Patent ID: 8453352

Claim:
A sport boot, comprising: a shell that includes: a leg portion that has a shin region and a highback leg support region that acts to firmly support a portion of a leg of a person when the person is using the sport boot; a foot portion for receiving a foot of the person when the person is using the sport boot, said foot portion having an instep region and an instep transition region providing a directional transition between said instep region and said shin region of said leg portion, said foot portion including a toe end, a heel end and a sole portion, said sole portion extending from said toe end to said heel end, said foot portion having a lateral portion and a medial portion and being substantially rigid in a direction parallel to a longitudinal vertical plane that bisects said foot portion into said lateral portion and said medial portion; a heel pocket formed in said foot portion, said heel pocket designed and configured for inhibiting movement of a heel of the person in a direction away from said sole portion when the person is using the sport boot and when the sport boot is properly fitted to the foot of the person; and a heel track extending between said highback support region and said heel pocket and forming a concave space interior to said shell, wherein said heel track includes an upper end and a lower end spaced from said upper end, said upper end being formed in said leg portion so that said heel track has connective continuity with said highback leg support region and said lower end being formed in said foot portion so that said heel track has connective continuity with said heel pocket, said concave space of said heel track receiving the heel of the person to accommodate the substantial rigidity of said foot portion in the direction parallel to the longitudinal vertical plane when the person is inserting the foot into the sport boot and when the sport boot is properly fitted to the foot of the person, wherein said heel track is formed in a rigid portion of the sport boot so that said heel track has a size, a shape, and a configuration that each remain constant when the person is using the sport boot, when the foot is properly fitted to the sport boot, and when the person is inserting the foot into the sport boot, said rigid portion being substantially fixed in location relative to said instep region.