Linus Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 Hello~ I need some feedbacks on both UPZ and HEAD boots. I'm getting a new pair of boots this christmas :D and I want to know which boots is better for me. I don't want Deeluxe because of their plastic straps. I'm 25 year old male, 177~183lbs, 5'11", intermediate carver. I have 270mm normal width feet. I'm not a racer(because I suck :p ), just an another addicted freecarver that go nuts when it comes to snowboarding :D So......What do you think? Did anybody try both boots? How's half moldable liner in HEAD? How stiff is UPZ? Thx in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I love head... (SHOULD i HAVE POSTED THIS IN THE WAY OT THREAD?) I have the Startos Pro, and love 'em. fit great out of the box. as for boots...what I always say: shell fit, try 'em on. get the boot that fits best. always tough to buy a boot online without trying ity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I have the Heads now. I replaced my UPS with them last season. I like the Heads better for a few reasons. 1) The boots are made better. Heads are made like high quality ski boots. Both the shells and the liners. This means bootfitters can mess with them if necessary and they won't fall apart. The Head liners are way better than the ones that came with my UPS (that was 3 years ago so I don't know what they are like now). 2) The buckles on the Heads rock! Do a search on posts by me with Head boots in them and you'll probably find pictures I've posted and my raves on this subject. My UPS boots I wore through two of the buckles b/c they were rubbing against each other. 3) The walk/ride mechanism is better on the Head. The UPS one was always flipping into ride mode when walking in deeper snow. If you do any hiking for runs, this is a small, but annoying problem. Plus with our French friend Arnaud, you now have the option for a cool RAB thingy for the Heads. Mine is in the mail, I'll post a review once I've had time to mess with it (probably over Xmas). Pluses for the UPZs: You can get the heels to allow you to ski in them. Booster straps are easy to mount. The soles are shorter in a given size (but your feet aren't huge so this shouldn't matter much, unless you like really shallow angles). I agree with you that both are better options than the Deeluxe, but that's b/c I hate the Deeluxe buckles plus they never fit my foot well (I have a wider foot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamran Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 get the Heads and be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Posted November 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 Thank you guys.... What about stiffness? Are they equivalent? By looking at them, UPZ looks way too stiff. I don't like stiff boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I have to agree with Randy, the UPZ boots have some quirks but still are not bad boots per se my UPZs get much less use than my af 700s, I am one to bash on deeluxe boots but I must say that my af 700s have 200+ days on them and I have not replaced any of the plastic straps or clips, they are just as durable as any conventional buckle out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Posted November 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I have to agree with Randy, the UPZ boots have some quirks but still are not bad boots per se my UPZs get much less use than my af 700s, I am one to bash on deeluxe boots but I must say that my af 700s have 200+ days on them and I have not replaced any of the plastic straps or clips, they are just as durable as any conventional buckle out there. Bob, My concern with straps are not because of their durability. I want to be able to crank them up. Prolly Deeluxe's Themoflex liner is better than HEAD's liner though....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 I've tried the Heads and many Raichle/Deeluxe models, and actually liked the Heads the least... the Deeluxe Suzuka is my favorite. Never had any problems getting a Raichle/Deeluxe boot tight enough, unless the buckles froze up which has happened once or twice, and is easily solved by taking a short break inside. Boots are a personal thing, everyoine has differenet preferences and for different reasons. I just find the Raichle/Deeluxes to be very comfortable, and like the wax the Suzuka flexes (even if it is a hair stiffer than I would like - I might slit or shave the tongues once I get my BTS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 you can crank on the deeluxe stuff too but you just have to do it in smaller increments and a little more evenly over all the buckles. the head liner is probably the best liner on the market IMHO for most people, the thermoflexes are good if you have weird feet or supreme comfort is more important than better response. I have tried on the heads and really looked them over, they are well built and take many nice features from high end ski boots. even the old blax boots were decent which the shell was the same or damn close to the current head boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 Don't get me wrong. I really liked the UPS boots when I used them. They were better than the Raichles I had before. One other downside to UPS: They built the soles w/out enough clearance for the mounting screws. Within a few days of using them, I'd worn down the heads on the screws that hold the toe pieces to the boot. Had I wanted to remove them, it would have been a pain. Plus walking on screw heads is more slippery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 Got UPZ boots. Dont have Head boots. I heard lots of "comforting" issues with head. Would like to try Head. UPZ, I like 'em alot cuz of the ability to switch between skiing and snowboarding. Quite stiff, too. Got used to it, and had to get padding for the shin bangs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 As I heard and read about the UPZ boots, they have changed this season. They have got a full leather innerboot, some problems about flexing has been solved (tongue is better, more flexible) and the innerboot is higer than the one before. I think it's all about personal preference. I now have three hardboots and I ride them all three. My northwave .900 for extremecarving, my Strolz Raceplates and AF700 for bomberstyle at my new Coiler this season. And of course my Strolz Raceplates, they fit the best because they have a full leather innerboot just custommade for my feet only. You can read about here about the new UPZ boots also: http://www.virus-snowboards.de/com/index.php?sub1=2&sub2=5&sub3=1 Just try them on for at least a half hour, boots are the most important piece of equipment of your snowboardfun. Greets, Hans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 the new UPZ boot looks wicked. curious though...with the "shortest sole length"...it almost looks like there is built in heel lift? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted December 1, 2005 Report Share Posted December 1, 2005 Guys, those are not UPZ boots, they are a special version developed by Virus in cooperation with UPZ. So if you want black shells with specially developed tongue flex, buy your UPZ boots from Virus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 1, 2005 Report Share Posted December 1, 2005 are you certain about that? I mean...the bindings virus sells as their own are just F2 intec titanium. seems hard to believe that UPZ would make a special boot just for them. except the color maybe. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted December 1, 2005 Report Share Posted December 1, 2005 The english version of Virus's website is up now, check Frank's comments that are on the page with the picture of the boot. Frank told me that the shell material is slightly different for better temperature compensation, and the tongue is softer for easier forward flex. Maybe he meant that all the UPZ boots were changed like that for this year, but that's not what I heard him say. Someone needs to talk to Dan Yoja and see what he says. His website still shows a red shell, but different from last year's. So the answer is I'm definitely not positively sure that my opinion is absolutely correct. But black does look cool. Does someone want my AF700's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 1, 2005 Report Share Posted December 1, 2005 yeah, the black looks sick, no doubt. so do the black head stratos being sold on ebay performance is the key. Id be sheepish wearing red or orange though...just implies too much hot rod, which Im not. I saw the english site, but missed the comments. Ill look again. at 400eu theyre a bit steep for me anyway, but if dan gets em who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 1, 2005 Report Share Posted December 1, 2005 Ray...is that you and your wife 3rd/2nd from left? Full size pic link: http://www.virus-snowboards.de/data/gallery/images/0476103001129042905.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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