Overheard at local ski shop

[Peppermint]

My goodness. I was looking for spring gloves at my local ski shop and overheard a conversation that made me cringe. A middle aged man was getting fitted with new boots and the employee who was helping him said "the first time in these boots, you will hate us, the second time won't be much better and by the time they pack out after 5-10 uses, you will love us". I felt bad for the poor guy.

 

[TiffAlt]

Why wouldn't they explain why? bad way to go about it, I agree.

 

[leia1979]

Yikes! Now that I've been to a real master bootfitter, he said people are used to the old idea that ski boots are supposed to be painful, but with new technologies like heat molding, that should no longer be the case. I know my boots don't bother me at all even though they're plenty snug.

 

[Trailside Trixie]

Agreed. My bootguy is amazing. I can pretty much sleep with my left ski boot on. My right foot gives me some issues but once I'm in the boot and it's customized how I need it, the fit is truly amazing.

 

[Iwannaski]

The interesting thing about that to me is that the MOST painful boots I’ve ever worn were the ones that were too big. The first pair of ski boots I had didn’t fit properly until after my feet grew a size from having babies. Until then, trying to keep my foot stable in a big boot made my arches feel like they were on FIRE.

 

[mustski]

^^^ this! Boots that are too big are the most painful because the foot keeps sliding forward and then everything is off!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

That sounds like a very honest boot fitter with a sense of humor to me. Hopefully, they were together during the molding process and the conversation began before, and lasted beyond, the time frame of what was overheard.

If the boots don't feel quite tight, especially for a performance fit, for the first week plus, it is almost certain that they will pack out way too much to provide a snug, effective fit for months to come.

I am in a comfort fit, and the molding process makes me want to cry, and for at least two weeks I wear pantyhose knee highs to be able to tolerate the cramp inducing squeeze with the boots barely buckled. Granted I have narrow ankles and do need to add padding, but the forefoot is quite unhappy for a bit and now, after hundreds of day of use, I am having to actually buckle them some to resume that performance I need on heavy snow days.

I hope that the new boot owner made it past the tight phase and was fitted in a good boot for his foot anatomy and ability level.

 

[Peppermint]

That sounds like a very honest boot fitter with a sense of humor to me. Hopefully, they were together during the molding process and the conversation began before, and lasted beyond, the time frame of what was overheard.

If the boots don't feel quite tight, especially for a performance fit, for the first week plus, it is almost certain that they will pack out way too much to provide a snug, effective fit for months to come.

I am in a comfort fit, and the molding process makes me want to cry, and for at least two weeks I wear pantyhose knee highs to be able to tolerate the cramp inducing squeeze with the boots barely buckled. Granted I have narrow ankles and do need to add padding, but the forefoot is quite unhappy for a bit and now, after hundreds of day of use, I am having to actually buckle them some to resume that performance I need on heavy snow days.

I hope that the new boot owner made it past the tight phase and was fitted in a good boot for his foot anatomy and ability level.

It's quite possible I misread the situation, but I wasn't getting any humorous vibe out of either of them. He seemed a bit clueless and I wasn't getting the feeling she was highly trained either, but I was in the area for all of 2 minutes. Hopefully it worked out for him.

Maybe I am lucky with easy feet to fit as I have never had new boots that hurt enough for me to hate on the people who helped me. My boots have always been very snug at first but never hurt.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@Peppermint your fuller report does sound pretty ominous. I have definitely felt some dismay towards my fitter when he buckles the lower buckles during the heat molding process on my intuition liners...lol