Ski Boots for Woman with Large Calves

[HopefulBeginner]

Thank you for the feedback ladies. I really appreciate it.

Let's see... I live in northern Virginia, but we went skiing in Pennsylvania at Whitetail. All of the snow was man made as we have not had any snow yet.

I am very much a beginner, but I really want to keep practicing and get better. I experienced such intense pain from the rentals that I nearly passed out during my lesson. (So embarrassing!) The theory I heard from several instructors was that the boot as putting pressure on the top of my foot due to my high arch causing the pain and numbness.

As for the 'salesman' (I use that term loosely) I expressed to him that my feet and calves were still very sore and he proceeded to buckle down the boots I was trying tighter and tighter. He kept trying to get me to try smaller boots even though my toes were curled at the tip of a 26. He just wasn't listening and really didn't care. He left me sitting there for so long while he went to get a hat for his friend that I finally just walked away. I will never go to Ski Chalet in Chantilly again. Their service is horrible and after doing some price comparing their prices are higher than everyone else's.

My hubby was talking to a gal at work and shared my experience and she recommended a 'rear entry' boot. I have not seen any of these around. Any opinions?

Thanks again for the help and recommendations. I really really want to enjoy this sport!

 

[bounceswoosh]

Thank you for the feedback ladies. I really appreciate it.

Let's see... I live in northern Virginia, but we went skiing in Pennsylvania at Whitetail. All of the snow was man made as we have not had any snow yet.

I am very much a beginner, but I really want to keep practicing and get better. I experienced such intense pain from the rentals that I nearly passed out during my lesson. (So embarrassing!) The theory I heard from several instructors was that the boot as putting pressure on the top of my foot due to my high arch causing the pain and numbness.

As for the 'salesman' (I use that term loosely) I expressed to him that my feet and calves were still very sore and he proceeded to buckle down the boots I was trying tighter and tighter. He kept trying to get me to try smaller boots even though my toes were curled at the tip of a 26. He just wasn't listening and really didn't care. He left me sitting there for so long while he went to get a hat for his friend that I finally just walked away. I will never go to Ski Chalet in Chantilly again. Their service is horrible and after doing some price comparing their prices are higher than everyone else's.

My hubby was talking to a gal at work and shared my experience and she recommended a 'rear entry' boot. I have not seen any of these around. Any opinions?

Thanks again for the help and recommendations. I really really want to enjoy this sport!

Ahhh, the Chantilly Ski Chalet. I had some of my first ski-shop experiences there ... almost 20 years ago. They have kind of a captive audience, don't they? Maybe someone from the metro DC area can make some suggestions for other ski shops?

There's a long-standing belief that ski boots need to be painfully tight to be effective. I thought people were kind of over that theory. Maybe this misguided salesdood comes from that point of view.

I don't know if they still make rear-entry boots ... but I don't think they would necessarily fix pain over the top of the foot or the arch. I think you probably just need a boot that fits you properly.

Hey, here's a question: What kind of socks do you wear in your ski boot? Do you wear the same pair when you're trying on boots?

By the way -- there's another DC-area thread here: https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10935

In that thread, vickie posted "And if you go to Ski Center now to pick up coupons, you can talk to them about boots while you're there - even if you're not quite ready to buy. They have a couple of top-notch bootfitters who can not only get you a good fit, but work out any troubles you run into with boots."

Maybe check them out?

 

[HopefulBeginner]

bounceswoosh,
Thanks for the tip! And yes, the Chantilly Ski Chalet has a captive audience because other than Dick's Sporting Goods, they don't have much competition. I guess they don't need my money... lol

I think I need to search out some other stores in the region and try more boots. Part of the problem is at this time of the season the boots in the 26 size range are all bought up. Stores only had smaller sizes on hand.

I'll have to check out this "Ski Center".... wonder where that is...

Thank you!

