Help with AT Set Up. Newbie

[ducky]

As someone with short heel girth (the circumference of my foot from the front of my ankle to the farthest back point of my heel is very small compared to average) who is also very mobile through that joint- heel lift is my nemesis in all boot fits and is a particular hurdle in touring boots. Ultimately, I think you want to work with a good boot fitter to resolve (and play with your buckle microadjustments and form as mentioned) but I wanted to give you some reassurance that you could be in the right boot for you as I tried on every touring boot in my shop and went with the Zero G as having the best out of the box heel hold. That + a custom footbed was all I needed to make the boot work for me. A custom or semi custom footbed can help your foot hold the optimal position inside your liner and shell by taking up the appropriate amount of space under your arch and forefoot.

When I sweat, I can still work my heel up so I am mindful both of seating my heel in the liner and the liner in the boot before starting to skin or ski and resetting it a couple times on the ascent - I'm in VT though so my ups are shorter than yours . Your liners should have come with laces which can also help cinch down the liner around your ankle - I'd rather have the friction be from liner to shell than between my foot/sock and the liner, if that makes sense. I also cinch my power strap down directly on the liner, inside the shell for more hold because I also have skinny calves

Hope you find a good solution! Keep us posted.

Thank you! Long story short, went to a different boot shop and they provided more in line what you mentioned and I ended up with some heel lifts. Already have custom footbeds added. I do agree with the ties in the liner, opening up the buckles, wrapping the power strap around the hike lever (in manufacture book) through the front and at the top of the shell. Fortunately, I was able to go up yesterday, fit is a lot closer but encountered some more minor issues but probably leaning towards the intuition liner (dream liner) because it is on sale. Boot shop is currently out of the dual tongue and said they would help me with the fit. Fingers crossed.

 

[ducky]

I even asked my husband about this. We have been discussing a solution over dinner. If he's getting any heal play when touring he adjust that third buckle either in loosening or tightening depending on what fixes the issue. The other question we had was when this is happening on flat terrain or steep? What risers level are you using? Your skinning technique? Are you sliding the ski forward or picking up your ski like you pick up your feet when walking? This might help us understand a bit more in providing a solution.

I have tried tightening the third buckle, didn't seem to help much. Did add heel risers which seemed to help a lot but still struggling with left arch stretching out with some toe pressure and large amount of toe pressure on the right. Risers, for the ATK Crest, three levels I would say 70%ish flat, 20% on the first riser and 10% on the highest. Went up yesterday with an expert (+40 years), checked skinning technique and was given thumbs up no lifting of the ski and stride length looked good. Leaning towards doing the intuition liner with a tongue. But for the 2026 tecnica zero g boot, I was told that constant shin contact with the liner was important, wrapping the power strap around the liner, lacing up the liner, and opening the buckles wide open helped a lot..... Getting closer than last week!!

 

[arbusch]

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Touring boots are harder to fit since you need them to work on the up and the down. When you mold your liners for touring boots, most boot fitters provide a toe cap give you more space in your toes during touring. I have Raynaud's and need to add a chemical toe warmer or my feet are too cold even when touring so I need a bit more space in the toes to accommodate the toe warmer. I know most would die with that much heat going on. You might be better with an intuition liner. The liner with the zero g boot is pretty thin compared to intuition liner and intuition liner allows for more spot adjustments. I haven't met anyone in all my years of touring since 2005 that is totally happy with their touring boots. There is always one minor thing that everyone wishes they could tweak a bit more to fit their foot. At least now, we have more choices. When I started you had two boots to choose in smaller women's sizes- one from scarpa and one from garmont. Back then, I didn't even try on the garmont because the boot fitter looked at my foot and said scarpa is the best option. Man those three buckle magics were so soft and packed out quickly. I haven't had much issues with my zero g pros (the men's version) except a bit of tenderness on my inside left ankle bone after long days. I have really slender feet, skinny calves, and boney ankles. I feel like I am always trying to get it snug enough for the down much better than my scarpa gea rs - especially in varied conditions. I tour with everything unbuckled and loose.

 

[echo_VT]

I’ve got the same foot type and I do the same — scarpa. I had an old one and sold it and have a new one that I like.