Thoughts on the Fischer Vacuum Boots?

[alexz]

Fischer boots? Your "go to" will be California Ski Co on Berkely, @Greg Whitehouse ...I have had early Fischers as have a few other members like @KingGrump and @alexz but every evolution of the boot has gotten better.

Sorry, I have never had Fisher boots . I use Lange, Head and K2.

 

[Philpug]

Sorry, I have never had Fisher boots . I use Lange, Head and K2.

My bad, I meant @Alexzn

 

[Monique]

Hmmm---Mortons neuroma.

The usual fix is to incorporate a "metatarsal pad" into the footbed, in order to cascade the med heads apart (spread them out)

inside the boot and stop impinging the nerve. There is usually enough room inside a boot to do this. If your boot fitter can;t do it, look

for a fitter with Cped tacked on to his name

mike

Yeah, been there done that. That's always the first line. But I'll double check with my fitter.

 

[TPJ]

I have been various versions of the Fischer RC4 Vacuum 130 since the boot came out. I have had issues with cold feet and the liners suck. To be fair I have had cold feet in every boot I've ever owned, but the Fischers seem colder than the others. I should also mention that over the three Fischer boots that I have had the liners have gotten much better. I am however a huge fan of the Intuition power wrap and will use no other liner in any of my boots including my Telemark and AT boots. I have cracked two out of the three boots that I have had. Always a small crack over the insole. I have had stop holes drilled and the cracks didn't propagate or influence the performance of the boot in any way that I could detect. It is also worth noting that my shop and Fischer replaced the cracked boots under warranty with no questions or hassle. The last time I even got to keep the old boots with the minor crack so now I have a really nice pair of back up boots to travel with because I keep my primary pair in the locker room at work. I really love the way these boots ski! I have found that the vacuum fitting process has improved each time I have done it over the years and I really don't need much more than very minor tweaks after the initial fitting. It is worth noting that I ski over 100 days/season in these boots and do the majority of my teaching off piste on black/double black trails. I am hard on the boots, most people don't crack them under average recreational skiing. As I said before, I have always had a problem with cold feet. I don't see that as Fischers problem. I use the Intuition liner and Hotronics which helps a lot. I start each day with a clean dry ski sock and boots that have been in a warm locker room on a boot dryer. It also helps that my fit is so dialed in that I don't buckle the boots very tightly and some times ski with them not buckled, so my blood flow in my foot is not shut down. I ski on some really cold days in WY. I have skied all day at -20f many times over my career as a ski instructor and patroller and it can be hard to not be cold under those conditions. I am actually very good at staying warm. I would say that the 130 flex is, in my opinion, a soft 130. The Intuition liner stiffens it up a bit and I am happy with the stiffness of the boot both for/aft and laterally. I find the flex pattern to be fairly progressive out of the box and I amplify that by using a World Cup Booster Strap in place of the crappy stock strap. To be clear, I think all boots come with a crappy stock strap and I put Boosters, Hotronics, Intuition Liners, and custom footbeds in all of my boots right out of the box.

I'm 5'9", 175 lbs, and wear a 26.5.

 

[JohnnyG]

For those with Intuitions in their Vacuum's, how did you heat and mold the intuitions? Did you leave them in the shells while the shells heated? I just got my vac fit done last night, and have had cold feet prior to the fitting, so I don't know if it'll be warmer after the vacuum fit.

 

[TPJ]

We mold the shell first with the stock liner, then put the Intuition liner in it and mold that to the shell.

 

[Monique]

For those with Intuitions in their Vacuum's, how did you heat and mold the intuitions? Did you leave them in the shells while the shells heated? I just got my vac fit done last night, and have had cold feet prior to the fitting, so I don't know if it'll be warmer after the vacuum fit.

I'm trying to remember. We actually went through the process twice - I got my old Intuitions molded for the Fischers, then a month or so later we realized there was a hole in the toe (I'd had it for two prior sets of boots), so then molded a new pair of Intuitions.

I'm sure we didn't mold the plastic a second time. So it must have been the usual - heat the Intuitions, shove intuitions into shell, shove feet into intuitions.

 

[JohnnyG]

We mold the shell first with the stock liner, then put the Intuition liner in it and mold that to the shell.

Would the heat of the liner heat the shell enough to cause any distortion?

 

[TPJ]

Would the heat of the liner heat the shell enough to cause any distortion?

No.

 

[DanoT]

I have Head Advant Edge 125 with Form Fit. The entire boot, shell and liner but not custom footbed is put in an oven for 12 minutes, footbed then inserted and boot worn for 15mins. I was told this process tends to increase the room in the boot if they are a real tight fit out of the box. This is what I was looking for and now I have had the best new boot break-in experience ever. After about 20 days, no tweaks needed, still wearing ultra thin socks so not much liner compaction yet.

 

[KTN]

Hey folks...new to the forum and looking for help.

My good ski bud has an ungodly wide "club foot"! He still gets little toe pain despite his TEN.2 HVL tecnicas that were fitted at Sorefoot.
I was thinking that he might be better off in something like the Fischer Vac Hybrid 120+ full fit given the superwide last.
The other problem is that we are located in the northeast...might be hard to find a qualified fitter slopeside for the Vacs?

