Tips and Tricks from Lou and Friends
More Scarpa Laser Mods!
A. I hate the way my power straps always move around, so I riveted
them in place (you can see the rivet showing in the side-view
photo photos of the tongue mod on the previous page.)
B. After my flex was perfect, I had footbeds and custom
Thermoflex liners installed. When molding the liners, I added
extra material in front of my toes, so my toes wouldn't hit while
kicking steps, and they'd stay warmer. Take care when picking
liners that you use ones with dense foam. AT boots are softer
than alpine boots, so too soft a liner will feel like skiing with
your feet in plastic bags full of Jell-O...
C. After you adjust your cuff cant (if needed) apply thread
locker (Locktite) to the cant screw threads. There have been reports
of them coming loose..
Speaking of fit, be advised that the "anatomical"
(for some people) shell of the Laser has a high arch, rather
than the flat foot-ramp which most
ski boots have. This arch caused me no end of angst while fitting
my boots. I finally realized it was so high my foot was being
suspended by the arch, no matter what I did with the footbed
in my liner. Once I realized the problem the solution was simple:
a 3/16 inch pad glued to the top of the heel pad that comes stock
in the boot shell. Everyone's feet are different, but if the
Laser
feels funny to you, check the shell's built-in arch.
D.
I like to keep my upper buckle loose for walk mode. When doing
so, the buckles wouldn't stay latched, and kept catching on things
and making it difficult to work my pant cuffs up and down when
changing modes.
Solution: a bit of bungie cord, a boot-lace
clip, a few rivets. Tip: As my goal is to ski peaks, I always
fit and
modify my boots first for downhill performance, then tweak
for uphill comfort. The whole process takes weeks, as I ski
the boots
after each mod.
E. This one was fun. I hate having two settings for forward lean.
I mean, who wants to be at the top of a 14,000-foot peak in the
middle of winter, trying to guess which position you clicked into
for your best ski performance? Not me. Being bold in mechanical
things, I dismantled the Laser lean lock mechanism, welded one
of the holes shut, then reassembled. Peace.
I hope you enjoyed reading about Laser boot mods, and perhaps
tackling a few. Let me know how it goes (I check in at the Couloir
Magazine discussion
forums.)
Shalom...
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