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Hi everybody,

 

first time poster, long-time site visitor here. I ski every year, but I am not a power skiier, it is just a winter activitiy that I enjoy tremendously. I can get down the montain on all slopes, somehow, but not always in the most elegant way (never had formal instruction; I learned skiiing way back then from a Japanese girlfriend). Never been into the whole throwaway society concept, so I tend to use my gear until it falls apart (which literally happened with my last ski bindings...).

 

Which brings me to my question. We were in Niseko last weekend; I´d left my (antediluvian) own skis at home and just brought my boots. The guy the in rental shop freaked out when he saw them. He told me they were so antique they were actually dangerous, because the soles would fall off. He really pushed me into renting some of his boots, but I held my ground, so he gave up, adjusted his skis for my boots, and I had a glorious 3 days in Hirafu powder.

 

Now, I am wondering: Do old ski boots really disintegrate? I get that plastic gets brittle after a while, but these things look really solid, and I have never heard this warning before. Fwiw, the brand is Salomon SX61 rear entry (which I love, I´d hate to fasten all these multiple straps on the modern boots). I think they must about, umm... 20 years old now.

 

Ironically, on the same trip, my son managed to break a buckle on his "modern" boots, which are only about 10 years old.

 

So, what is the story? Do disintegrating boots really happen? At the temperatures in Hirafu, that would have been a scary situation... they has me spooked a little.

 

Thanks for any advice.

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Welcome.

Never heard of disintegrating boots but wow 20 year old rear entry boots and I just changed mine recently because I thought my 7 seven year old boots where really old.

If you are just a casual skier and stick to the lowet easy slopes then maybe they are ok otherwise the rental guy was right they are dangerous.

And tje multiple buckle types are far superior and much safer than your old boots.

I would recommend buying a new pair ad I reckon 20 year old boits you have certainly got your money worth.

Just think if your boots fail and you crash you might not be hurting just yourself but another person that you crash into.

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Your mileage may vary but from my own experience of coming back to Japan after 5 years and reclaiming my snowboard gear, I've found that the plastic straps on my 98/99 bindings had gone completely brittle with one ankle strap snapping in half and the other frozen into the position it was left in making it completely unusable. I was going to give them away but I'm afraid that they're going to fail at some critical point on the hill. My other set of bindings fromm 2002-03 which I thought were fine turned out not to be while I was using them at a resort about 2 weeks ago. One of the toe straps popped out while I was on a run. The rubber grommet that had been holding it in had completely disintegrated. I repaired it with a bit of folded over gum tape which I used to ankle the toe strap in. On the very next run, the other toe strapped popped out and it was off again to the ski shop to fix that one too. I have since then bought a new pair of bindings.

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Welcome.

Never heard of disintegrating boots but wow 20 year old rear entry boots and I just changed mine recently because I thought my 7 seven year old boots where really old.

If you are just a casual skier and stick to the lowet easy slopes then maybe they are ok otherwise the rental guy was right they are dangerous.

And tje multiple buckle types are far superior and much safer than your old boots.

I would recommend buying a new pair ad I reckon 20 year old boits you have certainly got your money worth.

Just think if your boots fail and you crash you might not be hurting just yourself but another person that you crash into.

 

Thanks. No, I don´t stay on easy slopes. I go on hard ones and between the trees too, just at my own pace and not like a young hotshot. But at the temperatures in Hirafu I think a barefoot trip down could cost me my foot?

 

I was just wondering if someone had heard a similar story, but apparently not. Anyway, it might be time to look at new boots. Do they still make rear-entry? From looking around the ski crowds, it seems not. (My 205 cm old-style skis also seem totally alien today...)

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Hi everybody,

 

first time poster, long-time site visitor here. I ski every year, but I am not a power skiier, it is just a winter activitiy that I enjoy tremendously. I can get down the montain on all slopes, somehow, but not always in the most elegant way (never had formal instruction; I learned skiiing way back then from a Japanese girlfriend). Never been into the whole throwaway society concept, so I tend to use my gear until it falls apart (which literally happened with my last ski bindings...).

 

Which brings me to my question. We were in Niseko last weekend; I´d left my (antediluvian) own skis at home and just brought my boots. The guy the in rental shop freaked out when he saw them. He told me they were so antique they were actually dangerous, because the soles would fall off. He really pushed me into renting some of his boots, but I held my ground, so he gave up, adjusted his skis for my boots, and I had a glorious 3 days in Hirafu powder.

