Wiley's vs. Animal

[XR6Hurricane]

How do the Wiley's high OR mid wrap front boots compare to the H.O. Animal in terms of their ability to release? I finally got on my new Co-X yesterday and love the ski but the Animal has me scared sh*tless. I can barely get it off of my foot after I drop. Even grabbing the ski tip and trying to pry it off with the rear foot barely works. It's not the tightness as it is comfortable when skiing and goes on OK with Moose Juice. The grip is just too sticky once the lube dissipates. I have hairy feet and lower legs so maybe that's contributing to it. I'm a size 9 and this is a Large which is supposedly too big. I could not get my foot into a Medium at all. Laces in the back are loose. My old ski had a cam adjustable version of whatever the Connelly mid/high wrap was in '99 and it gave me all the support I need at my level. Wondering how the Wiley's mid would compare to that. Doesn't seem to be any other lighter duty options out there anymore. Thought of trying an Attack also but not sure about the stiffness of it. My main concern is being twisted out of it if I go down coming across the wakes. I have one injury that I blame on that type of fall already and was in a much wimpier boot.

 

[bogboy]

XR6Hurricane, I love my Wiley's pro wraps. You must use lots of liquid soap to get in though. Dawn is the best by far. This not only let's you get in, but also stays long enough to allow you to get out. Don't use babes boot butter. It is not slippery enough to get in, and it dissipates much too fast and will not allow you to get out. A little quirk about the Wiley's front though...I am right foot forward, and the front cuff always "walked" over to the left part of my ankle, no matter how tight i had them tighten the wraps, causing support and control/performance issues. I found a very effective solution to this by rigging one of those short bungees with the little blue ball that you use to secure canopy systems to the steel frames. Thread the bungee through the cuff holes, and secure the end loop around the little blue ball to the right of the cuff, (ankle) and this little quirk is solved. Also, I have found it very useful to rig a short nylon strap loop in the cuff holes to act as a handle to help me get in. The cuff holes alone are too small to grab when you have gloves on. Good luck.

[Zman]

Used to love Animals back when they were red, black and white - not the colors, but better design, fit and materials. Go with Wiley's now.

[Mike]

Agree with @Zman. My opinion only but the new overlaps and material on the Animal are cheesy, stiff, and cheap. @XR6Hurricane I was a true size medium and had to use a large Animal. Blew my ankle and calf apart in an Animal. Went back to my old one for awhile anyway after I rehabbed and never got back to full flexion but liked the way the Animal skied for me compared to the Wiley. I can fit in a Medium Wiley but with the way the horshoe wraps around the front it cramps after a bit..early season anyway. Comfortable off the dock for a couple passes. Probably break in and just the fact that my duck foot just needed something diff. Use a Radar Strada now and no complaints instant comfort and skis well. The old Connelly's flare out more at the front of the binding without the hardware curving in at the base like on H.O. so the Connelly's were super comfy in the day. For my foot Kidder's D3 Leverage is better if you want to stay in rubber. No harm mixing brands either. Its about comfort and control. Any of the of the open toe newer i.e. Attacks as you mentioned should eliminate fit issues and ski well. Never going back to rubber or Animals myself.

[Zman]

@Mike - ditto with the Radar Strada boots. After I was unabale to mend my old Animals anymore - and with my dislike (and injury) of the new design - I just switched to the Stradas. I like them a lot. May also try Reflex in the fall.

[SkiJay]

@XR6Hurricane You can't judge how a high/mid wrap binding will release by how hard or easy it is to take off after skiing. In a fall, the hard fast yank breaks loose from the initial stickiness and your foot will glide right out ... provided it's the kind of fall that allows for a release in the first place. Similarly, taking the binding off after skiing is easiest if you break loose from the stickiness with a sharp fast yank.

[XR6Hurricane]

Appreciate the input from everyone. For the hell of it I had the dealer swap out the Animal for a Basis boot today. Goes on and comes off a lot easier but it's totally different than anything I've used before so we'll see what it's like to ski on. Took a three day weekend so I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

 

Really like the ski so I'm determined to get the right boot setup. Starting to realize all of the changes I've missed in the last 10 years or so.

[Mike]

@XR6Hurricane...I have a confession to make. Looks like I should not have said never going back to rubber. Dropped into Wileys today and and slipped my slightly wide 9.5 foot into a size Large D3 T-factor. I have a bit higher instep too however the T-factor fit soo much better than my old Animal with a way smoother front flex. No bind going forward at all (like my Strada). A couple things that swayed me to make the investment and try these were 1. the tallness or at least feeling of leverage side to side (we will see) and 2. with the laces not being on the back there is no bind and flex's back smoothly giving me the impression of possibly keeping wheelies from a too stiff back from happening if jammin. Again willing to try. Will be skiing my Strada boot first this week as I am transitioning with skis and its what I have been using to start the season. Of course I had moose juice on in the shop and my foot slid out nicely and expect the T-factor to release in a gnarly fall.

[ozski]

I can vouch for the comfort and feel of the T-factor bindings, I'm very happy with mine so far.

