I just had a very nice phone conversation with Bill Fauver at Avanta. He told me they are producing and shipping boots now.
At this point Klingbeil has declared bankruptcy, and most of the former Klingbeil staff is at Avanta now, including Will Murillo. He said Don did sign a non-compete, but that once the bankruptcy proceedings are complete, it should become null and void. I guess time will tell! In any case the boots they are making are very akin to Klingbeils, but somewhat lighter and with a different stitching style (they also use a thicker thread) and heel profile.
There are some differences between the three custom models (Freestyle, Synchro, and Dance) they have besides the back height - the Synchro model has lunge pads (maybe that's not the right term - he used a different one but I don't remember what), and a different toebox. I didn't really pay much attention to that as my interest is just the Freestyles, you could call if interested in more details.
The boots are lighter than Klingbeils were, because they use layers of carbon fiber between leather layers for adding stiffness. This is the same material Edea uses but they use it in conjunction with leather so that you don't have the fragility issue that the Edeas do. Without being able to see it in person I feel iffy about it, and in general I prefer all-natural materials, so I asked if they could make a more traditional boot with leather only, and he said they could. They also use a little different profile on the heel/sole which reduces weight a bit too. They sounded flexible if you had custom requests, which isn't too surprising for custom boots, but unlike Harlick or SP Teri, they don't charge any extra for customizations. I think that I would prefer a pair without a logo on the heel and with
They are also producing stock boots, and have plans for some other boot options in the future. For instance, Bill has a patent on a boot design which reduces the impact shock of jump landings, while not reducing stiffness during take-off using air bladders in the boots (I was curious, so I looked up the patent - you can read it here:
https://encrypted.google.com/patents/US7513068).
They are indeed making
custom lasts based on the STS castings, and use it as a reference point during the construction process. Klingbeil made custom lasts before, but based on measurements and a foam foot bottom impression. If there is not a nearby Avanta dealer to you, they will pay for a podiatrist to take the castings.
They will be at Nationals in January, and can take STS castings there if you like, or if you would like to meet them in person. They also said people are welcome to visit their facility in Nashville, and that is probably what I will do as I would really like to see the process and materials and people in person. They can do Saturday appointments in addition to weekdays, and turnaround time for custom orders is 4-6 weeks. I think I'm pretty much decided on getting a pair, though probably not until January.
You can call the shop at 615-403-3758 for further information...