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How Terrible are SPK's really?... boot insight please

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thefilmerguy
Posts: 2847 - Karma: 55
Ok to start off:

Disclaimer: i know how to fit boots and what is a proper fit. i work in a shop. for the sake of the thread, do not just tell me to go get fitted properly.

-17 years old.
-Level 3 skier
-5'10"
-155ish pounds
-316mm bootsole.
-Ski: Sir Francis Bacons, Athems
-Terrain: BC jibbing/pow/park when there is no pow/charging? basically i jib everything.  i dont ski park as much as most kids do, but when im not skiing park i am jumping, spinning off of everything. bc booters, cornices, glades, etc. i ski Colorado and Utah location wise.
-I will also be heli skiing in march, so i need a quality pair of boots to be able to rely on.

I have a boot problem (dont we all). very few boots tend to fit my foot. in the past i have worn Salomon Foils, which fit alright.  The padding was too little for me, and the flex was far too soft. i crushed the boot everytime i skied hard on it.

Two boots that currently fit well are the SPK Pros, and the Rossi Bandit 14's (blue and white from last year i believe) and i am curious as to whether the SPK's will be as terrible outside the park as i think.  I am terrified of the "upright stance" that the SPK's utilize, thus hindering my purchase of boots.  Otherwise, they fit amazing.  Very padded throughout, which i love.  Good 95 flex. the foils were 80, which was too soft. Basically, the SPK Pro would be perfect if they didnt have that goddamned upright stance.

Now the other boot, Bandit 14 is a 100 flex, also ideal. It fits comfortably around my foot. fits the way it should, although it isn't as forgiving in the liner or tongue as the SPK. i have fairly sensitive shins, and just flexing in the Bandit aggravated my shins a bit, hence my problem.  If the Bandits were more padded and didn't hurt my shins, i would drop the 450 in an instant. If the SPK's weren't so upright, i would get those in an instant as well.

One factor to take into consideration is that i can get the SPK pros for about half the price of the Bandits, due to the shop i work at carrying them.  Are they really as terrible for outside the park as i may think? will i regret the purchase? i have never skied them, but i have heard horror stories about them.

Any other insight to boots? i have tried on almost every model in the store, aside from the Dalbello line because i cannot afford them.

thanks,
Pavel
Oct 30 2008 10:50PM
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skisquaw@420
Posts: 1802 - Karma: 13
i used the original spk (which also has a flex of 80) for the last two seasons, and i really didnt ski much park at all last year. i actually really liked the upright stance, but i tend to ski switch alot. i didnt really seem to notice it skiing forward. they were fine for charging, for such a soft boot. that being said, im switching to a ground out agent 130 this year, which is a good compromise between a race lean and a park upright stance. if you can, i suggest trying on an agent 110
Oct 30 2008 11:02PM
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thefilmerguy
Posts: 2847 - Karma: 55
cool man, i'll look into those too.
Oct 30 2008 11:29PM
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SEABURN
Posts: 4859 - Karma: 2,762
did you try the dalbello kypton pro?

mine never hurt my shins and you can customize the forward lean and the flex with different toungs

+ if you drop the extra $$$ you can get the heat moldable id liner.
Oct 30 2008 11:37PM
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thefilmerguy
Posts: 2847 - Karma: 55
i believe i did last year and they were too narrow.  they are also far too much money...
Oct 30 2008 11:42PM
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alaskakid
Posts: 5540 - Karma: 430
possibly the salomon ghost boot?
Oct 30 2008 11:46PM
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SEABURN
Posts: 4859 - Karma: 2,762
I have a pretty narrow foot, but if you look around you can find a deal. i got mine for 475 with the id liner
Oct 30 2008 11:51PM
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thefilmerguy
Posts: 2847 - Karma: 55
i tried them on and they were actually really good.  unfortunately, they are $678 at my shop.
Oct 31 2008 12:17AM
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0123456789
Posts: 9226 - Karma: 148
check out the nordica supercgarger series, i had the bowers last year,115 fesx, such a nice boot, they have em for cheap on backcoi]untry too, they also make softer flexs aswell
Oct 31 2008 12:37AM
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bret
Posts: 2848 - Karma: 839
really, they're not terrible at all. i think after a couple days skiing on the pros you will not be bothered by the upright lean really. they are soo comfortable and the flex is so smooth on them that you won't have any prob just laying your shins on the tongue and guiding the boot in a normal stance. they are legit.



