Fitting and breaking in boots

[SnowGlider]

FIRST QUESTION: FITTING

I think I now have a pair of new boots that I will HAVE to stick with, because they came closest to fitting me of the dozens I tried on. (Weird foot: very wide forefoot; very narrow heel and thin achille's tendon).

I got the Head S8: https://www.amazon.com/Head-Skis-USA-HeatFit-Boot/dp/B000KSRRBC

I could use your Diva help adjusting to these.

I had a long fitting in the store, but upon skiing found they need some tuning. Problems:

1) Don't have as much control of my skis as I want, which makes me fear they're too big. A fitter at the mountain checked the shell and liner and said they are the right length. I have 1.5 fingers in the shell. He told me to stop worrying about the size and work on fine tuning the fit. Do you agree?

2) Too large around the achille's tendon, even though this boot has a particularly narrow heel and the liner is shaped around the ankle. The store fitter put some foam pads around the achille's tendon (sides and back) which I found very hard, tight, and painful. Is there any softer material that can be used to pack out the heel? Anybody have narrow heels and can tell me what you do to correct it? [There is NO boot on the market that is narrow enough for my heel and achille's tendon.]

3) Forefoot is also too wide, but just a tad. This boot is supposed to come with an adapter that makes the forefoot narrower (from 103mm to 11 mm), but it was missing (no box). To correct this, should I put a firm board under the liner, or pack out around the outside of the forefoot?

The store didn't have a smaller size for me to try, unfortuntely, but this boot passed the toe test (touching the front when standing; retracted about 3/8" when flexed).

MY BIGGEST CONCERN: Everyone says the fit should be uncomfortably tight when you leave the store. These boots (without any extra padding) are not uncomfortably tight. My foot on the measuring thing is exactly a 25, which is what I bought.

I'm looking for reassurance that I bought the right boot and will be able to make them fit with additional fitting. I tried every brand on the market, and these Heads came closest to fitting my bizarre foot. I have a lot more control with these boots than I had with the Dalbellos, which I returned.

SECOND QUESTION: BREAKING IN
How long does it take to break in boots? My feet were killing me yesterday. I was only able to do 5 runs. Have only skied 6 times this season (no snow, remember?), so my feet are not hardened. The shell is so hard that I can barely get the liner in and out, and can barely get my foot in the boot. Will the shell flaps soften up?

 

[Little Lightning]

My shop told me to ski them 5-6 times, keep a diary of where and when they hurt, what time of day they hurt and if you can, pinpoint the part of the boot where they hurt.

However, if they are cutting off your circulation then you need to go back for adjustments right away.

Kathi

 

[volklgirl]

I have a very similar foot (super narrow heel and achilles tendon, wide forefoot with bunions, and a low and fat calf) and ended up with the Lange WC 100 Team, but then had mucho work done with the toe box. My foot measures a 24.5 but I bought a 23.5 knowing they would pack out. I had the bunion area bumped out, the entire toe box on both boots ground and then stretched (which also made the shell a bit longer), my foot beds ground down a bit, and saddle pads added around the achilles tendon on both (only 1/2 of one on the left - my bigger foot). In all it took about 2 weeks and $110 worth of fitting, but I'm exceedingly happy with the fit and performance of the boot. It's well worth the time and aggravation of finding the perfect boot then getting the perfect fit....I finally know what real control and instant response feels like.

Along with specific women's boots, you may want to try some of the junior race boots....they tend to run a little shorter and narrower and have the softer flex like the women's boots. I tried some Heads and found they were too wide at the heel. The Salomon Mynx was the next best fit to the Langes.

Oh, and take a Sharpie marker with you the next day out and circle the areas that are bugging you as soon as you take your boots off....that makes it really easy for your fitter to see what needs to be fixed.

 

[SnowGlider]

You make sense, buuuut . . .

Sadly, you're confirming that I should have bought one size smaller---but there's nary a one in my entire state, and after two weeks of searching I haven't found another boot that fits as well as the one I bought.

I can identify with all the changes you made. Problem is, although the place where I bought the boots won an award for service and I found their service very good, (1) I don't think I can trust them to make THAT many minute adjustments; (2) I live an hour from the store and can't keep driving back there; and (3) I can't afford an independent boot fitter.

So I may be stuck with trying to make these Head S8s fit, even though I wish I had a smaller size.

QUESTIONS:

1) Re your saddle pads on the achilles tendon: What material was used, and did you get the pads wrapped all the way around the back of the tendon, or did you only fill in on the sides? I would love to see a photo of these on your liner!

2) Did you need to pad around the outside of the heel as well, below the achilles tendon?

 

[volklgirl]

My boot fitter is 2 1/2 hours away, one-way. I just asked around at all the ski shops to see who the racers went to and then called and made an appointment.

Here's the pic of the saddle pads. We actually have 2 different kinds....the white thing in the picture is the peel-off part to show the shape of the kind that hubby has. It's thicker than the one on my boot liner (sorry, hubby said pulling his liners out is too big a PITA). They're both made of that dense foam peel-n-stick stuff. On my old Salomons, I ended up cutting the very back section off because it pushed my foot too far forward into the boot.

