Abstract: A ski boot for ski mountaineering or telemark skiing including a shell of plastic material and a sole. A first longitudinal cut in the shell defines two sides which allow the entry of the foot of the skier. A second cut in the shell, transverse to, and opening into the first cut, is formed in the front section of the shell. The first and second cuts form a longitudinal slot in the shell; stops are located at opposite ends of the slot. In the preferred embodiment, a peg with an enlarged head is slit within the slot to adjust the flexibility of the boot in the longitudinal direction. In the alternative embodiment, a gaiter and a profiled element are located in the area of the first cut and the second cut in the shell. A peg with an enlarged head is slid with aligned slots in the shell, gaiter, and profiled element, to adjust the flexibility of the shell in the longitudinal direction.

Abstract: A footwear designed for a plurality of sports for protecting a user's feet and legs includes a first rigid shell defining a body (2) adapted to receive a user's foot and extending along an elongation direction (8); a second rigid shell defining an upper (4) designed to receive the user's leg and extending substantially along a rising direction (10); an articulation (6), linking the body to the upper, having specific mechanical strength characteristics. A range of articulations having different mechanical strength characteristics can be fixed to the first and second shells to accommodate the physiological differences between the various uses of such footwear articles and/or to the differences between the various sports for which the footwear articles may be used.

Abstract: A cross-country ski boot having a collar that is pivotally mounted by journals on an upper, and a device for retaining the collar that is active from a angular position and only in the front-to-rear direction by means of a fixed abutment located on the upper. The retaining device, located in the rear portion of the boot, includes a support mechanism that can be adjusted between two different positions with respect to the fixed abutment, one of the positions placing the support mechanism in cooperation with the latter and the other retracting it from the latter. The invention makes it possible to adapt a single type of cross-country ski boot for two different techniques such as the alternating step and the skating step.