Tecnica ski boots.

[Paul Oberin]

Tecnica have always been a very good ski boot, made to a standard that some other companies aspire to reach.
This season they are still setting the standard, with a few changes, they will now have a widened shell in the anklebone area, and the shell has also been made wider to allow for a new liner to be used, which now contains shock absorbing materials.
The shell consists of 3 densities, so that the high density stiff sole transmits movement to the bindings and ski, the area around the foot is a medium hardness to allow for a good wrap around fit, yet still transmit energy to the boot sole, the instep area is softer again to allow easy entry and will make the boot shell more comfortable.
The upper cuff now pivots out of the way allowing very easy entry of the foot, yet retains power transmission to the sole, the twin pivot cuff adjustment on either side will allow for a great range of adjustment to fine tune the alignment of the skiers leg to the boot sole, ensuring far better control of the skis.
The Hiper fit liner is a real winner, it offers high performance and precise control, while at the same time offering a great level of comfort, by using triple density lining materials.

http://www.paulski.com.au/shop_online/images/magmahiper.jpg
Rec retail price of $899
Other boots in the range include the Vento series, which also offers most of the features of the Diablo boots, although in a softer flex and a lower price, the Vento10 still uses the great Hiper liner.

http://www.paulski.com.au/shop_online/images/Vento10Hiper.jpg
Rec retail price of $699

[ 30.03.2007, 12:46 PM: Message edited by: Paul Oberin ]

[The Wang]

I bought a pair of Tecnica Icon Alu's back in 03 and they have been very good.

The only problem I had with them is the Hot Form liner. Initially it took me a while to really pack them out to the point where they didn't destroy my toe nails and cut off my circulation. I found if I don't where them for a while (for example the 6 months plus between seasons here) that the liner kind of morphed back to it's original shape. Which of course meant I had to begin the painful process of packing them out again.

I'm not convinced they were correctly fitted in the first place, or that they were the right fit for my feet at all. But still, is that normal in the Hot Form liners?

[ 30.03.2007, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: Principal Douglas ]

[Paul Oberin]

How you store them over summer may have an effect on the liners, but that does sound like they were fitted for very high performance skiing as they are meant to be.
The cutting off the circulation can be fixed permanently, by going back to your bootfitter, the tightness on the toes is a sure sign of a good fit, and for that level of boot should be expected first day of each season, you just need to cut your toe nails and wear a very thin sock for day one of the season, i have the exact same problem with my boots, and you can guess who fitted them.
If you still don't like the tight toes a good fitter can also fix that for you, but you loose a small degree of performance at the same time.
I offer a lifetime fit guarantee at my shop, and the shop you deal with probably does also, so make an appointment to take them back for an adjustment.

[The Wang]

Thanks Paul. I think I'd rather keep the performance than the comfort. After a fews days they are usually fine again anyway.

I will say again that they are very very good boots. I've pushed them hard and been very happy with the performance.

[Volkl carve]

Hi, Paul. Great boots and I've been intending to purchase for a while.

I have a question concerning the Magma sizing. I performed a shell fit and 27.5 was too large and 26.5 was too small. Looking for a performance fit around 1 cm. Can you advise me how a size 27 differs to a 27.5 for the Tecnica's. Is there a difference in the shell size, foot bed and liner ? I was informed by another ski retailer that a lot of ski boots dont vary in shell size for half size increments and only the foot bed is different.

If there not ok in a 27 I'll look at another top end boot maybe Nordica Speed Machine 14 or Hot Rod Top fuel

Thanks.

[Seth]

Generally the only difference between a x.0 size boot and x.5 size boot is the liner so you have heard correctly.

[Volkl carve]

Thanks Seth. It's unfortunate that is the case, shell sizes only vary for each mondo size ie 1 cm difference. This combined with liner packout, aside from fitting issues, its not hard to see why a lot of people end up in ski boots that are too big for them.

Apparently the Nordica's are about 1/4 size larger then the Tecnica's by comparison. I'll give them a try.

Cheers

[azkaban]

When I was first purchasing boots I found that Tecnica were just about the ONLY boot that fitted the width of my foot. This was about 4 years ago and the boots are pretty good but I am sure there is something out there that is more comfortable.
Are their any manufacturers that are producing a "wide" boot?
Cheers

[Rednut]

Atomic, Nordica, Head that i know of make wide boots, probably others do as well... I found that tecnica wasn't wide enough for my foot...

[Taxman]

azkaban, also look at the Atomic B series boots.

I skiied the B7 for 2 years and found them pretty good (basic, with limited adjustments eg canting, but still a good boot). However, that said, I have managed to downsize to a Lange Comp 100 in order to get better lateral stability (of the foot) and greater control. A wide boot may be comfortable, however, I will agree with PD and say it is better to sacrifice a little bit of comfort for better skiing.