 

[ISki]

Tognar.com sells bootfitting pads to tighten the heel. See C-pad, L-pad, and/or Ankle Wrap. They are in their catalog (bootfitting aids).

For what it's worth and in the spirit of reassurance, I always buy boots that are comfortable from the moment I first put them on. I have no tolerance for foot discomfort, especially not tightness. I once tried a size smaller boot, and it was unbearable.

 

[smpayne]

My boots were comfortable when I left the store also, but hurt after the 2nd day in them. I was told to expect this, becasue the bootfitters couldn't fine tune anything until I had actually skied on them. Now that the liners are packing out a bit, I need to go back for a new problem.

 

[Little Lightning]

I just got back from a 3 hr boot fitting session at the shop where I bought my boots. I didn't know that boots could be snug and also feel good.

I have a small, thin foot (size 22) with a very thin heel and high instep. I also have the Lange Freeride 100's which don't fare well with my instep.
Initially, we got the boots to fit my foot, no modifications except lowering the boot board to accommodate my instep. Then we added a 1/4" heel lift. They felt ok but kept pressing on the navicular bone on my right foot. As the liners packed out the bone started hurting more especially if I wore a heavier sock or buckled tighter.

I decided to go to 1/2" heel lift but it was to much of a rise for my instep. In order to do this the fitter had to lower the boot board and take a little off my custom orthotic.

He also punched out the shell around the navicular bone on both boots. Now I can tighten my boots without aggravating the bone

For me the advantage of heel lifts is to put my heel in a better position in the boot making my heel more secure.

The time spent getting a good fit is well worth it for me. My boot fitter said that when I need new boots it will now be easy to make adjustments because we now know what works and can duplicate it.

Kathi

 

[Little Lightning]

Boots are very hard for me to get off and on (small size and high instep). My boot fitter trimmed the elastic over the tongue. Now I have more space to insert my foot, plus it took some pressure off the instep.

Don't buckle the 2 buckles over your toes too tight. If you have to go more than 1 or 2 hooks the boots are to big (that's what my boot fitter told me today).

Kathi

 

[SnowGlider]

To Volklgirl

Aha! That's what I'm experiencing as well---that the foam on the back of the achilles tendon is too much and the pads should only cover the sides. Thanks a million for the photo!

 

[SnowGlider]

Self-fitting??

After reading everything at the link that ISki posted for fitting parts, I concluded that it's possible to do quite a bit of fitting yourself if you have some dense foam, some two-sided tape, and a hard footbed if necessary.

I was wondering about self-fitting, because it takes about 10 tries to get a pad the right size and shape and in the right place. It seems like I could do this better than a boot fitter, because I can feel exactly what needs to be done.

My boot fitter disappeared so often into the back of the shop and stayed gone for so long that I wondered what the heck was going on back there. I thought it would be a lot faster if I did it myself.

ISki's link gave me a good idea of potential pad shapes. I have plenty of old closed-cell camping mattresses that I save just for things like this. Just can't afford the gas for any more trips to the fitter! I'll go one more time and then finish the job myself.

 

[volklgirl]

Self fitting

For basic stuff like padding, self fitting is a very real option.

The pads were given to me from the shop I originally got my boots from (a reputable shop should supply them free if you got your boots there, others will usually supply them for a small fee like $5 or so). I took the liner out with the footbed still in then positioned the pads using duct tape to where I felt I needed the padding. I skied on them then did the peel-n-stick for real. Since then, I've also had to use an Exacto knife to trim around my pointy ankle bones and I've beveled all the edges so there's no sharp line at the pad's edge. My fitter correctly noted a need for heel lifts due to my low volume instep and short heel depth. He supplied and installed them, repositioning my heel and ankle back into the pocket instead of below it.

Just remember if you start messing with your own padding that once an area is tender, it will stay irritated for quite a while and the correct padding my still hurt until the area heals. So just make one change at a time and see how it goes.

 

[SnowGlider]

Aha! Duct tape!

I never thought of using duct tape. Good idea about the bevelling also.

 

[volklgirl]

Oh, and be very careful when reinserting your liners into the shell. After I took the picture I put the boot back together and thought nothing about it. Yesterday, the outside of my right ankle bone got tender. By 3:30 today, I was almost in tears. When we got home, I pulled the boot apart.....the outside part of the pad had flipped over and curled up when I put the liner back in, leaving a huge lump right at my ankle bone. OUCH!! I straightened it all back out and taped it down before putting them back together this time. Have someone show you how to properly and easily remove and reinsert your liner!!! :D :D :D

 

[Shellski]

I have an ankle shim in my boots, the one I have is three layers of thin foam, the fitter who did it explained that if it turned out to be too tight (eg causing pain and rubbing) you can just peel off one layer or two. Also, it goes from the sides of my ankle across the back, but as you probably only need the extra padding on the sides, you can just trim of the part that pads the back of your heel. This part of the fitting problem is pretty easy to fix.

Other simple things are playing with the micro adjustments on the buckles, and making sure your foot is in the right position in the boot before you do up the buckles. I always make sure my heel is right to the back of the boot, then do up the buckles 3rd, 4th, 1st and 2nd.

I find leaving the buckles nice and loose for the first couple of runs then tightening a little once my feet and the shells have warmed up a little, saves a whole day of discomfort.