• 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.

Short gal with high arches looking for touring boots

Skiskisarah

Certified Ski Diva
Hey all!

I’m new to the forum! Excited to join the community. Wondering if any of the shorter folks with high arches have had good experience with a particular touring boot. I always have issues with comfort on the top of the foot even after a fitting. I’m only 5’ so calf fit can also be tricky.

I’m just a wee girl drifting in a giants world.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi and welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, it's probably more a function of the majority of people on here aren't doing backcountry, and then factoring in your small size. I'm similar to you in that I'm short and have a higher instep compared to the rest of my low volume foot, but unfortunately I don't know anything about touring boots as I only do lift serviced skiing. Hopefully someone can see this and respond. It's also a little slower right now b/c off-season.
 

AJM

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi !!
I'm with @tinymoose in that I also know nothing about touring boots.
Perhaps tag some of the Divas who have been active in the Backcountry forum ?
Boots in general are a horror show to get right so hopefully you get some good advice but as mentioned above the forum is a bit quiet at the moment xx
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's a good idea! Might get more responses/notices in the backcountry forum.

@Pequenita is small and I think has touring boots, although dunno about her instep
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Hey all - I've moved this thread over to the backcountry forum vs having @Skiskisarah start a new one.

We do have some women who do backcountry on the forum, but it's true we don't have a huge amount at the moment. It's also true that weekends are slower, and activity is slower in general outside of northern hemisphere ski season. I'm sure you'll get some good info here over the next week or so. :thumbsup:

Off the top of my head I'll ping @RJ* @ilovepugs @WaterGirl @Analisa @arbusch ...
 

Skiskisarah

Certified Ski Diva
Hey all - I've moved this thread over to the backcountry forum vs having @Skiskisarah start a new one.

We do have some women who do backcountry on the forum, but it's true we don't have a huge amount at the moment. It's also true that weekends are slower, and activity is slower in general outside of northern hemisphere ski season. I'm sure you'll get some good info here over the next week or so. :thumbsup:

Off the top of my head I'll ping @RJ* @ilovepugs @WaterGirl @Analisa @arbusch ...
Thanks so much!! Luckily I have some time to find the right fit.
 

RJ*

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi @Skiskisarah! I’ve just found AT boots at the end of last season with the help of people here on the forum. I have a relatively high instep with a low volume foot, and the Scarpa GEA RS fit me well.

I did not use my bootfitter because I tried everything they had for AT and nothing worked. I tried two other bootfitters in the area and nothing worked either (I have fussy feet and options were super limited.)

So I posted here, collected great recommendations from people with similar LV feet, and ordered a bunch of boots online. It helps that I know what a good fit for me feels like.

I went out a couple of times and so far the boots are fine, but I think the jury is still out until I use them more often this upcoming season.
 

Skiskisarah

Certified Ski Diva
Hi @Skiskisarah! I’ve just found AT boots at the end of last season with the help of people here on the forum. I have a relatively high instep with a low volume foot, and the Scarpa GEA RS fit me well.

I did not use my bootfitter because I tried everything they had for AT and nothing worked. I tried two other bootfitters in the area and nothing worked either (I have fussy feet and options were super limited.)

So I posted here, collected great recommendations from people with similar LV feet, and ordered a bunch of boots online. It helps that I know what a good fit for me feels like.

I went out a couple of times and so far the boots are fine, but I think the jury is still out until I use them more often this upcoming season.
Thanks for the info! I’ll check them out. How did the online ordering and returning go? I’ve never purchased boots online.
 

RJ*

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks for the info! I’ll check them out. How did the online ordering and returning go? I’ve never purchased boots online.
I used REI because of the ease of returning. I ordered 3 pairs online, brought them to the store, and asked for help with fitting. They tried to convince me I needed a size 25,5 when the boots I ordered were all size 24,5. I've gone through the ordeal of having boots that were too large before, so I just told them that I was going to keep the smaller size. They still had take some volume off around the ankles. I took them out for the first time, and they felt a bit tight with all the padding around the ankle, so I removed some of it when I got home. The second time I went out they felt right. Let's see what happens this season!
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
Hi! Unfortunately I have low arches with a larger volume. I tour in the Dynafit Radical Pros so maybe NOT those boots :smile:
 

Elizabeth.I

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey all!

