The Straight Dope on Ski Boot Liners
The heart of the boot story for the 2015 season has most certainly been advancements in ski boot liners. Several manufacturers have spent significant research and development on creating liners that do three main things; ski well, fit comfortably out of the box, and resisting packing out (feeling too loose) too quickly.
The result of all the hard work is some interesting technology that is sure to trickle down through lines across the board and dictate design trajectories in the future. First a short history lesson is in order; in the dark ages of boot design vague shell shapes and inferior liners were the obvious issues with performance and long term fit. Foam injected liners became the primary solution; if you were a serious skier you had to have a serious liner, and spend some serious coin while you were at it. Foam injected liners still exist and people still use them, however they are far less popular than in years past.
Stock liners have improved by leaps and bounds in the past decade; an injection molding process has replaced over padding and cutting away a material that is disturbingly similar to the material that is placed under a carpet before instillation. The injection molded foam has far more anatomical shape than previous materials so it fits out of the box far better and will stand the test of time better than ever.
Two manufacturers, Tecnica and Nordica, are at the forefront of new manufacturing processes and materials for this 2014-15 season. Tecnica produced a trick liner of a new material they are calling C.A.S. or Custom Adaptive Shape in their new model line the Mach1. The C.A.S. foam is a dense material that fits well and offers great heel hold and shape, it can also be ground with a dremel or punched by a competent boot fitter if you need customization. The C.A.S. foam has been such a success it is going to be featured several different models next season, and has really been a homerun in sales, and refits- we’ve seen almost none!
Not to be outdone, Nordica has produced a semi-custom liner using a material that is not at all new to the industry but has a proven track record with hundreds of World Cup victories and Olympic medals to its name. Cork has been used in World Cup liners for quite some time and is the current standard for the elite level. The cork is usually mixed with petroleum, which allows it to flow or move to the correct crevices. On their popular NRGy series Nordica placed cork panels in the ankle and navicular area to give great control over the shell and again, a great fit out of the box. The cork can be heated up for just a few minutes to dial in the fit of the boot, and has had great result from fitters and owners of the boot.
Liners have come a long way in the last decade; they ski far better and fit better than ever before. More and more skiers are finding they don’t need to invest three to five hundred dollars in custom liners to get their desired fit and feel, and the breaking in process is less painful than ever. The next few years I expect more research and development in ski boot liners and would expect more exciting innovation.