22Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Ski Boots For Classic Right Now, Part 2: Madshus, Rossignol, Salomon. Plus Alfa And Spine

Review: Best Ski Boots For Classic Right Now, Part 2: Madshus, Rossignol, Salomon. Plus Alfa And Spine

Gear News, Newsfeed
This is a continuation of the story. If you want to read about Atomic, Alpina and Fischer offerings as of this autumn, go here A few additional things to mull over: - Some (not all) ski bootmakers say that designing and producing true racing Classic boots is actually more difficult than the ones for Skating. Due to conflicting characteristics the sole should posses: rigid in some parts, flexible in others. - Top market for Classic boots is Scandinavia & Finland. Warmth is more of an issue in long-distance Classic races Norwegians, Swedes and Finns are so fond of. [caption id="attachment_13221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Madshus Super Nano Classic are venerable product that is still being used by the world's best ( cue Krista Parmakoski) . Pros: cheapest carbon classic boots on the…
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21Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Ski Boots For Classic Right Now, Part I: Alpina, Atomic, Fischer

Review: Best Ski Boots For Classic Right Now, Part I: Alpina, Atomic, Fischer

Gear News, Newsfeed
Same ground rules as in our review of Skatings boots: "Best boots" in our glossary are those made for Nordic racing at the highest international level in the last couple of years, give or take. That invariably means carbon sole boots. Well, almost invariably - it's true that even at the World Cup level you occasionally get to see a skier or two racing in non-carbon soled boots. Especially in very cold weather. That makes some difference compared to freestyle races where carbon sole is now absolute must-have. But statistically it is rather negligible and certainly not applicable to true WC podium crowd Technically, we should also be including combi ( a.k.a. skiathlon or pursuit) boots as they ar occasionally being used by some in classic races at the World…
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16Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Inside Atomic, Part 1

Inside Atomic, Part 1

Gear News, Newsfeed
...Mere five years ago it felt like Atomic is phasing out its involvement in Nordic ski racing. With only one medal in cross skiing competitions in Sochi 2014 ( Claudia Nystad's bronze in 4 X 5k relay) it certainly felt like hey-days of the 1980- early 90s when Atomic was among the leaders on the international circuit are over. Not that anybody would be shocked. Since 1994 Atomic GmbH is fully owned by Amer Sports Group that already has one strong ski-related brand in its portfolio - the Annecy-based Salomon. Atomic was doing ( still does) fantastic podium-wise in crucial Alpine ski segment while Salomon steadily expanded from being leading ski boots producer to becoming top-flight xcski and apparel maker. In situation like that any business consultant would recommend folding…
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12Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part 2

Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part 2

Gear News, Newsfeed
This is part 2 where we look at what Madshus, Rossignol, Salomon - and an exciting newcomer, Spine - have to offer to discerning users. Part 1 where we looked into Alpina, Atomic and Fischer could be found here Once again, briefly on definitions: “best” means racing boots, those used by the world’s elite skiers to compete & win. In 2019 those are invariably carbon-fiber soled – and, naturally, with carbon cuffs for ankle support. Madshus, Norway The brand from Biri was long known for the relative warmth of its top-line racing boots - which is entirely expected given the company roots & location. [caption id="attachment_13067" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Super Nano were among the first carbon-soled boots on the market and still could be found in elite competitions. Super Nano are…
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11Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part I

Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part I

Gear News, Newsfeed
On definitions: "best" means racing boots, those used by the world's elite skiers to compete & win. In 2019 those are invariably carbon-fiber soled - and, naturally, with carbon cuffs for ankle support. For all SNS fans: sorry, folks - the only athlete we know of still using once-dominant system is Jessie Diggins. Atomic, once a firm " SNS camper", stopped supporting it altogether - Salomon is still holding out but, likely, not for long. Most if not all producers follow a simple maxim: test with top athletes & win the first year of production - sell the next one. In other words, there is often a considerable gap between what you see on TV and what you could actually buy at your friendly local store. We have an issue…
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