 Poster: A snowHead
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I get the impression that Speedmachine 8's take a bit of bedding in too - I say this because I get the same kind of sensation in the same area - http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=21067&highlight= .. Try wearing them a lot at home with the clips done as slack as you can imagine skiing in. (I have mine on the 2nd notch on the top and undone on the above-foot clips. Mine started sending the outside front top of my feet numb and tingly, now they just ache rather than numbness, and im hoping with more bedroom flexing the acheing will go away before I ski on them 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for your help.... I'm going to Milton Keynes snow dome next weekend, so I will buy them then.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks for all your help... Now I understand, should have got them in the first place, LOL. Gonna cost more than the holiday, but I just cant face wearing another pair of rented ski boots.
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toiletduckuk, do you get the special mould for them?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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All I had done was the thermofit heat mold bit and some green superfeet put in. Green superfeet are the ones that come out of a box rather than get heatmoulded.
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toiletduckuk, well i go to La Plagne a month today, so I should be able to sort something out. Thanks, least I'm not alone on this one.
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toiletduckuk, I used green superfeet for over 8 years - they did a very good job for me
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Wear The Fox Hat, I'm gonna get the moulded ones from ellis brigham, good idea??
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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vernz1983, definitely a good idea.
(well, my other suggestion was going to be that you fly to Geneva, hire a car, drive up to Chamonix, and go visit SZK, but no one would be stupid enough to do that, would they???  )
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Wear The Fox Hat, That would be a bit silly.... Milton Keynes it is 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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pielot, I want to use the Slope at MK aswell, try out the boots. So i don't mind the drive 
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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This is all very interesting, I have just bought my first boots, had a very helpful fitter and I tried 4 different makes, the ones I got seemded to fit as required, should I keep with the insoles they came with or is it a good idea to replace them?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| feefee wrote: |
| This is all very interesting, I have just bought my first boots, had a very helpful fitter and I tried 4 different makes, the ones I got seemded to fit as required, should I keep with the insoles they came with or is it a good idea to replace them? |
don't want to be the barer of possible bad news but should that read
"a very helpful salesman who did not know which way to guide you...."
a good footbed will make a difference to comfort and performance in your boots, but the boots needs to be the correct shell to start with....good luck
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well I finally got round to try out my boots at Milton Keynes yesterday.... Ouch at first, but they became a lot better after the 2 hours.... So I'm not gonna bother with a footbed...
But does anyone know if you can get footbeds made in La Plagne (Belle Plagne would be even better )
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| vernz1983 wrote: |
Well I finally got round to try out my boots at Milton Keynes yesterday.... Ouch at first, but they became a lot better after the 2 hours.... So I'm not gonna bother with a footbed...
But does anyone know if you can get footbeds made in La Plagne (Belle Plagne would be even better ) |
i must say i think that is a bit of a mistake, even if it is an off the peg one, you will notice a massive improvement in perfromance and possibly comfort as well
as for a bootfitter in La Plagne, not sure of that one, may be worth posting a seperate thread asking that question
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Last January in Banff I decided that my pair of Salomons were starting to look a bit worse for wear and decided to buy a new pair, I found that I had actually been Skiing for the last 3 years in a size too big! I bought a pair of Head EZON 7.7's. The very first day of using them I saw a difference, my turns were alot smoother even on the right which had always been a weakness.
Lesson I learned, make sure you use a boot fitter that does a thorough job of measuring your feet! 
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RichardB, I never measure feet, it's for amatures! 
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Could any Snowheads advise me where the most experienced boot fitters are in England.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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whitewizard, welcome to
Generally, Lockwoods in Leamington Spa are held in good regard, and CEM (see few posts up) is also considered to be quite good and has his own place just up the road
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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nbt and cathy thanks for some extra info,have had reports on Lockwoods and all are good. Not the others but am going to look into these.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Just like to impart my experience with ski boots.
I bought a pair of boots at ProFeet in London 3 years ago. They offer a professional fitting service and I was initially happy - however 2 weeks into a recent ski trip I woke up with a very swollen foot which was too painful to walk on. I took a two day break from skiing, but found that although the foot didn't hurt whilst skiing it hurt like hell when walking.
