Atomic Mimic Professional Liner

[normie17]

Just received my High Volume (thinnest) tongues in the mail, I'm excited to see how they feel in my current liners. I have a stupid high instep and its always a pressure point issue for me.
I've been in the Professional liners for over a year and love the hold and support they provide. I've skied nothing but foamed liners for 20+ years, so the foaming process was something I was use to.
The thickness between tongues is not very obvious, its more subtle, but I know how a little material makes a huge difference. I typically have to cut and remove any extra elastic or webbing from the instep of any boots I have ever owned.
I'm using the Hawk Professional Liner, (now) High Volume tongue, and Professional Dual Strap on Lange XT3s.
I'm super happy that Atomic is offering aftermarket options and parts for these liners.

Attachment 439763

Once I ski these a bit I'll report back if they are much different than the Medium volume tongues.

where did you buy the HV atomic tongue? your DM's are full.

[Nator]

Hi ONK,

Would the Hawx XTD Mimic Pro liner fit in a Backland XTD Carbon?

I have a narrow foot so afraid that the Backland XTD will be too wide, so leaning to the Hawx Ultra XTD, but if the beefy liner could work in the backland XTD, that may be a good in between.

Thanks!

[onenerdykid]

Hi ONK,

Would the Hawx XTD Mimic Pro liner fit in a Backland XTD Carbon?

I have a narrow foot so afraid that the Backland XTD will be too wide, so leaning to the Hawx Ultra XTD, but if the beefy liner could work in the backland XTD, that may be a good in between.

Thanks!

I tried this and it's a pretty odd fit. Backland XTD's boot board is more rockered (matching the sole profile) and it causes the liner to kink at the midfoot in an odd way. This gets exacerbated with the plastic tongue over the foot. It's not unbearable, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[oetk2]

Lots of good info here on new liners going into old boots. What is the consensus for new liners and new boots? Can I take off the hose and ski the liner with the injection ports still on the back to see how the boots feel out of the box? Should I have all shell work done before the foam process or can you tweak the shell later without having to redo the foam? If anyone knows a shop around Vancouver that has experience with these let me know. Mine didn't come with the foam cartridges and a few of the shops I've talked to seem a bit mixed up between the regular mimic and the pro.

[onenerdykid]

Lots of good info here on new liners going into old boots. What is the consensus for new liners and new boots? Can I take off the hose and ski the liner with the injection ports still on the back to see how the boots feel out of the box? Should I have all shell work done before the foam process or can you tweak the shell later without having to redo the foam? If anyone knows a shop around Vancouver that has experience with these let me know. Mine didn't come with the foam cartridges and a few of the shops I've talked to seem a bit mixed up between the regular mimic and the pro.

When putting a Mimic Professional liner into a new boot:
-You can't ski it first, there's no fit to it. It needs to get made for your foot/shell combo. Do NOT remove anything from the liner.
-Get the fit-related red flags addressed before you do the foaming. You want sufficient space between your bones and the shell in order to have sufficient foam between you and the shell. If you need small tweaks done to the shell afterward, that's fine, and the liner will move into a new space that is made.
-Foam cartridges are sold separately because they eventually expire. In order to manage expired foam, it is stored and sold separately from liners. Whichever shop sold you the liners, should also be selling you the foam.

In the Vancouver area, Comor is usually the main place to get all things Atomic. You'll need to speak with the main boot fitter, not just a kid on the floor.

If you can get up to Whistler, see Barry at Evo in the Village.

[oetk2]

When putting a Mimic Professional liner into a new boot:
-You can't ski it first, there's no fit to it. It needs to get made for your foot/shell combo. Do NOT remove anything from the liner.
-Get the fit-related red flags addressed before you do the foaming. You want sufficient space between your bones and the shell in order to have sufficient foam between you and the shell. If you need small tweaks done to the shell afterward, that's fine, and the liner will move into a new space that is made.
-Foam cartridges are sold separately because they eventually expire. In order to manage expired foam, it is stored and sold separately from liners. Whichever shop sold you the liners, should also be selling you the foam.

In the Vancouver area, Comor is usually the main place to get all things Atomic. You'll need to speak with the main boot fitter, not just a kid on the floor.

