Garmont G-Ride Boot Problems?

Greg - Yup, Nate is who I spoke to. Garmont must train their warranty department well to respond the same way regardless of the problem - almost robotic in nature. ???<br><br>Paul...we've never talked in detail when we ski together, particularly since we have different boots, so I wasn't sure of your strategy with the buckles while touring.

I too am blister prone and feel your pain...a tenderfoot.<br><br>My latest solution to blisters and hot-spots has been the green "Superfeet" footbed. They've been the magic bullet for me and fit my dirtbag budget at $30 a pair.<br><br>They also give me better edge control in skiing. I use them in all my boots, AT, downhill, hiking and skates. And yes, being a true dirtbag, I have one pair and swap them between boots.<br><br>Oh yeah, my AT boots are the Nordica TR-12, which I consider the LA-Z-BOY of touring boots. Heavy, ugly, but oh so cushy!<br><br>-Doug

Anybody tried the new Scarpa Matrix? Word is it's much stiffer than the Laser was; which I found too soft and consequently would throw me in the back seat when skiing crud, etc.

<br>I tried it this past wkend at Sports LTD in Tahoe. (Great store overall, plus they have almost all the new toys in stock for this season.) Definitely an improvement in forward stiffness over the Laser. (The tongue is still super-floppy though, but then again that just means you can up the stiffness even more by adding an old Raichle Flexon tongue as shown on Lou Dawson's website.) The new walk-ski switch could be tough to operate with gloved hands. And despite the magazine reviews to the contrary, I didn't think the fore/aft range in walk mode was anything special (and was definitely less than my heavily modified old GSM). The buckles are better than on the original Laser, but I think the new buckles were already on the 03-04 Laser?<br><br>

From what I've seen the new Scarpa liners are very soft and squishy...I really don't like them. Unfortunately.

<br>I'm not quite sure what you mean by "new" - they're in their third season, albeit with minor tweaks each time, and they're really just variations of the Intuition liners (ditto for Raichle and Dynafit). But I agree they are far different from the Garmont liners, and can be described as soft n squishy. They're definitely not as responsive as the thin dense liners of my Nordica Dobermann "plug" race boots, but then again I've run gates in the backcountry only four times, so definitely not as much of a priority. Plus they're super warm and super comfy. <br><br>BTW, another interesting liner is the one in the Lowa Struktura Light - almost seems to be a cross between an Intuition, G Fit, and traditional sewn liner (even has laces up the tongue and around the instep).

FYI the blisters show up wearing the Garmont Adrenalin too. I'ld say right around the two mile mark of the skin up to Muir.....But they sure do ski nice.

I took the G-Rides down to Jim Mates' yesterday, and we spent about 45 minutes carefully checking my bare foot in the shell with ink on my heel - the conclusion was that the spot where I get the blisters was not touching the shell with my foot flat on the footbed. In other words, it is a movement problem rather than a shell fit problem. He pressed out a point on the forefoot that was bothering me and suggested that I try skinning with the bottom 3 buckles buckled to hold my ankle down (he does this, but he's a tele skier). Didn't charge me for the "follow-up."

GregL - You must have had an appt. right? My understanding is you just can't "drop in". I'm convinced mine is a movement problem is well, because I feel the heel slightly lifting during skinning (no matter how tight the boot is). I've tried heel shims too, but that didn't work.<br><br>So Greg, is it still somewhat inconclusive based on your meeting with Jim re: what is causing the blisters other than to try skinning with the lowest 3 buckles tightened down? As for the forefoot, was this done in response to your heel issue or just not enough space towards the top of the foot?<br><br>Thx,<br>DC<br>