I also noticed that I needed to fasten the boots on their tightest setting to get any control.
So although I'd only worn the boots for around 7 weeks in total, I decided to get some new boots, as we still had 4 weeks left of skiing!
I bought a second pair from SureFoot in Verbier. In their opinion my original boots were one size too big and the inner had packed down to an extent that the boots were no longer supporting my foot. I skiied happily for the next 4 weeks on the new (smaller) boots.
I visited a podiatrist on my return home who diagnosed a compressed metatarsal and after some treatment I'm happy to say my foot is okay. She was also pretty scathing about ski fitting shops!
I'm disappointed that my original ProFeet boots only lasted 3 years as they were not cheap... I have a very high arch and instead of fitting boots with high volume (as SureFoot have done), I was given a size larger instead to compensate...
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I am looking at buying my first pair of ski boots and being totally honest the cost is a major factor in my purchase' I have seen a pair of salomon x-wave in decathlon that i like tried them on and felt ok 'and i have also been to snow and rock and enquired about their bootfitting service' The guy at s&r said it would take about 2 hrs and if i required foot beds and the salomon x wave 8 i was looking at a cost of around £290 ' and the boots in decathlon are £179 any advise please as i dont want to make the wrong decision and regret it
p s i have 3 weeks experience so thought they were an intermediate boot thanks
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You know it makes sense.
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Hey, I'm 13 and i've been competing for about 6 years, but now everythings getting a little more serious and i'm looking for a good racing fit boot. Every boot i've tried has something wrong with it. Last season i just experimented with insoles, different brands and other variables. But it was always too small, or pressing on the arch, or the toes feel cramped, or they were too tight, too loose etc. Any ideas? I'm in Australia btw, but i'll be going over to Austria (maybe Canada instead) for 2 or 3 months.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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My friends...
Some thoughts on this from the chapter on Gear in my book Open Your Heart with Skiing (available by auction to support here). Please also note that I put CEM and SMALLZOOKEEPER in the same category as Jeff and Bud; they've just never worked on my boots... 
| OYH Skiing wrote: |
Getting Balanced, the Foundation for Efficient Skiing
Skiing is a sport of balance. We move in balance to balance and we balance in motion, as we’ll see in more detail in chapter seven. The movements we make are to maintain balance while allowing the skis to do their job in taking us where we want to go. That said, our bodies are amazing in their ability to compensate for challenges to our balance. We all know that we can catch our balance when we’re surprised by an irregular sidewalk, an invisible pothole, or snow that collapses unexpectedly. As a result of our ability to compensate, many skiers ski for years not realizing that they are compensating for equipment that holds them in an unbalanced position when they are standing in what should be a neutral stance. Before you get on the hill, get balanced! It’s the best place from which to start the movements that will allow you to get the most of your days on the mountain.
What do we mean by getting balanced? It’s a simple concept that often takes some work to accomplish: being balanced is being able to stand in neutral in your boots on your skis, with your feet a comfortable, natural width apart, your lower legs just touching the front, back, and sides of your boots—in neutral—and being in comfortable, athletic, neutral equilibrium. Feeling like you could stand that way for a long time because it’s natural. Your big muscles are supporting you as your body is stacked naturally. You can easily move in any direction you’d like in order to cause the effects that you’d like to have on the skis . . . or to recover your balance when you’re surprised. This is being balanced.
On the other hand, many skiers are not balanced. Their boots and skis tip their lower legs too far forward, forcing their hips back to compensate, together with other adjustments. Or their lower legs are too straight, making it difficult to flex and extend from neutral. Or they have to move differently in order to place the skis on edge in one direction rather than the other. And so on. One of the reasons that so many people think that skiing requires a lot of strength from their quadriceps is that they are set up in such a way that their hips are back so they have to use their quads to stay upright.
To feel what it’s like to be out of balance, take out a block of wood—a two-by-four, for example—or a large book, and put it on the floor. Put your toes on it and feel how you have to compensate. Then put it on the side of your foot and stand on one foot. Put it on the other side of that foot. And so on. Feel how the changes to your foundation make a significant difference.