 

[Moongidget]

Just a note. Some newer boots (mine are Nordica Speed Machines) now have an adjustable calf cuff for us females. Common problem, I presume. We women have more developed calves, or some such thing. I went into a sport shop in Snowmass Village for a somewhat unrelated problem, and the boot guy was like 'did you know I can adjust your boot to make more room in the calf? This should have been explained to you when you bought the boot.' I swear, it wasn't. And the weekend prior I was in to the shop I bought them in and had asked the sales person to go over again the boots' features. No mention of adjustable calf cuff. But what a difference that makes! Something to look into I guess.

 

[Pequenita]

I'll have to check out this "Ski Center".... wonder where that is...

Mass Ave, just past AU...by the Crate & Barrel. It's a paid parking lot, but you can find street parking in the rear. There are two Brians there, ask for either of them. I can't remember which one I saw, but I know that marigee goes to him, too. On winter weekends, the bootfitters are so swamped that you will need to sign in on a sheet by the upstairs register. Better yet, call ahead and schedule an appointment on a weekday. With anyone else there, it's a crapshoot, honestly.

PM me if you have questions. I'm actually a local despite my current location.

 

[altagirl]

No on the rear entry boots. Those were the "comfort" solution like 15 years ago and I don't think anyone makes them anymore even if you wanted a pair.

Let's be honest - Shopping for boots isn't really fun. It takes patience. Most of us have to try on tons of pairs of boots and finding a bootfitter who knows what they are doing and aren't just trying to sell you in whatever they have in stock is a challenge as well.

When you say that in the 26 your toes were curling, do make sure that your heel is pressed all the way back. Meaning, flex your ankle, push your heel backwards into the pocket and that is where your foot is supposed to be in the boot. It's easy to want to stand more upright, your heel is forward and therefore your toes are out of space. Maybe you knew that or your salesperson told you, but I just wanted to check.

That said, once you are in the boot, you don't want to feel like you need to buckle it tightly to keep your foot in place. But if you have it buckled loosely and it's smushing your arch or you can't straighten your toes when your heel is back in the pocket - that's not going to work. It should be snug, maybe even tight, but not painful and not cutting off circulation. I like to think of it like the ideal boot fit would feel like my foot is encased in wax. Also remember that the liners will pack out some, so if it's at all loose to start with, it will be really loose after you ski in them for several days.

Also - note that you don't necessarily need women's specific boots. Maybe they will fit you better and maybe not. Don't be afraid to try on mens boots too to see if they work for you. I've been skiing for 27 years and in that time, only 3 of my pairs of boots were "women's". And my current alpine boots are sold as men's boots. Go with what fits.

 

[angelkeys]

I have big calves and a wider foot as well. I ski patrol and wear my boots a lot and in some awkward situations, so they have to be comfortable enough to wear all day and give me performance while skiing. I went to lots of different sports stores and tried on everything from cheap to just about the 1/2 million dollar mark ( I am kidding with this one ). I can fit the Salomon Divine and Head Vector 100 boots. They are upper intermediate / advanced boots though. They will not feel comfortable coming out of the box, but if you go to a high end ski and sports store they should have an experienced boot fitter on hand. If they don't - run, because the average sales person really has no idea. I have even taken boots home to put them on for 30 - 60 minutes. I now own a pair of Head boots, that are the 2009 model of the Head Vector 100. They have a last ( foot width ) of 103 which is great because I can put my toe warmers in them without squishing my toes. That part of the boot was the only comfortable spot. The heel and ankle part had to be heat fitted and adapted to my legs as I skied in the boots. The first 4 days were absolute torture. Now I love them. The 2 upper buckles are adjustable to fit my athletic ( the sales guy was soooo nice) calves. I know you had a bad experience with a sales person, but do try someone else. Some boots you'll know right away that they don't fit, others start hurting after 10, 20 or 30 minutes. It takes time to try them, so don't let yourself get rushed either.