If you can get up to Whistler, see Barry at Evo in the Village.

Cheers Matt, much appreciated as always. I didn't get the boots and liners at a shop so now scrambling a bit to sort it out. I assume I won't damage anything on the fill system by having them on and walking around to figure out the shell work?

[onenerdykid]

Cheers Matt, much appreciated as always. I didn't get the boots and liners at a shop so now scrambling a bit to sort it out. I assume I won't damage anything on the fill system by having them on and walking around to figure out the shell work?

Wearing them won't necessarily hurt anything on its own, but it might not point out issues that may be present. The main way to know when someone can see your foot inside the shell itself. Seeing if your ankle is butting up against the plastic of the shell or navicular etc. is the best way. But what you are doing is another data point too. Just make sure a shell check is done to ensure enough space is between you and the shell wall.

[oetk2]

Wearing them won't necessarily hurt anything on its own, but it might not point out issues that may be present. The main way to know when someone can see your foot inside the shell itself. Seeing if your ankle is butting up against the plastic of the shell or navicular etc. is the best way. But what you are doing is another data point too. Just make sure a shell check is done to ensure enough space is between you and the shell wall.

Thank you!

[singlesline]

How much life should I expect to get out of a pair? I got a pair almost exactly a year ago. Let’s say 40-50 days on them.

My right foot still feels good, but my left has just gone totally sloppy and I’m cranking the buckles to get any precision. Maybe my foot has changed (feels like my arch might be collapsing), but something is just not right.

Would a LV tongue help me out here?

[SkiLyft]

That’s what I did after maybe 100 days in my first mimic pro. It gave me the precision I needed!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[tenB]

How much life should I expect to get out of a pair? I got a pair almost exactly a year ago. Let’s say 40-50 days on them.

My right foot still feels good, but my left has just gone totally sloppy and I’m cranking the buckles to get any precision. Maybe my foot has changed (feels like my arch might be collapsing), but something is just not right.

Would a LV tongue help me out here?

Same experience here with original mimic pro liner. Awesome for 50 days, then its performance quickly deteriorated. I switched to a LV tongue to take up volume, and it maybe helped a little, but the liners were pretty shot. I added a bunch of foam and pads to get through the season because ONK assured me version 2 was much better.

I have about a dozen days on the new mimic pro 2, and its a game changer. Much thicker and more substantial materials and skis significantly better with stronger heel hold. I feel that the Hawx ultra pro 130 boot skis stiffer with the new liner, but maybe that’s just me.

For comparison, the original mimic pro liner was easily removed and inserted back into the boot. Version 2, is almost impossible to insert once it’s foamed with one person. My boot fitter had to hold the shell open while I wrestled the liner back in and it was a full struggle for both of us. Warming the shells might have helped some, but that is how substantial the new liner is.

Once in, it skis amazing and my foot is relaxed and firmly planted in the boot. My ankles and heels do not move in any type of conditions. ONK assures me it will hold up to many more days than the original, and I fully believe it.

[singlesline]

I guess that's a bit of a bummer to hear. Kinda makes me wish I had just bit the bullet and bought a new boot last year as I was hoping the $$$ liner would buy me at least 2 more seasons in these shells.

I may try to go with some padding and string it along as I have some big trips coming and now is an annoying time to buy new boots (inventory starts to get thin, but shops haven't started discounting)...

[gregL]

Same experience here with original mimic pro liner. Awesome for 50 days, then its performance quickly deteriorated. I switched to a LV tongue to take up volume, and it maybe helped a little, but the liners were pretty shot. I added a bunch of foam and pads to get through the season because ONK assured me version 2 was much better.

I have about a dozen days on the new mimic pro 2, and its a game changer. Much thicker and more substantial materials and skis significantly better with stronger heel hold. I feel that the Hawx ultra pro 130 boot skis stiffer with the new liner, but maybe that’s just me.

For comparison, the original mimic pro liner was easily removed and inserted back into the boot. Version 2, is almost impossible to insert once it’s foamed with one person. My boot fitter had to hold the shell open while I wrestled the liner back in and it was a full struggle for both of us. Warming the shells might have helped some, but that is how substantial the new liner is.

