Wayne

The plates aren't on the site but should be part of a HO rear binding hardware kit. I looked there before posting too. Make sure to use screws that are long enough to engage most of the threaded insert. Like @acmx said I had inserts strip but found that many of the factory HO screws only engage about 3 or 4 threads. Longer screws cut to the right length fixed that issue for me.

HO used to and I think still has an aluminum stiffening plate for the rear boot (rear animal boots should still come with it as part of their mounting hardware). See if a local shop has one. I gave a spare plate I had to a friend with the same issue. I think he was on his second or third plate but after that stiffening plate he hasn't bent a single boot plate.

A lot of people on TheMalibuCrew have had good results from a guy named Chee (or Chi). Here is his contact information. (209) 564-6202 souluckmoua@yahoo.com I have never used him personally.

Funny I was on nearly the same setup as you last season except I ran double Animals. My S8 cracked and I decided with a new ski I might as well go for new boots with it. I actually felt like I had control with the Animals but 2 things pushed me away from them. First was comfort as you found. Second was a couple of one foot in, one foot out crashes due to using soap instead of proper binding lube. My rear foot would clear out soap quickly but nos so much on the front so I went looking for a boot that requires no soap to get on. I've been playing with Vectors this season. Its been a learning curve on tightening the laces but once that was figured out I adjusted quickly. They are a very different feeling to the Animals but are VERY comfortable. I wanted to stick with an open toe design so I also looked at HO Attack and Basis. The basis is pretty soft and I found my foot moved around in them a lot. The Attacks were better but I felt they lacked some comfort compared to the Radar Vectors. The attacks felt too stiff for me. Ski boots are probably as subjective as how well a ski fits you. Find a place to dry fit all the boots you are interested and see if they will let you get them wet. That is what I did but didn't mount them to a ski since at that point I was comitted to owning them. Based on that feel I went with the Vectors and have been content for this season.

@MS from what I remember the last time I touched an Approach boot they were pretty stiff. The Vector doesn't have that aggressive cant either, which is why I mentioned the concentration on lower body position. I also have the aluminum plate version on an HO ski. The slots on the front plate need to be lengthened a little and the rear screws on the rear plate had to be shortened if using the Radar stiffening plate. Otherwise the bottom out before clamping the plate to the ski.

I picked a set up this season after using various sets of HO Animals for 10 years. The lace adjustment was a bit of a learning curve, I have another thread discussing that. Overall glad I made a change compaired to rubber boots. I don't feel my capability justifies hardshells. With that my take Once laced correctly they keep your foot well connected to the ski. The very comfortable foot bed doesn't seem to squirm under foot giving good control. I have a little more heal lift than I had with the animals but am getting used to it. Fore and aft movement is very free. Some other boots I have tried that are taller seem to dictate your ankle bend and hence the losition of your knees over your feet. That restriction is nonexistant with the vectors so I do notice I have to concentrate a little more on lower body positioning. There is no side to side movement or a feeling of the ability to twist your foot while in the boot. This is a little bit of a negative for me since I used to twist my rear foot around a bit in the animals. This is probably similar to the arguement toe loopers have against using double boots. Overall performance wise I don't feel like these are a huge step over animals but comfort is greatly improved. These things are like house slippers. Only downside for me is the previously mentioned slight heal lift which is only on my rear foot. Hope thst helps. More specific questions might help me give you more information.

I think the fake leather top was only for one of the years it was offered. Short lived offering from HO, I think only 2 years.

If I remember correctly it was the same lay up as the monza and shared the same shale bit had added width for use at 34 MPH. It may have made it into one of the older slalom ski reviews (the useful ones back in like 2006) which are still floating around on the web some where (can't find those at the moment). I do remeber the comments were that it had similar characteristics to the monza or system 8 but bounced over the wakes more (maybe due to the extra width).

"Hit It!"

@Joeprunc is correct, to mount Radar Vectors on a HO you need the aluminum plate version. I am tweeking a set on a Coeff-X now and after an initial adjustment period and some advice from this site like them quite a bit. They are SO comfortable. One additional bit of advice on the Radar plates, I had to file the slotted holes on the front plate a little for width and length to get them on my ski. Nothing too radical but something I would definately do prior to mounting everything up. That way when you are dialing things in on the water you can easily get the full range of adjustment if needed.

Finally made it back out on the water to try things out. My major realization is that I was over tightening the upper laces and under tightening the lower laces. Performing a "release check" by trying to kick the ski off just sitting in the water was good advice. I have a little more heal lift than I like but fore/aft movement is really free compared to my old Animals. At least now I have a confident feeling about the release, I think the rest is just adjusting to the different feeling.

Lowes doesn't always have them, none in my area did. I ordered a bag of 50 from Amazon last season and had them in less than a week. If you were local to me I would give you some for free.

@AB that is the best way I have ever seen some one say "get hardshells" with out using those words. Exo Forms are very tempting but will probably be a purchase for next season if the Vectors don't work out.

@JayG80 I have done both. I open both sets of laces all the way and put my index finger at the back of the boot to act as a bit of a shoe horn. You could also put a little soap on your heal, I did that the first few time I skied with them until getting used to putting them on while standing on the platform. As discussed above the lower laces seem to shrink when dry then stretch when wet. I haven't had a chance to ski since I posted to test my new method. Probably won't get a chance until next week since I am working on a project for my son.

How about the bottom lace then, it is not the bungie type, more of a nylon woven cord that I assume shouldn't have any stretch but does. I would like to crank that sucker down until I get no heal lift or foot movement. Well maybe not that tight but it shouldn't be so loose that I feel like I am wearing double toe loops. Would it be good if I had a similar feeling in my fore foot as my Animals gave me?

@ HO 410 are you saying the top bungie is what dictates the bindings release characteristics more so than the bottom lace? The top lace I am good with and it stays where I put it. The bottom lace is my concern.

I have a 525 (13 x 11.5) on my 2009. I am at a much lower altitude than you (Michigan) so I am not sure my input would still be valid but I have skied behind boats with both. I think malibu switched from a 13 x 12 (not sure which one) to the 525 in 2009. The cup must be a bit different because performance seems and feels pretty similar at sea level between the two.

The comfort is why I don't want to give up on them yet. I noticed the lower lace stretches some after getting wet too. The other problem I have is on a deep water start I pull up on my rear foot quite a bit. So usually the front boot is ok but the rear boot is all loosey goosey. After hearing you mention the laces have some stretch I think I will change the way I put boots on. Maybe each time I will dunk the ski, tighten them up, lift my feet some to pre-stretch and then snugg them up one more time.

This season I decided to move from HO Animals to Radar Vectors. I spent some time dry fitting different boots and playing with lateral control. The Vectors definately felt the best and they still feel good on the water. However I never seem to be able to get them tight enough with out the fear of over tightening them preventing release in a fall. So far no falls but I am looking for advice on how much tighten these things down. The upper lace seems to stay where I put it and at the right tension. The lower laces either seem too loose or too tight and seem to loosen as I ski distracting me and taking away some control. I really like an open toe boot and don't want to go back to the Animals until I have exhausted getting the Vectors adjusted correctly to give them a fair evaluation. I wear a size 12 shoe and am using the XL Vector boots.