My wife says I made my AT boots ugly

**weasel1** · 08-27-2010, 05:52 AM

So I know this is nothing new or original, but I am stoked on a boot mod I just did to my Scarpa Tornado (white). Me: 5'8.5 (it's all about the half-inch) and 260 (think sponge bob, but squishier) with, well, THICK lower legs. I always have to move buckles, and frequently have minimal overlap in the upper cuff of a ski boot. This also means that when I flex a boot, my tonnage exerts enough pressure to bend the plastic around the buckle such that it creates a significant and localized pressure point at the buckle. Not so much a problem with my Dobies, but an issue with the thinner, flexier plastic of the AT boots.

So....a la il moro, I pulled the top buckle off of my Tornados, pillaged an old pair of Burton Custom bindings for the top strap, and installed it on the Tornados. I left the booster strap on above the new snowboard binding strap buckle to keep the upper cuff of the intuition liner in control.

Since I have a high instep, high volume foot, the instep buckle on the lower shell was always too tight, and I have been too lazy to move it, so I have been skiing these with it unbuckled. The ankle retaining strap gave plenty of control, so I removed the instep buckle entirely.

The result? I can't WAIT to ski these. The snowboard strap isn't for weight weenies, but the wrap, fit and flex results of this mod are super rad. Cost? NADA. Old binding straps are pretty easy to find in closets. If you want pics of where I mounted these, let me know and I will post.

**ski247** · 08-27-2010, 09:16 AM

pics please

**XXX-er** · 08-27-2010, 10:52 AM

I use a second strap on my AT boots above the regular velcro strap to get a little more from the taller conformables liner ...whatever works

**DoWork** · 08-27-2010, 02:20 PM

Tools not jewels, baby!

And yeah, pics would be nice!

**weasel1** · 08-27-2010, 04:55 PM

Here are some pics....

I am sure that the ratchet buckle will present an issue eventually, banging into trees and things, but I figure free is cheap enough to deal with this. Besides, If things didn't break, I wouldn't have an excuse to futz with them. ;-)

**huckster989** · 08-27-2010, 05:05 PM

thats a [retty solid franken boot, so was the basic idea to allow you more room in the upper part of the boot but still maintain even pressure?

**weasel1** · 08-27-2010, 06:18 PM

I could buckle it just fine. but the overlap on the upper cuff is pretty short in this boot, so there was not much plastic around my shin. When I flexed the boot, I could feel the buckle through the plastic. The idea here was to get more support out of the upper cuff, and eliminate the pressure point. It worked swimmingly for that. The ratchet strap and pad totally eliminates the pressure, and the fit is much more secure.

...And a belated thank you to Glen Plake for the inspiration. Didn't love the Kryptons ski feel, but have been envious of the Il Moro's closure system. Not that the Tornados ski like my precious Dobies, but they made a great platform to try out the retro-Moro mod.

**XXX-er** · 08-28-2010, 08:47 AM

Looks good to me , were you able to use existing holes or did you need to drill extra holes ?

I got chicken legs ,I couldnt get the boot tight enough around the calf so I used a piece of spenco on the conform'ables liner tounge and some dakine 1&1/2" wide straps from about 10yrs ago with a double velcro that are not fastened to the boot so I can move them to any boot

**weasel1** · 08-28-2010, 02:38 PM

See the last pic...I drilled a new hole to attach the strap here, but only because I needed the length for my redwood-sized legs. My first attempt was with both parts of the strap anchored to the (ahem) single hole in the rear (see third pic), but this was just too short. For your chicken legs, I would use this single hole to attach both straps (it is the hole that was there for the OEM power strap). I also drilled a hole above it to attach the Booster higher up.

**refried** · 08-30-2010, 02:58 AM

I did that to a pair of snowboard boots few years ago and it worked out really well, the only problem I have is the buckle releases whenever it touches anything.

**weasel1** · 08-30-2010, 06:13 AM

Yeah, that is my primary concern with this, but we'll see how it goes. I can always switch to a lower profile buckle, but the ratchet mechanism is handy.

**Skidog** · 08-30-2010, 08:33 AM

5.8 and 260? Youre FUCKING FAT.....get gastric bypass and you wont have to franken mod boots to fit your fat fucking ass...holeee shit...can you even float in pow?? Water maybe, but i doubt in pow...

Anyhow...neat mod..

**weasel1** · 08-30-2010, 09:32 AM

260lbs of PURE MOMENTUM BABY!!!!!

Just try and catch me.

As for float...well, luckily for me, here in Vermont it doesn't get too deep, so i haven't needed a snorkel yet. ;-)

**Skidog** · 08-30-2010, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by weasel1

260lbs of PURE MOMENTUM BABY!!!!!

Just try and catch me.

As for float...well, luckily for me, here in Vermont it doesn't get too deep, so i haven't needed a snorkel yet. ;-)

Im super glad you took that well...

**weasel1** · 08-30-2010, 10:58 AM

Awww, you're just jealous. It's okay. You know, it's hard work to keep up this figure...not just anybody can do it.

:-)

**weasel1** · 04-07-2011, 02:11 PM

Update: This mod worked unbelievably well. No issues with the buckle, the feel was fantastic and fit was super secure. The ratchet buckle was money. In fact, the fit was sooo good that I ditched the Booster, it was totally redundant. As it turns out, with the removal of the OEM instep and two top buckles and the strap, there is no noticeable weight difference, and they are much faster and easier to put on.

I am getting some BD boots soon (hand-me-downs from my brother), and will likely repeat this with them. Oh, and Skidog, this season I really got a chance to test my flotation capacity in deep snow, and I am happy to report that my 192 Praxis Big Mountains float me just fine.... :-)

**Skidog** · 04-07-2011, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by weasel1

Update: This mod worked unbelievably well. No issues with the buckle, the feel was fantastic and fit was super secure. The ratchet buckle was money. In fact, the fit was sooo good that I ditched the Booster, it was totally redundant. As it turns out, with the removal of the OEM instep and two top buckles and the strap, there is no noticeable weight difference, and they are much faster and easier to put on.

I am getting some BD boots soon (hand-me-downs from my brother), and will likely repeat this with them. Oh, and Skidog, this season I really got a chance to test my flotation capacity in deep snow, and I am happy to report that my 192 Praxis Big Mountains float me just fine.... :-)

Nice yeah...VT has/had one killer season for sure...glad the mod performed so well...you and hoji should compare notes