1. Don't go by shoe size, Atomic's, Heads and Salomon all fit different. When you put the boots on your toes should touch, not crunch the front.
2. When you buckle them up your toes should at the most brush the front ( I can feel the front always ).
3. Your heel needs to feel snug.
4. You should be able to push against the tongue of the boots and bend the boot. If it does not give I'd call it too stiff.
5. If you close the buckles and your arches hurt right away, ask for a boot with a higher instep. The atomic B50 are bigger all around. The sizing is different from the other ones, so you have to try them on.
6. Walk around with the boots in the store. Take your time.
7. If they don't fit right, don't get pushed into buying them
8. Oh yes, and wear the socks you would on the ski hill. Thicker is not necessarily better. Get a good ski sock.

Boots are almost more important than the skis, because they can wreck your day incredibly fast.
So, good boot hunting. Don't give up.

oh, boy I wrote a novel. Hope it helps

 

[snow addict]

I went skiing this last weekend for the first time in .... well.... a LOT of years! Despite the fact that the rental boots were like torture chambers to me, I had a great time. We are planning another trip and I just cannot go through the horrible boot things again (twice I had to stop on the slope and take my boot off because my entire foot went to sleep.

So, I went and tried on boots only to discover that I have unusually large calves.... WHO KNEW? ??? One store measured my foot out to a 26.5 and the other store measured me to a 25.5. Both felt tight which made me really nervous because I have high arches and my feet were in searing pain in the rentals.

I found this thread and read all the posts and started looking online for boots that will accommodate my wider front foot, narrow ankle and apparently gargantuan calves. I was about to settle on the Atomic B50's until I read reviews about the sizing. Then I got COMPLETELY confused... sigh.... I normally wear a 9 shoe and thought the 26.5 should work, but then reading comments here about women who normally wear 9's buying boots that are sized 23-4?? I was like, WHOA, am I missing something here??

I'm so confused and frustrated. Can someone please recommend a (currently available) boot that is works for a wide foot, wide calf, and that is reasonable enough for a beginner, who wears a size 9 shoe?

And before you say you should see a boot expert in a local store, let's just say the young man who "helped" me yesterday is lucky I walked away without losing it. Seriously!

I appreciate the help.

I am wearing street shoes in European 37, which is about 6.5-7 in US sizing or, as some conversion tables show, 24 mondo. My ski boot is 23.5, it has a narrow last and a very snug fit. I can't even imagine squeezing my foot into a boot that will be smaller than my current one, and was also getting very confused when reading ábout women wearing ski boots that are at least 2 full sizes down from their 'street shoes and was thinking at times that maybe I am wearing a boot that is too big.

However I noticed that conversion tables may differ from one manufacturer to another. When I looked at the table for Lange, they convert size 24 to European 40, but in Salomons 24 will be only 37.33 and according to this conversion the size of my boot is pretty much matches the size of my usual shoes. So, you shouldn't let all these mondo sizing confuse you. Mondo size basically comes from the length of your feet in centimeters. But the shell is obviously bigger than that, you can get the idea by looking at the boot sole length indicated on the boot. Some manufacturers or even different models within a single brand have much fewer shell sizes and they are supposed to fit a wider range of lengths. That's why there are many people who wear ski boots in much smaller sizes than their street shoes. But just because they do it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to as well, you might actually end up in a boot the size that will be almost an exact match to the size of your street shoes.

The bottom line is that you need to go and try different boots from different manufactures to find the one that would fit. Bootfitters can help to find one, but if you want a really good bootfitter you may need to make an appointment, which may take some time. It's not that you have to buy boots quickly, but by making a bootfitter appointment you are kind of committing yourself, so it won't hurt to do some research first, and not just by reading reviews. And don't forget that whatever bootfitters might be saying it will be YOU wearing and skiing in this boots.

If you know a big store with big selection of boots, go there and try a range of boots with a suitable flex. Don't ask for assistance straight away as it may push you into buying something that won't fit in the end. Wear your thinnest ski sock and start from your normal size and if it's not in stock - about half/full size down. If you found something that seems to fit well, try it in half size smaller. Make notes - brand, model, size, boot sole length, last width,flex. You might need them if you found a boot but think that you can find a better deal online. But if you can't find the boot, or can't make the final choice because you feel that all your choices need some adjustment and will need to see a bootfitter, at least you will know your subject better .