 

Now, I am wondering: Do old ski boots really disintegrate? I get that plastic gets brittle after a while, but these things look really solid, and I have never heard this warning before. Fwiw, the brand is Salomon SX61 rear entry (which I love, I´d hate to fasten all these multiple straps on the modern boots). I think they must about, umm... 20 years old now.

 

Ironically, on the same trip, my son managed to break a buckle on his "modern" boots, which are only about 10 years old.

 

So, what is the story? Do disintegrating boots really happen? At the temperatures in Hirafu, that would have been a scary situation... they has me spooked a little.

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

A friend's uncle had the bottom of an old ski boot rip off once.

 

With the statistical power of a single case (friend-of-a-friend at that), though, you can make your own judgment as to how often this really happens.

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I use to work in a ski workshop on a ski resort and would see a few boots every season which a customer would bring in that were broken across the front of the boot. These boots were always old and always broke across the toes and on the first run of the day. Didn't cause any injuries but just an inconvenience to the user. Whether it was the change of temperature or just age I'm not sure but it does happen.

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I use to work in a ski workshop on a ski resort and would see a few boots every season which a customer would bring in that were broken across the front of the boot. These boots were always old and always broke across the toes and on the first run of the day. Didn't cause any injuries but just an inconvenience to the user. Whether it was the change of temperature or just age I'm not sure but it does happen.

 

So you never saw actually a boot with a ripped out sole? Because that was the horror scenario that the ski rental guy in Hirafu described for me. It is oddly comforting to hear that this, after all, does not happen every season.

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Regardless of whether they are likely to have the sole rip out or not - those puppies need retiring to a museum. Upgrade time!

You are worth it.

While you're at it, get some shiny new skis :)

 

 

I'll be trading in my snowboard bindings very very soon (would've done it this trip but didn't find what I wanted) after 5 years of use. The lock down on the right foot (my back foot) is starting to fail to close in really cold conditions. I really put them through their paces and get lots of days on them, but the big question is DO you want them failing on the hill? Personally I reckon that would suck. Good enough reason to upgrade.

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So if your boot are 20 years old and your not into renewing your gear until it break up. I can understand that. Your son must really love the snow. Do your son a favour and stop embarrassing him and get some new gear for both of you. For your son who he is 10 and will grow out of his gear so just rent his boot and ski. But your got to stop embarrassing your son. I hope you understand where I come from. You have to get new gear or rental. LOL

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YES....!! I took a friend of a friend skiing to Hakuba last year and while he used my second set of gear he insisted on using his old boots (against my advice)...to save 30 bucks in rentals despite the fact he was borrowing my expensive carving skis and carbon poles... :rolleyes: Anyway, first run of the day....bamm....about 3/4 of the sole from the front to near the heel broke off from one of the boots. By the time we got him back to the car...back to a shop for some boots it was two hours wasted.... :( So yes, do yourself and the party you are with a favor and join the millennium.. :wave:

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Wow Salomon SX61 ski boots, they were a great ski boot and would you believe it i still see them some times. They must be nearer to 30 years old! Bright red, right?

But ski boots do loose strength over the years. Basically the plastic does tend to become weaker with age. I would recommend trying a pair of rental boots, i am sure you will feel the difference in performance, though your rear entry Salomons might feel more comfortable!

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I tip my hat to your mottainai spirit sir. I often get hassled by the wife and kids for wearing socks with holes in them but now we don't live in Japan I think it simply doesn't matter. My running shorts are a pair of boardies I got back in 2000 and they are great.

For snowboarding kit the only thing I have remaining from when I started in 1998 is a pair of old Burton mittens which are pretty broken arse to look at but still amazingly functional and trustworthy in any conditions. I love them enough to sew up holes on them in order to keep them going. In the case of boots and bindings though I have found that upgrades to up-to-date quality gear has made a huge difference to performance and enjoying my days out more. I would dump those old boots and bindings and get some decent stuff from last season. It'll probably last you another 10 years or more.

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Two of my friends have had the sole of an old ski boot rip completely off from the upper. Plastic gets old and brittle. Buy boots.

 

Argh... hate to hear that. The thing is, I hate to throw away perfectly usable things. And I hate spending time shopping. And I hate to buy ski stuff in mid-season when it is most expensive. AND those boots are really really comfy for me. But I guess I will have to bite the bullet. I´ll use them this winter and then buy new ones at the big sale at the end of the season. Thanks!

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