Boots - I think I'm going to cry...

[smpayne]

I just got rid of my last preasure point in my boots and they don't hurt anymore (unless I do something as stupid as wearing padded socks) now I think I think I may have a pronation issue. I have noticed recently that my skis are riding the inside edges. This is really noticable on the flat or straight away where I'm not turning, both skis are on an inside edge.

I know the bootfitter removed some material on the bottom of my footbed to elimiate some arch pain I was having. Now, I'm worried that to fix the pronation, my arch will hurt again. I guess it's back to the bootfitter and hope for the best.

 

[liquidfeet]

I so totally understand your frustration. New boots can be such an interruption in skiing. It's been the same with me this year. I'm close now, in mid Feb, to getting the new boots bought at the beginning of the season (in November) to work for me so that I don't have to think about them, and their PAIN, as I ski. I hope things get better for you. Don't give up!!!!!

 

[smpayne]

I'm not giving up ... Yet. I actualy have had these boots since Dec '06. They fit great last year, then at the beginning of this year had to have a little tweaking done becasue the arches were hurting(couldn't possibly have anything to do with some weight gain over the off-season). It's just that they are finally completely comfortable and now I have to deal with a new issue (probably not new, just more noticable).

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Not a major fix. Most pronation issues can be resolved with a custom insole/orthotic. Worked for me, and it did not change the fit of the boot I had been using. Same insoles are in at least their 6th pair of boots since then!

 

[greekpeakskier]

can i hop into this threat w/ my boot issue? i did go to my bootfitter who only likes salomon. and there's a huge difference between the rush 6 i was skiing in and the scarlet i now have. it felt in the rushs like i had to switch on the turn signal to my feet 30 feet before the turn. now, i turn. zip. the flex is a dream. BUT. i only have two days in them, they don't hurt at all, i have them cinched down all the way (in NEW boots) and my heel still comes up. and i'm worried -- no pain, cinched down tight, i can lift my heels, new boots w/ custom insoles and i had the liner heat molded... seems like salomons might be too wide for my double AA foot?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^^gps, I'm definitely not the boot guru among us, but I recall reading that conventional wisdom is that the toe and instep buckles should not have to be buckled beyond the first - maybe the second buckle. Your having to crank all buckles to the max concerns me. Heel lift can remedied, generally (or formerly, I'm somewhat out of the loop) with c-pads. Don't give up, especially if you otherwise like boot's performance. (Just interested: did you try smaller size in this model?)

 

[greekpeakskier]

i can't go smaller. i wear an 8 shoe, 8 1/2 running shoe. two years ago when i started skiing, i bought 25.5 on ebay. last year i bought 24.5 from the bootfitter and the scarlets are a 23.5. as i've improved, i've gone down two full sizes.

if the heel can be fixed, i'm ok. i really love the boots so far, forward flex is far better than anything i've had, very warm boot, transmits energy in a nanosecond. maybe he can move the buckles too as they pack out.

i rode up the lift last week w/ a 16 year old who won the freestyle competition at our resort. i asked her about her boots, and she said, "i never pay much attention, i inherited these from my grandma. she wore them for years and now i've been wearing them for a few years. they don't hurt, so i guess that's all you need." and boy could she ski.

so, if she can win the competition in her grandmother's old boots, i wonder if i'm nitpicking about a bit of room in the heel and having to tighten down new boots.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

i wonder if i'm nitpicking about a bit of room in the heel and having to tighten down new boots.

Probably not. For as long as I've been skiing (awhile), the snugness of the heel in the heel pocket and not being able to raise the heel up out of said pocket has always been a component of good boot fit. It can be snugged up. And if you really like the boot performance and that's your shell size and buckling configuration, a replacement liner would be something to consider should the existing liner pack out to the point where things are looser. There are options for you.

 

[liquidfeet]

If your heel lifts up inside the boot, that limits your skiing. It means that you can't put your weight on the front of your ski with any precision. For instance, if you move your body forward to initiate a new turn, your heel will come up inside the boot, and your body weight will not transfer to the front of the ski to initiate the early edge engagement you are seeking; your skis skid the turn as a result.