Once in, it skis amazing and my foot is relaxed and firmly planted in the boot. My ankles and heels do not move in any type of conditions. ONK assures me it will hold up to many more days than the original, and I fully believe it.

The Professional bladder (the part that contains the PU foam) is limited to the rear of the boot from the heel pocket to the maleoli - the rest of the foam in the liner will pack out like any liner. I also typically "overshoot" the foam (I've went to 28.5 on the foam in a 26.5 boot with fairly thick ankles) - you also need to make sure the foam goes equally into each side, oftentimes one side will start flowing more quickly and you need to "pinch" it until the other side catches up. I've got ~50 days in the 1st gen Redster CS Pro liner and while the forefoot has gotten roomier the PU foamed part is still rock solid.

[singlesline]

I slid the velcro tongue down/forwards to try and take up some extra space.

It felt like that helped--although I was also skiing subzero temps so the shells were extra stiff and it isn't a fair comparison.

[Benneke10]

I got a pair of NOS Professional liners online for cheap recently and just went to a local shop to get them foamed. I think they are gen 1. Never had any boot fitting done anywhere, been skiing stock, unmodified Hawx Ultra for a while. Pretty disappointed with the process, paid $100 for them to squeeze foam in which if they did a thorough job would be fair, but they basically just had me stand there while the foam went in and didn't do anything to make sure they were filling properly. I have some uncomfortable creases against my ankle bones, will they soften after skiing or will they stay sharp throughout the life of the liner? I went to the Sports Den based on this thread, they had the materials but seemed like it had been years since they had actually fitted someone. The boot fitters kind of scoffed at me for wanting this setup, and they said I would be back soon to buy a Zipfit if I really cared about skiing performance.

[Benneke10]

I would say they boot fitter owes you another pair of liners and a do over. The Mimic pro liner is a combination of moldable material and injectable material. So the liner needs to be heated like a traditional mold, then put on, buckled to a "medium" tension then injected. You will need to tell the boot fitter when to stop. For example my left foot is bigger than my right consequently the right foot required a fair bit more foam. You shouldn't by guided solely by the markings on the foam injector tubes.

Damn, I really screwed up. Went to a shop that was recommended by Matt in this thread, they had me buckle the boots as loose as possible, foamed them up without any heat or molding and charged me $100 for it, and feel like they could definitely fit better than they do. Bummed.

[onenerdykid]

Damn, I really screwed up. Went to a shop that was recommended by Matt in this thread, they had me buckle the boots as loose as possible, foamed them up without any heat or molding and charged me $100 for it, and feel like they could definitely fit better than they do. Bummed.

This shop owes you some sort of compensation for this. They did not follow the process as that we specify, which is why it is not feeling the way it should. This liner needs to be heated before you can foam it. The Mimic materials in the ankle need to be heated and softened for the liner to fit as intended. Otherwise, you're simply getting a foamed liner that doesn't match your ankle nor the shape of the shell.

Let me know what they plan to do for you. If it's not to your liking, reach out to me with a PM and I'll find a way to get you stoked on it.

[sierra_cement]

This ^^ story really hits home. Despite all the innovation and technology and great minds hard at work at the manufacturer, still it's the last-mile problem that makes or breaks whether or not you as the consumer end up with a good outcome and experience.

There are plenty times where after sitting down and observing so-called "bootfitters" at work with other customers, I've just gotten up and left the shop, scared to trust them with my own boots.

Be curious as to whether enough stories like this out of a particular shop would cause Atomic to flag them for remedial training?

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

[gregL]

This ^^ story really hits home. Despite all the innovation and technology and great minds hard at work at the manufacturer, still it's the last-mile problem that makes or breaks whether or not you as the consumer end up with a good outcome and experience.

Unfortunate but true, and one of the reasons the Professional liner hasn't been adopted more widely by shops or promoted harder by Atomic. It's "one-and-done" and if you screw it up, you need to replace the liner. Zipfit is far more fuckup-resistant as you can add or subtract the cork material indefinitely.

