Help Needed: taking off my boots without pain!

[Covie]

Hi girls... this is actually a little embarassing!

I love my new boots - Tecnica Inferno 90 but they absolutly destroy the top of my feet near the ankle when I take them off!
The tongue does not seem to cover the hard plastic that mimicks the shape of the ankle and its this part that presses and scrapes into my foot.

Once I even thought I chipped the bone, because my foot was swollen and bruised - and painful.

Am I missing something here?? Am I taking my boots off in a weird way, or has anybody else had this happen??

I feel like I have to take them off in private because I cannot hide the horrific look of pain on my face when my foot hits the plastic!

any advice appreciated!

 

[volklgirl]

I wish I could help you as I'm experiencing the same thing with my new Lange Banshees. I've never had a boot that's this difficult and painful to get off once it's cold.

Some people carry a hair dryer in their bag and use it to warm the boot up before trying to take it off, but that's about all I have. Sorry.

 

[pinto]

Hi girls... this is actually a little embarassing!

I love my new boots - Tecnica Inferno 90 but they absolutly destroy the top of my feet near the ankle when I take them off!
The tongue does not seem to cover the hard plastic that mimicks the shape of the ankle and its this part that presses and scrapes into my foot.

Once I even thought I chipped the bone, because my foot was swollen and bruised - and painful.

Am I missing something here?? Am I taking my boots off in a weird way, or has anybody else had this happen??

I feel like I have to take them off in private because I cannot hide the horrific look of pain on my face when my foot hits the plastic!

any advice appreciated!

Make sure they are a bit warm, that helps. I had that problem with my Langes. It gets a little better, the older the shells are (they soften up a bit), but I hated it, too. If you can get one hand on each side of the shell and open them up, that helps. (Does that make sense?) Then your hand is more likely to rub your foot than the boot is.

I have a new pair of Tecnicas this season that uses a softer piece of plastic on that biting spot of the shell, and it does help a lot. Hopefully bootmakers will pay attention to this.

 

[altagirl]

I think the only thing you can do is try to hold the cuff open as wide as possible when you are taking them off. Or maybe working on ankle/foot flexibility?

 

[Covie]

I think the only thing you can do is try to hold the cuff open as wide as possible when you are taking them off. Or maybe working on ankle/foot flexibility?

yes I agree ankle flexibility would help! I feel like if I could get my foot into a vertical ballet like position it wouldn't be an issue! I spend my nights doing the alphabet with my ankles

I was thinking about taping my feet in the spots it hits, to see if it helps a bit.

 

[Jilly]

Same problem with my Technicas and I had it with Langes years ago. I couldn't even get into the Lange's without problems.

I'm off to the boot fitter next week and this little problem is on the list. Let you know.

 

[marta]

Someone once showed me how to peel mine open like a banana. Shove the tongue forward and out as far as it will go, and it opens up the cuff enough for me to wrangle it off my foot. Same thing works for putting them on. Maybe that might work?

 

[mountainxtc]

Shove the tongue forward and out as far as it will go, and it opens up the cuff enough for me to wrangle it off my foot. Same thing works for putting them on. Maybe that might work?

always keep the tongue of the liner between the plastic and your foot. once you pull the tongue out there's no protection...

I use a lace up liner which you put on before putting into the shell and take off after pulling it out of the shell. It's an extra step but there's no on/off pain and the fit is incredible....

 

[Covie]

With my boots its actually impossible to keep the tongue in place to protect my feet from that spot while taking them off.

I was at my boot fitter last night for adjustments, and I had to get into and out of them maybe 6 times... was able to get my thumbs under the plastic (as suggested) which really helped, thank you! I hope it works when they are cold...

My foot has some redness and swelling, but hopefully its ok for skiing later today!

 

[altagirl]

You could do some yoga poses like Child's pose or Fixed Firm Pose

Obviously, you don't need to lean backwards at all to get the benefit for your feet and ankles. If you can't get into the pose, put a rolled up towel or cushion under your butt so you can release your muscles to the pull of gravity without pain. And you can place your knees as wide as you need to to be comfortable, with the feet slightly wider so your hips fit between them (eventually).

 

[3VSki]

Good to read this thread as I'm having a similar problem with my new salmon boots - the plastic edges dig into my foot as I put them on and take them off - however, its my really sore toenails that have got my attention right now with these boots.

 

[Covie]

I did the yoga pose last night, wow its great! thank you so much altagirl!

 

[santacruz skier]

Resurrecting this thread. Just had my Intuition liners put in my Dalbello Asolo 95 boots and the fit is superb. Big problem is taking off the boots. The pain on top of my forefoot is real. I'm going to try to tape gel pads to the top of my foot next time I ski as well as contact my boot fitter to see what I should do.
Any ideas ?

 

[badger]

Using a ten dollar Boot Horn can work wonders. Getting boots off is usually harder than getting them on! Boot horn can be purchased in several online stores.

 

[santacruz skier]

Using a ten dollar Boot Horn can work wonders. Getting boots off is usually harder than getting them on! Boot horn can be purchased in several online stores.

I have the boot horn but how does it help taking them off? The tops of my feet are bruised..... I finally can get into them with the intuitions but now super painful taking them off. The fit is superb though.

 

[badger]

So to answer that question: I too have had same problem when the plastic is super cold and inflexible. In a desperation for a solution I took my boot horn and turned it sideways, sliding it as far as I could get to reach the top of the foot. I was able to get just enough of the plastic boot horn between the shell and my sock. It added a slick layer that enabled my foot to slide out without the notion of needing an orthopedic surgeon after excruciating extraction of foot from boot.

 

[santacruz skier]

So to answer that question: I too have had same problem when the plastic is super cold and inflexible. In a desperation for a solution I took my boot horn and turned it sideways, sliding it as far as I could get to reach the top of the foot. I was able to get just enough of the plastic boot horn between the shell and my sock. It added a slick layer that enabled my foot to slide out without the notion of needing an orthopedic surgeon after excruciating extraction of foot from boot.

That’s brilliant. Thank you! I also found small gel pads to put over my foot but that coukd change the fit. I’m home from Tahoe with bruised feet.

 

[mustski]

Try hitting the forefoot/instep plastic with a hairdryer and heating it up. This softens the plastic and make is more pliable.

 

[badger]

There is another little trick I have used . I have a small bungee cord in my bootbag. It is about 6-8 inches. Not sure why it is there, but on another occasion where hands were getting beat up trying to keep the tongue forward and to the side while also wrestling with the shell, I took the bungee and wrapped it over the pulled- down tongue and under the boot. It became a third hand for me and held the tongue perfectly out of the way.

 

[santacruz skier]

There is another little trick I have used . I have a small bungee cord in my bootbag. It is about 6-8 inches. Not sure why it is there, but on another occasion where hands were getting beat up trying to keep the tongue forward and to the side while also wrestling with the shell, I took the bungee and wrapped it over the pulled- down tongue and under the boot. It became a third hand for me and held the tongue perfectly out of the way.

That tongue from the intuition liners comes out easily and all that’s left is the hard plastic shelll. So I have to hold the tongue of the liner in place while moving it to the side . I had the same liner in my Tecnicas and remember a similar issue but no pain getting out.