Do you see the challenge? Imagine now being locked in that position by a rigid ski boot: Too much forward lean, too much “zeppa” (tipping the foot forward in the boot), and various angles of the footboard under the foot all impact your balance. Instead of compensating, we want your body to use all of its available energy and movements to effect a result that you want, rather than simply to compensate for being out of balance.
Fortunately, there are boot specialists who can help you get to this place on your equipment. Unfortunately, they are relatively rare.
Let me introduce you to a couple of them, my friends Jeff Bergeron and Bud Heishman. Jeff is located in Breckenridge, Colorado, and is a racer, a racing coach, and one of the best boot specialists on the planet. He has done my boot work for the past four seasons, and I trust him completely. For my most recent pair of boots, he watched me stand and flex in my stocking feet and told me which boots to purchase based on which ones would both fit me best and provide the best starting point to get balanced into the boot and moving most efficiently in it. It is important that you understand that there can be no “best” boot, since we’re all so different. Instead, there are a small selection of boots that will be “best” for you, based on your foot and leg shapes, their functional characteristics, and your needs and desires for the performance characteristics of the boots.
Please understand that the last thing you do when trying on boots is to put them on with the liners. Instead, start by having a specialist like Jeff or Bud look at your feet, your stance, your leg shape, the way your legs and feet function when you flex forward and back, and tip side to side, as you will when you’re skiing; and have them tell you which boots to try first. They’ll pull the liners out, have you put your foot into the boot so that your toes are just touching the front of the shell (the plastic outer part of the boot), and look at the shape of the shell to see how closely it matches your foot. They’ll look at how much space is behind your heel, and, depending on the kind of performance you want, decide which shell size you should use. The shell fit is extremely important! If the shell is too big, the boot will be more comfortable in the shop, but will quickly degrade while you ski to the point that you won’t be able to accurately direct your skis with them. Worse, your feet will begin to move around inside the boot. Avoid that temptation! If the shell is too small, they’ll have to do more work to make it comfortable, and you may have to put up with some fit issues. If the shell doesn’t approximate your foot shape, you are likely to have fit issues; too tight in spots, too loose in others. Skiing when your feet hurt is brutal—and no fun at all!
After picking the boot and size, your specialist will get you in the boot and start looking at how your body affects the boot. When you stand in neutral, are the soles of the boot flat? Or when the soles are flat, are you in neutral? When Bud Heishman fit my wife, Terry, last season, we discovered that her foot and leg shape were such that she was dramatically tipped in (knockkneed) when she stood with her boots flat. Bud checked the options and then adjusted her boots so that her skis would be flat when she was standing in neutral. For the first time in her skiing life, I saw her able to tip both her skis at the same time when she next got on them. It was the beginning of a dramatic change in her skiing.
Bud is a ski instructor who was a PSIA Alpine Team finalist. During his campaign to become a member of the team, he became fascinated by the value of getting skiers balanced in their equipment before they even try to ski. As a result, he refocused his efforts on getting skiers into balance and learning to ski from a foundation of balance. At his shop in Reno he gets skiers balanced, spends time with them on-snow to fine-tune their fit and balance, and coaches them in improving their technique to take optimal advantage of what modern equipment can do. Bud’s laugh is infectious and his love for the sport is contagious. It also helps that his skiing is superb and his understanding of skiing skills and movements is exceptional!
Jeff and Bud are examples of a new breed of boot and balance specialist. In earlier days, the focus was fitting boots to your feet. Today, the way the boot fits your body—what the specialists call your morphology—is even more important. Boots can be stretched and ground to fit your foot better, but if they don’t hold you in a balanced, neutral position, you will forever have to compensate for that.
For more information and a current list of exceptional boot specialists, check out www.stephenhultquist.com/boots on my website. |
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Poster: A snowHead
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hi, im off skiing in Canada this season. my boots are tucked up at home in NZ and i havent used them for a year or two as i have been in England lapping up the sunshine. does any one here know how much it might cost me to buy a second hand pair or new pair even in Canadian $?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Right-O.. what's the best thing to do.. buy ski boots in Uk before you go, or wait till you get a ski resort, in say France? no offence to UK boot fitters, but are the men at the coal face, as it were, better at it? Can you guarentee that you're getting someone who know's what they're talking about over here - i.e the Staurday boy (not always but you never know???) in Elis brigham verses the 'old' man who lives and works in the Alpes and has been at it for 30 years??? by the way is the bloke who's been in for 30 years up tp date with the latest technology? Or is it the case of - they just feel right??? It's hard to tell when you're stood in a shop - doesn't compare to skiing for 8 hours???
