Louis wrote:Do they finally have wizards on the team, or did Fischer boots get better?
The Fischer boots have been improving, at least the WC level models. For example, many of the skiers using them on the WC have a boot with a modified or zero abduction. They have recently introduced a zero abduction model in the US but on a very limited basis and they will probably go further with it next season (at least to the FIS level racers). The other big change has been the vacuum system. If correctly fitted, these boots are amazingly comfortable compared to other race-level products. For me, it took out the variable of emerging pressure points that always seemed a moving target during the ski season. Now, I could focus much more on alignment causes and effects instead of pain avoidance. I also found that the set-up of the boot got easier to master (although this is always a bit of a work in progress).
Fischer did have a lot of bugs early on (I broke four pairs from the first two years with less than 10 days of skiing on each) and there are still issues with some stress points, but the overall boot integrity is much improved. That being my opinion of them, Fischer has a huge issue with many dealers that don’t really know how to set-up and operate the molding system and this can cause some pretty unfavorable results (and hurting their brand). Beyond that, the fitter still needs to be committed to understanding a skiers individual biomechanics; the vacuum system has nothing to do with setting up for proper balance, stance, or alignment to achieve PMTS skiing movements. It simply creates a really good fitting boot around the chosen foot bed, ramp angle, cuff set, etc. All of this still remains in the hands of the fitter and in the knowledge of the skier. As HH pointed out, proper alignment what people pay him for.
I might also add that one reason you see so many athletes on Fischer boots at the WC level is a result of some pretty aggressive marketing in Europe ($$$ do motivate equipment choices by young athletes).