason Deeluxe only makes their high end boot in the aysm. shape, It's a better boot.

- would an Asym boot make much difference, compared to the Reichle 423?

The boot flexes on the same or a closer plain to the tip and tail and edge to edge (depending on stance angles) allowing the rider to put more weight were it is needed with increasing liner resistance. It will let any rider move there mass more effectivly. At you sons weight he still need all the help he can get.

- which particular Asym boots might work?

Deeluxe Suzuka..

- I think that flex is still important (ie a boot that is not too stiff), at my son's weight and teenage strength. Am I right?

Most riders in the 95-135 pound range should be in the Suzuka. Your son is in that range,of course if his board and bindings are not matched to his weight along with his boots then it only makes things worse.

- will an Asym boot be too stiff?

Only if you buy the Indy or the UPZ

- will the Reichle 423 be too soft, with a blue tongue? With a red tongue? (he was riding a Reichle 225 with a womens boot tongue?)

Not sure what you mean by a womens tounge they are set by flex and not by gender. Also boots break down over time and the flex of boots changed from year to year in the raichle line as they worked out some of the falure issues they had. Tounge boots waste a lot of energy from the rider and only the fore aft flex can be adjusted by changing the tounge the side to side flex remains the same.

The last point I would like to make is you can add the Deeluxe spring adjuster from the Indy to the suzuka allowing the flex to have some fore and aft flex adjustment but at you sons weight he should have no problem in the boot.

Here is my reveiw on the 04-05 line for some more info.

04-05 boot reveiw at hardbooter.com

Good luck with the racing. :)

[jhcolman]

Hi Boardy:

Thanks for the advise. I've also been chatting with Kent (a race coach I met on line). He concurs that an Asym boot would be a good idea, but suggests that we also ensure that the boot has a close fit, and that it has a soft enough flex (some boots that are sized to find teenagers with large feet but lighter weights can be too stiff). I further spoke to our Race Program Director, who rides the Suzukas. He said he had to "crank the stiffness back by 1/2". So, I'm wondering whether the Suzukas would be too stiff for a 112 lb 13/13 year old that is aggressive but ofcourse does not have the muscle strength of an adult. FYI, his son (who is on the Canadian National Team) rides the Indy's, which his Dad finds way too stiff. So, I'm wondering whether we should go with the LeMans with a Thermoflex liner? What do you think? I also understand that one can but some kind of a replacement flex adjuster spring for the boot, which provides better front and rear flex adjustment?. Something that Bomber sells? Do you know about this?

Thanks Boardy.

Regards

Julian