Does Daleboot suck..

[team ftb]

or not? Did the obligitory search and found nothin addressing a question I have, and hoping you fags err mags could shine a light. Looking for new boots and was thinking about Daleboot but wanted to hear about your opinions from a performance perspective. I get that they fit well but how'zabout is there any trade off with the softer flex? Anybody purchased and had buyers remorse after? If so why. Are there things you would like done better on the boot? What are the downsides of the Daleboot?

By the time you add up decent liners and such for a decent top end boot from a name brand manufaturer you're over the $600 cost of Daleboot. Getting a custom fit boot and liner for the same price seems not so bad. So tell me what sucks about the Daleboot?

Also if you love them let me know cuz if there is not much bad about them I may be a new customer but wanted the Maggots opinion. Also anybody done the mailorder fitting and any guidance pro or con?

[yesIsaidyes]

one downside is the plastic buckles which I hear has been remedied - although not in a pretty way...

[Spats]

Pro:
Light for an alpine boot (my size 13 weighs 4#8oz). I've done many tours in mine.
All parts are replaceable, including toe/heel lugs and liners.
Nice progressive flex (adjustable, too).
Really, really easy to put on and take off. I can slam, buckle, and go before people with Langes even have their heel down.
True canting via slanted toe/heel lugs included in purchase (not fake canting by tilting the ankle)
The fit. Those factory guys know what they're doing.
Free fit adjustments for life. Just bring them in and they take care of you.

Con:
Ugly. You can choose colors but it doesn't really help.
Even at max stiffness, it's not stiff.
Bails sometimes spontaneously walk out of the flanges on the shell and end up on the loosest adjustment. Easily fixable with gaffer tape, but: ugly.
No microadjust (now fixed by the new metal buckles)

I thought the softer flex might be a problem, but what I found is that when a boot fits perfectly, you don't need as much stiffness to control the ski because every movement goes out to the shell instead of slopping your feet around.

I had mine fitted at the factory, so I can't help with the mail order.

No buyer's remorse here.

[cantunamunch]

Free fit adjustments for life. Just bring them in and they take care of you.

Now that is starting to sound like a real good reason we don't see them on Ebay.

[The Dad]

or not? Did the obligitory search and found nothin addressing a question I have, and hoping you fags err mags could shine a light.

What is with people thinking that the best way to get their questions answered is to insult those whom they're asking?

[team ftb]

Thanks for the replies.

Spats, a very cool post. Thank you. Have you put the plastic plug in to make the boot stiffer or are you skiing in it normal? Also are you a skinny runt or a fat bastard?

Alpinedad...if you took offense, sorry. Take a qualude and chill. My sarcasm obviously went over your head. As a lurker and poster to this forum I obviously include myself in the faggot...I mean Maggot status. No offense meant and if the vast majority of posters on this board are shriveling (which I very much doubt) at their keyboards in horror at my post, then I f___ed up.

Maybe I should pose the question this way. Why have people not chosen the Daleboot as an option? Do you think if I don't have any special foot problems that I would be better off in a boot other than Daleboot?

Kisses and hugs to you all out there especially Alpinedad

[rtp]

I have never owned Dale boots or skiied, but the people that work at the shop are cool as hell. I was in SLC the 1st week of Jan and lost one of the screws that holds the cuff in place on my dobermans. I could not find a shop that had screws, but the guys down there were kind enough to machine a bushing to work with a phillips screw that I found down to Home Depot.

[The Dad]

Alpinedad...if you took offense, sorry. Take a qualude and chill. My sarcasm obviously went over your head. As a lurker and poster to this forum I obviously include myself in the faggot...I mean Maggot status. No offense meant and if the vast majority of posters on this board are shriveling (which I very much doubt) at their keyboards in horror at my post, then I f___ed up.

Context is everything -- you started this thread right around the time that saints17 started this one.

No one's horrified, although gratuitous homophobia gets old pretty quick.

Whatever.

[Spats]

Have you put the plastic plug in to make the boot stiffer or are you skiing in it normal? Also are you a skinny runt or a fat bastard?

I've skied them both ways. It's not as big a difference as you'd think because the plastic itself is fairly flexible...right now they're out and I think I like the feel better. I'm tall and weigh in the 180s these days.

I think people don't buy them because:
1) Ugly. People say they don't care, but they do.
2) They have no cachet or hipness. They don't sponsor anyone and they get no exposure in any magazines. Skiing them will not make you cool.
3) You have to go to SLC (or one of their few authorized dealers) to get the full benefit of the included bootfitting.
4) People think they need a stiffer boot than they actually need.

Personally, I think the only real reasons not to buy them are that you can't get to one of their fitters, you don't have $600, or you absolutely must have a stiff boot. Plenty of people *can* fit into something off the rack, but the difference between that and something that's been tailored exactly to your feet is tremendous. Anyone who has upgraded to Thermoflex/Intuition liners knows what I mean, and that's just one part of what you get.

[iceman]

I'm interested in Daleboots and I'm about due for a new pair of boots and I'm in SLC pretty regularly, but how does one determine how stiff of a boot they "need"?

I'm about 6'2" 220 and currently ski L10R's that I crank as tight as humanly possible and I use the heavy-duty Booster Straps, also cinched as tight as I can pull them, and my boots seem to flex quite freely to me, they certainly don't seem too stiff.

