 Poster: A snowHead
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Can anyone help with this? My other half enjoys skiing but has wide (chubby) calves and finds it close to impossible to get ski boots that fit. She's been advised that they can be custom made but that this will cost £400-£500. I know ski boots are not cheap but this seems like an almighty amount of wedge and I wondered if anyone here could suggest a cheaper way of doing it/comment on whether it actually does need to cost this much at all. When she does ski the pain seems to be focused on the top of the foot near the ankle rather than the calf itself. I am not a skier so don't really understand the ins and outs of ski boot construction/sources of discomfort. Any advice gratefully received!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Go to a professional ski fitter like Pro Feet and they can advise you on the best brand of boot. I have muscly(?) calves and was fitted with Technica boots and they fit perfectly. Cost about £250.
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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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vinerower, it depends on the size of the calf muscle, if you measure around the calf at approx 11" from the floor you will get an idea of what is required
less than 13" skinny!
13-14" considered the norm by ski boot manufacturers
14-17 big but not a problem, adjust buckles and small flare to cuff
17-19 getting very big, adjust buckles, flare cuff change liner for intuition/palau which has less volume in cuff
19-23 going to have the chuck the kitchen sink at this
more than 23 yup this is going to be a problem
the key is boot size and shape, most importantly not being in a boot which is too big, whilst this might seem like the thing to to as the cuff is bigger , the cuff is also taller which means it has more calf to go round
you can keep the cost down a little by using an off the shelf footbed rather than a custom made one, but once you get over a certain point then changing the liner is a key part of process, the stock liner that comes with most boots is bulky and has to many seams in it, too much material around the cuff and a tongue which will bite into the leg as it is not wide enough
the reason the pain is around the ankle /top of foot is that the calf muscle is pushing the skier forward in the boot, using up all the available range of motion (which causes the heel to lift and the top of foot to jam into the top of the boot and putting them out of balance
based on the pricing i am guessing your wife was referred to me by Ellis Brigham and we have quoted to do the work (i have responded to 3 people by e mail in the pst 10 days with this problem), sorry you find it too expensive
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My wifehas the same problem. She went for the Head Dream 12.5. The top of the inner boot of this model is specially designed to help with this issue. Instead of being made of two parts (one which wraps around the lower leg plus a tongue) it's made of four parts, a bit like the petals of a flower. This gives more scope for the boot to flare out at the top, whilst still being snug at the ankle. The 12.5 isquite a stiff boot for advanced skiers but the 10.5 is the same construction but a bit softer. Not sure whether they are still in Heads product range this year but check it out.
My wife had to have lifters under the footbed to lift her leg up a bit in the boot to get a really good fit. With more unusual shaped feet/legs it's common that you have to get some kind of modifications done. But obviojsly you want to start with the right boot to begin with.
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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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Obviously a standard inner boot has its limitations and if the problem is up at the top of the scale then a custom-made inner boot is going to be the only solution. But check out the Head models I mentioned. My wife made all the classic mistakes of buying boots which were too big, too soft, etc. Buying the wrong boot is even more expensive than forking out for the right one in the first place, even if the pricetag is higher. Buy cheap, buy twice.....
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Thanks a lot for the advice everyone. Will make some enquiries...
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vinerower, my wife had EXACTLY this problem - and no amount of heating and stretching of shells would help. Eventually, she rented some LOWA boots from a shop in Saas Fee and they fitted perfectly. She made them an offer and they sold them to us. Just seen Hyst's post above - that's the ones (diff colour, but the same model).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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it depends on the size of the calf muscle, if you measure around the calf at approx 11" from the floor you will get an idea of what is required
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19-23 going to have the chuck the kitchen sink at this
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This is me, my calf is 21½"!
Purely by chance 2 years ago I tried on a pair of Salomon Quest. They feel like carpet slippers, and are they only boot I've ever had that I could substantially tighten and remain comfortable. They were also on offer when I bought them so I think they're also the cheapest boots I've ever bought - go figure. If they're still made they amy be worth a look.
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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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mozwold, getting the boot to go round the calf is only one part of the puzzle, it is then a matter of trying to keep the skier centered, each increase in calf circumference means that you are pushed forward out of balance, some people just compensate for this, other cannot as the push forward uses up all the available ROM at the ankle, net result burning pain under the foot and in the quads
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yes it'll be expensive but getting the right fit can be transformative. my wife had similar problem, fitted at Profeet (wth some head dreams I think but) with lots of moulding and adjusting. within a days skiing she was declaring it the "best money she had ever spent". she went from having to stop soon after lunch because of the pain to being a first-to-last lift person. and even done a season now.
How much will you spend on the holiday? spread over a few years the boots will only be a small percentage increase.
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You know it makes sense.
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I know I have a wide calf as I have problems buying winter boots. However, Head's boots seem good on me as written above the best bet for the OP is a good bootfitter.
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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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CEM,
Yes quad burn was always a problem before as well, but not now. I think I just got really lucky with these boots 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi I am interested in which model the salamon boots were ? many thanks
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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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I have same problem and have always had Salomon boots without too many problems
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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yep 17" calves on last measuring (can't get any knee high boots on, even wellies!) - old head edge fit fine with a bit of minor boot fitting faffing.
I have a couple of heel lifts in which helps too (yes they are a cheap trick workaround, but they work and I don't care!)
If that was a CEM quote though I'd have faith it's for a good reason though - possibly your wife is above the range that faffing can solve and/or has very petite feet (=small boot)
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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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My husband has massive calves (don't know the measurement but humungeous) and Head boots - originally tried as hire boots at Chill Factore - are the best for him.
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