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LearnFreeRide Ski Boots Explained

The skiing world is pretty heavy on jargon. It tends to be a jumble of historic, technical and marketing speak, occasionally helpful but often confusing.

Here at the FreeRide Republic we are always looking for ways to maximise our FreeRide time and we want to help you do the same. Put your best foot forward and quickly learn the details as we break down a ski boot into its major parts to explain what they do and why they are important.

Shell

This is the outer part of the boot. It’s made of a stiff plastic or a combination of plastics that vary in stiffness. Shells are designed to be fairly rigid to help you drive your physical power through your boot and into your skis. This in turn leads to better skiing performance. As a rule of thumb, stronger and more experienced riders will benefit from a stiffer boot, and less experienced less powerful riders will fare better in a softer boot. 

Flex

The stiffness or rigidity of a ski boot is usually described by a flex rating. The higher this number the stiffer the boot. It’s important to know that flex ratings differ across brands, so a 100-flex boot from one brand may feel more like a 90-flex from another brand. 

FreeRiders have tended to prioritise downhill performance over uphill comfort

Ski Tourers have traditionally traded downhill performance in the form of stiffness for uphill hiking comfort. Conversely, FreeRiders have tended to prioritise downhill performance over uphill comfort. Fortunately, this conundrum is becoming less significant as shell designs improve. 

One recent example is the resurgence of the Cabrio shell – a boot consisting of 3 separate parts: the lower shell, the upper cuff and the external tongue. This allows manufacturers to use stiffer plastic in the lower shell to provide a precise transfer of power alongside plastics of varying flex in the rest of the boot, to suit the style and ability of the skier. With the development of plastics, this is increasingly seen as a solution that allows the best of both worlds.

Fit

Each boot model has a precast shell shape which varies by brand and model. Traditionally, specific brands have been associated with wider or narrower shells. The shape is an important factor for both rider comfort and control. The shape of the shell should roughly match your foot shape, enabling a comfortable and stable fit. For example, if you have a wide instep, you’ll want a boot that’s known to have a shell shape that works for wide insteps. 

A stable fit is one where the shell and liner hold your foot in place with almost no vertical movement – most importantly without your heel lifting inside the boot. Forward and rear movement is expected by design but only when you intentionally push forward in the boot as you would when initiating a turn. Most FreeRide boots are made with thermo-moldable shells – shells that mould to the shape of your feet with heat when your boots are being fitted in the shop. This improves the stability of the fit which equals more FreeRide power and awesomeness. 

Sizing

The size of ski boots are described using the Mondopoint system. In simple terms, this is just the length of your foot in centimetres from heel to big toe.

Ski boot shells are manufactured to cover two half sizes e.g. 24/24.5. Any difference in size is accommodated for with the use of different insoles or liners and additional slack is minimised by the boot buckle tightness. 

 

Anatomy of a FreeRide ski boot

Liner

This ‘soft’ insert fits inside the boot shell to protect your ankles, shins and feet from the stiff plastic, from any remaining boot wiggle, and from the cold. The liner is a standard feature of all downhill and FreeRide boots, but the options that are available are forever growing and there are new innovations in the technology every year. High-end boots now tend to offer a customised fit through a heat-moulded liner. Most commonly, these are fitted by heating the liner and then molding it to your foot, with particular focus on the ankle and lower shin. Liners are also available as after-market items, either to improve your fit or to replace worn or compacted liners. Integrated laces are becoming more popular as an aid to increase the stability of fit.  

Buckles

All Downhill and FreeRide boots have some kind of fastener that secures the boot firmly to the foot and leg for a snug fit and an effective power transfer into the ski. In the vast majority of cases, this is in the form of buckles that latch across the front of the boot. There are usually 3 or 4, and they can be made from different materials of varying weight. Placement also varies from boot to boot. The number, size, and material of the buckles will affect the overall boot weight and performance. More buckles doesn’t necessarily mean better performance but it usually does mean more faff… There’s always a tradeoff somewhere.

Micro Adjusters: These are mechanisms within the buckles themselves to extend or shorten the arms of the buckles by a few millimetres. This allows you to fine-tune the tension of your buckles to achieve a snug fit without over-tightening. 

Power Strap

Around the top of the boot is a Velcro strap which helps tightness around the shin, adding another layer of adjustability and performance. These can be replaced by after-market products to increase the effective stiffness of the boot. If you’re looking to get more power from your boot, a custom power strap is usually the most simple and cost-effective method.