If I bought a pair of Daleboots and they felt like old socks filled with oatmeal, what options would I have? Or would I just be SOL?

[crashnburn'd]

Eat the oatmeal?

[Spats]

If I bought a pair of Daleboots and they felt like old socks filled with oatmeal, what options would I have? Or would I just be SOL?

As mentioned in the other thread, you can put plastic stoppers in the hinge to stiffen it up. But I would call the factory store (# on website), tell them your concern, and ask them if there's you can try on a pair in size iceman to test the flex before committing to a purchase.

Iit's hard to compare objectively because the flex pattern is different. Most overlap boots (I used to ride Langes) have a very progressive flex: very easy at first as the tongue and shell compress, and then rapidly ramping up. The Dales are more linear: you feel resistance and get feedback much sooner, but they don't ramp up nearly as much. I like the feel better, but YMMV.

[iceman]

Eat the oatmeal?

After it's been in an old sock?

[team ftb]

Spats: You seem quite happy with these boots. If you were to rewind time and purchase another Daleboot. Would you go with the stiff version? Have you ever heard people complain that they were not stiff enough? Thanks again Spats.

Man, maybe I'm just a hardhead wondering if I will miss the stiffness of my current boots.

I am trying to get feedback from a performance perspective. Sadly most of their customers seem to have problem feet (which I do not) and wondering if there is a tradeoff in performance.

Anybody else got opinions on these things?

[irul&ublo]

Does Daleboot suck..

Only with this optional attachment:

[The Dad]

Only with this optional attachment:[/img]

I find the fact that it's designed to be plugged into a CAR LIGHTER SOCKET disturbing.

But then, finding things disturbing appears to be my role in this thread.

[team ftb]

I seem just a wee bit hesitant plugging my johnson into something connected to my cars electrical system, but hey, maybe I'm missing something.

Maybe this is what all the people that love Daleboot for the snug, warm, comfortable fit are prattling on about.

[Woodsy]

ftb,
learn to ask a question w/o being a jackass.
ice,talk to J aka yeti man.
he is a big dood and loves his.

[rypete]

Do daleboots have a lot of ramp? Or low ramp angle? Thanks

[IrieRon]

! My new imaginary boots were going to be Full Tilt BB Pros for $575. Are you now telling me that my new imaginary boots are going to be fully custom DaleBoot 2002 ST's for $650? How am I going to make up this imaginary difference of $75??

[rypete]

Do they balance your boots at the shop?

[ill-advised strategy]

Getting used to skiing mine was an adjustment. I had to ski a bit different (skiing from the foot rather than from the shin, if that makes any sense). The boot is a lot softer than anything I've had (nordica grand prix to many flexons to technica explosion 8's) and has a lot of forward lean. My calf muscles got a lot stronger (because you can't just rest on the tongues of these), my stance is a bit lower. I'm not driving the tips of my skis as hard as before. After 2.5 seasons I still like 'em, but watching Iceman get set up with his new langes kind of affected me in an "I want some really powerful boots again" kind of way. It's a little like skiing a big tele boot with the heel locked in, there's no reason you can't rip it, but it's not the same as a stiffer boot.

There's a ripper on this board who got a pair and did not like them at all. If he wants to chime in I'm sure he will.

Overall, a very good boot, especially if you're just completely over fucking with painful feet and willing to learn to ski a soft boot.

also: Last season I got some metal buckles for the lower buckle that I open and close every run. Awesome upgrade, went from a not-so-good plasticky feel to a crisp metal buckle that worked like a ski boot buckle should. When I went back this fall to get the upper 2 replaced, Adam tells me the metal buckles have been a lot of trouble and they're not doing them anymore. OK, whatever fellas. If you go, insist on the metal buckles (there's no way they're out of them), also be very clear that you want a stiff, tight boot...if you buckle tightly the plastic ones bend and fatigue. Daleboot techs are very capable, but sometimes I think you have to snap them out of their 60-year-old-psia-guy mode in order to get what you need. They can do it, you just have to communicate clearly and make sure they're focused.

[Spats]

YetiMan makes a good point...if you like to lean on your tongues and drive your tips hard, Dales will likely be too soft for you.

I got out of that habit because it put me over the bars in chop and crud, and got used to a much more center-balanced style of skiing, even on smooth snow where it's fine to drive the tips. Dales work great for this -- since they are fully custom and fit your foot so closely, you get very direct feedback between the ski and your foot/lower leg with no slop.

It's like the Flexon thing...the tradeoffs aren't worth it for everybody, but if you're willing to make them, you'll have very, very happy feet.

rypete: not sure what you mean by "balance". They do measure and cant you -- an actual cant via removable soles, not tilting the cuff at the ankle.

[rypete]

Cool Thanks! Has anyone ever skied the "race" version daleboot? Can you lean on those tongues a little more?

[Candylynn]

I wore one of the first Dale boots in 1971. I was racing on the U ski team. Back then they used Lange boots and made their own liners. My first pair didn't set properly and I frostbit my toes. Took them back and no problem; they made another pair. I LOVED those boots! I bought something else when I moved back to SLC and have hated them. They don't fit right, etc. Even though I don't ski much and with my blownout knees, I can't get on expert slopes, I plan to buy another pair this year.