Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I can't remember what thread it's on, but people were complaining about the eyelet and hook pattern on newer Alpina Alaskas. Something I agreed with. From the toe: four pair of closed eyelets, one pair of open hooks, a pair of loops, then another three pair of open hooks. Why that first pair of open hooks, below the loops?

I figured Alpina must've done this for a reason, and a memory came to me of alternate lacing techniques. I tried something today, and had no blisters, although I had them my last long day. Mine are new this year.

From the toe, use the first three pair of closed eyelets normally, skip the first open hooks and cross over to use the loops first, cross over back down to the first open hooks, cross over past the loops to the next open hooks above, and continue. I hope I don't need a picture... I've never done it here.

Utilize a surgeon's knot before or after the loops.

YMMV.

"Why that first pair of open hooks, below the loops?"
Because you tighten the Lowe eyelets to your liking; those next hooks , you will notice, will lock the lace in place, thus keeping the lower lacing to your preferred snugness.

I get the technique of skipping a lace point over the instep, and did so a bit on my Alaskas as they broke in (a few tours time). Have done that on some other boots as well over the years. I'm not a fan of nylon loops for the instep lacing - at all. Every pair of footwear I've had over the years with those (several), they wear thru before the rest of the shoe is done. Friction of lace on webbing... bad idea.My Alaska's are doing OK with that issue so far, and I did note when I bought them that there would be enough material left to improvise a repair if, or when, they blow out.

Yeah, I didn't just skip the open hooks, but came back to them. I'll try to find a picture online.

エイダン.シダル wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 05, 2022 8:08 pm

Yeah, I didn't just skip the open hooks, but came back to them. I'll try to find a picture online.

posting photos is not hard, but its not intuitive, and i've forgotten how to do it after wooderson kindly told me how. it should be in the FAQ but i cant find it there. hopefully someone will chime in. i'd love to see a photo fo your technique.

When you make a post, look for the "Attachments" tab below the box that you type your words in.

- Click the "Attachments" tab ("Options" tab will be selected by default).
- Click "Add Files" button. This will open file browser.
- Select photo you want to place in post. It will upload.
- Once upload is complete, place your cursor back in the wordy box above. Select spot where you want your picture to be uploaded, relative to your words.
- Back down below wordy box, near file name, click "Place Inline".
Photo will be inserted where your cursor was up in the wordy box.

Thanks. But that's nuts.

エイダン.シダル wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 06, 2022 6:48 am

Thanks. But that's nuts.

its easier than it sounds! but its hard to remember. at least for me.

エイダン.シダル wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 06, 2022 6:48 am

Thanks. But that's nuts.

@エイダン.シダル I suspect you are much younger than me. When I started sharing binary computer files online with USENET I had to encode the image as ASCII (text) and split it between 100 posts due to the size limit of each posting! The turn-of-the millennium technology we have here on Telemark Talk is high-tech by comparison.

But back on topic with the Alaskas: I have mine laced the way you described and it works pretty well. What I don't understand is why all the Alpina marketing photos for these boots show them laced a different way. It also seems that Alpina changed the lacing system for the Xplore Alaska boots. I am not sure what to make of all that.

I may be older than you think: just over fifty. However, I was relatively late to the Internet: philosophy, not STEM grad, and was abroad in Japan for the mid-nineties. There were two email/Internet barriers as a Gaijin in Japan then: language, and the fact that Japan never jumps on any other nation's innovations - or at least not anymore.

And at the risk of alienating someone here, marketing is specifically mentioned as Golgafrincham by Douglas Adams. Sigh... Our heritage as humans.

Off Topic:

debug g=c800:5
And stealing SLIP through a Terminal account using TIA (The Internet Adapter)
Geek out.