So it's important to keep that heel in place. The kid in grandma's boots must have lucked out; her heels surely were locked in place in there.

 

[greekpeakskier]

and her grandmother does own the resort.... so grandma probably has more than one pair of boots.

 

[Gloria]

can i hop into this threat w/ my boot issue? i did go to my bootfitter who only likes salomon. and there's a huge difference between the rush 6 i was skiing in and the scarlet i now have. it felt in the rushs like i had to switch on the turn signal to my feet 30 feet before the turn. now, i turn. zip. the flex is a dream. BUT. i only have two days in them, they don't hurt at all, i have them cinched down all the way (in NEW boots) and my heel still comes up. and i'm worried -- no pain, cinched down tight, i can lift my heels, new boots w/ custom insoles and i had the liner heat molded... seems like salomons might be too wide for my double AA foot?

From experience a double AA heel is really tough to fit. I had a really similiar experience going from a Salomon boot that fit like a glove but didn't have the response to one that has more response along with excess room in the heel. It's actually not to tough to fix, take it back to the bootfitter and have him fill in the voids. I personally like to do it myself because I have bonespurs and it's just easier for me to help myself than trying to explain each little thing to someone else. My bootfitter actually just gave me the foam as the fitting was built into the price of the boot, which I think is common. Unfortunately for people like us I think they make lower performance boots that will fit better, but once you start getting into higher performance more expensive boots, the market dwindles and they are geared more towards an average foot. I think alot of the problems I am having with my knees are due to the lower performance boots though, so altering these is a better option overall.

 

[smpayne]

can i hop into this threat w/ my boot issue? i did go to my bootfitter who only likes salomon. and there's a huge difference between the rush 6 i was skiing in and the scarlet i now have. it felt in the rushs like i had to switch on the turn signal to my feet 30 feet before the turn. now, i turn. zip. the flex is a dream. BUT. i only have two days in them, they don't hurt at all, i have them cinched down all the way (in NEW boots) and my heel still comes up. and i'm worried -- no pain, cinched down tight, i can lift my heels, new boots w/ custom insoles and i had the liner heat molded... seems like salomons might be too wide for my double AA foot?

A bootfitter should not ONLY like one brand. My last boots were Salomons, and they were wide in the heels and toes (my feet are a D width) - they didn't like my big calfs or my high instep. If you have them sinced down all the way now, they sound as if they really DON'T fit - the liners will pack out and you will have no way to adjust them. I think you need to find a bootfitter that has a wider selection of different brands. Langes are traditionally narrower, but so are a few other brands.

 

[alaski]

I feel your frustration! I am so tired of messing with boots.

Every bootfitter has some sort of fix that he says will solve all my problems. Last fitter talked me into $200 intuition liners. A month later and now I'm back to shims, heel lifts, and volume reducers anyway - WITH the intuition liners no less!

Because of the constant fiddling, I'll never spend more than $200 on ski boots. I know I'll be unhappy so I just find a deal and make it work.

 

[skigrl27]

can i hop into this threat w/ my boot issue? i did go to my bootfitter who only likes salomon.

That would have striked me as odd right there. It's pretty well known that each manufacturer makes boots differently AND that people's feet vary. My bootfitter MADE me try on every boot he had in the shop to make sure I liked the Nordicas the best.

Something fishy there.

 

[liquidfeet]

Last fitter talked me into $200 intuition liners. A month later and now I'm back to shims, heel lifts, and volume reducers anyway - WITH the intuition liners no less!

So I'm considering Intuition liners to solve all my boot problems. How come they didn't? I've never heard of people having to use shims etc. with these liners.

Is it a canting problem you're trying to fix with those shims and lifts, or a fitting problem?

 

[alaski]

Well, they are basically a full -foot insole, so if you need shims and lifts, you'll still need them with intuition liners. I guess they're way better than the stock liners, but they definitely didn't solve all my boot problems like they say they will.

One of the issues is that molding them is a real art and it is possible to screw it up. I had to go back twice already to get mine worked on and they still don't feel quite right - at least one of them doesn't. There's only so many times you can heat the liners before they start to degrade so it's quite frustrating to have to do it 3-4 times.