Talk to me about Boots..

[brahm]

Some of you may recall last year my season was cut short when I was bucked of my sled and my leg went into the track and I snapped my ankle/leg. It was an impact fracture (ie the track flung my leg up against the bottom of the frame and it cracked my fib). At the time I was wearing Burton snowboarding boots, but am now looking to switch to something that might be more robust so in the unlikely event that something similar happens I'll hopefully be protected from spending the rest of my winter on crutches and in PT...

I've been looking at some of the HMK's but they don't appear (visually) to offer any more protection then a snowboard boot. Now that I have a plate
& 6 screws in my leg.. The thought of snapping it..and the mess it would make..are really going to impact my riding.... are there any boots out there that offer more protection? Like a motox boot?

 

[snopropanther]

boots keep my feet warm.

 

[trackvs2wheels]

boots keep my feet warm.

Sorry, brahm...but that comment made me spit my Dr. Pepper out of my nose!


Anyway, I have some Klim (i think they are adrenaline's) and they seem pretty stiff and have great support...but not sure they would have protected me in the situation you described above????


Track~

 

[Blumpkin]

All the sledding boots I've seen seem to offer less protection than snowboarding boots. I'm not aware of any MX boots made for the snow either. Have you looked in to other snowboard boots? I have Thirty Two "Lashed" boots and they are stiffer than my MX boots.

 

[modsledr]

An MX style boot will definitely offer more protection. I've searched far and wide for MX style boots that are insulated, with no luck.

You may end up getting MX boots a size or 2 larger and taking the liner out of another type of boot.

Good Luck.

 

[revrider07]

I too have broke my foot...not that badly but hurt like he!!....anyway I have the HMK Pro Boa, I hated them at first (uncomfortable at first) but if they save a foot what the heck.....and they keep my feet warm...

 

[nathaniel11]

anyway I have the HMK Pro Boa, I hated them at first (uncomfortable at first).

the hmk seem to fit quite a bit better after you have them broken in right. At first like you said they are uncomfortable

 

[slyrydr]

i think you need a boot that comes up higher than the "snow board" boots, even though they are stiff and warm "but not necessarily waterproof"....i use cabelas' hunting boots, there are several that are 11-14" high, waterproof, good soles, well insulated, and....you can adjust the fit for ankle size and comfort if you have plates and screws etc.....they make one called the "switchback" in both 800 and 1400 grams of thinsulate....anyway, i think i'd look there

 

[brahm]

I was using the burton hails which I believe are a pretty stiff boot. I called HMK they suggested the PRO BOAs.. I've looked into other snowboard boots, but the other problem I had outside of safety was my snowboard boots just didn't hold up to the abuse.. Kicking off the running board, (packed snow.. ect), and the spikes on my running board basically within the half season with the way I rode the souls of my snowboard boots were worn out and falling apart.. (the sides were fine). I called a place that sells motox & snowmobile boots and talked to them about looking into the moto boots the problem with those are they are meant to stand on pegs and not running boards so your not going to get the traction you need. (not to mention insulation, snow proofing ect)...

As far as boot height.. my leg/ankle broke down low within the boot. (just above the top of my foot) Basically what I'm looking for is a boot that can take a hit and not just give and crush my bones..

What about other safety/prevention methods.. ie besides the obvious things like.. not flailing when I fall or refusing to let go of the handle bars ( ), is there anything I can install on the sled to make it less likely my foot will touch the track if I crash/get bucked.

Maybe some sort of ankle/shin gaurd.. I do have some downhill mountain bike gear...and I'm going to be wearing a pressure suit this year to keep my wrecked shoulder in it's socket...but that's a whole different issue.

 

[ruffryder]

An MX style boot will definitely offer more protection. I've searched far and wide for MX style boots that are insulated, with no luck.

You may end up getting MX boots a size or 2 larger and taking the liner out of another type of boot.

Good Luck.

I used MX boots once last spring.. they worked really well, except I couldn't believe how much heavier they were compared to my snowboard boots. Going from one side to the other was tiring after a while...

