# Do you unbuckle your boots on the way up the lift?



## Nick (Jan 15, 2013)

I have heard that properly fitted boots shouldn't need to be so tight that they are uncomfortable to the point where you need to unbuckle. My personal opinion is that generally I don't bother loosening my boots, BUT if I am skiing moguls or something more technical (Ice, trees) then I do like to tighten my boots a little bit more ...and that can cause some pinching and discomfort. Is that a placebo in that case (ie.. the tighter boot makes me feel more secure, but in reality doesn't provide any benefit?)

What do you guys do?


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## 2knees (Jan 15, 2013)

http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?18682-What-do-you-do-with-your-poles-on-the-chair

You trying to outdo the former owner?


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## Puck it (Jan 15, 2013)

Yes to boots and yes to him being a post whore.  :razz:


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## 57stevey (Jan 15, 2013)

I unbuckle my boots when I arrive and when I leave. The rest of the time they are buckled to the same setting, even when they are at home on the shelf. Then again, I have had these for awhile now and they are fully molded to the shape of my feet or vice versa


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## Smellytele (Jan 15, 2013)

I do not unbuckle between runs. I do check them a few times at the top to make sure they haven't loosened up.


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## Nick (Jan 15, 2013)

2knees said:


> http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?18682-What-do-you-do-with-your-poles-on-the-chair
> 
> You trying to outdo the former owner?



That's like my favorite thread of all time


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## hammer (Jan 15, 2013)

I end up tweaking through the day but do not unbuckle each time on the lift.


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## billski (Jan 15, 2013)

Are we running out of topics?


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## snowmonster (Jan 15, 2013)

As the late great Jeff Bokum used to say: "If your boots fit right, you don't need to touch them after you've buckled in." I was one of Jeff's satisfied customers. Never had to fiddle with my boots on the hill. RIP Jeff.


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## ScottySkis (Jan 15, 2013)

Some times I buckle more after the first run.


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## BenedictGomez (Jan 15, 2013)

I would think that if you feel the need to unbuckle your boots on the lift, it's indicative that they arent a proper fit?


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## Edd (Jan 15, 2013)

I don't touch them on the hill normally.


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## Warp Daddy (Jan 15, 2013)

Never ! Put em on ,leave em untouche drill i rheu skiing t the END of the day . Dont even unbuckle at lunch UNLESS it is way below zero out there,


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## WWF-VT (Jan 15, 2013)

Sometimes I do, most of the time I don't.  I can't wait for the thread on adjusting the powestrap


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## gmcunni (Jan 15, 2013)

i do not unbuckle them on the way up the lift, i do sometimes unbuckle them before i get on the lift tho


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## steamboat1 (Jan 15, 2013)

Set it & forget it.


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## drjeff (Jan 15, 2013)

I've come to realize over the years that if I find myself wanting to unbuckle my boots on the lift that it's because the liners have gotten so packed out that I want/need to buckle them tighter than usual to get the downhill performance that i'm looking for from and that it's likely time to SERIOUSLY consider new boots! 

This concept was once again reinforced in my brain over the last few weeks as my old pair of Lange Comp Pro's with about 225-250 days on them and were requiring unbuckling/buckling on almost every lift ride with a new pair of Lange RS130's that I skied in for the 1st time last Saturday. The only buckle adjustments I made all day once I put them on was just some very minor tweaking of the length of the buckles to get them dialed in to my foot properly 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AlpineZone mobile app


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## o3jeff (Jan 15, 2013)

Nope, they stay buckled for the day.


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## bobbutts (Jan 15, 2013)

more technical -> tighter buckles  Is not how I've ever looked at it.
I want them tight for groomers and loose for powder/moguls.  
I feel like when I'm looking to unbuckle on the chair (due to pain) it's an indication that I have them too tight.


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## bdfreetuna (Jan 15, 2013)

Only if the tips of my big toes have gotten too cold and are starting to lose circulation. This sometimes happens for the first few runs before my boots have warmed up and start to feel broken in. And before I really get my blood flowing.

Otherwise I keep them as tight as I can with it still being comfortable.


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## abc (Jan 15, 2013)

drjeff said:


> I've come to realize over the years that if I find myself wanting to unbuckle my boots on the lift that it's because the liners have gotten so packed out that I want/need to buckle them tighter than usual to get the downhill performance that i'm looking for from and that it's likely time to SERIOUSLY consider new boots!


