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Surefoot or Zipfit Liner

Iidzine1

Diva in Training
Hi Girls! I bought a new pair of boots. After skiing on them a few times I know I need to fix my liner. My old boots had the surefoot foam and they fit beautifully for many years but I have been told the Zipfit is the better way to go these days. I'm torn because yes I liked the surefoot but $675-$750 vs $400-500 for Zipfit is nothing to sneeze at! Any suggestions? Any input is greatly appreciated!
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Welcome @Iidzine1 - what is it about your linner that needs fixing ? I ask bc I recently bought and returned Zipfits. They were to replace my stock liner that had been fine for 100+ days. However, while they provided heel hold they were not as good of a fit in other areas that could not be filled with omfit material. I have a performance fit and don't have any issues other than those that were fixed with minor tweeks at the boot fitters.
 

Iidzine1

Diva in Training
Hi WaterGirl. Thank you for your reply. What is the Performance fit? Using the Performance Liner from Zipfit?
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Iidzine1 perhaps someone else will chime in but "performance fit" is a term used to describe a tighter fitting boot then say a comfort or recreational fit. When the liner is removed from the shell and my toes are touching the front of the boot there is very little room behind my heel. In a recreational fit there is more room. Did you have a boot fitter work with you? I understand new boots have breaking in issues, but to want or need to replace a new liner right away doesn't seem right unless the boot is not fitting properly. Again it took me over 100 days to get to the point where I felt my liners were "starting to pack out" as my boot fit for my foot is a very good match all around.

Where are you having issues? What boots are you currently skiing?
Do you know if you have Low Volume feet? More information would be helpful.


My only point about zipfit is they seem to do well for some, but I have lower volume feet in a low volume shell and the parts of the liner that were not able to be filled with omfit did not work in my shell nearly as well as the stock liner. Im not a boot fitter, just sharing my most recent experience.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hi Girls! I bought a new pair of boots. After skiing on them a few times I know I need to fix my liner. My old boots had the surefoot foam and they fit beautifully for many years but I have been told the Zipfit is the better way to go these days. I'm torn because yes I liked the surefoot but $675-$750 vs $400-500 for Zipfit is nothing to sneeze at! Any suggestions? Any input is greatly appreciated!
Welcome! What I learned from a very experienced boot fitter in Mammoth a few years ago is that which after-market liner works best depends somewhat on the shape of the foot.

In my case, Intuition makes more sense than Zipfit. There are other Divas who do much better with Zipfits. The reason I was asking questions for a couple years was that I wanted to move my Intuition liners to the latest pair of boots. Had only used them for a couple seasons in the previous pair. Did the move after the liners of the newer boots packed out. After the heat molding at a relatively local shop (I live in NC), needed a "punch out" for my usual high spot. Been great ever since.

I'm a solid advanced skier but definitely in the "recreation" category. Never had any interest in any type of race training or even Nastar runs. Looking for powder in the trees these days on trips out west.
 

mustski

Angel Diva
I have no experience with Surefit but ended up with boot doc liners because of the custom foam fill. In my case- boot doc allows for small spaces to be filled and snugs up the boot on my foot.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'd also like to know what's going on with the liner in your new boots.
Where did you buy the boots? Can you go back to the shop you bought them at for help?
 

Soujan

Angel Diva
Just got Zipfit liners this weekend and I have one day so far on them. My stock liners had about 45 days on them and were packed out. DH was at the boot fitter to get Zipfit liners so I thought I might as well pull the trigger. I ended up with the Gara which is the lowest volume liner. Even with the lowest volume liner, there is so much volume in my boot now. There is a break in period which I'm told is about a week. Unfortunately, by the time it's broken in, I'll be done for the season. The first run on them was a huge difference. Response was instantaneous with very little input required to get my skis to do what I wanted them to do. The fill inside the Zipfit is cork that can be moved around that when it's warm. As it breaks in it should move and fill the voids and away from my hotspots. Right now, I still have a lot of pressure on my instep and some heel pain. Hopefully, that will go away as it breaks in.

I'm considering removing the power strap on the Zipfit. It's a lot of bulk to have the Zipfit strap and then the boot strap over it. Has anyone else removed the strap? Have you felt a loss of performance without it?
 

Soujan

Angel Diva
If you feel like you have some voids you want filled in, you can go back to the fitter and have extra cork material injected. When I went back to have the Zipfit and the boot tweaked, I met a ski instructor that was there for just that. He said he's had his Zipfit for approximately 500 days.
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Soujan I found that after the initial fitting, wearing the boots at home watching TV and flexing now and then helped distribute the material. Then after skiing for a few days should be broken in.
It is a bit painful for the fitting. Are you using the laces? or just the power strap? Also, are you putting on the zip fit liner and then putting into the boot or did you leave the liner in the boot?

As noted above, the zip fit did not make my boot fit any better, and I returned so I can't comment on fitting after the first few days
 

Soujan

Angel Diva
@Soujan I found that after the initial fitting, wearing the boots at home watching TV and flexing now and then helped distribute the material. Then after skiing for a few days should be broken in.
It is a bit painful for the fitting. Are you using the laces? or just the power strap? Also, are you putting on the zip fit liner and then putting into the boot or did you leave the liner in the boot?

As noted above, the zip fit did not make my boot fit any better, and I returned so I can't comment on fitting after the first few days
Right now I'm using both the laces and the power strap. I have to put the liner on first and then step into the boot. There was no way I was getting my foot in with the liner already in the boot.
 