Of the boots that I have tried the Salomon X-Wave appears to be somewhere between the Atomic and the Lange in accomodating wider feet. And providing your feet are not too far off the mark, as this was originally a thread on the Tecnica boots, a good boot fitter would be able to punch and grind them to fit you perfectly.

[ 01.04.2007, 09:30 PM: Message edited by: Taxman ]

[Volkl carve]

Sorry if this is deviating from the Tecnica Magma, though to conclude I tried on a pair of Nordica Doberman's in a 27.0 today and was pleasantly surprised they were a great fit. Exactly what I was looking for without size issues. Going to wait til new stock arrives in May to see if there is an update otherwise there should be sale on !!

Most of the Oz retailers have wide boots as described above, some being performance geared. If you couldnt find anything appropriate you could always try a Strolz boot and have them foamed up. Larry Adler's does them and they cater for virtually any foot.

Cheers

[Paul Oberin]

Fischer ski, i am not sure who you are dealing with, and it doesn't really matter all that much, but the shell for the Tecnica magma is 304mm long in a size 26.5 shell, but the Nordica speed machine in a size 26.5 shell is actually longer by 1mm at 305mm.
As the Magma is a new boot i don't have a lot of experience as to how it compares in fit to the Speed machine, i have tried both on myself, and noticed the extra width around the ankle bone area in the Magma.
Generally like Seth has pointed out a .5 size boot uses the same shell as the .0 size, although not in all brands, and the difference is more than just the footbed, the liner is thicker in the padding for the .0 to make it narrower using the same shell.
The Nordica Dobermann Pro with a last of only 98mm is narrower than most boots, the Tecnica last measures at 103mm by comparison, and if you have decided to go with the .0 option that is narrower again, if however you are looking at the Dobermann world cup that is yet another 3mm narrower again.
It sounds like you have a narrow to medium width foot, and the .0 would fit you much better.
As for suggesting people buy a Strolz boot, yes they are a good boot, and so they should be, last i heard they were close to $1500, i really think you can get just as good a boot and often a better boot for a lot less money, although a Foam boot regardless of brand is an excellent choice for the person with a really difficult foot shape, who demands high performance.

My advice to you would be to seek out a reputable boot fitter close to where you live, and go with what they suggest, after working on the feedback you give them.

[Volkl carve]

Thanks Paul, informative response.

[The Wang]

After my first ski for the season today my boots gave me ALL kinds of grief. I was in a lot of pain.

SO, I took them into Jindy Sports and had a word with them. They could not believe that I had been sold that particular boot. They measured that my feet are about 4mm too wide for the boots! (If you haven't read above the boots are Icon Alu's).

No wonder I was in so much pain :eek:

So rather than blow them out a ridiculous amount they gave me a pair of these (http://www.tecnicausa.com/skiing/modo_12_uf.html)

They fit almost perfectly out of the box. So now I have new boots :D

http://www.tecnicausa.com/skiing/images/modo_12.jpg

[Silence]

whats the width of them?

I've always found tecnica's to be a little too narrow for me so i've been stuck with nordicas and salomons

Leaning towards the Nordica Beast 10 this year, as its a little wider than the speedmachine but I tried on the diablo spark and flame and they just seemed a little narrow..

Do you know if the modo 12 is wider than the diablos?

Nice boots btw..

[The Wang]

I think the Modo 12's are 104mm (I can't remember the exact width redface.gif ). The Icon Alu's are 98 or 99mm

[Paul Oberin]

Originally posted by Principal Douglas:
After my first ski for the season today my boots gave me ALL kinds of grief. I was in a lot of pain.

SO, I took them into Jindy Sports and had a word with them. They could not believe that I had been sold that particular boot. They measured that my feet are about 4mm too wide for the boots! (If you haven't read above the boots are Icon Alu's).

No wonder I was in so much pain :eek:

So rather than blow them out a ridiculous amount they gave me a pair of these (http://www.tecnicausa.com/skiing/modo_12_uf.html)

They fit almost perfectly out of the box. So now I have new boots :D

http://www.tecnicausa.com/skiing/images/modo_12.jpg For them to actually give you a set of them at no charge, it must have been their mistake in the first place, as i doubt they are the tooth fairy.
A good outcome if that is the case.
That model is a much wider boot from Tecnica.

[The Wang]

Sorry, I should clarify that I bought the new ones.

My last boots I bought from another 'big name' in the ski retail industry *COUGH*LARRYADLER*COUGH*

[Silence]

wow 104mm is WIDE...

[The Wang]

To quote the expert bootfitter:

"That's a **** load of foot to fit in that boot!"

[karen97]

doesn't LA have a boot fit guarantee?