Oct 31 2008 12:42AM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350
I've had the original SPKs with the 80ish flex, for a while now. They are awesome in the park for sure. I really don't notice the upright stance outside of the park at all. However, they suck balls trying to charge with my Hellbents. They are WAYYY too soft. Them being soft, with the heavy Hellbents just sucks. I did it all last year, but it deffinitely made landing/skiing in pow/crud MUCH harder than it needed to be. It was bad enough where this year I am getting some Tecnica Diablo Magmas (115 flex) just to ski with my Hellbents so I can actually use them to their full potential.
Oct 31 2008 1:14AM
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zerospinskier
Posts: 4867 - Karma: 350

O yeah I forgot to finish. I don't think the Pros (last years/brown right?) with the 95 flex are going to be much better. They own in the park, but with some fat heavy skis, they aren't going to make charging easy.

O yeah, and one more thing. With my SPKs on my Hellbents, I would go a whole extra buckle clip tighter just to try and make them flex less, but it was still useless.

Oct 31 2008 1:17AM
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crzyskier311xxx
Posts: 515 - Karma: 12

Do you get shop proform?  Cuz The ghosts and new spk pros are such a good price on em.

Plus this years SPK Pro is much stiffer supposedly than last years

Oct 31 2008 1:22AM
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Trojan~Man
Posts: 1996 - Karma: 1,357
i dunno about the spk's outside the park..i dont own them but i had a clinic with the salomon rep and he was telling us how the boot was suupper!! customized for jibbing. and most park. personnaly i wouldnt take it outta the park but in there man would i be a great boot.
Oct 31 2008 1:38AM
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Horizon
Posts: 368 - Karma: 21
Once I saw that you would be heli skiing in march, I pretty much ruled out the spk being the proper boot for you.  Where exactly will this heli skiing be?  Cause I wouldn't take the spks up for heli skiing haha.  I just wouldn't feel safe or in control with that type of boot for big mtn.  Not impossible, but no way in hell ideal.
Oct 31 2008 3:25AM
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SickStickz
Posts: 396 - Karma: 137

I ski the spk pros.  They are great in the park and leave me with no shin bang which is mainly what I was looking for.  I hate skiing them in big mountain.  Since they are so upright I find myself being put in the back seat, I probably wouldn't take them on a heli trip although I'm sure some of Salomon's team does.  The rossi boots really are not very technical, they are just making some new strides this season.  If you tell me what your width is I can help recommend some boots that may fit better, I've been bootfitting for quite some years.  If you thought the foil was too soft then don't buy the spk...its even softer, you can feel that in the store haha.  And the soft forward flex isn't a bad thing, most boots are being made much softer in the last 5 years, its the lateral stiffness that determines your control in the end and a stiff boot really helps with keeping you on balance, but the stiff boot sucks if you are dropping anything big.  Good luck. 

Oct 31 2008 4:05AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
If it fits, it fits and it's going to work. If you have faith in the guys you work with then you can trust them to tell you it fits properly. Having said that you need a ridiculously shaped foot to fit it properly - it 2 years of selling it I've tried it on one person, literally.

As for the upright stance, that's not a park thing specifically, just to match a modern style of upright stance while skiing.
Oct 31 2008 4:55AM
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MEGAZORD
Posts: 4531 - Karma: -7
Sensitive shins =  boot pussy.
Oct 31 2008 9:15AM
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ski_DC
Posts: 1347 - Karma: 58
i am about your size and have the spks. i think they are the kaos ones, witht the 95 flex. as expected they rock in the park, no shin bang at all. outside the park, they are surprisingly good. being a light guy, i can still charge in them with out much problem. the forward lean, or lack thereof, can be annoying, but you can flex them into a better position, keeping you on your toes better. i got them because i have a wide forefoot but a fairly narrow heel. if given the option and if i had enough money, i would look in to the agent 110s, and the tecnica dragons. i think thats what they are called at least. you should also look in to the atomic hawx 110. i really liked them and they have a sick flex, but the cuff was a little big for me. check the solly falcon 10s and impact 10s also, they are super nice boots. good luck
Oct 31 2008 9:34AM
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Luc.
Posts: 7540 - Karma: 59
if you work in a shop and u carry salomon, why cant u get a prodeal?

