Compression socks and ski boots

[HMSCster]

@HMSCster, this business about the toe box heating may be a red flag. Was the stock liner in place when this heating was done? Was it removed and your foot was just in the shell? I'm not sure what happened, but it sounds like the fitter did not stretch the toe box properly to make room for your toes. To avoid buying a new boot, you could go to another bootfitter to get a second person's expertise on whether they can be the right boot for you.

When you bought the boots, did you buy aftermarket or custom footbeds to use inside the liner to replace the flat footbeds that come with the boot? Proper footbeds can shorten your foot, leaving a bit of extra space in front of the toes. They do other things for your foot-boot interface as well. If you did not buy a replacement footbed, you might consider getting one when you go to a more informed and experienced bootfitter.

Hi there! Not sure if I already responded.... I don't recall the setup when they heated the boots. They did suggest the fit form or student like that liners instead of stock.

The good part about trying the boots on around the house is I have red spots on my feet where the boots are tight and can pinpoint what to fix. One foot has so e tight spots by my toes the other is causing cramping under the foot by the metatarsal and on a few toes. It's like the shell needs to be a bit bigger around the center part of my foot.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Jilly]

I had to have the tongue adjusted on mine last year. Do you still have the booklet that came with the boots? Lots for info in that thing.

 

[HMSCster]

I had to have the tongue adjusted on mine last year. Do you still have the booklet that came with the boots? Lots for info in that thing.

ummm.... that's a great question. Maybe? I bet I can find it online. Great idea to look!

 

[Jilly]

The tongue is attached to the liner with velcro. So it can be moved up or down, or toward or away from the toes. This gave me more space as they moved the end away from the toes.

Also the buckles and in some cases the bales can be moved on the shell. Again it's all in the booklet. Or better yet....see your fitter.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

@HMSCster , do you have confidence in your bootfitter? I see you live in MD and, depending where you are in the state, I could recommend a couple of fitters in Northern VA (one in particular) that might not be too far from you.

 

[HMSCster]

@HMSCster , do you have confidence in your bootfitter? I see you live in MD and, depending where you are in the state, I could recommend a couple of fitters in Northern VA (one in particular) that might not be too far from you.

I do, but I will always take recommendations. You never know when you will need them

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Brian at Pro-Fit Mountain Sports in Leesburg is the bestest. Kiel is also very good, but if you have a real problem boot or are generally hard to fit, I'd go straight to Brian.

 

[HMSCster]

Brian at Pro-Fit Mountain Sports in Leesburg is the bestest. Kiel is also very good, but if you have a real problem boot or are generally hard to fit, I'd go straight to Brian.

Thanks! He has a great reputation in the area.

 

[DebbieSue]

I just got custom orthotic footbeds made by the pedorthist my brother swears by. I have Tecnica Mach 1 MV 105w. Skied in them 1 season 20 days with stock liner and Sidas dropin footbed from prior Tecnicas same mondo 24.5 modified by very small heel lifts and tape wedge under big toes. Put in new footbeds in liners. Put on usual low pile downhill skiing model smart wool sox and barely got one foot in, toes curled under and painful. Could not get my always larger L foot in. Tried not to freak out. Pedorthist suggested wearing liner alone at home for an hour or two first. Then try again to get into boots w thinner sox. So, I did the liner thing. Then I did barely get boots on wearing knee-hi nylons, toes stuck in curled position for minutes and minutes then gradually uncurling. Big pain over arch bump both feet after 20 min inboots. More freak out! Contemplated removing boot board and somehow shaving it down or ask pedorthist to thin out footbed. No appt available for 2 weeks. Decided to work harder at getting into boot while keeping tongue flat and toes flexed. Found that dorsiflexing then curling toes on the way in while rotating femur and shin internal then external allowed me to get in easier. I lengthened the top of foot buckle, already at loosest notch, a couple of twists. No more pain over arch bump but still too snug over mid foot. Slight sense that tongue sides were curled a bit from insertion maneuvers. A little tingling in bigger foot toes after 1 hour. Decided to explore the liner and discovered the Velcro adjustment on tongue. It was to the forward line. I decided to adjust it to the backward line. Next time got into boots more easily past choke point esp if I pulled up a bit on mid foot to make room for toes on way in, and used other foot to compress shell over tip of toes slightly which caused mid foot of shell to open slightly more. Made sure not to let tongues curl. Wore boots 1 hour. No tingling. No arch bone tenderness. Next time got each foot in 30 seconds…I’m learning something or liners compressing or both. Wore 1 hour no pain.
Today I’m going to boot seller/fitter for repeat heat mold, which was original plan after new footbeds. Will ask him whether or not to move tongue back to mid or forward position. I think my lower leg as pretty slim so I may keep it back to improve responsiveness since it wasn’t digging into ankle. Still in nylons only but plenty of room to wiggle toes in toe box which apparently has wool component, so hoping that will be ok. @Jilly ‘s tongue advice and to refer to package insert makes sense!!
Thanks for listening and maybe a kernel of this will be helpful to @HMSCster and other struggling Divas. Don’t be afraid to mess around a little w your boots!!! (But dont shave the boot board)

