Tag Archive for: Dahu ski boots

Jon Weisberg

Dahu: The Tesla of Ski Boots

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Dahu boots are a game changer.

 

Isn’t it remarkable how electric vehicles are taking over the automotive industry? By 2035, virtually all General Motors vehicles will be battery powered. Our grandkids will look back and tell their kids about a time when combustion engines ruled.

I think a similar new frontier is being established with the Dahu ski boot. The company has parted ways with traditional boot makers and come up with materials and design that make it as different from the others as Tesla is to Dodge.

It’s a game changer.

Dahu boots were conceived and developed to be fitted more easily, minimize ski boot discomfort, and maximize performance.

The shell has a dozen strategically located holes that eliminate foot hotspots most skiers – especially older skiers – experience. Think about this feature: it gets rid of the need for bootfitters to manipulate the plastic to relieve pressure points. The car equivalent? No more engine tune-ups!

Made of a Swiss polyamide composite, the shell combines lightness and durability and consistent flex, regardless of temperature. It has a hinged tongue with two micro-adjustable buckles and a hinged, releasable rear with a patented aluminum spine which helps transfer body energy to the ski. Interestingly, the spine contributes to each skier’s ideal stance.

A comfy, insulated leather inner boot has a grooved rubber sole which provides traction when the inner is worn separately from the shell. Those grooves interlock with ridges and grooves in the shell, the net erect being greater torsional stiffness and more efficient energy transfer from body to ski.

I understand this is a lot to absorb. But I know that many of you have had it with your conventional boots. Our August reader survey asked, among other things, what items you intended to purchase in the next two years. Of the 3000+ responses, about one-third indicated ski boots. And from comments made during past reader surveys, sent to the site and to me personally, I know that finding a better boot is top-of-mind for many older skiers.

If you’ve had it with conventionally designed boots and are looking for a pair that can be fit more easily (including using one-on-one zoom sessions), will keep your feet warm and comfortable and, most importantly, perform for any level of skiing, click on the Dahu advertisement on the right side of the page.

 

Jon Weisberg

Finally! A Ski Boot For Older Feet

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I recently had an online boot-fitting session with Dahu, the remarkable Swiss ski boot that advertises with SeniorsSkiing.com.

Before sending a pair of loaners, the company asked for my street shoe size. I could have used their App to determine foot volume but didn’t go through that short step. As it turned out, the boots they sent were the correct size.

Why is this Swiss-designed ski boot remarkable? This is not the same-old prettified with a new buckle or a different color. Dahu was conceived and developed to be fitted more easily, minimize ski boot discomfort, and maximize skier performance.

Although I have not yet skied Dahu, I am convinced it is the ideal boot for older skiers.

Here’s why: The boot has a comfortable, insulated leather inner boot with a patented grooved rubber sole that interfaces strategically with grooves in the shell. This interlocking interface enhances the boot’s torsional stiffness, thus maximizing energy transfer from skier to ski. 

Worn separately from the shell, the inner boot delivers traction in all conditions. Good looking, too.

Dahu’s shell is made of Grilamid polyamide composite, a Swiss product combining lightness and durability and consistent flex at all temperatures.

The shell features a hinged tongue with two micro-adjustable buckles and a hinged, releasable rear, incorporating the patented aluminum Powerbeam spine. Similar to the inner boot that interfaces with the shell, the Powerbeam helps transfer body energy to the ski. It also contributes to each skier’s ideal stance. 

Like another Swiss product – Swiss cheese – the shell is filled with holes. This feature eliminates the vexing hotspots on most skiers’ feet. Those of you who’ve engaged skilled boot fitters to reshape conventional boots using hair dryers and other tools will know what I’m talking about. By analyzing the common hot spots on most skiers’ feet and removing those sections of shell, Dahu has overcome that issue – extremely important for skiers whose feet have changed with age.

I haven’t skied them yet, but my 40-minute Zoom fitting session assured me it will be a good on-hill experience.

Words don’t do this boot justice. I strongly recommend visiting Dahu’s website to get a more visual picture of the way this unique product works.

One additional thing:  Dahu named its shell, Corsair, after the aircraft carrier fighter planes. I’m sure it’s a lot easier to slip foot into liner and liner into shell than it is to land on an aircrat carrier. 

Students of Naval history will recall that corsairs also were pirate ships operating hundreds of years ago. Based on ease of fit, comfort and performance, I think Dahu’s Corsair shell and that super comfortable liner will be plundering attention and sales from the rest of the industry.