tell us what companies your shop carries as well, that will help us try and make a suggesition for a boot that you carry.
Oct 31 2008 9:55AM
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crzyskier311xxx
Posts: 515 - Karma: 12

Ya I work for a store that sells everything and an employee in the scuba department can still prodeal ski/board stuff.

And If you liked the fit of the Ghost boot, its pretty damn cheap on form....

Oct 31 2008 11:02AM
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Luc.
Posts: 7540 - Karma: 59
do u know what the are goin for on form? i am in between those, atomic high rolla 110s, and Rossi SAS fs 110 BC
Oct 31 2008 3:10PM
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thefilmerguy
Posts: 2847 - Karma: 55
wow i wished the shops around here didn't suck dick in the boot department.  i really want to try the new rossi line, but they only boots carried in a huge mile radius are the SAS 100's, which dont really fit.  i yearn to try last years scratch boots or the SAS Sensor 110 BC;s but no one in NM carries them either.
Oct 31 2008 4:11PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
i have never ridden the spks personally, my foot is wayyyyy to narrow hahaha. but i know that JP and Julien were both wearing spks when they did all the BC at the beginning of Yeah Dude. So i imagine theyd hold up ok doing that. but idk
Oct 31 2008 4:13PM
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tSki
Posts: 956 - Karma: 171
charging with helbents would suck balls anyway
Oct 31 2008 4:40PM
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yeahitsdave
Posts: 1315 - Karma: 10
you could pad the tongue of the rossis more, and def add a booster strap, thatll cut ur shin bang a lot
Nov 1 2008 7:41PM
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Cant-Er
Posts: 1314 - Karma: 2,244
im surprised no one has mentioned the Head Mojo XP or the Atomic High Rolla or Nuke.... I work at a shop too and have been fitting boots for some time.  i have skied spk's and yes they are amazing in the park but i definitely wouldnt want to ski those guys if your are a type III skier and are going heli skiing.

the benefits of the mojo xp or the nuke or high rolla from atomic is that they are a full on race plug boot.  which means narrow.  98mm last.  high performance boot.  can and should be ground to fit your specific foot and issues.  there is a reason why racers wear these boots.  they just straight up perform. not to mention the shin bang has been completed eliminated for me in my new mojo xps.  i measure out to an 11 on a brannock and wear a size 8.5 or 26.5 boot roughly a 307mm boot sole.  this performance fit reduces the shin bang and also your toes from smashing the front of the boot and kiling your toe nails lol.  im sure there are other boots like these three but these three just happen to be the ones carried at my shop and the ones i know the most about. 

thats not very much info but im not sure exactly what else you would like to know and what is carried at your shop....  if you need anything else feel free to pm me w/ any questions at all.  if i dont know the answer i'll do some research for you haha but yeah hope this answered some questions!  pm  me anytime!

later
Nov 1 2008 9:31PM
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bobs
Posts: 4801 - Karma: 868
word to that. I used to think I liked a stiffer boot cause all the softer ones I tried on were sloppy. Then I tried kyrptons and I could notice the lateral support verse forward flex
Nov 1 2008 10:19PM
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skibummer
Posts: 235 - Karma: 10

Spk's have all gone up in flex this year. Pick your poison:

Kreation's 85 flex, Kaos 90, Pro models 100.

@ 90 flex the Kaos is the perfect boot for jibbers who stray out of the park.

Also keep in mind that Salomon still has the 1080 Foil boot @ 90 flex

And if you want the stiffest for pure freeriding then check out the Ghost boot @ 110 flex.

Nov 2 2008 12:11AM
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