Hey, thank you so much for the immediate advice. I forgot to check on an answer but, now, upon reading it, I remembered this little spanner, which I had forgotten about. But, long story short, even with the help of this tool and another set of hands, I was not able to counter the screw. The spanner just pops off as soon as I apply torque to the screw. I am gonna try and mess around a little more with but I am assuming it is the thread glue that is giving me troubles. Any pointers on this? I’ve picked up that heating the screw with a soldering iron can help, but then again I am worried about the plastic bushing. Well anyway, thank you very much again for the advice.
Robert, i had the same issues on removing the screws- i finally succeded by using a pipe wrench- it is tricky, but doable. No way did i manage with that little thing that came with the boots…
Robert, i had the same issues on removing the screws- i finally succeded by using a pipe wrench- it is tricky, but doable. No way did i manage with that little thing that came with the boots…
velca wrote:
Robert, I know what you mean and have been there myself. I actually removed Backland Cuffs a couple of days ago and even though I’ve been suceeding at it before, I almost gave up again due to slippage of the tool. The way I finally keep it from slipping is that I first get its “pin end” to block in the boot sole and then use needle nose pliers to firmly press on the hex part of the tool to keep it from slipping off the nut. When loosening the screw from the outside, I generally had more success by applying a quick strong rotational impulse rather then to slowly trying to screw it open applying more and more force. I also thought about applying some heat with a soldering iron but have not needed it (yet). I think one wouldn’t need to worry too much about melting the plastics as possibly existing screw locking component should show a reaction (if it does..) at temperatures well below the melting point of pebax/grilamid/pom as far as my limited knowledge goes..
Hey both, thanks for the great advice. I don’t own a pipe wrench and shops are closed but I do have needle nose pliers and I’ll ask the better half if she would kindly agree to help me one last time 😉 I am happy to find out that I was on the right track with a “quick strong rotational impulse “. I’ll try and bring it all together and will keep you posted. Thanks again for the great advice. Stay safe!
Hey.. late to the party but oh well. I am trying to figure out what hardboot to get. I went to EVO in Seattle and told them what I wanted to do. My US shoe size is 10-10.5. I think this translates into 28-28.5 mondo. I tried on the Atomic Backlands CL Pro 28.5 and they were pretty comfy. The salesman took out the liner and measured 3cm with my foot inside, indicating they are took big and suggest I size down to 27.5. This was killing my instep (I have a high arch), but my toes were at the front of the boot. I am worried that with the boa on my instep, there is not much that can be done.
Can anyone recommend the right size for me? OR would the Slipper HD 28 be a better fit?
Wow, I thought this place was dead! If you’re going the Backland route, from a financial perspective I’d strongly recommend the Slipper; you will end up spending more purchasing the boots and the upgrades separately. Both the shell and the liner are moldable so that may help. Personally I’ve had more issues with boots being too big as the liners pack out. I’d give Phantom a call and chat with them, they’ve always been very helpful.
I’ll share my personal experience and hopefully that can help. I have a street size 11.5 or 12 shoe. The atomic backlands that I wear are size 28. I have a fairly narrow foot. These boots fit very well for me. They could arguably be even smaller. It’s sort of insane how much you have to downsize a ski boot in my opinion. I have Backland Pros in carbon I think. They have a BOA. I rode them for a year or two and then bought the heel strap from Phantom and also I bought the link levers. Like ejorddny said total price after mods for me was probably more than the phantom slipper sold by phantom themselves. If you do choose to by the backlands I would avoid the ones with the Boa. I found the heel strap is really nice to have and I now use the heel strap and still have the boa on my boot. The boa is essentially doing nothing and is just slightly in the way.
Anyway. Go to a real ski shop to get your hardboots fitted. They shouldn’t really be super comfortable out of the box, though the backlands were for me. Previously I wore Dynafit tlt6’s in a size 28 as well. Those boots were amazing and I still sort of haven’t grown to prefer the backlands with link levers but I am working on loving them haha.
Bit late, but as someone that has a weird foot, and has done way too much research into boot fitting I thought I’d share some input on your question. Shoe size has very little to do with it. Go get your length, width and instep actually measured and see what the cm/mm numbers are. A good boot fitter will look at this and also how your ankle moves, just tell them you are going to use the boot for splitboarding and dont need a super tight performance ski fit. Also note your toe shape, if your middle toe is longest it is easier to shrink the boot in length, if your big toe is longest or all your toes are close to the same length it can be pretty painful to size down as the backlands have a pretty narrow toe box. Read this article and see where your width/instep land relative to your length https://blisterreview.com/gear-101/boot-fitting-101/fit-issues-and-myths. Your instep number (and or width) is what would decide if you stay with the bigger size or not. If the number is drastically bigger than your mondo length then you would likely stick with the larger size. If it is the same or smaller than your mondo you could consider sizing down and then using the shell mold (heat the shell only, not the liner, then mold) to relieve the instep pressure (depends how bad it is). Depending on your toe shape sizing down may require punching the toe box as well. For reference and to counter the above comments about sizing down a bunch, 3cm is a bit big for a touring boot but I’d pay attention more to how the rest of the boot feels. I would note that number and then think about how the rest of the boot fits – is your heal holding well, is your instep and width comfy. 3 cm could be perfect if you want to go with a thicker liner than stock (really common) and have space to not bang your toes, (most skiers go up a half-1 full size for a touring boot to prevent toe bang walking and kicking). I have a mondo 27.8cm foot with middle toe longest (easier to get away with going down), I have a very wide foot (my biggest problem with the backlands) and I am in a 28.5 backland carbon with a scarpa pro tour liner which required packing out the toes when molding but is now perfect length wise and instep wise with 2-2.5cm shell fit. Good luck!