P.S.: High arches can be a pain. But if your forefoot is wide it may not be such a big problem to find a boot. My feet are narrow but arch is high and I found that some guys in the shops didn't get the difference between narrow and flat and tried to put me into various Langes none of which was really narrow but all were crushing my instep. Boots with a wider fit tend to be wider all around, and if your heel is too narrow for a wider boot but everywhere else the boot fits well, that can be fixed.

Good luck in your search!

 

[SnowHot]

I'll stick my 2 cents in here, FWIW.......
When your foot is measured with a brannock device, it should measure your foot length as well as your instep and arch.
Some times its beneficial to use the instep measurement for your boot fit instead of foot length.

Also there are some boots that are labeled SC which stands for short cuff which may work well for someone with large calves.

A boot you may want to try with an interesting new instep area is the Lange line up, but most important, try on as many boots as you can and find the right one for you.

 

[snow addict]

I think I need to search out some other stores in the region and try more boots. Part of the problem is at this time of the season the boots in the 26 size range are all bought up. Stores only had smaller sizes on hand.

Don't worry about the size being sold out as you may not necessarily need size 26. 26 - is the length of your feet, you will find that boots sized 25 or even 24 have bigger sole lengths that that. Lange, for example, has 284-292 mm BSL for their 24 - 24.5 - sized boots, other brands will have similar or maybe a bit shorter BSL's, hence some divas here fitting in really small ski boots while wearing a much bigger street shoes. Width of the boot especially if you have high arches is more important than the actual size.

 

[prairiedawn]

Just a shoutout for Full Tilts, which I now wear after having worn more conventional boots (most recently, Nordica and Salomon). The Intuition liner is super comfy and warm, and you can change the flex of the boot by swapping out the tongue. They're also not very expensive. I have Conformable footbeds (which have gone boot to boot with me) and had a bootfitter make a tweak (shell grind) for a bunion as well as bake the liner for a heat-molded, custom fit and adjust the canting (knock-kneed). BTW, I found a huge difference between the Nordica and Salomon in terms of stance (more forward vs more vertical), and that can really throw your skiing off. So it's not just a fit issue in terms of foot comfort. FWIW, I just measured my leg here at my desk. Measures about 14.5 inches around the calf, which doesn't start bulging out until about 8 inches up from the bottom of my heel. I try to ski mostly off-piste, and I love the way the Full Tilts ski. Don't forget thin socks!

pd

P.S. Anyone remember Hansons and Scotts?

 

[sibhusky]

My hubby was talking to a gal at work and shared my experience and she recommended a 'rear entry' boot. I have not seen any of these around. Any opinions?

:ROTF: This person was clearly NOT a skier. She might ski, but she's not a skier.

I didn't even know you could still BUY them!!!

But...they were comfortable.....

 

[segacs]

:ROTF: This person was clearly NOT a skier. She might ski, but she's not a skier.

I didn't even know you could still BUY them!!!

But...they were comfortable.....

Wow. That brings back memories. I think I had a pair of rear entry boots in the 80s, maybe early 90s? They were Nordicas if I remember correctly, or maybe Raichles? They had those buckles that you pushed in until a certain point and then pulled back to close? And I think they were pink... ???

I'm clearly getting old.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Just a shoutout for Full Tilts, which I now wear after having worn more conventional boots (most recently, Nordica and Salomon). The Intuition liner is super comfy and warm, and you can change the flex of the boot by swapping out the tongue.

That sounds a lot like my Dalbello Krypton, which has three-piece construction with a swappable tongue and Intuition liner. But the Full Tilts look more like snowboard boots?

I am thrilled with my Kryptons, but I read some stuff on Epicski suggesting that maybe they don't perform as well as traditional four-buckle designs ... thoughts?

