Design of an endoskeleton ski boot

Abstract

The design of ski boots changed continually from the 1950's until the 1980's, at which point ski boot manufactures started making a plastic shell around a soft liner. This design, which hasn't changed significantly in the last three decades, has a few underlying problems that prohibit it from ever having an optimal combination of comfort and performance. These problems are caused primarily by the need to hold the foot through the insulation, thereby packing out and thinning all insulation in the boot. A new boot design is proposed here that would solve this problem by featuring a skeletal design instead of a shell, which would be located inside the insulation. This new ski boot design features structural "beams" that encase the foot and the lower leg. These beams are close to the foot and leg, thereby holding it tightly. By controlling the thickness of the structure, it can be made to match the natural flex of the ankle. A rotating front part would be used to set the forward lean. An enclosure around this entire structure would be held tight by straps and Boa laces. An analysis of this design showed that carbon fiber was a strong enough material to make the boot, and the model was adjusted to feature a ~4mm displacement when a 145N force was applied.