Eeeeexactly!!!

I'm at that stage right now... (I didn't 2 seasons ago, only occasionally last season, every run this season)


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## Scruffy (Jan 15, 2013)

No, I do not touch the buckles all day, even at lunch. With proper fitting boots and Orthotics, you do not need to make a tourniquet of your boots.

I ski with some who are always unbuckling and buckling each time on and off the lift, it's damn annoying waiting at the top for them to adjust their boots :grin:


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## Bene288 (Jan 15, 2013)

I buckle up in the lodge or truck, by the time I walk to the lift for the first run I usually tighten a bit then don't touch them for the rest of the day.


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## SIKSKIER (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't have buckles.I do have to tighten the laces occasionally as the leather stretches out after getting wet.:smash:


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## wtcobb (Jan 16, 2013)

I usually leave them loose for the walk to the lift then tighten up at the top. Then I leave them be throughout the day.


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## jrmagic (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't touch them much but some days temperature changes require me to loosen tighten a bit to adjsut for the shell softness/hardness.


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## legalskier (Jan 16, 2013)

No, mine fit really well. Plus I often have Boot Gloves on them.


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## Cannonball (Jan 16, 2013)

I usually leave my boots alone.  But I do prefer to unbuckle my pants for the ride.


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## Riverskier (Jan 16, 2013)

No, I don't unbuckle. They stay buckled until I am done for the day, even if I take an extended break. There may be valid reasons (perhaps just being more comfortable for some), but I always felt that if you need to constantly buckle and unbuckle that your boots probably don't fit right.


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## Glenn (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't. I don't think it's needed unless you're breaking in new boots...and you don't have them quite dialied in yet. 

Here's a few other rants: Racer kids shouldn't ski with their pants rolled up over their boots. See above statement about not needing to unbuckle. 

Race coaches don't need race stock skis. Unless you're running gates for medals, off the rack skis will do ya just fine.


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## GlassesMolasses (Jan 16, 2013)

Not between runs


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## ToddW (Jan 16, 2013)

Odd man out here.

Unbuckle lower 3 buckles so I can wiggle my foot on the lift to increase circulation (not because of discomfort.)  A properly fitted plug boot with race foam liners can lead to cold feet otherwise.  It's a small price for the huge performance boost of foam.


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## Cheese (Jan 17, 2013)

ToddW said:


> Odd man out here.
> 
> Unbuckle lower 3 buckles so I can wiggle my foot on the lift to increase circulation (not because of discomfort.)  A properly fitted plug boot with race foam liners can lead to cold feet otherwise.  It's a small price for the huge performance boost of foam.



I unbuckle the lower two on every run.  I do crank them down to a lack of circulation tightness though.  If I forget to unbuckle before the chair ride up, the next run is usually rough.  If I forget to unbuckle before standing on a tram for the ride up, I may have just ruined a good hour of my ski day.


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## Bobt2ski (Jan 17, 2013)

I leave my boots buckled for the day!!


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## Hawkshot99 (Jan 17, 2013)

You guys buckle your boots for the ride down?

I sometimes(every 3rd or 4th run) will unbuckle my tow buckle for the lift ride.


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## MadMadWorld (Jan 17, 2013)

I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.


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## drjeff (Jan 17, 2013)

MadMadWorld said:


> I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.



My wife has that buckle-unbuckle "syndrome" - I figure over the course of a day if I'm skiing with her, it costs me about a run.  I've also come to accept that there are bigger things to fret over than that!  Now if it's a powder day, then it turns into "text me when you're done skiing dear and tell me where you'll be!


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## timm (Jan 17, 2013)

MadMadWorld said:


> I hate waiting around at the top of the mountain waiting for a ski buddy to fiddle with their buckles. The only time I loosen my buckles is at lunch.



Seconded.


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## Cheese (Jan 17, 2013)

uphillklimber said:


> Occasionally, I'll lock em down a bit for a bump run



It's just a little shin bang, how much can that hurt?


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## goldsbar (Jan 17, 2013)

Now for the real question:  When you put your boots on, do you buckle from the top down or the bottom up?  I'd say 90%+ do bottom up.  I've read the correct way is top down as the higher the buckle, the more important (i.e. how well the boot holds your ankle is much more important than how it holds your toes) so you want to focus on getting a good fit in that area.

