This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
@lilcliffy Gareth, I use that top knot to “lock” in everything below. I then don’t pull the top two eyelets quite as tightly. I think once the ankle bone protrusions are locked in, I get at least a little more comfort by loosening the top two eyelets.
Cool. That answers my question! So you are adding another micro-adjustment to relieve a bit of tension at the very top, without loosening what is below. Very cool.
I know I made some adjustments to lacing style this season. What I am doing now feels good. I was on my Ski March last weekend. I skied for about a half hour, decided adjusting the surgeon knots and lace tensioning would improve things. The adjustments made a world of difference.
Gareth, my first leather boot was my Ski March. I was on that boot last weekend, and was again so pleased with it’s performance. I may never have even broken it in correctly without your advice to utilize the surgeon knot. Thank you again my friend. Time to go skiing now!
You are welcome! I wish I had ended up with a standard (medium) width Ski March boot. The pair I have is just too wide- and they are too short for me to use insoles to try and fill up some of that space!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
This method has a surgeon knot at-above lace loop/cleat:
#2
#5 (locking cleat)
#6 (nylon loop)
#9 (top)
It creates 4 separated lacing zones (A-D):
A→ locks out my toe box
B→ locks out my metatarsus
C→ locks out my instep and heel pocket- allowing me to crank right down on it in isolation
D→ lock out the top
...........
Bob's knot at #7 allows micro tension adjustment at through the top.
..........
As I stated earlier- if you find the Alaska "too narrow"- you can try a surgeon knot at #3 or #4 to customize width and tension.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
Brilliant! Before I ski today I will lock out the toe box for wiggle room then tighten the mid foot security. Yeah boss!
Those Alpina Alaska's sure look nice, too bad us wide duck footers can't get into em. Thankfully there is Crispi. (And the wide Ski March).
When new, I ended up tying a surgeon's knot above the third eyelet to change the break-in crease point so it wasn't right on my toe joints but just a bit further back. Worked well, very comfortable pair of boots.
Last edited by Bross on Mon Feb 21, 2022 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
When new, I ended up tying a surgeon's knot above the second eyelet to change the break-in crease point so it wasn't right on my toe joints but just a bit further back. Worked well, very comfortable pair of boots.
So was the crease formed just below that knot then? My left boot in Alpina 1600 is forming a crease just below/at the first eyelet and is painful. Right boot crease is between 1st and 2nd eyelet, where it should be.
This thread has been really helpful, thank you all.
Yep, tried the Alpinas and the crease developed right across the toe joints - never had this particular problem before in 40 yrs. Tried a number of things such as playing w/the toe box volume, etc., forget it. The Alaskas started going the same way on first couple of outings but the placement of the knot above the third eyelet seems to have done the trick. Didn't try any of the other suggestions in this thread but worth experimenting! Boots are really working out well now.
