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#1
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Fischer Centrix Classic Boot - On-Snow Review
I had used my new Centrix classic ski boots a couple of time roller
skiing. I mostly double poled so it wasn't the greatest test. But I did appreciate the support these boots had. So I looked forward to getting them on snow and try striding in them. I got a chance to try them on snow this weekend at Hatcher Pass. I quickly found that these boots need some break-in time. This should not be taken at as criticism of the boots - my old Salomon Skate 9's, that eventually fit like slippers, had some break-in time with them too. I talked to other skiers that had been on snow during the week and had been using Centrix boots. They said the same thing ... a few blisters at first, but the boots started feeling good after a few uses. My take on this is that if you want better support in a boot ... unfortunately you have to suffer a bit through a break-in period. So make sure you bring your old boots along when you first go skiing with these. In case you have the hot heels situation - the old boots can save the day until the Centrixes break-in. One think I like about the Centrixes is the fact that you can put them on like a shoe. They are easy to get on and off. I say this after suffering entries and exits with the Salomon Carbon classic boots. What a pain-in-the ass design the Carbons are for getting on and off. You have to do a neoprene cuff Houdini act to contort in and out of them. Dumb. One thing to note with the Centrixes is that the buyer should try and make sure they are going to fit right, before they walk out of the store. With traditional ski boots - fit can be tweaked with orthodics and various insole and heel inserts. Most all of these foot support products are designed to be used with flat-bed foot surfaces. The Centrix has a rounded foot bet. So inserts may, or may not, work as expected in these boots. I tried the inserts that I like to use (Powerbed insole with a Tempur-pedic insole on top) in the Centrix. The Centrix footbed is not that rounded ... so it seems like such a modification will work. But it's not quite the same as the old style foot beds. Another issue: the use of neoprene in the boot. Now this is an issue that is not Fischer specific. I think Rossi started using neoprene, then Salomon, now Fischer. What's the problem with neoprene? it's a fabric that does not make sense for winter use. Neoprene is what they make wet suits out of. They call them "wet suits" because neoprene makes one wet inside. Do you want to have wet feet inside minimally insulated boots in the winter? Combine neoprene with other non-breathable fabrics on a boot - and you have a problem. The fact that neoprene is not a good winter fabric is nothing new. I remember getting ready to climb Mt. McKinly and asking a veteran climber what the deal was with neoprene socks. He, wisely, said that neoprene socks are dangerous. They keep your feet warm, though wet, while you are moving - but you have to get them off fast when you stop or your feet will rapidly cool and freeze. The advice above was given to me in 1984. Now 20 years later our new generations of boot designers seem to have to relearn this lesson - at the expense of skiers' cold feet. Non-breathing boots make sense for World Cup racers - where they race in mostly moderate Central Europe of Scandinavian temps. And they likely take their boots off soon after they race. But for real world North American skiing where temps can stay frigid for long periods of time in places like New England, Minnesota, Alaska and Canada - wearing boots that are guaranteed to give you wet feet is not good. It's especially not good if you have to stand around after exercising - like if your are a coach or you want to go back out and cheer on your spouse or teammates. Or if you are a citizen racer that's going to take 4 hours to complete the Birkie in cold weather. The Salomon Classic 9s and Skate 9s still have the breathability to make them good cold weather boots. I wish boot manufacturers would recognize this and make better boots for skiing in North America. I should say ... that this review is coming from an athlete that has not been sponsored by anyone in the last 25 years or so. I'm a consumer that just wants a good product at a good price. Just like you. My bottom line on the Fischer Centrix Classic Boot: It's a keeper .... I just need to give them more love so they start giving more love to my heels. BTW - skiing at Hatcher Pass was sunny, 23 F, extra blue/ VR40 on packed powder. Oh yeah! = |
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#2
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I taped up my heels with Moleskin and put a few more on-snow hours on
my Centrix classics. Seems like they are breaking in. I used to wear Perterson power-bed instoles in my Salomon classic boots. I needed these for arch support. So far I don't need them in the Centrixes. Only other thing I found so far - the zipper on top can creep open. The zipper does not have a locking zipper pull. Maybe this is good because it could freeze. But because of the position of the zipper (right at the front of your leg where ankle flex is greatest) it's always fighting downward cuff flex and can tend to work loose. Especially when you get the boots wet in new powder - the wet neoprene seems to freeze and side to side pull on the zipper is more, and the zipper starts sliding down a bit. I noticed this as I was skiing in 10 inches of powder for a bit the other day ... when I skied out onto the track a zipper had come open and my boot was full of snow. I realize that these boots were designed for World Cup racers - who likely rarely ski off of a perfectly groomed trail. But geez. I'm thinking of rubbing soft wax (like CH10) on the zippers, and "gumming them up", to see if that will reduce the zipper creep. I'm wondering if others have found (will find) this problem ... or is this just the zippers on my boots? Or the fit of my boots? / my technique? / my leg shape? If I were designing these boots - I would have put a narrow nylon cover that velcroes down over a zipper with a locking pull. The locking pull would keep the neoprene cuff from accidentally zipping open. And the cover would keep snow off the zipper and pull so it wouldn't freeze. The other design option would have been to make cuff higher. This would have made the stress on the end of the zipper only side-to-side. And there would be no leg movement pushing the zipper down the boot like there is now. For what it's worth ... TK |
#3