 

[liquidfeet]

I just got custom orthotic footbeds made by the pedorthist my brother swears by. I have Tecnica Mach 1 MV 105w. Skied in them 1 season 20 days with stock liner and Sidas dropin footbed from prior Tecnicas same mondo 24.5 modified by very small heel lifts and tape wedge under big toes. Put in new footbeds in liners. Put on usual low pile downhill skiing model smart wool sox and barely got one foot in, toes curled under and painful. Could not get my always larger L foot in. Tried not to freak out. Pedorthist suggested wearing liner alone at home for an hour or two first. Then try again to get into boots w thinner sox. So, I did the liner thing. Then I did barely get boots on wearing knee-hi nylons, toes stuck in curled position for minutes and minutes then gradually uncurling. Big pain over arch bump both feet after 20 min inboots. More freak out! Contemplated removing boot board and somehow shaving it down or ask pedorthist to thin out footbed. No appt available for 2 weeks. Decided to work harder at getting into boot while keeping tongue flat and toes flexed. Found that dorsiflexing then curling toes on the way in while rotating femur and shin internal then external allowed me to get in easier. I lengthened the top of foot buckle, already at loosest notch, a couple of twists. No more pain over arch bump but still too snug over mid foot. Slight sense that tongue sides were curled a bit from insertion maneuvers. A little tingling in bigger foot toes after 1 hour. Decided to explore the liner and discovered the Velcro adjustment on tongue. It was to the forward line. I decided to adjust it to the backward line. Next time got into boots more easily past choke point esp if I pulled up a bit on mid foot to make room for toes on way in, and used other foot to compress shell over tip of toes slightly which caused mid foot of shell to open slightly more. Made sure not to let tongues curl. Wore boots 1 hour. No tingling. No arch bone tenderness. Next time got each foot in 30 seconds…I’m learning something or liners compressing or both. Wore 1 hour no pain.
Today I’m going to boot seller/fitter for repeat heat mold, which was original plan after new footbeds. Will ask him whether or not to move tongue back to mid or forward position. I think my lower leg as pretty slim so I may keep it back to improve responsiveness since it wasn’t digging into ankle. Still in nylons only but plenty of room to wiggle toes in toe box which apparently has wool component, so hoping that will be ok. @Jilly ‘s tongue advice and to refer to package insert makes sense!!
Thanks for listening and maybe a kernel of this will be helpful to @HMSCster and other struggling Divas. Don’t be afraid to mess around a little w your boots!!! (But dont shave the boot board)

I'm glad you are having some success. But I'm a little worried about the curled toes. That's not good. Not normal.

I bought boots one year that did that to my toes and I thought it was what one felt when getting a performance fit. My bootfitter even said that. He advised me to ski for a few weeks and come back only if the pain was still there. When I called for an appointment he was always too busy. I'll never go to that guy again.

I had pain for most of the season and because I continued to ski those boots, they totally messed up my big toes. I had to stop skiing before the season ended the pain was so bad. I went to a new bootfitter, who would not put me in boots at that point because the pressure from the shell had created ingrown toenails that needed to be surgically fixed and because my toes were so inflamed.

So I planned on getting the surgery once the inflammation calmed down in the summer and to see the new bootfitter in October to buy another new pair of boots.

So be cautious about skiing with curled up toes.

Did your pedorthist shape the orthotics to fit inside your boot? When he(she) was done making them, did he(she) put the orthotics into the boot to check for fit? If they are too wide or too long, that could be creating the issue. Then again if they are super thick, that also could be the issue. Does the pedorthist regularly make footbeds for ski boots? Ski boot footbeds are quite different from orthotics made for walking. I've had both make for my feet. Very different. The foot does not bend in ski boots. It does in shoes. The "orthotics" I have (not footbeds) are rock hard from the middle of the foot back and back under the heel.

There's a recent discussion about shaving bootboards somewhere over on SkiTalk. I would suggest you not let anyone, not even you, mess with your shell or the bootboard, except a highly recommended boot fitter (not a boot seller). Do you need a recommendation for such a boot fitter who is nearby?

