Just got Skiboards, need boots, Kneissl?

[Jake]

Hi everyone,
I just received some Canon M7's from my GF for christmas. She rules. She got them from here with the Canon bindings on. I'm not sure what boots to get. I haven't put on a ski boot in 10 years. I'm interested in the Kneissl boots because I have heard they are more comfortable. Does anyone have any opinion on these, and do they have any competitors I should check out?

Thanks,
-Jake

[sticks]

MY wife has the Kneissl Rail Soft boots. Got them thru www.Sportmart.ca . It's a canadian company that runs specials all the time. They were cheap as hell. Like 120 (canadian dollars). I don't know about competitors now...but the Line Transfer boot is what I'm using and it's definitely awesome. I wouldn't have bought them, but Line put them on clearance last year for $125...so I had to. But for years previous to this, I've used nothing but a cheapy set of rental-quality shit-boxes for boots. The thing to keep in mind is comfort first. Boots are where it starts. If your feet hurt (or frozen) it doesn't matter what kind of boards you ride....

So whatever you get, don't spend too much and don't sacrifice comfort for a name. I seriously recommend being able to try out whatver potential boots youi are going to buy before you buy them. Boot makers aren't nearly the same when it comes to sizing the shells and interiors. I can pretty much gah-ruhn-tee you that if you buy online...you wont be satisfied with the fit. Most people (including myself) had to send the original order back to get the right size...even though I originally ordered what I thought would initially fit.

Good luck and sorry for the extreme length.

-Sticks

[Greco]

I agree with sticks completely. Comfort is #1.

BTW, I have/use the Kneissl Rail boots and I don't like them.. They hurt my feet and are tight in some areas and loose in others because there is only one strap that's supposed to do all the tightening.

-G

[McShane]

I ride Kneissl Rails and i love 'em.

Greco- there's a simple way to fix it! (when i just got them i thought the same what you say now and these were not the 120 canadians, more like 130-or-so british pounds, which in fact was a great deel through back door.) what i do with the lace of the inner boot, i put two (the number depends on your preferences :D ) fingers under the lace on the feet as i bind it. and it feels fine and kind of doesnt "come back" as i ride. the bootleg is fixed tight with straps as tight as you need to have decent coordination/maneuverability
yep, sticks is right, comfort first and i find it in rails - great relief after steppin out of at least 10 years in hard shells...

Jake! the greatest advantage of Rails over regular ski boots is their weight - about half of it. about comfort.. as discussed above, one has to adjust it and to it, they are defenitely softer and more "flexible" than hard shell boots. competitors? i guess it was salomon who was introducing soft boots a couple of years ago (and there was i guess another of the major producers to do it), but as far as i understood from reviews (never had a chance to try 'em out), they are in fact not soft - they still feature plastic all around wrap...

[McShane]

one mor thing - about getting the right size.
what i do, i usually try the product at local store to find the right size. if they don't hold the exact product, at least find the same make - the sizes do not wary under one brand

[Greco]

McShane,

What do you mean by this:

i put two (the number depends on your preferences :D ) fingers under the lace on the feet as i bind it. and it feels fine and kind of doesnt "come back" as i ride.

I'm not understanding what you mean.

Thanks,

G












Originally posted by McShane
I ride Kneissl Rails and i love 'em.

Greco- there's a simple way to fix it! (when i just got them i thought the same what you say now and these were not the 120 canadians, more like 130-or-so british pounds, which in fact was a great deel through back door.) what i do with the lace of the inner boot, i put two (the number depends on your preferences :D ) fingers under the lace on the feet as i bind it. and it feels fine and kind of doesnt "come back" as i ride. the bootleg is fixed tight with straps as tight as you need to have decent coordination/maneuverability
yep, sticks is right, comfort first and i find it in rails - great relief after steppin out of at least 10 years in hard shells...

Jake! the greatest advantage of Rails over regular ski boots is their weight - about half of it. about comfort.. as discussed above, one has to adjust it and to it, they are defenitely softer and more "flexible" than hard shell boots. competitors? i guess it was salomon who was introducing soft boots a couple of years ago (and there was i guess another of the major producers to do it), but as far as i understood from reviews (never had a chance to try 'em out), they are in fact not soft - they still feature plastic all around wrap...

