East Coast S Bound advice

[connyro]

They are very, very orange though. If you wear them during hunting season I doubt anyone would shoot your foot.

Hahaha. funny. At least my feet will be safe.

[MikeK]

They will probably be warm and comfortable too. Hopefully they work out well with your skis.

[lilcliffy]

I don't have any leather Nordic boots with buckes/power straps- and it has been many years since I have tried any.

At the moment I have nothing in between basic leather lace-ups and full plastic...

Would like to try the Svartisen or the Fishcer BCX8...

Not suggesting that a leather boot will ever give you the same power as a full plastic boot...

But a full plastic boot will never offer the xcountry performance of a leather boot either...

But- if buckles/power straps can take a leather boot with excellent xcountry performance and give it extra torsional power when strapped tight...that would be worth spending a few extra bucks on!

[Teleman]

Yes and no LC.....In powder or soft corn slippers will work....It's not usually about power....If on Ice or total hardpack we just head down at a different angle....At a downhill area straps and buckles will help some but not all that much....Mostly it's a head thing....TM

[MikeK]

The plastic/composite exo-skeleton is a huge help. When done right it provides the comfort and freedom of leather with added support. Done wrong, it can be just as uncomfortable and rigid as a plastic boot (or so I'm told).

[lilcliffy]

Yes and no LC.....In powder or soft corn slippers will work....It's not usually about power....If on Ice or total hardpack we just head down at a different angle....At a downhill area straps and buckles will help some but not all that much....Mostly it's a head thing....TM

Yeah- I'm with you on this.

I'm actually probably more interested in trying the plain-jane leather Crispi Stetind and Alfa Quest Advance, than I am the Crispi Svartisen or the Fischer BCX8.

[lilcliffy]

The plastic/composite exo-skeleton is a huge help. When done right it provides the comfort and freedom of leather with added support. Done wrong, it can be just as uncomfortable and rigid as a plastic boot (or so I'm told).

This certainly makes sense...just don't know if it would make enough of a difference to be worth it for me...and I wonder if the composite components will be as durable as a straight-up leather-fabric stitched boot?

[MikeK]

The composite seems like it would be pretty durable. I'd bet what might give up eventually is the buckles or attachment points.

Hard to say what would be ideal for you, but you do already have a full leather boot, so maybe a composite exo-skeleton would give you some more options.

[MikeK]

Hey, and just another thought... your wife might really like a boot like that giver her alpine experience. It allows you to drive the ski from your knee a little more.

[lilcliffy]

Yeah my thoughts too...

I've got her hooked on offtrack-xcountry skiing. She loves her Alaskas and the NNNBC binding. If I can get her to the point where she starts using the telemark...then I would perhaps bite on probably the Svartisen. Then we could leave our plastic touring boots behind entirely.