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HELP PLEASE - new boots & dreadful toenail pain

3VSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've bought new boots after losing the toenail off my left big toe for a few consecutive seasons. I went to a well respected boot fitter who gave me custom shell custom liner custom footbed Salomons -two sizes smaller than my old boots. He did everything tests mentioned on the Buying Skiboots thread.

However, I wore them yesterday for the first time and could manage only 30 mins before taking them off - my toes on both feet were like a block - really cold with no sensation - the feeling came back after a few minutes with absolutely agonising pain.

I put them on again this morning although I took them off few times during the course of the day to get some feeling back in my left toes. This process became easier as the morning progressed. However, over this afternoon my left big toe toenail started to throb -so much that I was reluctant to put pressure on the toes for my turns which then added ankle pain due to the mix.

My big toe nail is still throbbing -hours later -and I'm dreading putting my boots on again tomorrow morning. Is it worth persevering with these (very expensive) boots or should I just rent?
 

Bing

Angel Diva
I'm no expert - but suffered for two years with poor fitting, tight boots & watched my skiing regress.

Can you get a boot fitter to look at the new boots for you?

If you're on a vacation, I might think to rent in order to keep having fun.
 

Robyn

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Bootfitting is a process and for most people includes multiple visits and adjustments. I have 2 days on mine and have been in once since pick up and know I'll be in at least 1 or 2 more times.
 

3VSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks for that - I had an ok morning in my boots - well - ok in so far as the toes on my left foot got so cold I couldn't feel anything - which was a bonus - til I took them off at lunch time - after that it was agony - I'm going to rent tomorrow just to enjoy the rest of my trip - really appreciate your thoughts x:grouphug:
 

Robyn

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I never, ever, ever remove my boots at lunch for fear I won't be able to put them back on.
 

Gumbelina

Certified Ski Diva
Be careful that your feet aren't so numb that damage is being done to your toenails without you realizing it. I'm on a week-long ski vacation and only got to ski 1 1/2 days because of new boots (from a master boot-fitter) that I thought were good to go. I loosened the top buckles to try to alleviate the numbness in my feet, and went out and skied a long run. Both of my big toenails are going to end up coming off, and are too painful to put back into ski boots at the moment. I'm glad to hear that you decided to rent some boots.

p.s. that agonizing feeling you describe is known as the "screaming pukies" or "screaming barfies" in the ice climbing community, combination of blood flow and sensation returning to hands or feet after they are cold and without good circulation for a while can be excruciating!
 

3VSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey I'm still with the rentals and can manage about 4 hours skiing a day before I give up cause my toe nails are still very sore. It's a great improvement on the new boots though. I think I'm going to lose both big toe nails this time - they are both still soooo sore to touch. I can't believe it because I thought these new boots were going to sort my toe problems out rather than create a myriad of new ones. At least I'm not having that terrible pain any more. Do you think it's still worth sticking with the new boots (on the next trip after the toes have healed a bit) or best to just bin them?
 

volklgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Definitely keep them. You'll need to go back to your fitter and show them where the pain is....if it's because the boots are really short, they can grind the shell out to give you toe room, or put in heel lifts to bring you up and back a bit. If it's something else, it's likely they can fix that too. You'll need to have patience and make sure you wear them some in between trips.

Some say to never go on a trip with equipment you haven't tested before hand.....I think that's wise advise.
 

MontanaSkier

Certified Ski Diva
Ugh, boot pain is the worst. My new boots were agony on my feet until I broke them in.

Since your toes are cold, they might be too tight...are you wearing really thick socks? That was one of my problems. It sounds like you might be getting some toe bang too, which indicates a too small fit.

I would definitely take them back to your boot fitter to get them checked out..hopefully they can fix them! Good luck!
 

volklgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It sounds like you might be getting some toe bang too, which indicates a too small fit.

Actually, toe bang is usually a sign of boots that are too big - the foot slides forward in the boot and "bam!".

Numbness and pain, or scrunched and curled toes is a sign of too short and/or too narrow in the toe box.......easily fixed by a good fitter.

Make sure you're buckling the upper cuff buckles first then flexing vigorously to seat your heel fully back in the heel pocket. In my case, I actually have to bang the back of the boot on the ground, hard, to get my super-skinny achilles and heel to seat all the way back.
 

