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Hi, welcome to Ski Talk.
I'm Steve Kopitz the Ski-E-O from skis.com and
I have with us John Kerkoff. John's straight from Nordica to help us out with
a little bit of boot understanding today, right John? Right on, sure. So, here is the Transfire
R1. This is the top of the line boot in the Transfire line.
And it's green so that's why I'm holding it in front of my chest and we are working with a green
screen here, you can probably see the boot up on the screen right now, and as I pass it over to John,
you should have a little magic. The boot should be disappearing partially so
John has to hold it in front of his chest so that the boot doesn't continue to
disappear and reappear. So, let's talk about the R1, John. Tell us about this boot. What's so
special about it? It's the top of the line of the Transfire series, right? It is. Transfire targeted
for the progressive frontside skier who is aspiring to get to the next level.
The cool thing about the R1 is it's three buckle, three-piece and so by doing that
it's the most modern design in ski boots today. Three buckle gives you
the most security and best precision of fit without hindering the comfort at the forefoot,
ya know that fourth buckles sometimes, people tend to over-crank it. When you do that
it really compresses circulation at the foot. Lots of times you don't even buckle that buckle because of that. Yeah and it really compresses circulation at the foot.
And then the three-piece design, what's the benefit of a three-piece design
versus the traditional... A couple things. Number one is easy access. In and out which is really
nice. It's almost hands-free to drop in and out of this boot. Not that boot that you just got to...
No, you're not going to throw your back out getting in and out of this or out of it at the end of the day which is
nice but the biggest story is actually the way that it transfers energy to and from your skis.
Really efficient on the wider skis and obviously as you move into
rockered skis, we're changing our stance on where we actually ski on the ski. Yeah, the three buckle
three-piece design is really designed more for shaped skis the way we get over more
and more conducive to the change of skiing style, correct?
Absolutely. Right on the mark. So, let's talk about the features on the boot. What
do we have for outside and inside creature comfort features?
Yep. Number one is starting on the inside comfort is what it's all about here so we actually have
a new liner design with a box cut toe that's actually pre-formed, pre-shaped
with a neoprene toe box so this is about as comfortable as you're going to get once you step out
of your slippers into a ski boot. Okay. So good security of fit while still being relaxed.
And, we have a custom fit liner as well, right? Yep. Fully heat-moldable liner
actually has some wicking components to it to make sure that you're dry at the end of the day on those long, hard
ski days. That's great. Buckles. Of course it has buckles. Yep.
We haven't gone to the zero buckle boot yet. Yeah. Three buckles. All aluminum hardware.
Micro-adjustable. Even at the top on this boot you have a macro-adjustable buckle
which kind of has two functions. One is custom capability
there but also in the back of this boot, Nordica created something called the adjustable
cuff profile that just with the quick change of an allen key, opens and closes
for different leg shapes. So, if somebody has a big leg shape, they're totally
cranked forward the boot, just drains your legs, we can actually customize that which is really
cool. So that allows the cuff to open and close. Is there any performance benefit
to adjusting that cuff as well? Yeah. Again, it gives you the right stance to wear a
boot was designed to put a skier. So, how would a person know where to set it or do they just kind of play
with it until they feel that it's right? Ya know, most of my buddies that, you know, played hockey, played football
that have that bigger leg shape, they know it and they know they need something with more volume so
the first clue is comfort. The second clue is if you're standing in a lift line and you're
leaning on your poles, just totally buried into the front of your boot, click-click,
click-click, opens right up. It's super cool. Or your toes are starting to go numb
from lack of circulation. From leaning back, yeah. Now, it's also pre-
cut on the liner for heat if someone wants to add a heat apparatus to it as well? Yeah, contrary to
popular opinion, men do like heated boots. Heated leather seats in your car,
truck, whatever. This boot actually is pre-ported to accept heat right out of the
box. So, it's not built in but it's ready for it? Bingo.
Okay. Now this is a 102 width, kind of a medium width boot. Yep. And a 105 flex.
It's the stiffest flex in that line. Yeah. So, with a flex of 105 and the width of 102,
who's the target customer for this boot? Ya know, at a 105 flex because that's getting to the top of the
range, and it's a true 105, it's not like it's doctored up, strong
skier. The guy's the first one out of the condo in the morning. Tackles any terrain on the mountain.
Owns a pass. Tunes up, ya know, regionally, but then heads to the mountains to really make it happen.
So what if I'm a, ya know, a strong intermediate skier but I'm a big so
I've got a little extra weight on me, would the extra flex be a benefit to me?
It would because you have the lever and the mass and probably the athleticism to bend any boot you want
so this would have really good progression and really good rebound so it will give you good
performance. So, with the box toe, the ability to open up the cuff, if I'm a big guy,
the stiffer flex, it could be perfect for somebody like that. It's the R1. Okay. Great.
So there you have it people. The Transfire R1 from Nordica.
Thanks, I'm Steve, and thanks for joining us on Ski Talk.