[Paul Oberin]

Originally posted by karen97:
doesn't LA have a boot fit guarantee? I was wondering the same thing, why pay for new boots when Larry would have done something about it free of charge.

[ez power]

I bought those boots in 2003. Did they have the guarantee then? Besides that, I have no receipt or proof that I did buy them from Larry Adler.

And besides THAT, I don't trust them to fit shoes to me now, let alone ski boots.

[The Wang]

Sorry, that was me.

[Paul Oberin]

I have a lifetime fit guarantee at my shop, some shops only offer it for 12 months, Larry was one of the first to offer a fit guarantee about 20 or so years ago, the non receipt would make it tough, i am sure i wouldn't be replacing boots if i wasn't sure i sold them in the first place, people have tried that one on me already, one guy who i spent hours on giving him a fitting just so he could buy them on the net cheaper wanted me to modify them to suit his strange foot shape free of charge, no receipt so no free work.

[The Wang]

Would the fact that I've done 200+ days in them make any difference? Whatever, I've really got my money's worth out of them anyway.

I'm getting custom footbeds from Jindy Sports as well so I'd rather just do everything through them and be happy.

[Paul Oberin]

i am not sure you would have much of a fit guarantee claim after 200+ days without making a complaint by now. Although i am sure they would still have done some work on them anyway free of charge if you had a receipt.
Jindys Sports are also good boot fitters so you should be fine.

[SA]

PD..did you take them back to LA in the early days when they hurt?

[The Wang]

Well, this thread is about Tecnica boots and I'm going from one pair of Tecnicas to another so...

they must be good boots smile.gif

[Podlettte]

The LA fit guarantee was in place in 2003, and has always been in place.

I'm sketchy these days on the wording of it, but it'd be on their website.

Who actually fitted you at adlers and who fitted you at Jindy SPorts?

I'd trust either with fitting my boots, and agree that after 200+ days in the boots you wouldn't have much of a claim, if they were giving you trouble you should have taken them back as soon as you noticed it.

Would you keep driving a car that had warranty issues or weird things happening?

[The Wang]

Originally posted by SA:
PD..did you take them back to LA in the early days when they hurt? I did and they blew them out a little bit but apparently they are very hard boots to work on so they didn't blow out very far. I vaguely recall taking them back again after that and being told to perservere(sp).

They did eventually pack out but I had the same trouble with them over and over again. If I didn't wear them for a few weeks (or a whole summer) I'd just have to pack them out again - which hurt alot.

[The Wang]

Originally posted by Podlettte:
The LA fit guarantee was in place in 2003, and has always been in place.

I'm sketchy these days on the wording of it, but it'd be on their website.

Who actually fitted you at adlers and who fitted you at Jindy SPorts?

I'd trust either with fitting my boots, and agree that after 200+ days in the boots you wouldn't have much of a claim, if they were giving you trouble you should have taken them back as soon as you noticed it.

Would you keep driving a car that had warranty issues or weird things happening? I don't remember the name of the guy who fitted my boots in Larry Adler (it was the Jindabyne store) but he doesn't work there anymore. I haven't seen him in there since that season (2003).

Michael in Jindy Sports has been looking after me. Michael's a good guy, I trust him, and he recommended getting new boots anyway.

[Rednut]

200 days isn't a bad run for ski boots...

[The Wang]

Exactly Rednut. That's why I'm not too worried about it.

[Podlettte]

I'm puzzled why you stuck with boots for 200+ days, and have now decided after not properly (from what you've described anyway) dealing with the issue, to slang the company that you bought them from?

I'd ask this question regardless of who you purchased them from, so don't take it as a bias. I am genuinely puzzled that if they didn't fit properly, and if they were too narrow that it wasn't diagnosed give who I know for sure would have been in store during the times you've mentioned, some of the best boot fitters available....

The whole scenario puzzles me....

[ 18.06.2007, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Podlettte ]

[The Wang]

It's an odd one because for most of the boots' life they were fine. It was just for the first week or 2 of each season that they caused me problems. This season was worse than normal.

My guess is that the liners are very malleable and they just packed out a lot. But when I hadn't worn them for a while they just returned to their original form.

[Taxman]

PD, did you think about replacing the liners (eg Thermofit)? If the shell and footbeds were working, maybe a new liner is all that is needed.

Sorry, didn't read the previous page in full. Looks like the new boots are well and truly justified.

[ 19.06.2007, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: Taxman ]

[Podlettte]

probably not packing out, more like what Paul said that over summer they aren't used so become blah, meaning at the beginning of each season you need to work them, warm them etc for them to be comfortable. That's pretty normal for most ski boots (except slippers :D ) and although we laugh at everyone walking around the house in their ski gear and boots, it really is a great idea, particularly with the issue's you've described and given the problem goes away after some skiing time.