SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ugh, I thought I'd solved my boot problem once and for all but I'm having issues again and it's casting a gloomy shadow over my season.
On the one hand, I have the Lange World Cup ZJ+ junior race boot with a 110 flex and a 92mm last that a bootfitter at the Start House outside Truckee recommended for me. It's snug, which is a rare find for me. But it's also a Lange race boot; it has forward lean that makes my calves scream despite a heel lift (I have appallingly little dorsiflexion and cannot tolerate the boot without the lifts), and as the day goes on the boot gets stiffer and less responsive, meaning that I feel as though my leg isn't connected to the boot well. Plus my feet just freakin' hurt when I wear these. They are definitely not too narrow in the heel, but they might be everywhere else. The pain is a major bummer.
But despite the pain and misery I ski well in these boots. I am confident and actually making progress staying centered and consistently balanced, which has allowed me to progress. Except that my calves and feet start howling after three runs so I have been doing really short days; so I'm skiing well, but less often than usual.
Then there's the $100 pair of AT boots I bought online in a total shot in the dark because I wanted to have a touring set-up but didn't have much money. They are 2015-ish K2 Pinnacle 110s with intuition liners. And they actually fit REALLY well; like, I don't get how it's possible for them to fit so well. They seem to sit a little lower/shorter on my calf/shin than the Langes and they are medium-soft in terms of flex. My calves and feet feel way better in these boots and they are surprisingly snug.
But when I skied in these boots (the K2s) all of a sudden I was in the backseat a lot more than usual despite a very concerted effort to work on my form. And I am way less confident, especially about going into the woods or a bumped-up run wearing these K2 boots. I use these boots with my Marker Baron frame touring bindings and a pair of older skis (Dynastar Cham 97s) and the frame bindings make the whole set-up pretty heavy. I don't have heel lifts, Hotronics, or anything else in these boots. Right now I've not skied both boots with the same skis. The K2s go with my Dynastar Cham 97s and the Lange's go with the Volkl 90Eights.
What's going on here and what, if anything, can I do about it?
On the one hand, I have the Lange World Cup ZJ+ junior race boot with a 110 flex and a 92mm last that a bootfitter at the Start House outside Truckee recommended for me. It's snug, which is a rare find for me. But it's also a Lange race boot; it has forward lean that makes my calves scream despite a heel lift (I have appallingly little dorsiflexion and cannot tolerate the boot without the lifts), and as the day goes on the boot gets stiffer and less responsive, meaning that I feel as though my leg isn't connected to the boot well. Plus my feet just freakin' hurt when I wear these. They are definitely not too narrow in the heel, but they might be everywhere else. The pain is a major bummer.
But despite the pain and misery I ski well in these boots. I am confident and actually making progress staying centered and consistently balanced, which has allowed me to progress. Except that my calves and feet start howling after three runs so I have been doing really short days; so I'm skiing well, but less often than usual.
Then there's the $100 pair of AT boots I bought online in a total shot in the dark because I wanted to have a touring set-up but didn't have much money. They are 2015-ish K2 Pinnacle 110s with intuition liners. And they actually fit REALLY well; like, I don't get how it's possible for them to fit so well. They seem to sit a little lower/shorter on my calf/shin than the Langes and they are medium-soft in terms of flex. My calves and feet feel way better in these boots and they are surprisingly snug.
But when I skied in these boots (the K2s) all of a sudden I was in the backseat a lot more than usual despite a very concerted effort to work on my form. And I am way less confident, especially about going into the woods or a bumped-up run wearing these K2 boots. I use these boots with my Marker Baron frame touring bindings and a pair of older skis (Dynastar Cham 97s) and the frame bindings make the whole set-up pretty heavy. I don't have heel lifts, Hotronics, or anything else in these boots. Right now I've not skied both boots with the same skis. The K2s go with my Dynastar Cham 97s and the Lange's go with the Volkl 90Eights.
What's going on here and what, if anything, can I do about it?