Sole / Ski Boot Base

Traditionally, alpine boot bases have been made from hard, smooth, flat plastic. Whilst they perfectly fulfilled their primary role of fitting into an alpine ski binding, they did have a few drawbacks. These soles can easily wear when walking on hard surfaces such as tarmac or concrete. In a worst case scenario they will wear to the point where they no longer safely fit into an alpine binding. In addition,  the soles do not aid footfall when walking and have little grip. Increasingly, alpine boots come with replaceable soles and on occasion with an additional grip. TIP: a boot base for walking is much cheaper than a brand new shell. You can look after your bases by wearing cat tracks or sole protectors.

These soles aid grip when scrambling over rocks

These drawbacks have been addressed in most FreeRide boot designs. They tend to come with durable and grippy rubber soles. These soles aid grip when scrambling over rocks, climbing through rock bands or when kicking in steps. They also improve footfall which is great when bootpacking. The only downside is that they require a compatible binding, although this isn’t an issue with most recent FreeRide specific bindings. 

Grab Loops

Typically, webbing loops attached to the tongue and or rear of the boot to help you get your foot seated inside the boot, also used as a carry handle.  

Tongue

The majority of boots have a single internal tongue; this is the front part of the liner. In some cases, and increasingly so with FreeRide boots, a Cabrio design is being adopted. This consists of a three-piece shell with an external and internal tongue  developed to give a smooth flex in the boot when you pressure your shins forward and back.

  • Inner Tongue: This is the part of the liner that sits directly against your shin. Often soft and cushioned to protect your leg from the hard plastic of the shell.
  • Outer / Floating Tongue: Boots with a Cabrio design are made from three sections of plastic, as opposed to the traditional two. One of these pieces is the outer or floating tongue piece.

Toe Box

This is the front section of the boot where your toes sit.   

Toe Lug

This is a feature on every modern ski boot. The toe lug is the plastic lip at the front of the boot that slots into the front portion of a ski binding securing your boot to the ski.

Tech Fitting

This is found on touring boots. Tech Fittings are located on the heel and toe lugs and are used to connect with Pin / Touring bindings. (Check out —  Ski Boots: What You Need To Know for FreeRide)

Upper Cuff

Most modern ski boots are made from multiple plastic moulds fitted together. The plastic that encases your leg is referred to as the upper cuff of the boot. 

Pivot / Cuff Alignment

This is a common component of most modern boots. The Pivot allows you to adjust the cuff to the right or left by a few millimetres. In doing so you can ensure your leg sits perfectly in the centre of the cuff, thus relieving any pressure points around the calf, inner or outer leg. 

Heel Lug

This is the plastic lip at the back of the boot. The heel lug slots into the heel portion of a ski binding, vital for securing your boot to the ski.

Heel Cup

This is the back section of the boot that hugs your heel.

Walk Mode Lever

Only featured on boots that have walk or hike and ride mode, the walk mode lever can be pulled up to release the upper cuff and allow it to pivot backwards. By pulling the lever back down and flexing the boot forward the cuff locks back in place and is ready for skiing. 

Spoiler

This is an optional plate that can be installed at the rear of the boot between the liner and the shell where the calf muscle starts. The purpose of the spoiler is twofold, firstly to aid a closer fit around the calf for those that need it and secondly to fine-tune your forward lean. It achieves this by increasing the pressure at the back of your calf to change the angle of your leg so that your knees are closer to your toes.

Footbed / Insoles

This component can be found inside all new ski boots. It is typically a fairly flat foam insert that sits in the bottom of the liner, not dissimilar to what you find in trainer soles. The main purpose of these is to offer comfort to the soles of your feet and – if required – adjust the fit of the boot up or down a size. There is a large aftermarket in custom made insoles that replace those that come as standard. These tend to be referred to as footbeds and will be specifically moulded to your foot shape. In custom form they are used to achieve one or a combination of the following: stabilise the foot, improve alignment or improve pressure distribution. 

Increasing levels of comfort and versatility without losing performance

In general ski boot design continues to evolve – materials are becoming lighter with specified degrees of stiffness. This, along with increasing the moldability of the boot shell, liner and footbed, allow for ever increasing levels of comfort and versatility without the loss of performance. 

What are the best boots you’ve ever owned and what was their killer feature? Let us know below!

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