Lange Ski Boots

[NSP Brian]

I'm looking for help identifying a pair of Lange ski boots I acquired.

They are a black plastic boot with yellow liner. They appear to be of the vintage of the first plastic boots made, and are similar to what was pictured in Lange ads from a few years ago. However, the boots in the ads appear to have a taller cuff than mine.

The only identifing marks are the word "pro" molded into the sole of the boot, and a serial number on side of the heel. There is also a metal red white and blue Lange logo on the back of the boot.

These boots are in remarkable shape, and the sole appears to never have been walked on. I purchased them for $5 at a ski swap that I help run.

Thanks for any assistance.

[Seth]

I'm guessing you have the 1969-70 Lange Pro. There were three models that year, the Lange Standard (blue liner), Lange Pro, (red liner), and Lange Comp (yellow liner, and possibly a slightly higher cuff -- though the higher cuff probably came the following season, if I remember correctly). Lange was still gluing the liner into the shells, and the buckles were of a soft extruded aluminum that bent pretty easily This was the year Nordica introduced the slick Astral series with a removable leather liner and began to eat Lange's lunch.

I had the Comp, and they turned my feet to hamburger.

Seth

[NSP Brian]

Thanks for the information. You're right on about the buckles. They are very soft, and one is bent.

[Unregistered]

I am an old ski racer who was sponsored by Lange in the late 60s when they were figuring out how to do a plastic boot without maiming everyone who wore them! They tortured everyone's feet who wore them! My father and Lange and my uncle worked together to create a boot that "gave" and responded to subtle weight changes and toe movements, as well as NOT creating stress fractures (as I did) going over the back of the book. Except for the boys/men, I was one of the few women for several season who wore them. As I DID get an undiagnosed boot top hairline fracture that took two years to heal, and was in line for some serious international racing for the US, it was imperative to figure this flaw out. My father molded fiberglass pieces to my calf, fitting them between the liner and the outside of the boot top, and we actually had to TAPE that all together to give me the kind of support I needed, and it was still unstable. My uncle worked with Lange and they finally figured out how to mold that piece as part of the back of the boot top, and today, its the streamlined version of the first necessary adjustments...

Vermont 60s Racer