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Tim Kelley wrote: I taped up my heels with Moleskin and put a few more on-snow hours on my Centrix classics. Seems like they are breaking in. I used to wear Perterson power-bed instoles in my Salomon classic boots. I needed these for arch support. So far I don't need them in the Centrixes. TK, How about a little info on your feet. You mention arch support. Wide? Narrow? Mountains for instep? Just curious, Jay Wenner (not to be confused with Jay Tegeder, Jey Carlson, Barb Wenner, or Bjorn Dahlie) |
#4
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Bjorn A. Payne Diaz wrote:
Tim Kelley wrote: I taped up my heels with Moleskin and put a few more on-snow hours on my Centrix classics. Seems like they are breaking in. I used to wear Perterson power-bed instoles in my Salomon classic boots. I needed these for arch support. So far I don't need them in the Centrixes. TK, How about a little info on your feet. You mention arch support. Wide? Narrow? Mountains for instep? Just curious, Jay Wenner (not to be confused with Jay Tegeder, Jey Carlson, Barb Wenner, or Bjorn Dahlie) OK, I've can't comment on the classic variety, but I've got about 40 hours in the skate boot. Caveat: I love my carbon classics. They fit like a bedroom slipper, although not as warm. If Salomon threatens to change the last, I'll go buy another pair and keep them on the shelf. Overall fit for the Centrix skates is pretty OK. I'm still messing around with factory and Superfeet insoles to get them a little tighter in spots, but my original thoughts still stand - pretty dang good. Skiing this weekend, I felt like I had pretty good (actually very good) control and felt like I was getting better ankle flexion than with my Xiums. Downhill was cake. The skis as well as could be hoped, and even with pretty sloppy snow I never felt any wierd tendencies to wander. No tendency to roll at the ankle. The bad: The laces suck. Trying to get the right amount of tension on the laces isn't pretty. Tying knots in them is even less so. I guess the Salomon is a love or hate thing, but I miss the one pull kevlar lace. Even the Rossi system runs rings around tying them. Fischer - are you listening??? Marsh Jones |
#5
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For what it's worth, I tried on a pair of Fischer skate boots the other day
and they had by far the highest arch of any boot I've ever tried. For me it was unusable (unless I could do something about the insole). I wasn't in the market, but was kind of relieved in that I felt they were not an option for me regardless of whether they're a better design or not. But my foot is fairly flat. I know two people with Fischers and both are very happy with them - after a little getting used to they say. I guess the heel is different - higher than other boots? Cam |
#6
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-- "Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" wrote in message ups.com... Jay Wenner (not to be confused with Jay Tegeder, Jey Carlson, Barb Wenner, or Bjorn Dahlie) Nice user name. Self assessment or wife/mother label.... LOL ;-) Jeff Clausen Whitefish, MT To reply you need to dig the sliver out. |
#7
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Marsh Jones wrote: Overall fit for the Centrix skates is pretty OK. Marsh, what type of feet do you have? I'm just trying to get a feel for what type of feet fit in the boots. It seems people with wide feet hate the Salomon Carbons but think the old bumble bees are just bees knees. It seems like people with high arches would like the Fischers, but Tegeder has flat feet and he loves his. So it may be difficult to pigeon-hole the fit. Jay Wenner |
#8
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Bjorn A. Payne Diaz wrote:
Marsh Jones wrote: Overall fit for the Centrix skates is pretty OK. Marsh, what type of feet do you have? I'm just trying to get a feel for what type of feet fit in the boots. It seems people with wide feet hate the Salomon Carbons but think the old bumble bees are just bees knees. It seems like people with high arches would like the Fischers, but Tegeder has flat feet and he loves his. So it may be difficult to pigeon-hole the fit. Jay Wenner I've got PITA feet - finding running shoes is always really fun. Some Adidas that are intended for the Euro market fit great, Nikes don't fit at all... Probably a 'B' heel and a 'D' forefoot. On top of that, I've got a fairly high arch, Morton's toe and mild Plantar Faschitis. My guess is that the Fischers are a much better fit for someone with normal to wider feet, a moderate arch and gee, just sort of average. I am currently playing with a black Superfeet for insoles. Next will be adding a thin full foot shim. I'm still trying to quantify the difference in feel. I think one thing is that my forefoot doesn't feel like it's falling off the sole of the boot when I push - does that make any sense? Marsh |
#9
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Full heel and regular achilles required, since no heel adjustment. Wide
feet best. Walk around the store for 15 minutes or more and trust your instincts. These either fit or don't, unlike the Salomon regular skate which can be stretched. Gene "Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" wrote: Marsh Jones wrote: Overall fit for the Centrix skates is pretty OK. Marsh, what type of feet do you have? I'm just trying to get a feel for what type of feet fit in the boots. It seems people with wide feet hate the Salomon Carbons but think the old bumble bees are just bees knees. It seems like people with high arches would like the Fischers, but Tegeder has flat feet and he loves his. So it may be difficult to pigeon-hole the fit. Jay Wenner |
#10
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Gene Goldenfeld wrote: Full heel and regular achilles required, since no heel adjustment. Wide feet best. Walk around the store for 15 minutes or more and trust your instincts. These either fit or don't, unlike the Salomon regular skate which can be stretched. Gene, While you may be right, I wouldn't count on it. I've been asking around and while it _seems_ like certain foot dimensions are probably best, I'm hearing some conflicting reports such as flat feet vs. high arch, and that people with opposite types of feet like the boots. It's still early since there's no snow. A shoe repair store can stretch the boot, at least in width. I'd be interested to hear if the length can be stretched. So Marsh, what's a PITA foot....something about the ethical treatment of animals? Jay Wenner |
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