Question: What would boots with too much forward lean cause?

[Sarah]

So my question is if my boots have too much forward lean in them what is this likely to do to my skiing?

I'm asking as I think my boots have a lot of forward lean (they are Lange Comp 100 from 2006ish). There is no way I can straighten my legs out with my boots on without falling forward, which I have read is a sign of too much forward lean.

When skiing I feel like I am having a hard time keeping my weight forward on the balls of my feet and therefore hindering my ability to really try and carve the skis :(. Is it the boots or is it just me

Of course I could just be making up excuses for my bad skiing . I won't be offended if that is the case :D

 

[Christy]

What would boots with too much forward lean cause?

Massive quad pain. Like, after half a run you are dying. At least, that's what it did for me. Since I was tilted too far forward, I compensated by sitting back, and ergo, burning quads. It took me 2 years to figure that out, too. Instructors were always telling me to stand up! And I literally could not. One day, after tons of lessons and out of desperation (and after reading a thread on epicski where people talked about the fact that inexplicible quad pain might mean boots with too much forward lean), I bought new boots and voila, instantly the pain was gone. I almost cried.

 

[frenchgirl]

My Full Tilt boots are very forward leaning and at first I could barely ski for 2 hours without quad burn and jello legs. I had to tighten them up at the calves area and remove the forward lean spoiler and that helped. If you have a problem with it you not being on the ball of your feet I wonder if your boots are just too stiff for you. I had boots too stiff and I could not be forward at all and carve. I just wanted to add that when I am standing in my boots my knees are almost at the level of my toes and that is without flexing the boot at all.

 

[Sarah]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely get quad burn at times, the first weekend out this year was ultra painful. Though I don't get this all the time, in fact last weekend it was my calf muscles that were sore at the end of the day

It is possible that the boots are too stiff for me, I am not a very aggressive skier. The main reason I went for this boot is that I have very small narrow feet and these were the only ones close to small enough for me. Are boot easily soften up?

 

[Christy]

A fitter can soften them--my current boots were too stiff, but my fitter did a real number on them, softening the shell (physically--with heat and a hammer and cone!), putting in a softer tongue, and cutting bits out of the tongue for more flex. I can ski in them just fine now (I couldn't get forward at all at first) though I still can't flex them as much as I should. I'm looking forward to end of the year sales so I can buy the junior race boots that a fitter in Whistler said would be perfect for me--hopefully the third time will be the charm with me and boots.

 

[volklgirl]

It is possible that the boots are too stiff for me, I am not a very aggressive skier. The main reason I went for this boot is that I have very small narrow feet and these were the only ones close to small enough for me. Are boot easily soften up?

Maybe.

If there's a spoiler in the back of the boot take that out first. If not, look to see if there's a bolt along the back spine of the boot that joins the cuff to the lower. If there is a bolt, take that out and give it a try. If none of that is the case, a great boot fitter can cut notches in the lower shell to allow that to flex making the boots quite a bit softer. Make sure 1) the boots really fit as this is irreversible, and 2) your boot guy knows what he's/she's doing as this is irreversible. It's possible that the Comp may even have molded in notch marks on the lower shell to make the process a bit more fool-proof.

 

[Sarah]

Looks like I might have 2 bolts on the back of the boot that I have read I can take out to soften them. I may try this first to see if it works and improves my skiing. Hopefully this doesn't do anything detrimental to the boot

If that doesn't work, I may have to try and find time to go back to the boot fitter and see what he says.

 

[Sarah]

I just wanted to add that when I am standing in my boots my knees are almost at the level of my toes and that is without flexing the boot at all.

I just put my boots on and have realised my knees are about 2 inches past the ends of my boots without flexing.

I don't want to buy new boots but I also feel like I am in a rut and not progressing so want to take care of the easy to fix things first, i.e gear not my skill :p

 

[volklgirl]

Ouch! That's a BUNCH of forward lean!!

 

[Sarah]

Though I should also probably point out that I have particularly small feet for my height (5'7" and size 6 feet ) so that could have something to do with it. But I still feel it might be too much. My legs ache just standing in my skis and the long flat greens or traverses actually hurt my legs more than the steeps.

It seems that forward lean might be harder to fix than stiffness though

 

[mustski]

I ski tecnica diablos and they have some forward lean. I noticed right away that too much standing, skiing greens and even blues, cause me foot pain. I find that if I keep moving, open my buckles when walking, and stay flexed when I'm on the greens/blues, I avoid the foot pain. But ... I must say ... my forward lean is nothing compared to what you described.

 

[Christy]

I just put my boots on and have realised my knees are about 2 inches past the ends of my boots without flexing.

Whoa. That sounds really wrong.

 

[volklgirl]

Whoa. That sounds really wrong.

