Guest Zman Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I've been riding plates for over 10 years and every year I ride steeper terrain and more powder. I always enjoyed such terrain on looser setups, but would rather not move to a soft setup. What are the softest hardboots out there? The old Raichles? Lemans? I'm looking to loosen my setup. I ride Burton Fire's and Reactors and the softest boot I have tried was the Burton Boiler 3-strap, but it was too painful due to the low cuff. I ride a freeride board with a nice wide waist and medium flex and bombers with the soft (yellow) rubber mat. thanks for the help Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 You might find this faq useful. I ride the old Raichle 224s which as I understand it are roughly equivalent to the Lemans. They are quite soft, as a 190 lb guy I don't think I'd want them softer. I don't think of myself as a carver, more an all-mountain rider. I take them everywhere and they work great. Plus if you want them super-soft you have the option to put them into free-flexing mode where they freely flex forward but not back, and into walk mode where they flex in both directions. The shells are soft enough that there is also a fair old bit of lateral flex. So in short I recommend the Lemans. It also has the advantage of coming with the thermoflex liner, which the even softer 413 doesn't have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 See the Booot FAQ at the Bomber store... http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/boot_faq.cfm ... about halfway down. (Shameless plug follows) The LeMans are pretty soft too. BTW, if you're a size 25, I have an unused pair of 423's for sale, that's the old name for the LeMans. If you do go for a pair of 413's, you cabn swap out the single-position forward lean for a 5-position, and get your own thermoflex liners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I have a pair of 3 buckle Raichle SB123s with the stock tongue. I was told these are very soft for a hardboot. combine them with the bomber RAB when it comes out...? selling them...size 27. sorry...would have PMd you but cant do it. have you ever tried riding your current boots in walk mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zman Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 thanks guys. this is very helpful. I definitly ride my burtons with the walk feature on almost all the time. I also loosen the 3rd and 4th straps a lot (esp in deep snow) -- this helps, but can create weird foot movements inside the boot (translation: pain). what is the Bomber RAB? excuse the newbie question please The Bomber faq is heplful, but i you guys sound like you've ridden a lot of these boots. How much softer do you think the 413's would really be than my Fires & reactors? I've never used anything but burtons and ski boots... Finally, just fyi, I'm 170 lbs; my Fires are 27's and are a bit tight and my Reactors are 27.5, a bit loose, but a better overall fit. thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneille Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 I can compare the Reactors and the 413's. I haven't used the Fire. My 413's are way softer than the Reactors were. They are also noticeably lighter. Daneille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zman Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 thanks, a quick follow up. Has anyone compared the Lemans, and are they about the same stiffness as the 413's? And as for size, do the deeluxe/raichle's run smaller or bigger than the Burtons? I'm stuck in the middle as a 27.5 thanks Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamran Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 The older UPS boots (pink/purple with funny color liners) were pretty soft. Every now and then one pair pops up on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 mike 413 is softer than 123? hey OP... the 123s I have are 27, intuition moldable liners, AND have intec heels already installed! feel like someone's trying to SELL you something? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 thanks, a quick follow up. Has anyone compared the Lemans, and are they about the same stiffness as the 413's? And as for size, do the deeluxe/raichle's run smaller or bigger than the Burtons? I'm stuck in the middle as a 27.5 thanks Z which is where moldable liners will come in perfectly. in raichle/deeluxe the 27 and 27.5 are the same shell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 mike 413 is softer than 123? 413 is the softest of the "currently available" boots. I couldn't comapre them to 123's having never even hand-flexed them side to side... but the 413's are pretty darn soft. ZMan - the 413's are indeed softer than the LeMans/423/324/224. I've hand-flexed side by side and it's noticable, I would expect the difference to be more noticeable on. IMHO 413 might be too soft for 170 pounds, YMMV. You might consider D-Subs boots, which come with a good liner, and then retrofiot a 4th buckle and a 5-poition forward lean... all of which is available at the Bomber store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 why even bother with the 4th buckle or lean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave* Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 Dont forget about the Nordica Tr 12 alpine touring boot. The ankle lock out does not prevent the forward flex of the cuff, only a back flex stop when in ski mode. One of my favorite free ride/BC boots for plates and a lot easier to obtain, bonus is the vibram sole seems to last forever unlike the heel/toepads of the raichle deeluxe hardboots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 413 is the softest of the "currently available" boots. I couldn't comapre them to 123's having never even hand-flexed them side to side... but the 413's are pretty darn soft. ZMan - the 413's are indeed softer than the LeMans/423/324/224. I've hand-flexed side by side and it's noticable, I would expect the difference to be more noticeable on. IMHO 413 might be too soft for 170 pounds, YMMV. You might consider D-Subs boots, which come with a good liner, and then retrofiot a 4th buckle and a 5-poition forward lean... all of which is available at the Bomber store. No at 170lbs I can say that the 413 is fine...but I have retrofited the 5 position lean and mine are 4 strap... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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