Basically - would you recommend to buy in UK or France, does it make any difference? 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I could be considered biased i guess, being as i live in France, however i have spent time both; fitting boots in the UK and here. I moved here as to hone my skills in further given you are "At the Coal Face." Perhaps i just needed more time doing it but can assure you i could never have been as precise with my fittings had i not had people who could/can come back day by day. You simply can't achieve this away from snow, i am 100% sure of that. There are too, good and bad bootfitters and finding them in Resort can be hit and miss. 'Bootfitting' is a buzz word in skiing at the moment. There are many approaches and many shops starting to invest in it so every shop will tell you they have a dedicated bootfitter. I have been around this kind of work for 11years, my first three, couldn't really be considered bootfitting as to a standard i would consider acceptable now, but it takes work and alot of mistakes, i can't see that beening the case in the UK. Lockwoods, due to the owners care for his staff, manage to keep, recruit and retain the best. I'm sure there are others, too, but an experienced team in Resort will offer you a much better result if you ski well or have major foot issues.
In conclusion: If this is your first set of boots a good UK based team will do the job very well thereafter it has to be done in Resort and should expect to claim a sizeble part of your evenings whilst on Holiday. I hope this doesn't offend any of the UK fitters, feel free to chip in guys,
Quote the great Mike Strutter "What's right is right, ain't that the truth."
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Quick question - poss for CEM?
I have custom footbeds, bought because of the instability in one ankle and for that it is great; my ankle doesn't hurt at all while skiing, but complains a bit as soon as it reverts to being 'unsupported' back in my shoes! The trouble is the other one is still uncomfortable at one point in the arch of my foot for about the first hour of wear. I told CEM about this at MM's birthday bash and he very kindly took it off to EB and adjusted it a bit - it was significantly improved, but when I wore them again a week or two ago on a visit to Tam I could still feel that discomfort, albeit to a lesser degree. Should I persist and get it altered again? If so where? Back at EB Cas where I bought them - or in a shop in Vallandry when I get there in half term next Feb? Or is it perfectly normal to have a point that's not comfortable - ie should I just get on with it and wait for my foot to accept it after an hour or so of wear?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I wish I could hire boots and get new boot models every season ut unfortunatley I broke by toes and foot about five years ago playing ice hockey so need to get properly fitted ones to prevent any more pain (my toes and feet are now a bizaare shape...)
I found that custom fitting was ok in england, but i also spoke to a bootfitter in la Plagne, who cured any remainig ailments by giving an 'insole' type thing than stopped my heal from raising. Maybe give that a go?
Also, I cant take the middle bit out of my boots, how come everyone else can?
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I bought a pair of Salomon X-Waves at Snow and Rock, and had them heat molded. I spent about 3-4 hours picking them out and, with guidance, thought I had made an informed choice but I get incredible pain in my toes on my left foot only. I do get this with my new work boots but have found that wearing thinner socks helps a lot. Could this be so for my ski boots as my ski socks tend to be quite well padded around the toes. I have tried different settings on the boots with thightness and strangely, clamping them down helps a bit. I also get pain in hte toes of the right foot but not as much.
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Madders, apart from wearing them round the house for a while to try to get them to bed in a bit, and playing round with the clips, not much else you can do me thinks. I'd take the boots and your feet round to see CEM in Bicester - if anyone can sort you out, he can - his website is in his sig above.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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the only boots in the shop that fitted her-indoors properly were the ones she absolutely hated and swore she would not get when she saw them in the window on the way into the shop. fun afternoon that (and she still hates them)
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Hi all, does anyone know of a good boot fitter in the north west of england? my wife bought boots 2 years ago in whistler and they still cause her pain and i am keen to get it sorted. Any recommendations gratefully recieved.
thanks
Ted
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FAQ