I am sticking the snowboard boots, they seem to be the best compromise.

 

[JohnH]

Burton Hail

The Hail is on the soft side for Burton boots. On a scale of 1-10 it ranks as a 4 so you shouldn't have much trouble finding something with more support.

 

[thefullmonte]

Coldwave and Gaerne both used to make snow cross type boot. An insulated MX boot, more or less what you are looking for. Unfortunately, I haven't seen these from my vendors in a couple of years now. Google might be your friend on this.

 

[brahm]

Coldwave and Gaerne both used to make snow cross type boot. An insulated MX boot, more or less what you are looking for. Unfortunately, I haven't seen these from my vendors in a couple of years now. Google might be your friend on this.

Thanks for your reply. These Coldwaves http://www.coldwavesnowwear.com/pages/collections/snocross/sx_boot.html sound promising.
"Textured hardwearing PVC outer shell, and Nylon plate armor in ankle."
I'm going to call tomorrow when they are open and get more info.. I didn't see anythiong on the Gaerne site though but I'll give them a call as well.

-B

 

[Rotax_Kid]

I would take a good look at the Klim Radiums. I've got a pair coming to compare against the Adrenalines I have just to see how stiff they actually are, but Klim has told me they are considerably stiffer than the Adrenlines. Maybe an option to look at.

 

[up-high]

My Radiums are like wearing a ski boot!Lots of support, but a PIA to get on and off.

 

[brahm]

So an update one what I've found..

The Coldwaves are no longer offered but I did find them online for around 80$ I spoke to a coldwave rep, and he didn't seem very confident that his boot would do what I'm looking for.. although in specs alone this boot seemed to be the furthest away from a Snowboard boot, and the nearest to a MotoX boot.

I called Gaerne and they said they don't offer one.

I spoke to both HMK, and the Klim and from my talks with the reps both seem to be essentially heavy duty snowboard boots, stiffer, less forward lean.. the HMK appears to be a bit more padded but is supposedly not 100% waterproof while the klim appears to be a very similar design to my burton hails.

With that said I keep getting suggestions to look into a MotoX boot.. which will require massive amounts of additional insulation on my part, and outside of injury.. I would hate to be out in the middle of no where on a powder day with wet socks and boots..

What I think I'm going to do (unless a better option comes up ) is pick up the coldwaves for 80$ and if those don't work. I'm going to look into some Koflach a mountaineering boot, which look good but unfortunately are lowtops...but as long as my ankle is protected I don't care much..

 

[Ausm7499]

If your really that concerned about foot protection I don't know of anything that will take a beating like a ski boot. I can't imagine snowmobiling with them on but desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[brahm]

If your really that concerned about foot protection I don't know of anything that will take a beating like a ski boot. I can't imagine snowmobiling with them on but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I thought about that, but I need the flexibility that a ski boot won't offer, as well as the grip. I think I'd be more likely to hurt myself slipping off the sled with a hard plastic bottom. I do think my injury was a fluke/few & far between but..until I get the plate & screws out I need to be careful.

 

[freejay]

How about a boot for a step in snowboard binding? http://cgi.ebay.com/K2-CLICKER-SNOWBOARD-BOOTS-Sherpa-Mens-Sz-US-10-Eur-43_W0QQitemZ230296737881QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230296737881&_trkparms=72%3A1210%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

This type of boot would be as rigid as anything you could find. You would just have to remove the hardware from the sole. I'm actually planning to sell my clicker stuff and get standard snowboard boots that I can use for sledding and boarding.

 

[tomx]

Try a Kolflach Mountaineering boot, they provide more protection, flexibility and they are made for winter sports. I broke my left ankle one season, and as soon as the cast was off I rocked a Kolflach on that one foot for the rest of the season. I looked like kook and walked funny, but felt no pain and the safety blanket factor was kick arse, not to mention my boot was neon yellow with orange inserts. Sexy.

http://www.koflach.com

I bet you could pick up a decent used pair at one of those play-it-again sports type stores.