Who killed the rear-entry boot?

I left the ski boot business when a convenient footwear, called the rear-entry boot made its unceremonious exit, “helped” by a cadre of male ski shop employees (most of them of dubious ski abilities) that had decided that it was time to put that particular boot design on the chopping block, because it was too “girly”, not macho enough, and looked like a beginner product.

Yet, ever since Hanson invented the rear-entry, Salomon had worked relentlessly at perfecting the skiability of its rear-entry boots as evidenced by its latest and last SX 92 model, complete with good rear support, adjustable flex and decent instep adjustment. In these days (early 90s)

I was selling a rear-entry boot too, called the Koflach Intec, a good concept on paper, but poorly tested, terribly designed and put together by the Austrian company that would be taken over by Atomic.

The four-buckle made a huge comeback, even though three-piece shells were a better alternative. By 1995, the rear-entry boot was deceased and buried by the retail trade, that in the process denied a major convenience feature to a huge market skiers, many of whom dropped out from the sport as a result at a huge cost to the ski industry.

Would it ever resurrect? (To be continued...)