 

[DebbieSue]

I'm glad you are having some success. But I'm a little worried about the curled toes. That's not good. Not normal.

I bought boots one year that did that to my toes and I thought it was what one felt when getting a performance fit. My bootfitter even said that. He advised me to ski for a few weeks and come back only if the pain was still there. When I called for an appointment he was always too busy. I'll never go to that guy again.

I had pain for most of the season and because I continued to ski those boots, they totally messed up my big toes. I had to stop skiing before the season ended the pain was so bad. I went to a new bootfitter, who would not put me in boots at that point because the pressure from the shell had created ingrown toenails that needed to be surgically fixed and because my toes were so inflamed.

So I planned on getting the surgery once the inflammation calmed down in the summer and to see the new bootfitter in October to buy another new pair of boots.

So be cautious about skiing with curled up toes.

Did your pedorthist shape the orthotics to fit inside your boot? When he(she) was done making them, did he(she) put the orthotics into the boot to check for fit? If they are too wide or too long, that could be creating the issue. Then again if they are super thick, that also could be the issue. Does the pedorthist regularly make footbeds for ski boots? Ski boot footbeds are quite different from orthotics made for walking. I've had both make for my feet. Very different. The foot does not bend in ski boots. It does in shoes. The "orthotics" I have (not footbeds) are rock hard from the middle of the foot back and back under the heel.

There's a recent discussion about shaving bootboards somewhere over on SkiTalk. I would suggest you not let anyone, not even you, mess with your shell or the bootboard, except a highly recommended boot fitter (not a boot seller). Do you need a recommendation for such a boot fitter who is nearby?

Thanks for all the advice.
The footbed was made for static support.
Pedorthist understands ski boot needs.
He did match size to stock footbed.
It is thicker than stock or previous Sidas foot bed for sure.
After multiple tries and wearing boots, I mastered getting in without ending up in curled position.
Got liners remolded at bootfitters.
He confirmed that footbed is substantially thicker than stock. He said he could thin bootboard with some type of sander or something but would rush to do that, esp since the height (and arch support) is now lifting me away from navicular and med maleolus pressure points. Interesting that the heel is a bit higher than forefoot. I had small heel lifts under liners with off the shelf footbeds to improve stance. Pedorthist raised heel abit for alignment purposes it seems. I told him I’m more comfortable in 1-2 in block heels than flats for my work/dress shoes.

Now s/p molding I am able to get in with “hybrid” compression ski socks and wear comfortably at home for 1-2 hours with no curling, no arch bump pain although toes in larger left foot have less wiggle room.
So far, so good. I will not wear a painful shoe (or boot for that matter).
Will ski them this weekend and forecast is balmy which eliminates the cold factor while the liners get more packed.
I have appt with pedorthist for Monday and if having issues may ask him to “thin” the foot bed if he can, since he made them, or suggests thinning the bootboard.
Ay, yi, yi is all I can say.

 

[HikenSki]

Brian at Pro-Fit Mountain Sports in Leesburg is the bestest. Kiel is also very good, but if you have a real problem boot or are generally hard to fit, I'd go straight to Brian.

Brian at ProFit is amazing! He really knows his stuff. He will work with you as long as it takes to figure out your issue. I bought my first boots from him years back and then upgraded back in 2018 I think it was. I've got wide, low volume feet with a narrow ankle and long lower leg. I had to go with men's boot in order to avoid crushing the shorter cuff women's boots. I tried on about four pairs he thought would work. Took the best one (Lange RX120LV) and heated the shell to accommodate the wider foot, added shin foam to help take up some of the volume in front of the ankle. Boots were very snug but felt amazing on the slopes. After having a baby in 2020, I had to go back to him the next fall because the boots felt tight and I couldn't stand level (legs wanted to roll inward). He took one look at me and knew what the issue was. A little punch out around toes and wedges added along the arch fixed the angulation and the boots felt normal again. If you have the time and aren't too far away, definitely go see him if you can! Plan a day trip to catch him during the day when he's not as busy.

 

[HMSCster]

For those totally invested on this saga, ok let's be honest you may not be vested but could be curious, here is what happened at the boot fitter today..
1) they swapped the footbed for a pair of foot docs with lower arches
2) moved a bolt on one of the buckles (I guess there are two to choose from)
3) Gave me thinner socks

And I seem to be ok for the moment. Definitely the right length, but I lagged that might left foot is 5 mm wider than my right!

I'll be wearing them attend the house since my first snow day with be too Xmas.

Thanks for all the great advice ladies. You all rock!!!