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rclange

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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I am interested in anyone who might have a pair of vintage Hanson Exhibition, Avanti, or Riva Soft ski boots for sale (childhood memories)? I am amazed at never seeing an image of a pair outside of a magazine let alone seeing a pair on sale. The earliest model I've seen on eBay is a Citation. Thank you in advance!
 

Philpug

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They do show up on Ebay every so often but the foam and flow usually has desintegrated so much over time. In the meantime, you can immerse yourself in the "all things Hanson" thread or maybe @Denny Hanson himself can answer some questions for you on the boot.
 

Uncle-A

In the words of Paul Simon "You can call me Al"
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The early Hanson boots had a wax fill similar to foam injection and that did break down. It was replaced with the Flo fill bladder that fit between the shell and rubber liners. They did stay with the volume fitting by adjusting how much Flo they put in the bladder. A low volume foot or narrow foot had a lot of Flo in the bladder, the average foot had an medium amount of Flo in the bladder, and a high volume or wide foot would get a smaller amount of Flo in the bladder. The size of the original line was 1 - 4 when they moved to the Citation line the size changed to 1.5 - 4.5 although I don't remember ever seeing/selling a 4.5 only because some shops can't carry every size.
 
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rclange

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Thank you Philpug and Uncle-A for your replies. The foam issue explains why I see much older boots for sale but not Hanson's. People must discard them since they are incomplete. Appreciate it!
 

crgildart

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I really liked my Hansons but had to change over to Nordica Comps because the butterflies for my new Spademan bindings wouldn't fit well on the weird high heel ramp angle cut out design of the Hanson boot soles.
 

Uncle-A

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Thank you Philpug and Uncle-A for your replies. The foam issue explains why I see much older boots for sale but not Hanson's. People must discard them since they are incomplete. Appreciate it!
The rubber liners also fell apart, probably from the silicon spray you had to use just to get your foot in the boot. I remember having to order new liners for some customers. That is why you might not find many Hanson's still around and if you do find any be aware that the liners are going to be fragile.
 
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rclange

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Thanks again A for the add'l insight. And thanks to all who recommended the All Things Hanson thread. I used to have a pair of red Exhibitions when I was in high school. My dad bought a one of a kind from a ski store called Any Mountain. They were having one of their parking lot tent sales. The boots were probably a half size too small but I wanted them anyway because they were the coolest looking ski boots at the time. I also remember my dad getting mad at me a year or two later when I had to switch to a different pair of boots. :) I still think the Avanti and Exhibition models are two of the most beautifully designed models with their clean lines, colors, and glossy finish. Thanks again.
 

vindibona1

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Wow... A blast from the past. I hadn't thought about Hanson boots in 3+ decades. I'd completely forgotten about them until reading this thread.
 

Uncle-A

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Weren’t Hansen boots issued to Olin Mark v owners ?
Not really, it just seemed that way. The orange ones with the Olin Mark IV were very popular.
 

skipress

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These are on ebay right now:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-...330569?hash=item365ceded09:g:L6IAAOSw~XFeNLT3
s-l1600.jpg

I ve a feeling this must be the one of the last ever US models
 

skipress

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Update, just remembered, Magnums, described as a side entry boot
 

Bad Bob

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Wow... A blast from the past. I hadn't thought about Hanson boots in 3+ decades. I'd completely forgotten about them until reading this thread.

I have tried to forget them for at least that long.

Skied the softs one winter in Fairbanks (they did not stay soft in Fairbanks by the way). Skied the Exhibitions, the Darth Vadar boots, for about 10 days then turned them into planters; enough of a bad thing.
 

skipress

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Trying to remember what year these were on the market? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
There's an ad for them in Skiing Mag Dec 1980 [google Hanson magnum ski boots and it's about 4th hit].

It looks to me as if this was actually developed for cost saving reasons. It appears to be a single molding - with plug at the hinge and rear door to prevent the plastic tearing.

No idea how it skied but seems quite a smart bit of design, the hinge seems in a more biomechanically sound place than lots of the other models.

By accident I found this presentation if anyone is curious about Hanson's financials in 1987....

 
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rclange

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