BlizzardBabe

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have a question for you gals. Are you using custom liners b/c the stock liners in most boots don't fit/work for you, or do you feel that the custom liners provide some performance enhancement? I have low volume Lange RX110 and they fit me beautifully, so I've never considered anything other than the stock liner (tho I do love my Booster strap). Maybe I'm just lucky?
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I have a question for you gals. Are you using custom liners b/c the stock liners in most boots don't fit/work for you, or do you feel that the custom liners provide some performance enhancement? I have low volume Lange RX110 and they fit me beautifully, so I've never considered anything other than the stock liner (tho I do love my Booster strap). Maybe I'm just lucky?
The stock liners for my current Nordica boots were heat-moldable and worked great . . . for two seasons. Since I was getting in 50+ days, they were packed out by the third season. Since I had only used the Intuition liners in the previous pair of boots for a couple seasons before deciding a boot upgrade was needed, I always planned on re-molding them. (Especially after discovering that Freestyle in Charlottesville carries Intuition.)

Getting the Intuition liners initially was also because the stock liners were packed out. (Bought them at Alta.) I learned back then that getting replacement liners from Nordica wasn't that easy. I think the company much prefers that someone buys new boots, but I wasn't ready for another boot purchase. I got 2.5 more seasons from those boots, for a total of about 100 days. The fact that Intuition liners made those boots stiffer and warmer was a bonus.
 

Soujan

Angel Diva
I have a question for you gals. Are you using custom liners b/c the stock liners in most boots don't fit/work for you, or do you feel that the custom liners provide some performance enhancement? I have low volume Lange RX110 and they fit me beautifully, so I've never considered anything other than the stock liner (tho I do love my Booster strap). Maybe I'm just lucky?
I only got new liners because the stock liner was packed out. The Zipfit is definitely a performance upgrade as well. Zipfit advertises that their liner last 800 days on average so I find the $450 price tag worth it. I have Salomon X Pro 90 and you never see them advertise replacement liners.
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have a question for you gals. Are you using custom liners b/c the stock liners in most boots don't fit/work for you, or do you feel that the custom liners provide some performance enhancement? I have low volume Lange RX110 and they fit me beautifully, so I've never considered anything other than the stock liner (tho I do love my Booster strap). Maybe I'm just lucky?

@BlizzardBabe thats how I feel. I tried the Zipfit Gara and it the fit was worse than the stock liner from Tecnica. Great heel hold, but I had that already. Worse fit in the fore front (loose) of the boot and just a bunch of extra stuffing in the instep that made the fit very off balance. Luckily I was able to purchase a new liner from Tecnica which is the exact same liner that I have. I truly believe that the Zip fit works for those with narrow heels and wide fore foot as there is no way to increase or decrease anything past the instep. Its just thin neoprene and a tiny bit of wool which apparently packed out after 2 days?

I have no gaps with the stock liner, just a dreamy fit all around. Firm handshake on entire foot - top bottom and side to side. I do have custom insoles, fit unweighted. So yes, lucky
 
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fgor

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have a question for you gals. Are you using custom liners b/c the stock liners in most boots don't fit/work for you, or do you feel that the custom liners provide some performance enhancement? I have low volume Lange RX110 and they fit me beautifully, so I've never considered anything other than the stock liner (tho I do love my Booster strap). Maybe I'm just lucky?

Went to zipfit liners because the original liners in my boots didnt work for me. Just unlucky, have difficult-to-fit feet. :smile: I can't easily size down any further in boot size or width (small feet gang!) and after 20-30 days in my boots w/original liners I was developing some pretty large painful bony growths on the back of my heel from having too much movement in my boot. Already had custom footbeds and modifications done to the factory liner. Haven't had too many days on the zipfits yet and think I need more cork/oil added to the heel, but so far theyre a definite improvement.
 

Mudgirl630

Angel Diva
Hi Girls! I bought a new pair of boots. After skiing on them a few times I know I need to fix my liner. My old boots had the surefoot foam and they fit beautifully for many years but I have been told the Zipfit is the better way to go these days. I'm torn because yes I liked the surefoot but $675-$750 vs $400-500 for Zipfit is nothing to sneeze at! Any suggestions? Any input is greatly appreciated!
I have been asking around regarding Zipfit and Surefoot liners for awhile. I ski way more than 100 days a season. This season, I am hoping to near 140 days. So, needless to say, I am dead serious about finding perfect custom liners for my boots. So far, I have much better reviews for Zipfit than Surefoot liner. It sounds as if the former last so much longer, average 800 days. SF liner, as all the stock liners, will pack out sooner than later. That in itself is a very costly flaw for me. If that is the case, just buy the best new boots you can find every other season and not worry about the custom liner from SF. So, I am about to jump in to try one of the ZF iners. I have very low-volume feet and narrow heels. Very hard to find good-fitting boots. I am on Tecnica Mach LV boots right now. Their liners are much better than my previous boots, Atomic Hawk. Their liners went flat very fast. I weigh about 125, 5'7". They were also super cold boots. I am hoping to have a positive result with the ZF liners. After all, finding good boots AND liners are not that easy for most of us as they need to fit snuggly and all of us have very unique feet in a sense. Because one person did not like ZF, that means nothing to others. Just have to try and see.
 

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