What do the pro boot fitters think?

Thanks, Kevin

 

[KingGrump]

The other problem is that we are located in the northeast...might be hard to find a qualified fitter slopeside for the Vacs?

Gary Longley at Startingate in Bondville, VT. (Stratton)

They no longer stock Fischer but they can order them for you. They still have the two section Fischer Vac machine. They were one of the original dealers back in the 2011/2012 season.

 

[Uncle-A]

Hey folks...new to the forum and looking for help.

My good ski bud has an ungodly wide "club foot"! He still gets little toe pain despite his TEN.2 HVL tecnicas that were fitted at Sorefoot.
I was thinking that he might be better off in something like the Fischer Vac Hybrid 120+ full fit given the superwide last.
The other problem is that we are located in the northeast...might be hard to find a qualified fitter slopeside for the Vacs?

What do the pro boot fitters think?

Thanks, Kevin

I ski in the 10.2 HVL and IMHO I do not think the Fisher is as wide. Your friend needs to have his 10.2 HVL punched out to get rid of the toe pain.

 

[KingGrump]

A heatmolded boot can be "widened" quite a bit during the heat molding process.

 

[Freddo Bumps]

I’m looking at Salomon X Max and the Fischer Curv Vac. I’m attracted to the moldability of the Fischers (my ice skates are ultra moldable and it was a game changer). However, the Salomons fit incredibly well out of the box (best heel lock I’ve experienced and no hot spots) while the Fischers have some slop in a few areas. Is there reason to believe:

1. The Fischers can get to the level of fit I’m experiencing with the Salomons?
2. The Salomons will pack-out faster than the molded Fischers?

Also, am I right in understanding that Salomon’s molding process is better at adding space than removing it?

FYI, I was only able to try on X Max 100, older Fischer 110, and 2018 Curv 130. To my 160lb, 5’11” body, there wasn’t a ton of difference flexing them.

I’m going for a fitting soon, but I’d appreciate some more education. Thanis a lot.

 

[skibob]

I’m looking at Salomon X Max and the Fischer Curv Vac. I’m attracted to the moldability of the Fischers (my ice skates are ultra moldable and it was a game changer). However, the Salomons fit incredibly well out of the box (best heel lock I’ve experienced and no hot spots) while the Fischers have some slop in a few areas. Is there reason to believe:

1. The Fischers can get to the level of fit I’m experiencing with the Salomons?
2. The Salomons will pack-out faster than the molded Fischers?

Also, am I right in understanding that Salomon’s molding process is better at adding space than removing it?

FYI, I was only able to try on X Max 100, older Fischer 110, and 2018 Curv 130. To my 160lb, 5’11” body, there wasn’t a ton of difference flexing them.

I’m going for a fitting soon, but I’d appreciate some more education. Thanis a lot.

I don't think any of them, regardless of marketing representations, are good at "shrinking". I think the Fischers are generally better quality than the Salomons, and I had opposite experience of you regarding initial fit and hot spots.

That said, I would say 100% go with the better initial fit. If that is the Salomons, go for it.

 

[Monique]

I’m looking at Salomon X Max and the Fischer Curv Vac. I’m attracted to the moldability of the Fischers (my ice skates are ultra moldable and it was a game changer). However, the Salomons fit incredibly well out of the box (best heel lock I’ve experienced and no hot spots) while the Fischers have some slop in a few areas. Is there reason to believe:

1. The Fischers can get to the level of fit I’m experiencing with the Salomons?
2. The Salomons will pack-out faster than the molded Fischers?

Also, am I right in understanding that Salomon’s molding process is better at adding space than removing it?

FYI, I was only able to try on X Max 100, older Fischer 110, and 2018 Curv 130. To my 160lb, 5’11” body, there wasn’t a ton of difference flexing them.

I’m going for a fitting soon, but I’d appreciate some more education. Thanis a lot.

Go with the fit.

I have Fischer moldable downhill boots that fit like a glove. They are wonderful. The molding process was DEFINITELY a game changer - but it was built on the solid foundation of a boot that already fit better than any other boot I'd tried. And that was the feedback my fitter provided - he wanted to know which boot fit best out of the box, regardless of whether it could be heat molded.

So then I ordered Fischer AT boots because they were also moldable (and I couldn't try them on locally), so surely they would work, right? Wrong. There's only so far you can stretch the plastic, and the fitter was concerned about affecting the tech interface if he kept stretching it.

 

[Freddo Bumps]

Thanks a lot, @skibob and @Monique. Does my finding from an initial try-on, that the X Max 100 and Curv 130 didn’t feel terribly different in forward flexion, make any sense to you? I’m hoping I can find somewhere with several options, but that’s a tall order this time of year.

 

[Monique]

Thanks a lot, @skibob and @Monique. Does my finding from an initial try-on, that the X Max 100 and Curv 130 didn’t feel terribly different in forward flexion, make any sense to you? I’m hoping I can find somewhere with several options, but that’s a tall order this time of year.

Sorry - can't speak to that.

 

[RikkiBobbi]

I tried these in 130 and it felt like a 110. Will be trying a 140 soon but don't have high expectations for them.