[rgm]

McShane,

I agree with Greco. The Kneissl Rail boots are just not comfortable at all for me. I have the right size lengthwise but it is extremely tight below my shins for some reason no matter what I do! If you have some advice for making an adjustment please let me know. Otherwise, I'll be selling these on eBay! Thanks.

[sticks]

did you adjust the one buckle out? The kniessl has an opening for one cm out. My wife uses the rails and had to open the top out one. Hers were brand new and she wasn't really happy at first but since we've been riding a little more, they are breaking in some and she doesn't seem so upset with them. Although, her big comment about them is the top padding is too bulky and could be displaced. But it is a really "warm" boot.

-Sticks

[zenderfall]

I have a total of four boots, and Kneissl rails are one of them, the least liked.
The other three are Saloman Optima's (old) Saloman Performa 6.0 (awesome) and Nordica BZX's (low-line)

While they're great for landing, and convenient, because they're actually two boots in one (the liner has somewhat treads so you can walk around in them) they're not stiff enough for control. There's a lot of play on the top tongue plus the liners shift around a bit. I got the Rails the same place most people got them, from Sportmart.ca, the place in Canada, and they arrived two days later. What amazing service!

My favorite boot is the Saloman Performa 6.0, a lightweight, and extremely comfortable boot. Got them from Sportmart at $168.00. Basically, after using the rails and the other 2 boots, I went into the store with the intention of finding the MOST COMFORTABLE boot, and it took about an hour before I found it.

My take? Try out as many as you can find, and get the one that feels *just right* to you. No exceptions.

[McShane]

Greco!
(i'm sorry, english is not my native language, i tried to rephrase the sentence for several times :D) the bottomline is - i find kneissl's adjustment possibilities perfect to get the best fit. the inner boot lace can be let looser or tightened were it is needed and it does not lose its fix.
my claim is, if the boots are too tight at some spots (feet or ankles), then its the problem of the inner boot, which is really flexible and adjustable by trial and error ;)
opposing to zenderfall, i say that they ARE stiff enough for control (the pressure on boots from skiboards is not as high as from long skis, for which hard-shell boots is a must). but of course, it all depends on personal comfort and perceptions.

[JapSpec]

If you check out
www.sportmart.ca
They have Kneissel Rails for sale right now at an incredible low Price of $99 CDN
that'll be about $74-$78 US

hella cheap
when I checked out the sotres though they didn't have my Size 11's =(

and damn My calves are soo damn huge that most boots don't fit me =(

[DSM-IV]

I've got Salomon Verse and they are great and easy to put on or of, quite flexible too, it's like they're 3/4 hardboot and 1/4 softboot (with laces)
info and picture here (http://www.getboards.com/snow/boots/salomon/2002_softboot.html)

ps
sorry for the getboards.com stuff but I agree with the review they've put there

[griswald]

Hey DSM, are you in the field of psychiatry/psychology? Just wondering about your name.

[DSM-IV]

hehehe yeah I'm a 2nd year psychology student at Leiden University, hence the name :)
you're the first one ever who recognizes the name

[Russ]

wouldnt recomend buying from getboards.com i tried mailing them on their well beat any price claim 3 times and they ignored every 1 of em, that sort of customer respect dont speak good.

[865rolla]

one thing i've learned over the years from every sport i've participated in (majorly in rolling (rollerblading), minorly in skateboarding & bmx, and average in wakeboarding)...

is that every person has a different opinion about every product. The only thing you can really ask and be sure about is "How durable is this product" and "how light is this product". There's typically about as many people that hate a certain model as the same amount love them. Different people are used to different things (stiffness, tightness, etc.). Some people blow things out of porportion, and other people tell it how it is. Overall, don't trust anyone till you try the product. Everyone has different shaped feet, so especially don't trust the comfort of liners... unless they're just thin pieces of crap of course...

If they're too tight or too small, just get a bigger size & it should be fine, right?