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Since when did ski boot prices enter bananaland
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The last pair of boots I bought were in 2009 when I was 16 so I'm well overdue for a pair. I'm 23 now with a good job so I figured I'd get myself some new boots and so I started looking around and everything that is highly regarded is $700+ ! Am I that removed from the scene that I didn't realize boots were that expensive?
I get R&D and all that bullshit is expensive but for something that should be replaced every 3-4 or so years where are you buying boots?
Posts: 36
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Karma: 16
I bought my boots from a local boot fitter, its expensive but they fit well and if i ever have issues they will tweak them for free.
A cheaper route would be to go to a shop and try on boots, find which ones fit you the best and then search for the boot online at a lower price.
Last year I spent my whole gear budget on boots basically but glad I did, having boots that don't fit properly will make you miserable on the hill if you are going frequently
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Since I started working in the ski industry (2002), there have always been alpine ski boots at that price. Top-end "130 flex" product has always tended to be in that part of the stratosphere.
The reason you are seeing more boots go there is because there are more expensive materials being used- Grilamid plastics are 4x the cost of normal polyurethanes, some boots are using carbon fiber in certain places on the boot, liners are getting WAY nicer, etc.
Lighter weight, better flex characteristics, better stability in all temperatures, good for boot-fitting, etc. Cheaper boots still exist (sub $200) but they aren't anything you want to purposefully wear.
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Karma: 10,862
One more point- because there have always been expensive boots, what you get today vs. 15 years ago for spending the same amount of money is an insanely better boot.
Look at the mountain bike industry. In 1988, you could spend over $7,000 on a fully rigid hardtail (the first Specialized Epic was a carbon/titanium hardtail that Specialized actually lost money on selling at this price). Don't get me wrong $7,000 is a ton of money, but look what you get today for that same price. It's insane how much bike you get today versus back then.
The boot world today is very similar in this regard.
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