 

[twoplankjane]

When working with womens calves, I have found that head and technica have the most adjustment in the cuff for calves. I would be careful with heel lifts, too much might cuase other problems, such too much forward lean. When looking at boots, removing the liner and stand in a footbed, stand up right and have someone measure the distance between your calves even the over hanging part, you look for a boot with the most up right shell. Any bootfitter should be able to warm up boots and stretch them out. I use a odd at home like system by boiling the cuffs until soft and placing beer growlers wide side in the boot, and buckling them down. But most important find a boot with the most upright cuff, this will accomandate the calf.

 

[altagirl]

That sounds a lot like my Dalbello Krypton, which has three-piece construction with a swappable tongue and Intuition liner. But the Full Tilts look more like snowboard boots?

I am thrilled with my Kryptons, but I read some stuff on Epicski suggesting that maybe they don't perform as well as traditional four-buckle designs ... thoughts?

The Full Tilt = Krypton = Flexon. All the same basic design but with some fit differences. See the 8+ page thread on TGR here for all the gory details... https://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145107

And as far as the "not performing as well" - for who? The idea for the Kryptons is that super stiff boots might be ideal for racers, but are not ideal for freeskiers, even really top pro freeskiers. It all depends on how much stiffness you think you need.

 

[bounceswoosh]

The Full Tilt = Krypton = Flexon. All the same basic design but with some fit differences. See the 8+ page thread on TGR here for all the gory details... https://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145107

And as far as the "not performing as well" - for who? The idea for the Kryptons is that super stiff boots might be ideal for racers, but are not ideal for freeskiers, even really top pro freeskiers. It all depends on how much stiffness you think you need.

Thanks! I went to a boot fitter who told me that the Krypton Storms were definitely, absolutely, without a doubt my best bet, not just for that store's inventory but across all boots they could think of. So I kind of fell into the three-piece thing; it wasn't something I sought out. I like it, though, and I especially think the buckle at the ankle makes a ton of sense and doesn't squeeze my calf like my old boots did ...

Ah. If the only performance issue is stiffness, yeah, I'm not worried.

 

[snow addict]

I'll add Atomics to my too try list, thanks for the tips. I should add, I plan on doing custom insoles from Surefoot as the Copper Mountain store is giving great discounts to coaches from my team.

If you mention to Surefoot that you are looking for boots they will try to lure you into getting their full package. Try to resist. They are definitely not the most comfortable boots in the world even that they may work well for some. But given their price, you have much better chance to find a perfect boot for you at a lesser costs, even at the box store. At least I got mine as a Christmas gift, so won't hesitate to bin them in the end of this season as next year I want to be based in Chamonix and there is no Surefoot store there where I could be taking them for "fixes".

 

[SnowHot]

Robyn, I'll add to the word of advice from Snow addict and suggest that you consider going to Gregg Hoffman at Vail. He's the boot guy at the top of the mt in the little hut and he's absolutely incredible.

 

[Robyn]

If you mention to Surefoot that you are looking for boots they will try to lure you into getting their full package. Try to resist. They are definitely not the most comfortable boots in the world even that they may work well for some. But given their price, you have much better chance to find a perfect boot for you at a lesser costs, even at the box store. At least I got mine as a Christmas gift, so won't hesitate to bin them in the end of this season as next year I want to be based in Chamonix and there is no Surefoot store there where I could be taking them for "fixes".

Robyn, I'll add to the word of advice from Snow addict and suggest that you consider going to Gregg Hoffman at Vail. He's the boot guy at the top of the mt in the little hut and he's absolutely incredible.

Uh, this is a 3 year old thread and that was one pair of boots ago. This happened to be the thread that brought me to Ski Diva! I did go with Surefoot at the time and they were definitely an improvment over what I'd had before. However I just bought new Lange Exclusive Delight Super 100s working with Brian and Mike at Podium Sports in Frisco. I've so far had a couple of punches and a custom insole done and they feel amazing. The cuff was tight and painful for the first 2 days but once the liner packed out a bit in them they were good to go. These new boots also have a hike/walk feature so with a flip of the lower cuff buckle the flex is released. I'm looking forward to this feature at our first race this weekend. Much better for standing around at start lines.