The problem with NTN boots.
The problem with NTN boots.
One of the things that made broken in leather such a good tele boot was that the crease that developed was anatomical with the natural flex point of the toes, meaning the knee naturally dropped outward of the ski. Old leathers actually telemark turned very well; they just lacked the stiffness to bust crud, aid balance, etc. That flex angle... This helped naturally pull the inside ski away from the outside ski, and uphill, especially at turn initiation. Look at old footage of us in the 80's and you will see a lot more width split between the skis. I rarely clacked skis unless in chop or bumps. On groomers never. NTN boots are especially bad about ski clack. As you begin to drop the knee, for a split second the ski is aimless before the ski has enough angle for its tip to take over and hook. My TX Pro's have bellows that are almost 90 degrees to the boot length, like a box foot, rather than angling aft to outside like a foot naturally hinges at the toes, the bellow not progressively widening towards the outside of the foot like a foot asks for. Especially at initial turn in, the NTN boot pulls the inside ski up against the outside ski before a hard edge is found, counter to what you'd want, meaning it is working against you. My old duckbill Garmont Gara's have a much more pronounced natural flex, and I'd even like more. Not softer, but more natural. My old Merrill SuperComps (leather lowers/platic cuffs) after being broken in were way more creased at an angle than any duckbill or NTN produced today. Anyone else agree?