- Joined
- Nov 12, 2015
- Posts
- 6,302
That looks like black duct tape wrapped around the front of a leather lace up boot. Holy retro insanity...
That's only because it is duct tape on a leather lace up boot.
That looks like black duct tape wrapped around the front of a leather lace up boot. Holy retro insanity...
That's only because it is duct tape on a leather lace up boot.
The nutty part is that it's on a Rossi Cut.
Disagree. A CVT that isn’t trying to pretend it has gears is actually really nice to drive. Completely smooth acceleration with no loss of power for gear changes.Nicer ski than the Rossi Cut
Back to topic,
GripWalk is to skiing like CVTs are to driving.
View attachment 94362
I’d say that the rubber on the GripWalk degrades the ‘feel’ by 5% but the larger issue is that they offer largely midrange bindings in GripWalk- the skis on the right have a GW Attack 14AT, it’s largely plastic. Move to the center & we have a consumer race binding for DIN, it’s mostly metal. Far Left- a full metal race service clamp (shout out to the wife- these are the SL skis she just won Canadian Masters FIS Nationals on ). The feeling is night & day- I feel like I’m going to snap the GW bindings off & look closely- the overhang toe & heal. I’ve also had issues with multiple GW boots all having different contact points- a first world problem but if you have multiple boots and a quiver, it’s a problem.
Additionally, all the GW boots are now (mostly) focused on being lighter, & lack a solid sole under the foot.
Now I am a firm believer that you only have so many turns in your legs and that if you’re wasting energy walking to the bathroom or the parking lot, you’re putting yourself at a greater injury and fatigue risk.
Yup. Didn't catch fire on the manufacturers end.
I've yet to have a customer say, "I really need GW boots." I have had customers say, " I need a walk mode boot." For the latter, GW makes sense.
That’s a 168cm FIS SL w WCR plate & lifters
View attachment 94420
Probably most customers don't know about about GW.
for parallel slalom??
I have no big dog other than my opinion in this fight, but the idea that the AT 14 is going to come apart seems far fetched. Are you really that big, strong, and good a skier generating WC level forces even while coaching? Does it offer the connection to the ski that a FF RD 16x does? No. Not even the regular FF 16 does. And if one is optimising the connection, the boot is an essential part of the equation. Even a Head vibram sole degrades the accuracy of the connection compared to a straight, flat, simple, solid lifter, but you know this. Maybe I'm a caveman, but this all seems very first world problemy until one actually needs the additional range of walking motion of a walk mode cuff more than they need lateral accuracy in their boots. Sure! Add GW to that, no issue.
I guess I don't get the race ski/GW interface.It seems you're really asking for a soft suspension and a bench seat for a 911 Turbo. It's also highly likely I'm seeing this from the vantage point of my own use narrative. FWIW, I ski Attack 13's, 16's, FF 16's, and FF RD 16x's. The binding i least need because of vibram soles are the FF RD 16x's. I did wear out a set of Attack 13 heels, but I've never thought I was about to 'snap off' any of the four bindings mention above. I certainly and greatly prefer the FF's for anything 85 and under because I expect narrower skis to have a connection that optimizes performance and accuracy that narrower skis offer on hard snow. The chosen compromise (for me, your mileage varies obviously) is a vibram sole on a Raptor 140. The B3's get a solid lifter. All that said, both Raptors suck for walking. if I were hanging out on a race hill coaching and standing in one or three places all day, I'd get a comfy, warm walk mode boot or just wear my telemark boots... with crampons if needed. But anyhow...
Soles are easy to swap in and out. I am doing it now. I have the K2 Recon Pro 140 and I am running Gripwalk on them but when I want to ski the Fischer RC4 CT, I will swap the lugs to the 5355 DIN soles.Been following this thread closely....I have an opportunity to pick up a pair Dalbello Lupo Factory boots cheap, was thinking of adding them to quiver, primarily for coaching. Quick background, finally got out of Dobermann WC 130 boots last year and switched to a Nordica GPX130 with Zipfit liners. Intent was to have that as my primary boot for skiing/coaching, and have been pretty happy with the set up.
However, having a walk mode lighter boot for long days on the hill, and maybe some touring in future, is appealing.
Sounds like I would have to switch soles on Lupo to work on my current bindings (mostly Marker Xcell Race).
Any thoughts/comments?
Be aware, you only get so many sole swaps before Dalbello says they're no longer liable for any failures.Been following this thread closely....I have an opportunity to pick up a pair Dalbello Lupo Factory boots cheap, was thinking of adding them to quiver, primarily for coaching. Quick background, finally got out of Dobermann WC 130 boots last year and switched to a Nordica GPX130 with Zipfit liners. Intent was to have that as my primary boot for skiing/coaching, and have been pretty happy with the set up.
However, having a walk mode lighter boot for long days on the hill, and maybe some touring in future, is appealing.
Sounds like I would have to switch soles on Lupo to work on my current bindings (mostly Marker Xcell Race).
Any thoughts/comments?