You need to heat the liner in the oven, both to soften the Mimic material and to make sure the injection tubes are soft enough to promote good PU flow. You should buckle medium tight, then loosen all buckles (but leave the bales in the ladders) while shooting the foam and having the customer flex the boot continuously, then close them after all the foam is in. I also like to have a spare cartridge on hand in case there is some crystaliized isocyanate and the tube gets blocked (has happened even with new-stock PU). There are certain procedures where we don't let every member of the bootfitting team perform the job; foaming Atomic Professional liners is one of them.

[Benneke10]

Thanks for the replies, grateful to have access to experts here. The shop I went to (Sports Den in SLC) was mentioned earlier in this thread as having the proper training and equipment to set the liners up. Would it be fair to ask the shop to replace the liners with a new pair since it sounds like my pair they set up are not salvageable? Based on the vibes I got I think it would be difficult to get anything from them.

[onenerdykid]

Thanks for the replies, grateful to have access to experts here. The shop I went to (Sports Den in SLC) was mentioned earlier in this thread as having the proper training and equipment to set the liners up. Would it be fair to ask the shop to replace the liners with a new pair since it sounds like my pair they set up are not salvageable? Based on the vibes I got I think it would be difficult to get anything from them.

Normally, you'd go back in and ask to speak with the manager, explain your situation, explain that the fitter did not follow the brand's fitting guidelines, you paid a solid premium for top level service, and now you have a liner that does not fit properly. As far as I am aware, this shop has a good relationship with Atomic and will work with Atomic/local rep to get your sorted. If for some reason you get attitude or push back in any way, reach out to me.

[Benneke10]

Normally, you'd go back in and ask to speak with the manager, explain your situation, explain that the fitter did not follow the brand's fitting guidelines, you paid a solid premium for top level service, and now you have a liner that does not fit properly. As far as I am aware, this shop has a good relationship with Atomic and will work with Atomic/local rep to get your sorted. If for some reason you get attitude or push back in any way, reach out to me.

I spoke with the shop manager who spoke with the local Atomic rep, who insisted that the shop followed the brand's guidelines. They had me make an appointment for later this week to have another fitter assess it but I honestly didn't get a great vibe from them and I'm not confident that it would be a great use of my time to drive across the city for them to try to work on a liner you guys are saying is toast. Might just take the L on this one for the sake of my sanity.

[Jason4]

You should follow through. If I were the shop I'd want to verify the quality of the work prior to buying more liners or re-training a tech. They are probably hesitant to make any promises until they try solutions that might be free to them. Having worked a lot with a boot fitter I know it doesn't always go quickly and even when they are really really good results can sometimes be a bit inconsistent.

[tenB]

I spoke with the shop manager who spoke with the local Atomic rep, who insisted that the shop followed the brand's guidelines. They had me make an appointment for later this week to have another fitter assess it but I honestly didn't get a great vibe from them and I'm not confident that it would be a great use of my time to drive across the city for them to try to work on a liner you guys are saying is toast. Might just take the L on this one for the sake of my sanity.

Definitely go back to the shop. They injected the liners without heating them which means they didn’t follow Atomic’s instructions. Anything short of replacing the liners with new ones is unacceptable, calmly tell them that.

[bradentownleyfrench@gmail.com]

Hi All,

I recently purchased the Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 130 BOA GW boots after skiing ~7 years in a Salomon Xmax Race 130 (punched in a couple places). Have been doing more skinning so figured it was time to add a boot that wasn’t strictly downhill focused. Got the shell and liner (Mimic platinum, not Mimic professional) heat molded. Only a handful of days so far but no major complaints. Heel hold and ankle hold are good. I do have a very high instep, so recently bought the V3 tongue system HV to see if I could create a bit more room around my instep. I swapped them in for the stock mimic platinum liner and it seems to take some pressure off my instep (walking around the house, haven’t skied with the new tongues yet).

Only other change I’ve made is replacing the stock strap for a professional strap.

My question is, can you heat mold the tongues at home, or do I need to go back to a boot fitter to fit the v3 HV tongue? If you can heat mold the tongue at home, any advice as to the best way to do it?

Thanks in advance
BTF