• Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.

Seeking Support Picking Boots

Skiierwithcurves

Diva in Training
Trying to buy new ski boots and having a rough time feeling confident. I’m 30 and this is my first time really being able to spend on a good pair of skis and boots to use for the next couple decades. I spent a couple hours at ski shops with male salesmen that made me feel crazy for wanting a comfortable boot. Ended up buying what one of them had me try on in the store (Salomon S/pro 90s) but it is so painful at home. I know I can get it custom fitted in an oven but it feels risky if the boot is so painful. So I want to know - is it really that crazy to just size up? My current boots are a 25.5 (a used old pair I bought in college). I have toe room in them and yes my feet can slide forward sometimes. The salemen wouldn’t even let me try on a 25 and said I have to go with 24. I just moved to a ski town so I don’t want to limit myself by opting for comfy over what is “right,” but I’m never going to be an Olympic skier, I just want to get good enough to join the local beer league! Looking for advice and maybe some validation that male salesman can have overly rigid opinions.
 

bsskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Where are you located? Someone here might be able to steer you to a trusted boot fitter.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
They are probably too big.

paging: @MI-skier and @volklgirl for some help here.
@Jilly - Too big if they're painfully tight at home?

Those two places are basically the only two in town that I know of. There's another store out on the road from Petoskey toward the ski resorts, Webster's Lower Northern Sports, that you could try for another opinion. Bahnhof is the one that I've tended to gravitate to, but I've always bought my boots downstate where I live. My DH may have gotten a pair there years and years ago.

Pretty sure there's a guy at Crystal that's supposed to be good, so that's not too far away. And there's a place in Traverse City that my friends have been happy with - I could get you the name of that place, too, if you want.

And just a thought, though I know it's not perfect because feet and boots are so different, but maybe rent the smaller size one day and see what happens? (I say this as a person who would be whining BIG TIME if my feet hurt in the boot while sitting, let alone if someone told me to ski in them. Last time we got ours we drove to Sun and Snow in Ann Arbor, based on good reports from others.)

Also, what did they tell you about standing behind their work? Will they cook them and if it still doesn't work, make it right with another pair, perhaps? Or did they tell you to go out and ski them for a few days first?

Finally, maybe @SnowHot will see this and respond, too. If not, you could go over to SkiTalk and ask the question - she'll see it there.
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Since nobody else has asked yet, what size are your street shoes @Skiierwithcurves ?

It sounds like the 25.5 likely is too big if your foot can move forward. And the reason the shop guy wouldn't let you try on a 25 is that they don't really exist. Whereas some shoe brands only come in whole sizes, ski boots come in half sizes. When I bought my first pair of ski boots I put them on and immediately thought what the hell have I done. I just wasn't used to the feel of having something that snug on my feet. I started out by putting them on for a half hour at a time while watching tv. And I couldn't do it with ski socks on at first, I put on a pair of nylons, and then sat with my booted feet up on a foot stool. Now I have boots that are the same size, but narrower. They are a pain to get on. But once they are on, the snugness is now a comforting feeling. Not comfortable like slippers. Comforting like a good hug. Like my brain is registering that I'm about to go have fun on the slopes. But it took some time for my feet and brain to get to that point. If you aren't ready to ski in the boots yet, or take the plunge on getting them heat molded, maybe just some time with the boots and a glass of wine might be a starting point.

For reference, my street shoes are 8.5-9. My ski boots are 24.5.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
If she can slide back and forward, then they are too long, too big. I'm having issues with my new boots and part of it is that my old boots were sloppy. And my feet are still used to flip flops etc. So I have them home to do the same thing as @diymom. It's all about breaking them in.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
If she can slide back and forward, then they are too long, too big. I'm having issues with my new boots and part of it is that my old boots were sloppy. And my feet are still used to flip flops etc. So I have them home to do the same thing as @diymom. It's all about breaking them in.
Yeah, the old boots. I thought you were saying the new painful ones were too big, and I don't think she's skied them yet. Just me mis-reading it, that's all.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
@Skiierwithcurves - have you looked at your foot in the shell without the liner? Where do they hurt? Front/back? Side to side? Top of foot? What sock did you wear at home vs. in the shop? Did you flex your foot forward at home to get your toes back a little?

