Warped boot sole?
 

Just got a pair of Alpina SSK skate boots to replace my old and worn Rossi X6. Generally liked the boot but noticed it didn't want to stay close to the binding. I put the boot into the binding without wearing it to see what's what. With the roller ski just sitting there (I wasn't even testing for wheel hang at that point), the heel of the boot stayed up about a quarter of an inch from the binding. This was puzzling because my old pair of Rossis always made perfect contact with the heel plate. Also, I noticed that Alpina's heel was uneven - kind of tapering off towards the back of the boot, so the two back "teeth" of the heel would never touch the binding even under my weight.

So, I have a suspicion that the sole is somehow warped and I'm puzzled by the shape of the heel. It's also weird that both boots are like that, so it's hard to say for sure it's a defect. Anybody seen anything like that?

Thanks!

Warped boot sole?
 

Heel up is not unusual in my experience, though I don't know if it's
supposed to be. No question you should be able to clip in by hand with
a little pressure. These boots don't come from Nordic Skater, do they?

Gene


On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 19:35:56 -0700 (PDT)
wrote:

Just got a pair of Alpina SSK skate boots to replace my old and worn
Rossi X6. Generally liked the boot but noticed it didn't want to stay
close to the binding. I put the boot into the binding without wearing
it to see what's what. With the roller ski just sitting there (I
wasn't even testing for wheel hang at that point), the heel of the
boot stayed up about a quarter of an inch from the binding. This was
puzzling because my old pair of Rossis always made perfect contact
with the heel plate. Also, I noticed that Alpina's heel was uneven -
kind of tapering off towards the back of the boot, so the two back
"teeth" of the heel would never touch the binding even under my
weight.

So, I have a suspicion that the sole is somehow warped and I'm
puzzled by the shape of the heel. It's also weird that both boots are
like that, so it's hard to say for sure it's a defect. Anybody seen
anything like that?

Thanks!

Warped boot sole?
 

No, I got them from Amazon (and they sourced it from some other shop). Already returned that pair. Nordic Skater tends to be very expensive for anything other than roller ski parts. Although maybe their soles are straight :)

Warped boot sole?
 

If it's the same Amazon listing, the boots either came from Alpina U.S.
or backcountry.com (link below). If they came from Alpina, or even if
they didn't, did you give them a call to discuss the matter?
http://alpinasportsus.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Alpina-Sport-S.../dp/B009SGHFDW

Sometimes store owners are, shall we way, very idiosyncratic in their
behavior. Nordic Skater is not one of my first line shopping stops.
That's why I wanted to check.

Gene

On Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:24:41 -0700 (PDT)
wrote:

No, I got them from Amazon (and they sourced it from some other
shop). Already returned that pair. Nordic Skater tends to be very
expensive for anything other than roller ski parts. Although maybe
their soles are straight :)

Warped boot sole?
 

Actually, I did call Alpina to find out if the sole was convex by design. They called me back after pulling a couple of pairs and said theirs were straight. So I got rid of that pair, which is a bummer because I've gone through two Rossis (X8 and X10 - both had a funny fit where the toe hurts but the heel is loose), an Alpina RSK (which is supposedly a notch up from SSK but felt very soft in comparison) and another pair of SSKs which, though the same size, was too small even on my smaller foot. I'm kind of sick of the whole thing but afraid that my old boots may give out soon. The zippers are falling apart already.

There's also Alpina SXT which looks a lot like SSK but has a rachet cuff rather than a velcro. However, the only place that sells them doesn't have my size.

Warped boot sole?
 

I'm now missing what the problem is, other than that you need new
boots. Wouldn't Alpina's straight pairs work for you? I'm wondering
if the underlying problem is that you are trying to get third line
boots to meet the demands that the top lines are better fit to handle.
That works with classical rollerskiing, actually even better because of
the cuff support (combi), but it's trickier with skates.

Gene


On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 05:24:26 -0700 (PDT)
wrote:

Actually, I did call Alpina to find out if the sole was convex by
design. They called me back after pulling a couple of pairs and said
theirs were straight. So I got rid of that pair, which is a bummer
because I've gone through two Rossis (X8 and X10 - both had a funny
fit where the toe hurts but the heel is loose), an Alpina RSK (which
is supposedly a notch up from SSK but felt very soft in comparison)
and another pair of SSKs which, though the same size, was too small
even on my smaller foot. I'm kind of sick of the whole thing but
afraid that my old boots may give out soon. The zippers are falling
apart already.

There's also Alpina SXT which looks a lot like SSK but has a rachet
cuff rather than a velcro. However, the only place that sells them
doesn't have my size.