Ski boots - custom liners

A snowHead

Hi

So my trusty 8yr old Salomon x-wave 110s need replacing as they are bit worn (and more to the point I just fancied a new pair of boots)

I'm an on and off-piste skier and looking for something with a bit less flex than my current boots, maybe 120 ish.

I've also been considering getting custom liners with the new boots, e.g. below.

http://www.profeet.co.uk/custom-ski-boot-liners

In terms of ability I ski all pistes and I'm comfortable on most off-piste terrain, although probably spend 70% of the time on piste.
About 3 weeks skiing a year in total.

So my questions are:

Does anyone on here with a similar ability/ski habits have experience with custom liners?
If so would you say they worth the extra £200 ish (I know that's subjective....) if you can afford them?
Will they improve my skiing (i.e. will the custom liners make the boot more responsive?) or do they just improve comfort? Or both?

I'm guessing by paying for new boots and custom liners, I would be throwing away the standard liners in the new boots (so effectively paying for new boots but only using the outer shell?)

I should also add that I will inevitably using them for the occasional bit of après ski(!) so I'm not looking for an extreme race fit (which could be uncomfortable when worn for longer periods) but something for an advanced skier who will need to wear them all day.

Thanks!

A snowHead

I've got PU Transfoam liners in Atomic Hawx 100 boots (old version). They are superbly comfortable and apparently effectively give me something like a 120 flex boot. I also wear very thin socks because I'm an old surfer/windsurfer and like as much feel as I can through my feet.

I have horribly pronated ankles with very flat feet and along with a custom footbed and spot on cant adjustment these liners give me all day comfort.

Thanks to Colin & Andi @Solutions4feet snowHead

* But from what I can see the latest heat moldable liners AND boots are the nuts.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have had two pairs of boots with foam liners, they were Nordica ones with the manufacturers own liners though not aftermarket ones.

They were comfy but my current race boots are an even better fit and I can still wear them all day. I wouldn't bother with foam liners again for myself but I don't need much work doing to a race shell to make them fit me.

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@alex99, My 2p worth. I have two sets of custom liners... a set of Zipfits which give a very precise fit -- but took 3 weeks to bed in properly, and a set of Palau (simlar to Intuition) thermo liners in a pair of telemark boots. I bought the Zipfits because the previous liners in my Lange boots had worn out, but I did not want to replace the shells at that time. The Palaus came along because the stock liner in my tele boots was awful. So - IMV I'd go with stock liners and custom footbeds as a start, only go to custom liners if you really have too.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

THanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that I already have custom footbeds in my existing Xmax boots, so I should just be able to transfer them over to either the liners in the new boots (or to the custom liners, whichever I go for).
@ski, when you say they took 3 weeks to bed in properly, is that literally 3 weeks of skiing before they were comfortable? Why so long, is that normal for custom liners?
Cheers

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I have never understood the theory that ski boots are supposed to hurt at first and then bed in after a few weeks. For many skiers that could be 3-4 years of holiday ruined by painful boots. Since the technology exists to make comfortable ski boots, if you can afford it, why not do it. For those of you lucky enough to have standard feet, that fit ski boots without modification, you don't know how lucky you are.

I have always needed foam boots due to a foot deformity and different sized feet. Not all foam liners are the same, and not all ski boot fitters are a experienced as each other, so unless you are buying from a shop that foams boot regularly, I would look elsewhere. In my case, my boots have been comfortable from day one, no pressure points, rubbing, pins and needles etc, and have the added benefit of being warm. The only real negative is that foam liners are heavier the standard liners (as all excess space is filled with foam), and your boots walk mode may be compromised, as foam liners tend not to have extra flex zones built in.

If you are intending to go to Profeet (as I did for my last boots), they may not use your existing foot bed, as the foaming process provides a very precise fit, and the existing foot bed might not be aligned correctly. It would probably effect their comfort guarantee, since they had not provided that critical part.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@PowderAdict, thanks. Yes I'm considering Profeet because they are only 2mins away from me, but also tempted to visit Colin at Solutions4feet since he is highly regarded on this forum. I don't have any specific foot issues, I think they are fairly normal feet. Just looking to maximise comfort and "boot responsiveness" at the same time (which is know is difficult as boots tend to be a trade off between stiffness (i.e.responsiveness) vs comfort)

After all it is free

@PowderAdict, My PU Transfoam liners were perfect right from day 1 as of course they should be. Cool

I've had foam done and I've had Zipfits. It is all about the competence of the fitter and the other components in the mix. I found the footbed plus Zipfit package CEM put together for me to be much, much better than the footbed plus foam package I had done elsewhere. This wasn't really about comfort, both were equally comfortable and more about alignment.

Are they better than regular liners? At the time I bought the Zipfits I was skiing at least 100 days a season. In that context they were definitely worth it as there was no pack out and they were as good on day 110 as they were on day one. I'm not sure they are £200 better for a week a year. For three weeks, it's a judgement call.

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@gorilla, thanks.

So from what I can gather there are at least two types of custom liners... non foam (e.g. Zipfit) and foam injected ones (e.g. PU). Is that right?

@ski, my existing Xmax boots are 8yrs old, but the footbeds are only 3yrs old I think (about 7 weeks skiing). So hopefully I can keep the existing footbeds, but will let whichever shop I go for take a look.

snow reports

@alex99,

@ski, cheers. Is it generally accepted that any one type of the 3 is better than the others? Or more a horses for courses thing.

You know it makes sense.

Horses for courses. Am intuitions at the moment as they came with my Scarpas. Comfy but nowhere near as precise a fit as the zipfits. But much lighter.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

By many accounts, the Intuition liners pack out relatively quickly. Seems around 80 ski days may be an average lifespan.

Curious about the Zipfits. Is it a workable proposition to put them on while they are in the boot? The recommended approach is to put the liner on first and then insert into the boot. My boots are both stiff and tight, so that would be a pain. I don't want to heat them too much, as they have been punched out to fix hot spots.

A snowHead

@ulmerhutte,

A snowHead

@ulmerhutte, I've had zipfits for ages, I've just put them on while in the boots as with any other liner.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Mosha Marc, @ski, - do you think the zipfits are relatively easy to remove? e.g. if at the end of the day I want to take them out to dry out the boots and liners. On say a 120ish flex boot.

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@alex99, as easy as any other liner.

Help!!

Ski boots - custom liners

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