I agree higher buckles are more important, but don't really know if the direction matters.  For the record, I do top down.  I have really thin ankles and the buckle notch I use is actually hard to buckle with my foot out of the boot.


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## MadMadWorld (Jan 17, 2013)

I always thought you were supposed to buckle the lowest shin buckle first. But I don't know if there is any reasoning behind it.


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## steamboat1 (Jan 17, 2013)

I buckle from the bottom up. Do the 2 on the bottom then play with the tongue to get a better fit, at least I feel it's better. The top 2 buckles I do top down but that's because I have to do the top 1st to get the bottom one to close. Then I do the top over making it tighter. After that I don't touch the boots until I take them off at the end of the day.


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## Hawkshot99 (Jan 17, 2013)

Bottom to top. Pulls the boot together so there is less adjusting of the buckles


Sent from my SGH-S959G using Tapatalk 2


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## Bene288 (Jan 17, 2013)

I always do the two toe buckles, then the velcro strap, then the shin buckles. The boot strap is my most important buckle.


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## Conrad (Jan 17, 2013)

Has anyone ever done the topic "Do you use the safety bar riding a chairlift whenever there is one?" If not, maybe I'll start it.


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## ScottySkis (Jan 18, 2013)

Greg said:


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In Vermont all the chairs have them, usually if their are children on the chair yes, if I'm by my self on a non detachable chair then no.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2


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## Smellytele (Jan 18, 2013)

On my alpine boots I have 5 buckles. I do the 2 toe buckles then the strap then the middle buckle up. Then recheck them all for tightness. On the tele boots I only have 3 buckles - toe then strap then middle  then top recheck for tightness


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## drjeff (Jan 18, 2013)

Scotty said:


> In Vermont all the chairs have them, usually if their are children on the chair yes, if I'm by my self on a non detachable chair then no.
> 
> Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2



There is 1 chair in VT, at an operating resort that doesn't have a safety bar.....


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## Cheese (Jan 18, 2013)

Conrad said:


> Has anyone ever done the topic "Do you use the safety bar riding a chairlift whenever there is one?" If not, maybe I'll start it.



Start it!


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## Smellytele (Jan 18, 2013)

Conrad said:


> Has anyone ever done the topic "Do you use the safety bar riding a chairlift whenever there is one?" If not, maybe I'll start it.



I have seen a thread on this or at least there was discussion of it within a thread.


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## drjeff (Jan 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


> I have seen a thread on this or at least there was discussion of it within a thread.



I think actually that there was a discussion about having a discussion within a thread about having a thread to discuss should we have a discussion about it  (Pretty sure that one started in the dog days of summer when AZ is at it's most "interesting" and/or desperate for snow best!  :lol:


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## Smellytele (Jan 18, 2013)

drjeff said:


> I think actually that there was a discussion about having a discussion within a thread about having a thread to discuss should we have a discussion about it  (Pretty sure that one started in the dog days of summer when AZ is at it's most "interesting" and/or desperate for snow best!  :lol:


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## drjeff (Jan 18, 2013)

Smellytele said:


>



And I only had to edit my post about 5 times to get the proper grammar and tenses  :lol:


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## rowdymainstay (Jan 20, 2013)

I unbuckle the bottom two buckles on each boot because I like I ski with them super tight, which makes my toes go numb.


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## Gilligan (Jan 20, 2013)

drjeff said:


> There is 1 chair in VT, at an operating resort that doesn't have a safety bar.....



Well, where is it? :smile:


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## Smellytele (Jan 20, 2013)

Gilligan said:


> Well, where is it? :smile:



Mt Snow


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## deadheadskier (Jan 21, 2013)

I do and almost always have.  I don't think it's the result of improper fitting boots.  I've got intuition liners and have had my boots worked on by Richelson's to perfect the fit. 

 It's just a personal preference for a more relaxed fit while on the lift.


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## Terry (Jan 21, 2013)

Never. Buckle them once in the morning and don't touch them till the day is done.


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## holmes (Jan 23, 2013)

Yesterday at hunter it was low single digits at the summit.

If I didn't unbuckle for the ride up my feet would be very cold after a run or two.

On a normal day in the 30's I leave them buckled.


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