When I started skiing in the early 90’s, ski boots were the worst part. They were hard to get into, hard to get out of, made your feet cold and were never very comfortable. 30 years later a lot has changed in the ski industry, skis have gotten lighter and now have all kinds of great rocker and camber shapes. Ski boots however have not changed much. Yes most ski boots are still hard to get into, hard to get out of, make your feet cold, and are not very comfortable. But there is an exception to this norm, a boot that delivers both comfort and performance. Before I tell you about that boot let me walk down memory lane and tell you how I found this life-changing boot.
Starting out, the gear wasn’t that important to me. Getting the latest and greatest equipment when you are skiing in jeans (yes, go ahead and laugh, once as a child I skied in jeans) was definitely not the priority. My first years skiing involved being herded through the cheapest rental shop on the outside of town and being thrown into some early 80’s ski boots that were the wrong size and LOVING it. Yes my feet hurt and yes it wasn’t comfortable, but I was the kid that would run around barefoot on scorching black asphalt that could fry an egg during the summer. So despite the fact that my feet hurt, I was cold, and my ski pants (jeans) were all wet, I was skiing which meant that I was having fun. As I continued to ski through the years I started to acquire better gear (like ski pants) and had a preference for better skis etc. But one thing that didn’t change, even when fit right was the uncomfortable ski boots. As I got older I grew to despise my ski boots.
Although ski boot designs haven’t changed much over the years, at the time there were some innovative boots out. I remember seeing the Salomon SX 90 ski boots which were a rear-entry boot that hinged backwards allowing you to slide in and out much easier than a traditional boot. This boot was based on the Hanson rear entry ski boots that became popular in the 80’s. Denny Hanson and his brother Chris were the pioneers of this ski boot innovation and it turns out Denny had a big part in the very ski boot that changed my life. The first time a saw a rear-entry boot was on a particularly cold morning at a little ski resort in Southern New Mexico called ski Apache. My friends and I were gearing up in the parking lot and I was struggling to get my ski boots on (as usual). I looked over and saw some “old guy” (he was probably 30 lol) just slide into his boots and I was immediately jealous. Turns out that was our last ski trip of the year and the following season I decided to try out Snowboarding. I never would get a chance to try out rear entry ski boots.
As a skier, learning to snowboard was brutal. But despite all the bumps and bruises that came along the way, I found that my feet were comfortable and that alone made me leave skiing behind for good. I loved being able to walk up stairs and to and from the parking lot with ease. I never thought I’d ski again. It wasn’t until I started working in a ski shop 20 years later where I discovered the one piece of equipment that would get me back out on two planks. I had only been working at the shop for a couple of weeks when I was asked to shadow their expert boot fitter. He was already in the process of the fit when I started to approach the ski boot bench and the customer was walking around in snowboard boots. Confused I asked the boot fitter “why are they in snowboard boots”? I was a little frustrated as I was sent there to watch him do a ski boot fit. He assured me that I was in the right place, this WAS a ski boot. He picked up a frame and proceeded to have his customer step into and buckle it to the snowboard boot. “So you’re telling me that you can ski in this?” I asked with skepticism. The answer was a solid “YES”. My mind was blown, this was exactly what I had always wanted. A boot that was warm and comfortable like my snowboard boots but that I could ski in! It was called the Apex Ski Boot system. A two-part system that consisted of a comfortable walking boot and a stiff performance chassis. Remember when I mentioned Denny Hanson who created the rear entry ski boot and revolutionized the industry in the 80’s? Well, he is the mastermind behind doing it all again with Apex.
The next week I got a chance to go to a ski and snowboard demo in Taos New Mexico. Since I now worked in the ski industry I knew I wanted to be an expert in what I sold. I didn’t want to just be a snowboarder lying to people about their skis. This meant I needed to start skiing again. I was excited to try out the Apex Ski boot and see if it really did what I had been told. It had been more than 20 years since I had skied and I knew it would be just like riding a bicycle right? WRONG. Turns out it was more like being a newborn baby colt unstable, unsure, and hardly in control. The rust did wear off after a couple of awkward runs, and I was truly skiing again by the end of the day. As for the boots? Well my feet felt great and I never had to take them off or stop skiing to find relief. I couldn’t believe that this boot existed. Thanks to the Apex Ski boots I was back on skis and loving every moment. The second day of the demo I decided to test some snowboards out too and was impressed that I could use the Apex Ski boot as my snowboard boot! I switched back and forth from testing skis to snowboards all with the same boots.
Skiing held such great memories for me from my childhood. I never thought I would want to ski again. Discovering Apex Ski boots changed everything I thought I knew about ski boots. It brought me back to a sport that I truly loved. I have now been skiing with Apex boots for 8 seasons and the boot system itself has only gotten better. If the pain or discomfort of ski boots has made you stop skiing or even think about it, then you should give these boots a try. They will change your life.