I also have low volume feet and I live in Chicago. We have very few ski shops with very limited selection of equipment. I remember that I tried Dalbello, Head Dream, Lange 100 and same Atomic and they all felt too large. I ended up working with a local boot fitter that measured me and helped me choose something online (from a store that accepted returns, just in case). I paid the boot fitter for the fitting $150 (guaranteed forever so I can go back whenever I need), but I bought the boots online way cheaper than they would have been in store.
I was in a hurry because my old boots were unusable and we were living for Colorado. I didn’t want to spend my vacation looking for boots…
Some divas recommended Salomon Scarlet (I don’t thing they still make this year), Salomon Instinct CS and Nordica Doberman. I tried first Nordica Doberman Pro 100, they were good fit but too short a shims. I couldn’t find either Salomon online at a good price so I ended up buying Nordica Doberman Aggressor 100. They are absolutely perfect fit for me but they are challenging. I can handle them but I cannot relax at all, It’s like they have a mind of theyr own. (I’m 35 years 5’5”, 120lb, advanced, I ski 30 days a year, my foot is narrowin front, narrow heel, medium instep, medium arch, medium calfs) Another thing, they say that under 15F they are very cold and the plastic gets very stiff. I didn’t ski with them on a very cold day, but I remember a Diva saying that she is owning them and love them but she will buy Salomon Instinct CS for the cold days and relaxing days. I tried this year both Salomon Scarlet and Instinct in Colorado and they both were quite a good fit.
Now I’m still working at the alignment. After I bought the boots, the bootfitter said that I’ll need insoles but first to ski few days so they’ll give in. I did those in Colorado at Surefoot, where they supposedly align you and have a computer read the map of your foot and you’ll have the perfect position. I skied just 2 days with them and they seemed fine. This was last year. This year, in Colorado again, the bottom of my right foot started to hurt each day a little more. The left foot was perfect. I went back at surefoot and they measure me while in boots and said I pronate on the right foot and wanted to shave my boot. I was unsure because they didn’t check the insoles and I thought the insoles were suppose to align me… They put some tape on the sole of the boot to mimic the canting. Well, the foot was hurting more. I was now starting to be aware of the alignment, I saw my right knee going toward inside while the left knee was aligned and I started to think that the insoles are not good.
Back in Chicago now, I went to my local bootfiter and he said that the surefoot insoles strategy is bad because they try to align changing the map of the buttom of your foot, so of course you hurt. He said that any adjustment should be done under un insole that follow the exact shape of your foot. Any divas have any thoughts about this insole/ canting?
I wanted to ski the next day and he didn’t have too much time but we’ll make un appointment to measure everything. Meanwhile he align me by adjusting the cuff and he agreed that I should put in some old semicustom insoles that I had in my old boots. I’m happy that the pain is gone so the surefoot insoles will hopefully go for a refund (somebody was asking how much, they were $220) And the alignment while not perfect was better than before. By alignment I mean not only that I see the knee going a litte inside, but also when I carve with the right leg I have to put more pressure thean when I carve with the left leg. I didn’t make yet the appointment, and I would appreciate any advice on what I should expect, or what I shouldn’t do (like is shaving my boots seems bad idea too me)…
and always need infinitely more tweaking done to ONE boot and foot.
