Full Tilt Bumble Bee Pro Model

SKU:
SN1845-09
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$399.98
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THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR 3 PIECE BOOT DESIGN FOR OVER 20 YEARS
Full Tilt acquired the original molds, tested every feature, kept what worked, then added some of today’s most advanced technology to make them work even better. The revolution in 3 piece boot design started here, and now continues from here . . . For the good of skiing.


Fulltilt Bumble Bee Pro Model
From the unique colors that fueled its name, to the big name pros that kept it on the podium world wide, this boot is a living legend and it's back ... in its ORIGINAL form.


Dual Density #6 Flex Tongue – A soft flex zone is surrounded by stiffer material for enhanced lateral support without restricting forward flex.

Pro Liner - Our highest performing custom heat moldable liner with Powerwrap for extra horsepower.

Active Bootboard - Rubber bootboard for impact & vibration absorption Classic Colors

The Bumble Bee Pro comes with our Pro liner. This is the highest performing Full Tilt liner made. It features an additional layer of Powerwrap around the outside that is ergonomically shaped to enhance ankle hold down while providing added horsepower to the shell. The one-of-a-kind exclusive FT multi laminate construction can also be 100% instantly heat molded by a shop to the shape of your foot for comfort, performance and warmth like no other.

View Comparison Chart

Here are a few of the many features that make these 3-Piece boots perform like no other boot in the world.

HEAT MOLDABLE CUSTOM LINERS
- Intuition Patented, Ultralon cross linked EVA foam that doesn’t break down
- Multi density layering, engineered for the best combination of comfort, performance & warmth
- Liner is 100% Custom Heat Moldable (not only in the ankle)
- Seamless Design eliminates pressure points and loss of body heat.
- Pre-lasted in the actual boot shell for a one-to-one liner to shell fit (1st of its kind)
- Lightest high performance liner that won’t break down
- Anti-bacterial coating eliminates smelly boots

MOST NATURAL FLEX
- Corrugated tongue with 7 flex zones for smoother, more consistent flex from the tibia to the toe
- Maintains consistent fit around the ankle without distortion while flexing
- Will not bottom out, and rebounds with a smooth flex

CABLE BUCKLE SYSTEM
- Works like a shoelace for even pressure distribution to eliminate dead spots
- Tighten or loosen the fit around your foot without effecting flex
- Lightest buckle system in the world

FREE HINGING CUFF
- Unrestricted cuff flex allows true forward flex, without causing boot distortion.
- Enhanced edge control without restricting flex

CUSTOMIZABLE PERFORMANCE
- Interchangeable tongue flex options that work with the design (others require permanent cutting)
- All parts sold separately for unlimited interchangeability, repair & personalization

LIGHTER WEIGHT
- Up to 2 lbs lighter per pair than other boots
- Flex is dependent on tongue, not heavy thick overlap plastic shell walls
- Super light weight buckle & cable system
- Liners have no heavy plastic reinforcement and fillers

LOWER STANCE
- Low height & minimal ramp angle puts you closer to the snow
- Positions hips (your power) directly over the center of boot to match modern skis & technique

EASIEST ENTRY & EXIT
- Open throat, convertible design does not block your foot during entry & exit.

Team Riders
- Seth Morrison
- Jamie Pierre
- Bryce Phillips
- Kristi Richards
- Scott Schmidt (Extreme adventure skiing legend)
We actually don’t pay anyone to ride our boots. The pros you see on Full Tilt, ride them because they know it’s the product that gives them the necessary advantage over people that ride conventional overlap boots.

SIZING
One shell for every 2 sizes (others use 1 shell every 3 sizes)
• Every full foot size has its own mold for a closer shell fit
(other’s fill with liner foam)
• Best foot to shell responsiveness

ACCESSORIES & CUSTOMIZATION
All parts are available for sale separately
• Virtually unlimited interchangeability and enhancement options
• Customizable performance & looks controlled by you

FT INTUITION LINERS
Intuition patented liners engineered by Full Tilt
• Intuition liner with Patented, Ultralon cross linked EVA foam that doesn’t break down
• Pre-lasted in the actual boot per size for the best possible fit (1st of its kind)
• One-of-a-kind multi density layering, engineered for each skier’s ability, comfort & performance
• Antimicrobial coating so you’re bros stop complaining about your smelly boots
• Lightest high performance liner that will not break down
• Optional custom heat moldable fit in 15 minutes


If you purchase one pair of boots and they do not fit you may return them unused for another size or a full refund. All returns must be initiated within 10 days of receiving the product, unused.

Not sure what size to order? Whatever shoe size you wear is what you want to order. Some customers will order a half size larger so they have room for ski socks. For whatever reason they don't fit, just send them back within 30 days unused and you will get a full refund or exchange for the correct size. You can also get your foot measured
at a ski shop and then buy from us to avoid sales tax and get free shipping


Price is for 1 pair.

THIS IS THE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL 3-PIECE BOOT.

