Tech Boot Repair

I have blown out the tech insets (or holes) in the toe of my La Sportiva Spectre boots. The metal insert is broken when it meets the little points of Dynafit Radical bindings.

Is there a shop in the region that can repair this? Maybe remove the broken inserts and press in new ones?

Thanks for any info.

Sounds dire. I'd contact La Sportiva directly and ask about a repair or whether they'll send new boots.

If that doesn't work, I know that Cast touring can install inserts into alpine boots and might be able to repair: casttouring.com/
Locally you could try Pro Ski in North Bend or cobbler Dave Page, but they might not be able to help.

Already tried La Sportiva and got nowhere. Also tried the shop in Portland that I bought them from (but I can't remember the name because I'm having a nearly-senior moment).

I'll try Ski Pro, but do you have any contact info for cobbler Dave Page?

And Cast Touring is another interesting option--thanks!

If they're new, Sportiva should fix them unless you somehow voided the warranty. That's a pretty uncommon failure mode. Any shop that carries the boot should be able to help you get them warrantied.

You should post a picture. I've never seen a broken toe insert before

How old are these boots? If you cant get anywhere with lasportiva then you might give your credit card extended warranty a try if you have that and they aren't too old.

Lou Dawson and the TGR forums might both be rather interested in a photo of a broken toe insert.

Boot manufacturers have a lot on the line with their insert metallurgy; there's a lot of mechanical stress on those little guys.

CAST touring in Colorado have the parts & the know-how to install new inserts. Their main interest in this area is in retro-fitting tech inserts into boots that never had them, but I suspect they will be able to do what you need. It costs about $170.
OOps, just read the thread. Yes you already knwo this.

If you want to do it yourself CAST will send you the inserts for 40 or 50 bucks. You need to pull off the rubber sole or grind it away, hope the CAST insert frame is the same size as the originals, if not I have a router pattern that you can borrow, then rout out the cavity, bolt the inserts straight through the sole & have Dave Page re-sole.

..ha, get someone else to do it. Unless you're a die hard diy'er

FWIW:  I had a very different out of warranty experience with a pair of Scarpa Alien 1.0 boots that I busted after 15 months of use last spring.

Scarpa was out of stock of all the Alien 1.0 shells at that point in the year -- but they did sent me a new pair of regular Alien shells and offered to sell me a new pair of Alien 1.0 in the fall at wholesale.

CAST touring in Colorado have the parts & the know-how to install new inserts.

Those guys are based out of Driggs, ID. They're my buddies from Mad River Glen days.

I cracked the plastic around the inserts on the original Dynafit Green Machines long ago. If your issue is like mine was, it's difficult to think of a reliable fix.

But in your boots it's actually the metal that is broken?

It's sad to hear that La Sportiva isn't highly responsive since your boots probably weren't cheap.

I was surprised at the answer I got from La Sportiva. My impression is that their North American operation is not very robust. When they refused the claim I asked if I could simply buy a new shell and they claimed they didn't have any on hand.

Sorry I don't have a pic for you, but the damage is a small round hole, pretty much as if I'd somehow stomped on the binding with the boot at enough of an angle that the binding peg actually pierced the edge of the tech fitting, above the hole (I don't remember doing this). The hole is now wider at the top, and there is a little damage to the plastic just above the tech hole.

What this means is that the boot wobbles in the binding just a bit. I can still use these boots in a non-tech binding like the Marker Lord SP, and they still work in uphill mode, but there is a fair amount of edging strength lost.

I love the performance of these boots but I'm dismayed at the lack of customer support. I know the market for uphill equipment is highly specialilzed, but I assumed the high prices meant they could afford to stand by their products.

The CAST Tech interface is designed only for skinning -- unclear if it has the contours to allow for a release from a Tech binding while skiing?

