“Good boots are the most important piece of ski equipment.” – Every skier since the dawn of skiing
It’s cliche but it’s true. Good boots are the most important yet complex piece of the ski gear equation– and it takes work (*mostly on the part of the bootfitter) to get things to add up.
Related: What Your Skis Say About You As A Person | Ski Stereotypes [Part 1]
For skiers, their boots are a reflection of who they are and how they like to ski. From stiff old timers to afterbang softies, we’ve compiled a list of ski boot stereotypes that are as valid as the flex rating on a pair of Full Tilts.
Lange World Cup 130 [Powder Blue]
The Powder Blue 130’s are for ski patrollers and hardo 40 and 50 year-old’s still trying to relive their high school race days. Needless to say, boots and personalities don’t get much stiffer and if you’re looking to approach one of these types, you better at least be wearing some Lange’s.
Full Tilt Afterbang
Unlike the name suggests, skiers rocking ‘Full Tilt’ ski boots are rarely if ever going ‘full tilt’ (*unless your name is Tom Wallisch. These skiers are typically rocking straight airs over boxes and telling their friends how good they feel. “It’s like wearing snowboard boots,” they say. Sweet.
Nordica Rear Entry
Perhaps our favorite boot of all time. The Nordica Rear Entry is party personified in a boot. The man or woman rocking these bad boys is either a 60 year-old cougar, a member of the 90+ ski club, or Chuck Mumford on any given day of the week.
Scarpa Maestrale
30 year-old ski mo bro’s and rad chick’s who spend more days skinning up the ski area than riding lifts. They can be spotted from a mile away in these orange and white, articulated, carbon, ultra-light, etc. What’s really special about this person is how he or she will sometimes ride the lift down because it takes them too long to do the actual skiing part.
Dalbello Lupo
Dropping 20 foot cliffs switch requires a certain boot as well as an unchained personality. This savage skier saved up 4 years to get a pair of the best boots ever designed. In reality, the Dalbello Lupo is just the boot the Full Tilt skier buys once they can afford it.
Salomon MTN Lab
This person is usually a self righteous ski industry professional that got a sweet deal on these boots and Kingpins. There’s no better setup in the world they claim.
Scarpa T2 Telemark
There are only a few new pairs left on the world’s seedy tele skier black market and they’re likely in your dad’s closet. This retired dad now lives in either Vermont, Steamboat, or Grand Targhee and skis almost 100 days each year.
PS – He still drops more knees than the young tele brahs.
