Re-introducing convenient ski boots (continued)

Getting into and out of a four or three buckle front-entry ski boot is never pleasurable.

Whether you’re a guy or a gal, an individual on the heavy side, an expert or a ranked beginner, entering and exiting a four-buckle boot is work, especially on a very cold day.

This is something Georges Salomon had discovered back in the late seventies when he launch Salomon’s ski boot project, and had built his success upon offering all-out convenience to his clientele.

Salomon’s SX 92 was getting there too in terms of performance, and it’s obvious that had the industry been more patient, imaginative and self-confident, it could have brought the rear-entry design up to par with today’s best racing four-buckle boots.

Well, after a 25 year hiatus, the rear-entry design is rearing its head again at both Atomic and Nordica.

The Atomic Savor design, is clearly an “unsavory” waste of time, as it resurrect the cheapest DalBello or Hierling made in the 1990s. This is very strange, because at the very least, Atomic should have “copied” the excellent SX 80. This, if anything, speaks volume about the lack of good communication between Atomic and Salomon under the Amer flag.

Nordica, on the other hand, which came a strong second after Salomon back in the rear-entry product days, might have a product with potential in its HF (Hand Free) model. We’ll see if today’s brick-and-mortar ski shop employees get smarter this time. If they still frown at the product, this will be the perfect ski boot for their competitors, the internet ski merchants!