I’m new to the forum! Excited to join the community. Wondering if any of the shorter folks with high arches have had good experience with a particular touring boot. I always have issues with comfort on the top of the foot even after a fitting. I’m only 5’ so calf fit can also be tricky.

I’m just a wee girl drifting in a giants world.
Unfortunately, I have the opposite problem, so don't get the technica zero G scout haha. The technica zero gs and atomics fit low volume feet so I'd look elsewhere. Honestly, with feet that "stray from the norm" your best bet really is to see a boot fitter! Or maybe get some ideas here and just try them on in REI (or something) just to get a sense of the fit before ordering online. Nothing is worse than terrible foot pain on your backcountry ski outing!
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi @Skiskisarah ! There are so many options and maybe understanding what is working for you currently will help generate some possible choices. I had a few questions: What are you current boots/ mondo size? Where are you located and what type of touring / back country are you interested in? Uphill at resort? short tours? Longer tours? Are you planning on using dedicated touring bindings or something like a shift? Are you able to demo anything in your area or find a fitter that carries a few options?
 

Skiskisarah

Certified Ski Diva
Unfortunately, I have the opposite problem, so don't get the technica zero G scout haha. The technica zero gs and atomics fit low volume feet so I'd look elsewhere. Honestly, with feet that "stray from the norm" your best bet really is to see a boot fitter! Or maybe get some ideas here and just try them on in REI (or something) just to get a sense of the fit before ordering online. Nothing is worse than terrible foot pain on your backcountry ski outing!
Good to know! Agreed about the pain.
 

Analisa

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The Scott Celeste has the highest volume that I know of, but only comes down to a 23.5, so it might not be small enough for you if you've got a very small shoe size. Dalbello Lupo AX 120 has traditionally had a very high instep. They cut the women's 100 for 1 year, and I'm not sure if the new one fits like the high volume of the 120 or the medium volume that the women's boot used to be. Scarpa Gea and Gea RS, Atomic Hawx Prime (not Ultra - Hawx is the wider sister), and Lange XT3 (not XT3 LV) would be the next highest volume.
 

GuloGal

Certified Ski Diva
Not women's but my ex had the highest insteps I've ever seen, truly like Barbie's feet. He has the previous model Salomon MTN Explore touring boots and loves them. I still see the older ones around online for sale (the ladies are turquoise and white) so if you can try some you might also get a great deal.
 

tothetrail

Certified Ski Diva
I've got a super high instep, and high arches, but I'm 5'7", so a little taller than you. I finally found alpine boots that fit my feet great, Women's K2 Mindbender Boa. But I already had great ski touring boots that took me ages to find. Luckily I had a great bootfitter at Mammoth Mountaineering.

I tried on everything they had and we demoed several different pairs, and I landed on Dynafit Hoji Pro Tour. But the kicker was that I needed it in the men's version. The bootfitter suggested I try it and that was what worked for me. I love those boots. My alpine boots can also be used for touring, but they would be terrible. They are way too heavy, and with the Hoji's, you just release the back buckle and the whole boot loosens up. Whereas the with the Mindbenders, you need to do the back buckle, loosen the strap, and loosen both top front buckles. It takes way too many steps.
 

KathrynC

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm a little late to the party here because I only contribute to this forum when there are skiable conditions in Scotland, which isn't often!

I have very small feet (UK size 2.5 - don't know what that is in US sizes, but my 6-year old nephew has bigger feet than me) with a very high insteps.

For me, after a couple of years of trying different AT options, the Scott Celeste was the winner. They were the only boot I found that is available in a small enough shell size for me, has enough room in the instep, but isn't so wide that my feet roll inside them.

The only drawback is that the sole length is so short that I am below the minimal recommended sole length for quite a few AT bindings - although that was a good excuse to finally upgrade my old frame bindings when I bought the boots! I suspect this won't be a problem if your feet are a more normal length though.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
26,702
Messages
508,342
Members
9,007
Latest member
adelin_
Top