Rear Entry Boots For Comfort And Convenience.

If you bring up the subject of ski boots among senior skiers, you’re bound to hear someone lament the demise of rear-entry boots or praise the old Raichle Full Flex boots (AKA Flexon Comps). Today when some oldsters need boot horns to get into their ski boots and boot jacks to remove them, these defunct models have a nostalgic appeal.

Rear-entry boots pivoted open from a center point to provide a wide space to insert the foot, while Flexon Comps had a tongue that hinged forward, with wires and clamps to secure them. Neither style won much appeal from ski racers, and instructors talked recreational skiers out of using them, presumably because they were not judged sufficiently stable.

True, Bill Johnson won his downhill gold medal in the 1984 Winter Olympics wearing Flexon Comps, but that wasn’t enough to save the pattern. By 1999 both models were gone.

Some devotees stockpiled the boots. Others turned to thrift shops and Ebay for boots or parts to keep them going. For most skiers these old comfort boots seemed to be gone forever.

Enter Full Tilt boots! Someone had the good sense to buy the original Raichle molds, improve the dynamics of the older models, and re-launch them in the mid 2000s. I never see Full Tilts reviewed or advertised in ski magazines, but you can find all their current boots online at www.FullTiltBoots.com and locate a dealer.

My wife and I own two pair of Full Tilts each and find them comfortable, warm and convenient. My older pair are the original black-and-yellow “Bumble Bee” style, and they even have “Flexon Comp” molded into the back side of the tongue. Nowadays they come in a variety of attractive colors and designs and are popular with freestyle skiers and other hotshots.

Once we met a group of young ladies from a college in Vermont training for freestyle at Brighton, Utah who all wore Full Tilts, so we posed with them for a picture—Grandpa and Grandma flanking the kids, all in colorful boots.

Full Tilt boots have heat moldable liners that wrap around and conform to the shape of your foot. A dealer will heat and fit the boots properly, or you can just warm them with a hair dryer and wear them around the house to get a good fit.

The boots come with a user manual detailing adjustments for liners, cables, buckles and tongues (all replaceable) for setting the forward lean or canting. We’ve never had to make such micro-adjustments; the only changes I’ve made are replacing the exterior heel pads secured by two screws about once a season.

Prices for Full Tilts are comparable to other modern ski boots, but—as with most ski gear—if you look online or check local shops off-season you can usually find some on sale.

I was on a gondola once at Sun Valley with a couple wearing Flexon Comps. I stuck out my Full Tilts for a comparison photo—comfort ski boots, old and new. You gotta love it, seniors!