I really love the Patriot Footbeds Bootorials series… maybe worth watching that and getting some ideas about your situation?
 

Skidreamer

Certified Ski Diva
Where are the boots causing pain on your feet? I had huge issues with foot sole pain with Salomon X Pro 90's which were bought new a few years ago, I tried all sorts of things for a few years to sort it out. Finally bought some Tecnica's - zero pain from the first day I wore them. There could be so many issues feeding into this for you...
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sorry, @Skiierwithcurves , I forgot the last point. Yes, sometimes male sales people can be dismissive. There are many points that have come up in the answers here that could have been addressed during your fitting. If the sales guy only said "I won't let you try a 25, you are getting a 24.5" without explaining why, that is a problem. Or if he didn't explain how he could make tweaks to make the boot less painful, or .... those are all things that could have been discussed during the fitting without taking hardly any time or effort on the fitter's part.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
I also jumped right to the “let’s get the boot problem fixed” without the validation.

You’re not wrong at all. As a middling skier with a middle aged mom bod and look, I have definitely taken the time to figure out who the dismissive guys are so I can avoid them.
 

loopylou3

Certified Ski Diva
My boots really hurt on the inner ankle and felt loose. Went to a different shop, took my boots and said, I think I need knew boots. The shopkeeper asked me where the pain was, measured my feet, then got me to stand bare foot, told me my feet were rolling in, sold me custom insoles instead of new boots and skid several times since - perfect!
 

DebbieSue

Angel Diva
Insoles and heel lifts helped me be more comfortable and advanced my skiing when older boots were hurting. That shopkeeper knew what he was doing and could've sold you new boots but didn't When it's time to get new boots, if possible, return to him.
 

scandium

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sizing up for comfort is not a good idea if you want to control your skis better. Whoever fitted your boots didn't listen, though, because there's plenty of ways to make the boot in the right size comfortable and they should have listened to you when you said you were experiencing pain and too much discomfort. My boots were horrific in the shop and would have been unskiiable without modifications (narrow heel, normal instep and bunions+bunionettes) however the answer was NOT sizing up but getting the shop staff to do the necessary modifications (ankle, bunion and bunionette punches) before I even skiied them. And then going back when I needed more done. This was included in the price and they guarantee their fit in the price so include all the modifications for the lifespan of your boot. Did you get shell fit (without the liner in) and was there enough space for your foot? Does it touch the shell? Did the fitter communicate to you about this at all?

Lastly, boots don't actually truly last a couple of decades - the plastic degrades over 7-10 years and should be replaced - you can technically ski on boots that are older but they tend to be ticking time bombs. Yes you can buy older/second hand boots that you *can* ski on but it's very much an "at your own risk" situation - bootsplosions have happened to more than one of my family members after a long break away!
 

MI-skier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Agree with all the posts above. Here's a list from another FB page I kept. Keep testing until it feels comfortable. You have every right to walk away if it isn't. Pain and sliding is a recipe for holding you back/making you not want to ski. Equipment should make you want to ski!

Boot Whisperer at the Highlands ski shop
Eric at Don Orr Ski N' Beach in Traverse City
Jim and the guys at Mountain Sports at Crystal
 

Skiierwithcurves

Diva in Training
Thank you all! I was motivated to give it a good shot at breaking them in after all this feedback (the woman who told me to drink a glass of wine and chill with them on was the most helpful, l lol!). After a few days the pain decreased enough to be able to feel confident bringing them to the oven at Bahnoff and now they fit great. I may have overreacted a bit so let this be a lesson to anyone who is scared by how stiff the boots are right out of the box!
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
26,237
Messages
497,685
Members
8,503
Latest member
MermaidKelly
Top