by AnI » Wed Mar 27, 2019 9:27 am
Yahoo! I have the same black boots, Raptor Speed RS!
A year ago, Sierra Trading Post got a batch of those boots from somewhere, I guess from Europe, and was selling them for $150 a pair (!!!!), brand new. I checked with Diana and she confirmed that it is a real deal, Raptor RS 140 in a limited black edition, sold primarily in Europe (they were not listed on Head US site at all). They look super awesome in black. I bought a pair for myself and three pairs in different sizes for my son, to grow into. He started skiing in them this year and loves them. Since I've completed training in bootfitting and ski alignment and have the tools, I've been gradually dialing in the fit and alignment and eliminating the pressure spots through the season, skiing sometimes in new and sometimes in old boots. It is nice to not be rushed.
I did not experience any unusual pressure points, they fit and feel essentially the same way as my old grey Raptors. They needed the same amount of bootfitting as my old one, especially around my ankle bones.
If one types "Raptor Speed RS" into Google, one gets many pictures from various sites. It looks like they were produced for three years, one year in black-light yellow-white with buckles on rivets, another year same colors with buckles on screws, and third year in a slightly different color, with darker yellow and with some writing in red (which I think looks worse that the streamlined black-yellow-white). I am not certain if colors with red were the first or last year from the three.
Roundturns, did you do thermo-fit of liners? If you have a modern convention oven at home, you can heat them up in the oven right at home. There is a good chance that this would help.
Also, you could grind down the footbeds a little in the toe area, or make footbeds using a thinner blank. Or you could thin down the bootboard, but be careful with it - it is not reversible. Start with the liner because this is most likely where the problem is.