Custom Carbon Fiber WaterSki Boots

[Brewski]

@E_T that has been discussed above by BraceMaker They are not good cast to make sporting goods because they can not capture the essence of the sport specific molding need to make a proper cast. It may be something to look into as they are getting better all the time. There is lots of comments but BraceMaker said it like this:

Scanning/shape acquisition is one step in the process, you can also digitize a physical impression in several ways including mechanical - probe digitizers and via laser scan - scanning a homogenous surface such as a plaster cast is more accurate than a foot - also and I feel like this is the problem that the company you are mentioning has - if you have a foot and scan the surface you are not loading/controlling the surface.

 

I'd imagine when you do your bivalve cast you reinforce areas of the impression and physically correct or align the footplate, perhaps using something like memory foam in a plastic bag for plantar contours, perhaps on top of a casting platform that duplicates the heel over toe height of the skate blade holders.

 

And you likely take the impression with consideration to knee angles, and possibly you consider the nature of the sport in terms of how much time is spent skating flat vs. turning and the directionality of the ice rink.

 

When you scan a physical foot all those alignments are very difficult to duplicate. If you have plaster you can load areas of the foot/leg that you plan on bearing forces, and you can provide loading on the plaster - deforming the soft tissues in a way that a scan does not.

[BraceMaker]

And 3d printing a model that you will destroy later is a huge waste of time and money.

 

Commercially very low density mdf or even foam is the preferred medium for cadcam models

 

Plus if brewskis business is like Id guess, he probably sees clients in hotel rooms and locker rooms. Traveling with a 15k$ scanner gets daunting.

 

As pointed out, the value is brewskis hands, your feet, and a tub of vaseline. Eliminate that step and fit becomes a guess.

 

Go semi custom or heat fornable like nid level ice skates and downhill boots and you open up the fitter venue.

 

 

One aspect would be the ability to do custom base shells with non custom cuffs you would have a jig to place ankle joint axis at the casting.

 

 

Also how are you setting heel ledge height for the reflex plate? Adding it on after the boot is complete? Since there is usually no dimensional control over laminant thickness of foot bed during bagged lamination over a positive mold ...

[dstone124]

@brewski perhaps you've answered this in an earlier thread or response, if so, forgive me. But with the differences between the applications, slalom skiing and sped skating, along with the differences in the surface area "where the rubber hits the road" if you will, do you see the absolute need for custom fit that a heat mold able liner can't fulfill?

Would a generalized shell composed of your super cool designs be more cost effective with such a liner. Maybe even offer up adaptable inserts for the custom feel your obviously achieving?

I think a lot of your concepts are great translations between the two sports and would be awesome to adapt to the tournament ski populous.

All opinions of course, so thanks for humoring me if nothing else.

[Brewski]

@dstone124 The boots I make for slalom or trick are sport specific and only similar in looks to the sk8 boots.

In talking with a few "elite" skiers they want next to nothing between the bottom of the foot and the foot bed. In the custom you have only a thin synthetic suede (similar to what your ski gloves are made of) laminated to the composite shell. So, there is no slip no give and they are of your anatomy so no need to tighten them until your foot goes numb. I barely tighten the front boot and ratchet the top strap just tight enough to give a "stopping point" where it begins to puts pressure on the front of the ski.

The heat moldable liners "pack out" leaving hard and soft spots which do not transfer into the ski as a custom does. One of the great thing about the custom is that there is no liner, slip on, slip off, no soggy liner and direct connection to the bottom of the boot.

In the production world, if I get brought on by a major manufacturer, I would like to come up with an "off the shelf boot" and "customs". Customs are the key though as everyone has a little pronation or supination (knock need or bow leg) to their anatomy. I have never seen an ankle that is at a 90 to the ski "straight up and down" like a hard shell and if you look at your feet standing is slalom position you will see where this comes in to play.

Thanks for you input. Everything is much appreciated and taken into consideration. Great input is what makes great products or great products better.....

 

[Brewski]

Plates: I found a .125 7000 series aluminum front plate is really nice. It adds only a little stiffness in a small area that helps with an added blast of acceleration. I am currently using a .125 7000 aluminum back plate also but it took some time to get used to. I was running a .90 Wiley fits all plate but it buckled under the pressure and the rear Silvretta 500 would not release.

I am work with a new machine shop on my titanium sk8 mounts and hope to make both front and back G10 and 7000 series aluminum plates. Would love to do .100 6-4 titanium but the $$$ per plate would be around $500+ before machining, stainless would be nice to try also. The properties of the different metals is wild. The titanium works like a shock absorber allowing flex but hates to be distorted so its spring back return is lightning fast where as 7000 aluminum will flex and return as the ski does, stainless is not forgiving and is just plain stiff so it would be fun to have some elite skiers test them all but would bet the titanium to be the choice when all was said and done...

[MattP]

@Brewski titanium now this is getting expensive!

But back on topic these boots are sounding really interesting to me. Who else would be interested in a custom binding?

[gregy]

I think there would be a market for custom boots specially if they are safer. A major injury could cost a lot more in time and money. And the top skiers are always looking for an edge. Not in my budget anytime soon but there are people that could afford it.

[Drago]

Are they safer?

[Brewski]

@Drago speedskaters crash into the wall at 40+mph feet first and swear the only thing that saved the ankle was my boots. Apolo will testify to this as 2 weeks before the 2006 games he crashed hard into the boards and swears that the boots saved him and brought him to Olympic gold.

Now that has nothing to do with skiing except for the fact that I designed both types of boots with safety in mind.

I've skied them for 12 years, and Kris LaPoint 2-3 years. Kris ski blew apart and broke the bottom of the boot which was an easy fix. Andy was in the boat and swore there would be an ambulance ride. Kris got back in the boat mad because he broke his favorite ski with out a scratch.

Kris and I personally use the Reflex release and with this boot there is no ankle pain prior to release. I blow out all the time and take some serious falls. I will never ski anything else. Kris's new boot is in production now.

[Brewski]

I decided to make these available. No one will like the pricing but it is what it is. Plates will be made later in the month/early November depending when my machine shop can fit them in. Right now he is finishing up my speedskating mounts that are super high priority then the plates have to be worked in. Plates are going to be limited first production run 10 front 10 back of each material. They will be available in .125 7075 Aerospace Aluminum or .125" Carbon Matrix which is similar to G-10 but stonger/lighter and designed to work in high performance applications instead of making electronic circuit boards. Custom Boots, Plates, and No Noose are now on my website www.kohensport.com