Old gear

I can't be the only guy who, once he finds something he likes, sticks with it forever. I'm thinking of it because I'm in the midst of re-gluing the Velcro on my boots' straps for about the 3rd if 4th time. With all the Nordic guys and upstaters here, there's gotta be some ancient stuff still being used. How far back does your stuff go?

Get a Booster Strap.  They make a huge difference

https://boosterstrap.com/

Thanks, coach.
I know about booster straps; not a bad idea. I'm not looking for a performance boost though, just a little more longevity, one more season I guess.

Brownski wrote

I can't be the only guy who, once he finds something he likes, sticks with it forever. I'm thinking of it because I'm in the midst of re-gluing the Velcro on my boots' straps for about the 3rd if 4th time. With all the Nordic guys and upstaters here, there's gotta be some ancient stuff still being used. How far back does your stuff go?

When I learned that Karhu/Merrill was discontinuing the Merrill double, I bought two new pairs.  They were $475 the year before, $100 after they were discontinued. If I am to believe the guy I spoke too all those years ago they were the last two pairs in my size in America.

One is still in the wrapper. I will probably be dead before I ever use them.

I did the same thing with my XCDGTs. Those I use all the time.

Old gear or cheap bastard.  Which is it?  I can fit the bill in both categories, I think.  Although, most of my current ski gear is not older than 2 or 3 seasons at most, but that's just due to my migration to tele.  My bushwhacking XC gear is about 10 years old.  Boots start to hurt once packed out though...I almost always purchase a new pair of liners to extend the life of boots...which usually works wonders.  How old are those Koflachs, Brownski?

I think I got them in ''99 but they still ski nice. A salesman told me recently I should only figure on getting 100 days out of a pair of boots. I had some light years when my kids were babies and there is some overlap with another pair but I think they are well over 200 days now.

100 days out of alpine boots is a crazy lowball. AT boots, maybe (but most likely many more).

100 Days?! Obviously not a very experienced sales person

With a conventional liner I figure on two seasons for a pair of boots roughly 130-150 days. After that I feel the liner is packed out and my foot is moving around.

Its worth it to invest in upgrade to the ID or intuition liners as I am yet to have an ID liner pack out.  The buckles start falling apart before those liners pack out.

Thanks for the advice, coach. I may actually do that. I'm happy with them for now but when I feel my feet start sliding around inside them, I'll consider new liners and straps. It's actually a good option for me cause I have monster sized calves and finding boots that fit both my feet and my calves can be difficult. I agree with you guys that 100 days is nothing. I guess that guy was trying to sell me new boots.

Realized the other day my poles are actually my oldest peice of gear by far. I bought a pair of adjustables a couple years ago but most days I still grab these. They date to 1990 I think. Is there any reason for a non racer to upgrade his poles?

Some times I push it too far I guess...