Throughout the early 70’s a smart guy by the name of Eric Giese had worked for NASA in the days of early space suits for the first landings on the moon. The big problem in space suits is they had cooling, heating and electric lines running throughout the suit and as the astronauts did space walks they had a big problem with them kinking and getting crimped when people tried to walk with their knees and ankles flexing. The solution was articulating hinges which had ribs to allow flex in the ankles, knees and elbows to preserve the shape of the suit around the joint.

In 1978/79 living in Aspen, Eric applied this concept to skiing. He independently developed some very unique boot design concepts that included a floating ribbed tongue instead of an overlap. His goal was to enable the boot to flex without bulging/distorting in the lower shell. This was the largest single problem of the day, especially since ski boots at the time had no ankle hinge. The ankle is of course a critical area of fit where any distortion would immediately causes a loss of control. This is how the ribs of the original Raichle flexon tongue were conceived.

Eric then approached the US distributor of Raichle and presented his concept with a rough prototype. The US distributor saw the potential of the design and brought Eric and his boot to Switzerland, Raichle world headquarters. They had a large meeting including people from the US distribution, and the President of Raichle Switzerland, Heinz Herzog and many others in the company. They debated whether they should go ahead with the project. The Swiss felt it was too radical, too different looking, knowing they are a conservative company. Finally in a last ditch effort, Eric put one of their existing boots on one foot and his prototype on the other and jumped up on the conference room table. He flexed them both and their boot bulged out, looking horrible. He then said something to the effect of, “Guys, you need to decide what you want, do you want this or this?!” The decision was obvious.

In 1979, ten years after the first moon walk, the first 3-Piece boot prototype was built by Raichle. After many different prototypes it was brought to market during the winter of ‘80/’81. This flexibility with direct force path function concept, was later named the Flexon Concept and ultimately this first boot was named the Flexon 5, and later the Flexon Comp.

One of the first pro ski racers and freestylers to compete in the boot was Billy Shaw on a prototype in ‘79/’80 and hot dog freestyle skier Peter Ouellette. The boots quickly caught on and became one of the top boots of choice by Olympic racers and freestylers. There was later the legendary Bill Johnston who won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympic downhill as well as Nelson Carmichael who dominated mogul comps throughout the late 80’s.

The Raichle boots at the time had been manufactured in an old World War II style factory on the border of Germany. In 1983, Raichle built a new modern factory on other side of town in Switzerland. As the new factory got up and running, the president of Raichle who privately owned the company suddenly sold it to a man that came into the picture out of nowhere named Peter Werhan. Peter was actually the grandson of Konrad Adenauer, the chancellor of Germany. Prior to this, he had married a Swiss woman named Beatris and lived in Switzerland. Peter and his family loved skiing, which made his new acquisition the perfect blend of work and play. Peter lived the sport of skiing and was very charismatic and enthusiastically ran the company well. Sales grew at an alarming rate world wide to the point of barely being able to keep up with production. The boot was on the podiums of Olympic and world cup race and freestyle competitions internationally with no other boot able to match its performance due to the strong patents Raichle held.

In the late 80’s, only a few years into running the business, Peter was driving home from the factory and died in an unfortunate car accident with his secretary in the car. Peter’s wife immediately inherited the company and took over running it. It was never the same after that and by 1996 the business was on the verge of bankruptcy.

It was then that Raichle was purchased by a Swiss banker Dr. Grosnick who was in the business of buying companies in distress and reorganizing them to become profitable. Dr. Grosnick also purchased Kneissl skis shortly after. As successful as the boot was, because the Flexon boot molds & design went unchanged for so many years, it was natural human instinct to try to end the boot and create a newer, latest and greatest version. They knew the 3-Piece concept worked and over the years attempted to make newer versions. They made wider, higher volume versions and lower priced versions but none ever delivered the performance of the original. What they didn’t realize is that they already had, quite literally the greatest boot ever and no matter how many new and changed versions they made, the skiers would always came back asking for the original.

In 1999 Dr. Grosnick insisted that the Kneissl brand offer a boot and made the rash decision of re-naming all Raichle boots to Kneissl branded boots. The company didn’t do as well as anticipated and was sold a year and a half later to the parent company of Roces. From there the molds were bought and sold and passed around without much being done with them. All the while it maintained a stronger core following of skiers addicted to its performance. These pro athletes had built their careers on this boot as well as thousands of skiers like you that also couldn’t give them up. Everyone was suddenly forced to search for parts and boots on Ebay and scrounged ski swaps to keep them on their feet.

We’re boot fitters, and we know better than anyone that something had to be done. We took it upon ourselves to go back and search out the original molds and bring it back to life not in some new and distorted form, but in the original construction and design that had been proven over the past 25 years to be the most popular 3-Piece design in the world. We purchased the original molds tested every feature, kept what worked, then added some of today’s most advanced technology to make them work even better, never stopping until we were skiing them again. We hope you enjoy these boots as much as we enjoy bringing them back to life. The revolution in 3 piece boot design started here, and will now continue from here . . . For the good of skiing.

Special thanks to all of the original pioneers of this 3-Piece boot design, and the people, brands, shops, companies and skiers that kept it alive even when it was no longer available. If you’ve got an interesting piece of this boot’s history, please send it and we’ll consider including it.

Enjoy!