Bob Lange had been experimenting with plastic reinforced ski boots as early as 1958, but it took some time before the basic design was made usable.

The first examples from 1962, built by Lange employee Dave Luensmann, used acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) shells and laces for closure, but were not very successful.

A follow-up design released in volume in the winter of 1965/66 used a new thermoplastic shell, hinged cuff, and latching buckles, and became the first commercially successful replacement for leather boots.

Over a series of models, the cuff began extending up the calf of the leg to greatly improve directional control and reduce lower-leg injuries.

By the 1950s these were essentially unchanged from the 1800s, consisting of a thick sole with a thinner upper shell of leather, similar to a normal winter boot.

[3] This need led to downhill boots that retained the same basic shoe-like style of earlier designs, but were built much stiffer to allow for greater control.

[5] Even if this hot water fitting step wasn't used, strong skiers would wear out their boots in months as the leather softened, and mere weeks if they raced them.

Another solution to improve lateral control was the "long thong", a leather strap wrapped around the boot and lower leg, which came at the cost of eliminating any sort of quick release.

("Bob") Lange flew Lockheed P-38 Lightning airplanes for the United States Army Air Forces before leaving to earn a degree at Harvard University, where he studied economics and engineering.

[7] Lange had another problem to solve; his size 9-1/2 triple-E wide feet demanded custom boots, which he ordered from Peter Limmer.

These were not stiff enough for his liking, so Lange attempted to fix this by cutting strips of fiberglass left over from covering his boat, and gluing them to his boots using polyester resin.

[8] Throughout, Lange continued to experiment with improvements to ski boots, buying numerous pairs to cut them up and see if they could be re-enforced to make them stronger.

Attempting to solve the problem, they struck on the solution of molding the boot in two separate parts and joining them through rivets on either side, at the level of the ankle.

Not only did the buckle make it easy to close even the stiffest boots, the plastic spread the load across the entire cuff, applying even pressure to the foot.

Curiosity changed to must-have when Greene started winning races in 1967 on the newly formed World Cup circuit, and eventually took the gold medal.

Three models were on the market to serve different performance levels, the Standard for recreational skiing, the Pro for more demanding use, and the Comp for downhill racing.

There was only one competitor, Rosemont, but their product was based on fiberglass and used a side-opening system that was clearly inferior to Lange's boots and could only compete on the low-end, in spite of a high-end price.

[12] To reach new markets, plans for a new boot factory in Montebelluna, Italy started, along with another in Montreal to produce ice skates using similar concepts and materials.

[21] Early plastic boots, like their earlier leather cousins, rose just above the ankle and provided little support if the skier leaned forward or back.

Around 1966 the French developed a new short-turn technique called avalement that stored energy by bending the tail of the ski and then using this to accelerate out of turns.

The Jet-Stix consisted of a fiberglass extension shaped like a shoehorn that strapped on under the top buckle so it lay along the back of the calf.

[25] Their introduction of the bright yellow Astral Slalom in 1972, better known as the "Banana Boot", incorporated a spoiler directly into the cuff and eliminated the need for a separate device.

The entire line was revamped for the 1974-75 season, featuring taller cuffs, improved liners, wider buckles, and colored shells.

The one-piece Comp II was replaced by the Banshee, a red-orange two-piece, 5-buckle shell design that used four rivets and epoxy in the cuff behind the ankle to reduce flex at the hinge[26].

Rossignol purchased Garcia's existing tennis production lines and started selling off the other divisions; when Lange skis and Burt bindings failed to find a buyer they were closed down.

For tighter settings the loop had to be inserted into a rack cut higher on the buckle, lowering the mechanical advantage and making it much harder to close.

The XL series were also well known for the way they allowed water to leak into the boot where the lower cuffs folded over each other near the toe, and prompted many owners to cover the area with duct tape.

Pressed by rapid changes in the market, notably Salomon's introduction of their hugely successful rear-entry boot line, the Thermofit system was developed as a way to remain on the leading edge.

Among the failed attempts to address this problem were in-boot heaters, the CFX and SPE rear-entry designs largely identical to Salomon models, and a "mid-entry" boot with cable closure, the Mid.

[21] In March 2005, after years of cycling profits that followed the United States dollar exchange rate, and facing retirement at age 78, Boix-Vives decided to sell his stake in Rossignol.