[MISkier]

I've been on the Wiley's for a long time - can't even remember how long. I have a few brutal OTFs every year and have released well. I hit buoys, skip, and crash several times a year as well. I have only had two minor ankle sprains in the Wiley's (one front foot, one back foot 8 years ago -both OTF). Ironically, one was on Saturday (medial sprain from the ski rotating/twisting off of my feet rather than ejecting forward). The damage was minimal in both cases. First sprain only required a week or two to return. I taped the ankle on Saturday and actually posted a good score (for me) in the next round. I'm walking on it and just need to rehab it a bit. Probably a week or two as well for this one.

 

I was watching a Big Dawg qualifier a few years ago and two 20-something guys sat next to me. Both had casts on their ankles. Both were questioned by others and acknowledged PowerShell as their binding choice. I don't think I'll be going with hardshells and I can't see myself with Dual Lock.

 

By the way, my ankle felt great in the bindings on Saturday after the sprain. Very good support and comfort. I'll be continuing with the Wiley's.

[XR6Hurricane]

Thanks guys...appreciate all the input. For the moment I have the Animal on the ski and will definitely stay with rubber of some type. I tried a Basis boot on the second time out just to see what the new style of "shoe" type bindings feel like since I'd never tried any of them. One thing for sure, I WILL crash more often if I use that damn thing and it was harder to get onto my foot than the Animal. No support around the ankle and lower leg unless you tighten the hell out of the top laces and that's exactly what they don't recommend. Had about 3-4 near crashes on it the first time out. Perfect example of the wrong binding contributing to the fall in the first place. Took it back to the shop with the river water still dripping from it and had them swap the Animal back on. It's coming off easier too with the quick jerk like @Skijay suggested. Much better control and comfort than the Basis. Just my preference.

[The_MS]

If you are trying Wileys try the Trick wrap up front. Much better side support. IMO, Wileys are the safest boot out there but I wish they were not so heavy. There are lots of very good skiers using them with Morgan and Hickey being 2 that I know of.

[estrom]

I use Wiley's pro wraps as well and really like them, other than the weight as mentioned. Suckers are tight to get into, but haven't had any problems with them....knock on wood.

 

[Mike]

@estrom... well I barely experimented with the T-factor 2 passes before I went back to the dock and put my 2013 Strada boot back on and proceeded to run passes. In fairness to the D3 T-factor if I was doing rubber it is significantly more comfortable than any old or new style Animal or Wiley Pro. No cramping with the T-factor but again hard to judge after just 2 passes. Really needed to give the T-factor a 1/2 dozen sets...just didn't. Boots are such a huge thing to change vs a ski imo. Never felt so at home putting my Strada boot back on. I have only used the Strada boot for maybe 8-9 sets. Its really not hard to describe why I like this boot vs the Animal or Wiley but not in this thread. @XR6Hurricane If you are staying with rubber you owe it to yourself to slip on a T-factor and with your foot probably go to a size large.

[sbink]

I've been using Wiley's for 8 years.I have had plenty of really nice falls of all types and no foot or ankle

Injuries.My last ankle injury was in an animal (1999).I am interested in the ho apex.i think Horton is

Testing some so maybe we will know something soon.

[eleeski]

@MS I significantly lightened up Wiley's by Nascar drilling lightening holes in the plate and by having Wiley make me bindings with EVA foam toepieces. The EVA was horribly uncomfortable until I drilled hundreds of holes to soften the toepiece. The end result was a comfortable and reasonably light binding for Kirk's jump skis.

 

I used Animals a few years ago on my slalom. Initially they were wonderful, comfortable, responsive and reasonably safe. But the EVA they were made with got too stiff for comfort and safety over time. Drilling lots of holes in the stiff EVA made them work again.

 

Hardshells were so much more comfortable that I was forced to switch. Radar boots are equally comfortable, softer and for me, excellent performers for slalom.

 

I hurt my ankle in hardshells, broke my foot in Wileys and skied well on many different boots. FWIW I currently slalom in Radars, jump in Wileys and trick in a hardshell.

 

Eric

[The_MS]

@eleeski Next time I am at @Teammalibu's I will go to town with the drill. Maybe mount it on a G-10.

[bogboy]

Just bought a Wiley's front "pro build". Thicker, more volume construction. Better support. Runs about 1/2 size smaller. Love it, worth looking into.

[eleeski]

@MS Try a Radar with @TeamMalibu 's G10 plate drilled out. Very light, very comfortable, nice performance and reasonable safety. For extra comfort and ease of use, try replacing the hard laces over the top of the foot with a hardshell style clip. That's the setup on my slalom ski. That binding setup would make even a Monza rock!

 

Eric

[The_MS]

@eleeski Are you talking Strada boot? I tried them for a few weeks and could not control the tip of my ski. I am wondering if I could use a Strada front with a wiley rear?

[eleeski]

@MS If you want to stiffen a Strada boot, try adding the tongue from a rollerblade liner. Adds more forward pressure. Strada release is still the same, comfort is the same but the flex is a bit stiffer. PM me if you need one, I have a bunch. I had a ski that needed a stiffer boot (or maybe it was the transition from hardshells) and the added tongue seemed to help. The added tongue is an old trick skier trick - to stiffen up the binding snow ski boot tongues are sometimes used.

 

I consider the Strada release to be similar to a rubber boot. A Strada/Wileys mix should not present weird safety issues. I'm running a Strada/cuffless hardshell mix and haven't had any release issues (ignore the fact that I'm crippled right now and can't ski).

 

Eric

[The_MS]

I may have to check it out again.