damian 0 Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Dumb Bum time. What are the key differences between/ - ski boots - telemark boots (AT boots?) - alpine snowboard boots All are hard shelled and all can be used for split boarding, however i think boot choice influences binding choice. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 db at boots can be put into walking mode they are made for the climber slash skier. They have a flex about the same as hard snowboard boots. hard snowboard boots have more of a forward lean. I would stick with soft boots db if you move to hard boots youll need to learn again. Link to post Share on other sites
montoya 0 Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 to help confuse you even more: http://www.telemarkskier.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000673 Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted July 13, 2004 Author Share Posted July 13, 2004 cheers montoya. Actually, it was that forum that has confused me the most! It seems that those guys are right at the edge of the gear and making/modifying their own stuff. Fattwins - Nearly everything that I have read points towards the near impossible task of ascending a firm packed traverse in soft boots. I certainly do not want to buy new boots and bindings but I can easily visualise how my current boots and bindings would be sloppy and roll when trying to climb a traverse. The gear just isn't made for that kind of work. Plus hard boots make good crampons possible. You are right that I will have to re-learn, or at least go through an intensive period of adjustment. But next season is going to be a different season any way where nearly all of my available snow holiday time will be given over to avy courses and also a bit of mountaineering/camping (hopefully). So the remainder may as well be spent getting used to new and different equipment. It is far from a wasted season as from then on I will be equipped, educated and have taken the first few steps in building very valuable experience. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I don't know very much but I'll stick it up in the hope that someone can tell me whats wrong. AT ski boots are not telemark boots. AT (touring) ski boots are ski boots with a hiking boot sole. You use them with touring ski bindings, or presumably ordinary ski bindings if you are so inclined. Touring ski bindings have heels locked to the ski during descent, but during ascent the front part of the binding pivots and the rear part releases to allow easy climbing. You ride an AT setup down with normal technique, so the boots do not flex, although you can loosen the backs when climbing. Telemark boots are hard boots that have a concertina part that flexes at the toe. This is so you can drop your knee for the telemark turn. Telemarking is a different technique, hence different boots. The binding is only attached to the ski at the toe, so the toe lug of the boots is large. This may limit your choice of snowboard bindings. Tele boots too have grips on the soles and can be loosened at the back. "Ski boots" are ahem, ski boots. You can supposedly use them with an alpine snowboard setup, but the assumption there is that it's because you don't want to buy new boots. Some pro carvers may use ski boots on purpose, but that's probably because they like a particular flex pattern or fit. Aside from a split board, hard snowboard boots can also be used with an ordinary alpine snowboard setup. Seeing as the weather won't let you go bc every day, this may be a big advantage. Link to post Share on other sites
powda tele 0 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Someone I go back country with a lot converted to hard (alpine not snowboard) boots last season and laughs at the concept of going back to soft boots for boarding. He loves the ability to strap on crampons when it gets icey. He loves the edge hold they offer when traversing on his split board, and they're much warmer than soft boots. Learning to board again due to changing to hard boots? Not much. He got used to it real quick and thinks they're great for back country. Even without crampons they allow you to kick steps on firm snow. He loves them. Telemark boots are most definitely different to other boots. For a start, they'll only fit telemark bindings because of the 'duck bill' at the front of the boot. They are more flexible than ski boots, so it is worth considering them for split boarding. You can get special bindings that allow you to use telemark boots on a split board. The advantage is that when split boarding up, you have a more flexible boot (than a hard ski boot) so you get more of a natural (and efficient) stride. On the way down you still have the advantages of hard boots. Of course, my friend doesn't use tele boots on his splitboard, he uses ski boots (because they were cheap at the time) and he has no problems at all. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
Miltie 0 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Dear Britain, I recently saw some posts on the Couloir mag forum/classified area. You may want to check them out. http://www.telemarkskier.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi Some of the experienced posters there are using softboot set-ups for splitboarding. I mostly ride alpine style boards with hardboots at the resorts. Just picked up a set of Scarpa AT boots for splitboarding as I am used to stiff boots. Thought I'd give them a try. You might try your softboots first before making the plunge into AT boots or hard boots. As Fattwins mentioned, it might take a bit of getting used to the AT/hard boots. Plus that is one less new thing you have to deal with when trying out your new splitboard. Link to post Share on other sites
peaker 0 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 http://www.skijapanguide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004885 lots of stuff on this thread dude Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Author Share Posted October 30, 2004 Thanks Peaker dude. I have read up on this topic till my eyes bleed and I still can't work out what type of boot/binding combo I want to go for. The one big thing is my mind is to get away from straps and soft boots when touring on a split board. Everyone says (and I can fully appreciate it would be true) that it is almost impossible to hold an edge when uphill traversing on pack. I hate straps as it is so if I move to split board BC riding I doubt I will want to go straps all of a sudden (from a Flow set up). So my only decision so far is: hard boots of some variety. After that it just boggles my mind. I think comfort would be my big decider and also an 'out of the box' set up. I don't want to go grinding down soles and toe lugs to fit certain bindings. Still trying to suss it out. Also, what are peoples thoughts on swallow tailed powder boards? Are they fantastic but only if you are really up to your arse in powder, otherwise they are a limitation? Link to post Share on other sites
danz 0 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 I like to look as these transitions as incremental steps... I am also planning on taking some avie courses this season, and gaining experience by heading into BC from bc gates at my home mountain (after purcharsing required gear). This is something I would imagine is also very easy to do in Europe...In this case you probably could get away with a less hard core setup, and focus more on your bc skillz... As your ability, confidence, needs change and get better, than you upgrade your gear...kinda like regular resort riding. Think about the time when you tried to ride Gandalf...didn't work to well, even though it is a great ride! But if you started out with a simpler kit, and developed your technique, then you might have never taken gandalf off! at least this is how I am going to approach my entry to bc... Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 31, 2004 Author Share Posted October 31, 2004 danz is wise. I certainly do not want great gear, but I do want the minimum in appropriate functionality (I hate not having the right tool for the job). Remember your pain despair in Hakkoda as you tried to boot pack in dense stiff as bricks racing ski boots? That is what I want to avoid . Also, if I am to get used to hard boots on a freeride board then I would like to start that adjustment asap. I kind of just want basic function and comfort, and then scale into better set ups each season or so from there. Besides, I would rather spend the $ on the safety equipment than a great boot board set up. Now that you have your softer boots and the gandalfs you can certainly step into some BC for sure!! ... By the way, mock not my manipulation of the gandalf planks. I recall I had one small issue with a bunch of trees, but it was you with my snowboard that was sitting like someone who fell out of their wheelchair in the middle of the slope Link to post Share on other sites
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