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[AltaEgo]

Too much forward lean can actually make it more difficult for you to flex the boots, since your ankle movement is already limited. The pain you feel in your quads could be your body trying to stay in balance while still trying to flex the boot. I have heard of people who had a heel lift put under the toe (making it a toe lift) to help neutralize too much forward lean. (IMHO, moving the problem from one point to another...)

 

[liquidfeet]

I just put my boots on and have realised my knees are about 2 inches past the ends of my boots without flexing.

I don't want to buy new boots but I also feel like I am in a rut and not progressing so want to take care of the easy to fix things first, i.e gear not my skill :p

What make and model are these boots? What year are they? When your knees are that far forward, are your upper buckles clamped down to make the cuffs nice and snug, or loose?

You are somewhat tall 5'7" with very small feet. Your boot is going to be short, and your shins are going to be long. That right there may be causing your issue. The knee sits forward because the toe is way back and the shin is just long.

You can get a competent bootfitter with lots of experience to lift your boot toes upwards by putting a small shim under your toepieces, on the outside of the boot. This will straighten up your forward lean, and give you some relief from sitting back all the time. The bootfitter will have to mess with the plastic of the boot up front where it fits into the binding to make it shaped right, after he does this.

If you love your boots, and if they fit well now except for this issue, then find a good bootfitter who does this maneuver often and ask him to do it. I got my boots adjusted this way, and have found it helped.

But a new set of boots with a more upright cuff would also be a good (although expensive) solution.

 

[Covie]

Though I should also probably point out that I have particularly small feet for my height (5'7" and size 6 feet ) so that could have something to do with it. But I still feel it might be too much. My legs ache just standing in my skis and the long flat greens or traverses actually hurt my legs more than the steeps.

It seems that forward lean might be harder to fix than stiffness though

WOW this sounds exactly like my issue, steeps were a relief, the cat tracks were the worst - which is now fixed thanks to mountainxtc.
I'm 5'8 with a 6.5/7 shoe size as well, and she noticed I was getting my leg on a much more severe angle than usual. My shin is long compared to my boot height. Took me to an expert boot fitter in Whistler, and he added plastic plates to the front soles - and routered off a few mm so they fit into my bindings, as they are now 2mm higher under the toes than before. This completely changes everything!

I couldn't initially tell, the following ski day I was quite sick with an infection (Still battling it boo) but I've been out a few times since and holy wow, never skied better! I did have to lose my former technique, so a few runs were sketchy... I could barely turn! BUT NOW,,,
I can finally do a dynamic carving turn, you know where your hip is almost on the snow - fast and stable... it's made my ability 3 times better!
I'm disappointed I wasn't well enough to show her the difference it made - guess I will have to get back out to Whistler!
Ask a boot fitter about adding plastic plates to the soles.... when it was simply placed under my boot and flexed they could see the difference prior to mounting and routering, so worth a shot.

 

[vanhoskier]

.......Took me to an expert boot fitter in Whistler, and he added plastic plates to the front soles - and routered off a few mm so they fit into my bindings, as they are now 2mm higher under the toes than before. This completely changes everything!

Is this like putting a toe lift in, except on the soles of your boots?

 

[Covie]

I've never seen a toe lift, but plastic plate is lifting the ball of my foot and toes above the heels - so probably similar??
The Marker binding system on my skis also does this - so imagine what I was like before the lifts and the new skis - ahhh scary!

 

[Sarah]

Thanks for all the replies I think I am slowly figuring out some of the problems . I think that the cuff is a little loose on me, making me able to lean forward in the boot before I even flex it which is contributing to the lean a bit. I am thinking that maybe a tongue insert may help here . Also would a thin insert under my toes in my boot help, instead of the outside of the boot, I think I might have room to try that out.

I have been pretty happy with these boots in terms of fit once I had the toe box punched out. I wish I didn't have such small narrow feet, it limits my choice of boots, these ones where the only ones close to feeling tight, though I think they are starting to get packed out and are starting to feel slopping in the warm weather we are having this year. Maybe I should just start saving for some new ones next year, the ones that are fully mouldable sound appealing.

 

[stilllearning]

If I could just add to this thread - I have been having massive quad pain with my new boots (Dalbello Krypton Cross), which is a men's boot but I have narrow feet (and large calves). Not sure why a shorter ladies boot did not fit me, but anyway, I can only ski down a quarter of a run before I have to stop and stretch out my legs. I asked an instructor who told me that this boot is putting me in a "better position". Every now and then I wear my old Nordica boots and have no pain at all and can ski all day. Have I really been in the wrong position all these years or would this new boot have too much forward lean? I'm getting a bit discouraged as I've put a lot of money into new boots and skis and am worn out at the end of the run. The runout to the lift is a real killer where I am struggling to stand up straighter to relief the pain in my quads. By the way I am an intermediate skier, didn't learn until later in life (hence still learning!). Help, and thanks! Love this forum - read it every day, although rarely post!!