Gumbelina

Certified Ski Diva
What kind of custom liners do you have? I have Intuition Plug Wraps, and they were molded with some foam stuck to my feet, but not with toe caps like when I did my own Intuition liners in my last boots, and I suspect that is part of my problem. Do you feel like there is any wiggle room for your toes, or are the liners very snug around them?

I also think that part of my problem is that my liners (and heels) aren't fully seated into the heel pocket of my boots. I did a lot of banging and smushing to try to get them back there during the heating process, but I suspect that my big calves are in the way. As a result, I think my toes are being smashed against the front of my boots even though I am definitely in the right size shell. Any chance you may be having the same problem with yours? I was able to compare the curve of the heel pocket in the shell with the shape of the outside of the heel of the liner, and while subtle there is definitely a difference in the shape.

Definitely take your boots back to the bootfitter with a good description of the problems that you have had, and get him to fix them for you, or get you into different boots.
 

3VSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm not sure what custom liners i have but my boot fitter is meant to be very good - however, living where I do, it meant a flight, car hire, overnight in a hotel so the boots work out very expensive - we made a family weekend out of it though - I'm not sure I can afford to go back but I prob could email or call him and ask for his thoughts.

To be fair, he did say for me to use thin socks - which I ordered on line - but didn't check til I came away on this trip - they are medium thick rather than thin - and now I realise this was a major oversight.

Also the boots were quite tight so I didn't wear them much about the house before coming away. I'm still using the rentals this week but I think my toenail is stuffed- I can see a raised section of nail at the top, although the nail is trimmed back well - with red/black underneath - which I think is dried blood :fear:

When I get over the painful bit, I will give the new boots another crack with the thin socks which I have now bought and am wearing
with the rentals - we are planning a mid term Feb ski trip which
gives good recovery time. I was prob naive in thinking these new
boots were going to sort my toenail problem out for me.

Thank you all very much for your thoughts on this one - i really appreciate it x
 
C

CMCM

Guest
I caused toenail problems last year by deciding to leave the bottom two buckles loose for comfort while I probably had the top two buckles too tight. Apparently my feet could move back and forth too much in the boot, and it really wrecked my big toenails...they had black spots and eventually fell off, and I'll mention that when all this started, my toes hurt.

In the same boots, now I have no problem because I now tighten the bottom two buckles enough to keep my feet from moving, AND I loosened up a bit on the top two. Much more comfortable skiing, no pain now.

I've lost 20 lbs. since last spring and I can say my feet have also gotten a slight bit smaller, so I'm also thinking my feet fit better in the boots now as well.
 

Nadine_A

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Make sure you're buckling the upper cuff buckles first then flexing vigorously to seat your heel fully back in the heel pocket. In my case, I actually have to bang the back of the boot on the ground, hard, to get my super-skinny achilles and heel to seat all the way back.

Good advice volklgirl. This has definitely works for me.

I caused toenail problems last year by deciding to leave the bottom two buckles loose for comfort while I probably had the top two buckles too tight. Apparently my feet could move back and forth too much in the boot, and it really wrecked my big toenails...they had black spots and eventually fell off, and I'll mention that when all this started, my toes hurt.

Interestingly, I was told to do that by my bootfitter and it works for me. I buckle the top 3 as tight as I can (usually gets tighter as the day progresses) and leave the lowest one either open or slightly done up, plus as soon as I'm on the lift, I use my ski pole to undo the bottom two. It's annoying to keep doing them up whenever I get off the lift, but it really saves the pain throughout the day. I copied a ski instructor during lesson, I figured if it worked for him, it may work for me, and it does.

As usual, as you wear the boots in, they get better. A fair indication for me is when I'm not even tempted to take them off during lunch or break time :yahoo:
 

3VSki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi
I just want to complete this thread with an update on my new boots. I am in the French Alps (and it's been snowing this afternoon!!!!!) - I have worn my new boots - which up to this trip had given me serious problems- for 3 days now - with nylon knee high pop socks (got that idea from a ski diva thread) - and they are really comfortable. I did try really thin socks this morning and changed back to the nylons at lunch time cause my toes were really cold and my mind was more focused on the toes rather than the skiing!

My thought for the day is that a really good boot fitter - a little perseverance along with some lateral thinking has sorted my boots out. So thanks a lot to all of you who took the time to offer your advice.

Bon Ski :thumbsup:
 

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