The Voice from the Pacific Northwest Newsletter
Vaypor
'06 and Vaypor 3-Point System
By Glenn
Koshi
Bont
has some new and exciting boots and frames coming out for 2006, some of which can be revealed here, now.
New
for '06 Vaypor - redesigned after listening to
skaters' demands. The two forefoot straps have been
replaced with a lace cover, with an attached buckle
strap. A powerstrap will be added to the top of the
boot, and custom embroidery will be available on the
strap, on custom boots only.
What might be a huge step forward in the 4 x 100mm
shootout will be Bont's introduction of the new
3-Point System and S-Frame:
Press release: Bont 3 point mounting system.
In
2006, Bont will release a new 3 point mounting
system to overcome problems that have come to light in
2005 with the 190mm and 195mm mounting separation for
100mm skates. The problem is that skaters want their
feet to be as low to the ground as possible when they
are skating which means the distance between the frame
mounting blocks on the boot need to increase in
distance to fit between the wheels. When we increase
this gap to 195mm, there is the tendency for the
carbon fiber base of the boot to flex causing the
second wheel to rub on the boot. To solve this problem
we can either increase the distance between the wheel
and the boot from 1mm to 2mm making the skaters foot
higher off the ground, or increase the amount of
carbon fiber in the boot. More carbon means the boot
will be heavier as the carbon absorbs more resin.
Hence the reason we came up with the 3 point system
with a lower frame deck height. The lower deck height
gives more curves to the carbon boot base. The third
mounting point means we can remove carbon from the
boot instead of increase it making the boot lighter.
The boot will have new lighter weight mounting blocks.
The frame now also has more support from the boot so a
lighter frame can be made. The new Bont S-frame (Space
Frame) prototype weighs just 126 grams. Now that the
boot has an extra support we can increase the frame
mounting separation past 195mm to the optimal mounting distance
for each frame length. Expect to see frames
fit perfectly between the wheels with separations
longer than 210mm. Bont has applied for a worldwide
patent on the 3 point system which covers the boot and the frame.
Bont will license the frame technology to
other manufacturers. The combination of the 3 point
Vaypor boot, S-frame, and Wayv wheel will make Bont's
2006 skate approximately 300 grams lighter than the
2005 skate.
Release
date: January/February 2006
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