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Post by livingproof on Nov 4, 2014 5:50:17 GMT -7
I just may become a member of the ZipFit liner club. An Epic member is selling a new pair of ZF Garra liners in my size, and, my Atomic Redster stock liners are wearing much faster than I would have expected. The quality of this Atomic liner was questionable in at least one review I read prior to purchase, so, it's time to upgrade. It's a great deal, 50% off the MSRP.
The Garra is Zip Fit's minimal volume liner designed for plug type boots. It should be a good fit as there is little room for play in my existing boots where the liner is also very thin.
Any thoughts before I pull the trigger?
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Post by livingproof on Nov 4, 2014 5:53:53 GMT -7
Edit to eliminate double post....duhhh!
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Post by livingproof on Nov 5, 2014 8:27:08 GMT -7
^^^^
Note to self: When you come a across a great deal in something you actually "need", stop overthinking and just buy it. Especially if it's a one time deal. My proposed buy sold prior to my contacting the seller. Somebody's smiling, but, not me.
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Post by roundturns on Nov 6, 2014 18:40:49 GMT -7
LP, this is my first post on the forum and I certainly do not want to provide any miss information regarding the Zipfit Gara, but I bought a pair last year that had never been used on Ebay. The liners were new as described in a 26.5 size.
I tried to get them to fit in my Atomic CS shells whose stock liner was also a 26 liner and shell. The stock Atomic liner was very low volume. I was not concerned as the Gara is described as being a match for plug shells, so I was thinking they certainly would not be higher volume volume than the stock liner.
Surprisingly, the Gara barely fit in my shells. I could steam the shells and slide my foot and liner in the shell and the Gara liner split the overlap boot seam apart quite a bit. I could buckle the shell shut after this steaming process.
My observation of the Gara liner, was the outside leather is pretty rigid and stiff. Maybe if I would have been brave enough to try and remove some of the cork liner material this could have helped but I was real reluctant to try and do this. My aptitude in doing stuff like this is bad.
I read with interest the modifications and procedures High Angles employed to get his Zipfits to fit in his shells. I think you need to be prepared to have to do some or all of the same things with this product.
I think I could have made the Gara Zipfits work with my shells if I would have decided to get the heated boot bag and always had a very warm and pliable shell to slide the liners into. I thought hard about doing that and decided not to.
In summary, I believe it is possible to achieve a great fit with the Zipfits but it might entail a good bit more effort than what you would initially expect. This was my experience with Zipfit and I think the tighter your current fit is with your current liners and shells the fitting process with the Zipfits becomes more entailed. In my case my shells are a 26 and shoe size 10.5 ,so I don't have a lot of room and I was surprised to see that the Gara's were higher volume than the stock liner in my boot.
Good luck in all of this. I ended up selling mine for about $75 less than I paid for them so it was not an expensive mistake. I forgot to add that I used silicone spray on the Gara liners to get them to go in the shells easier.
I think the heated boot bag is a necessary component in making the Zips work in a shell that is pretty tight to start with.
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Post by livingproof on Nov 10, 2014 7:17:42 GMT -7
Roundturns,
Welcome to the Peak Skiers forum. For other forum members, roundturns is a regular poster on Epic. 4 years,or so, ago, at the Epic Summit Co. Gathering, roundturns and I made some turns one morning at Vail. It was very warm and sunny the previous spring day, but, the overnight freeze remained throughout the ski day, and, it was one very difficult day to get edges into Colorado snow. Memory tells me that roundturns, who lives in Pittsburgh area, is a frequent visitor to Vail, so, if you intend to be there, there is a chance to meet up.
Thanks for the write-up of your experiences with the Gara liner. For sure, the stock liner in my Atomic Redster boots has minimum volume, and, my shell fit tells me there is not much space in that low volume boot. But, the liners sold to someone else, so, it's not an issue at present. I'm ok for this season, but, replacements are required in the future. At $400 for ZipFits, a new boot may be a better answer.
Roundturns, feel free to jump into any thread with your thoughts. Additional voices are always welcome, rational ones at least!
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