And to remove the damaged interface from your boots, you would need to slice open the plastic that encompasses the Tech interface (i.e., as opposed to merely peeling back rubber as was previously suggested).
Then you would need to find a replacement interface that has exactly the same pattern/link between the two dimples.
And finally come up with a way to seal up the plastic strong enough to withstand all the forces while skinning and skiing.
(This final element was the problem with a bad batch of Dynafit Zzero4 boots as previously referenced in this thread: the interface was fine, but the plastic could crack around the interface.)

oh rainy day....

Here's what a CAST thingy looks like.
That is not a ski boot, it's an old Scarpa Omega, I don't know anything at all about skiing. I hear it's fun having those 2 sticks, one on each foot!

If you got them in PDX then it was probably from one of these shops-

The Mountain Shop
Oregon Mountain Community
US Outdoor Store

Or Evo Portland

Sorry I missed your post when it first came out! I had exactly the same experience with my Spectres! At first I thought it was due to my bindings (Plum Guide). The insert on one boot is all ovalled out and I think it was due to not having the pin and boot properly aligned when I put them on. It allowed the boot to click around a bit when I skied, and I could not STAND it!

Long story short- I went through all the same channels you did with no luck. I ended up buying an identical pair of boots used. I now have three good shells, four good liners, and a boatful of extra buckles, etc.

Somewhere I heard Sportiva does not use "official" Dynafit inserts. Maybe the metal is crap or something like that.

As for that "repair" scheme, I'm not sure I'd trust it. The whole tech binding scheme is based on those tiny pins, and I think it's super important that the fitting is molded into the shell. I don't know why such soft metal is used for the insert. Not a good place to save fractions of an ounce in my mind.

Anyone have the answer on fixing these, please? Haven't taken to the phone yet; and whadyaknow - it's a Spectre with a "sorry it's your fault" response from Sportiva (and a no, we can't fix them)."

Jeezum. Hardly used and I'm not that dumb stepping in. Clues and failure happened in the course of one day; could tell something was clicking on one side and finally saw that my toe was pressuring through the binding past the wing; no sign of it previously.

That is an exact picture of mine. Call Sportiva and send them that pic (important--send them that pic). I was so discouraged I gave up without sending the pic.

I love the performance of those boots but currently the company is not standing by them--I bought a second pair as did a prev poster.

I called OMC in Portland and they were no help either. I was well within warranty and they just told me good luck.

Value = Performance + Reliability
Reliability is made up of construction and customer service.
Thanks fellas. You just saved me from ever buying outstanding-performing La Sportiva boots. Good luck. You deserve better.

I called OMC in Portland and they were no help either. I was well within warranty and they just told me good luck.

Please don't hate on OMC for this, especially if you didn't purchase the boot from them. Even if you had, after hearing your story, do you think they wanted to swallow a $700 loss? Because if La Sportiva wasn't going to honor their warranty with you, they sure as hell weren't going to honor the warranty through a retail shop either.

It sucks what has happened here, but like we've all observed it seems to be a problem with La Sportiva.

Geez, I wish I'd read this thread before I bought my La Sportiva Starlets (which are still new in the box). It was a choice between the Starlets and Dynafit TLT 6. I'd have bought the latter if I'd known La Sportiva doesn't stand behind their products.

Steddy,

Did you end up hearing anything from La sportiva? I sent them an email linking to this thread and saying that they wouldn't be getting my business in the future if they didn't stand behind their products. They replied "Perhaps, while reading this post, it as not as obvious but of course there are usually two sides to every coin. Our Warranty team provided exceptional customer service to this individual and after finally having the chance to review the boots under warranty made exceptions to replace the boot, even though the issue was not a manufacturing defect, but rather normal wear and tear, if not improper use"

Not sure how this failure could be normal wear and tear within one year even if you skied them every day for the full year. How could this be caused by improper use? Ice in the holes and not locking the toe piece down enough to force it out?

To be clear, La Sportiva did nothing of the sort for me, and I will repeat my assertion, the factory is NOT standing by these products.