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On Dec 8, 8:10 pm, David Dermott wrote:
> On Thu, 6 Dec 2007, Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com) wrote:
>
> > Know any?
>
> I have NNN-2 bindings on all my skis and ice-skates. My latest boots
> are the Alpina TR40 touring. I saw them on sale in Alberta.
> They were a bit too stiff with the plastic
> cuff, so I removed it. My only complain is that the soles are a
> little narrow and slippery (as are all NNN2 boots)
I ordered a pair and sent em back---I forget the problem. The new TR50
looks a bit different. I suppose these are all meant to be Combis---
with the cuff. The cuff should be easily removeable---by a half
rotation, etc.
HAS ANYONE TRIED MODDING THEIR BOOTS? I'm thinking that the biggest
DISASTER of this new era of tour boot is the HEEL SLIP resulting from
the various goofy speedlace systems and heel design. A strap over the
instep might be a solution. My shop pals looked aghast at me for
suggesting it, tho---you void the warranty! I was thinking that I
could maybe rig something out of the cuff and strap.
I've been using a set of Rossi X7 Classics so far this year. It looks
like most NNN combi's are lower. Sigh. Tall is bad. Using the cuff
RUINS all hope of good classic technique. (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?)
So I've already just been skiing with the strap off and cuff tilted
back.
But I want at least to know I have a keeper boot fundamentally before
I start chopping one up.
A jiffy mod might be good for the public to know. It seems likely that
any real skier may well end up wanting to do such a "strap over
instep" mod if buying ANY of this style of boot.
> In 1999 I picked up some nice leather Alfa boots in Norway.
> I don't think they are sold in North America. Photo at:
> http://www.dermott.ca/ski/zandstra.jpg
Look good! Like my old Merrells---except the M's went under the ankle
bone. Ah, what beauts they were. That's free motion for ya! Perfectly
stable for everything but bumps'n'crud. C'mon!
At least they have real lacing, to control the heel. Of course, only
the top-of-instep lace matters in that regard.
> Although this is not a factor for racing boots, comfortable and safe
> walking to the snow or ice is important to me, . Most soles are a bit
> too narrow and slippery for walking on slippery trails. Of course, if it
> is really icy I'll put out my "Icers":
> http://www.dermott.ca/ski/icers.jpg
>
> I was thinking the NNN-BC boots would be more walk-friendly. There are
> lighter weight NNN-BC boots now.
Isn't a BC binding overkill for anything but bumps'n'crud? NNN2 is
SPOT ON for 90% of tour-skiing---half the weight and bulk and expense
in both binding and boot.
> The Swedish boot company Lundhags now
> makes a boot especially for nordic ice skating (where walking between
> lakes is common): the X-Arc. It should be good for ski touring also. But
> it is not clear whether the X-Arc is NNN-BC or Salomon X-Adventure. Maybe
> they have 2 versions?
>
> This description from Nordic Skater lists them as
> Salomon X-Adv:http://www.nordicskater.com/lundhags/index.html
>
> But this from Lundhags seems to be NNN-BC (Rottefella-BC)http://shop.lundhags.se/1324-16-64.html
That boot looks pretty nice---especially for big hills. Probably even
doubleblackdiamonds.
What's with the HUGE tall lugs? I see these on some new RACE boots,
too. Taller over the ski is better? I never knew. Heavier is better,
too? Surprises every day.
A friend was skiing trails with me a year ago and he had what looked
like fairly stout leather boots but not too much so. He was
kickin''n'glidin' decently. They were Asolo Extremes! I hadn't seen
them in use for years. Dang, those are my old tele bump boots! I could
ski anything in those, no problem, so could so many others. I still
have mine. Who knows maybe they're lighter than these new combi boots!
Wouldn't that be a laugh. (I want my old Merrells!)
The max crazies eventually started using downhill skis with tele
bindings then they started putting plastic cuffs on their Extremes.
Then the big new gear came out. But they probably don't ski ANY
trails. Altho I never skied trails with my Extremes. Heck, they were
too big and stout. I skied up and down Breckenridge in my classic
racing stuff.
Anything with support over the ankle is pretty much overkill and
deadweight except for steep icy crud bumps. Right?
--JP
(I was using my wife's acc't)
> --
>
> David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada
> WWW pages:http://www.dermott.ca/index.html
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