Feet going numb

A snowHead

hi everyone,

I just bought a new pair of ski boots and although they were professionally fitted once I got them home and wore them round the house for a bit I felt my feet going numb. The cause is the boot pressing down against the very top of my foot. I am planning on skiing in them at a snow dome within the next few weeks but would anyone have any advice as to how to stop this or adjustments that can be made to the boot to increase the volume slightly across the top of my foot.

Thanks

A snowHead

That must be the pair I sold on eBay!

I bought a pair of Nordica Firearrow 3 buckle boot a couple of years ago ... Disaster!

They were fine for the first hour then my left foot would scream at me to be let out.
then the right one would join in.

I would get pins and needles but I realised it was serious when they were still numb after 3 months.
Problem solved with another new pair in Tignes.

Take them back and say .. they dont work ... most places offer a comfort guarantee .. but they try and fettle them to fit.
But I'd just try to get a better fitting boot, you spend too much on a holiday to have it spoilt by cruel boots.

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

I would go back to the fitter before you actually ski in them. My friend had a similar issue with his new boots as fitted a professional fitter (recommended by me via all the great feedback on here). It seems he's done himself permanent damage as his feet are still a little numb after our trip in early Jan. They have offered to make corrections but it's probably too late as my friend has A) lost confidence in them and B) he's convinced that the nerve is damaged permanently. I'm pretty sure I remember rightly that the issue arose during a trip to Hemel prior to our holiday and some adjustments were made. They obviously needed to do more of whatever it was that they did. Just a word of warning that it's probably worth getting them as dialled in as possible before you ski in them. If it's showing now it's going to be a lot worse when you use them in anger.

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I have a similar problem with all boots due to freakishly high arches. Found that a combination of compression socks and full tilt boots help a lot!!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

thanks for the advice. Ive heard that they can grind down the inner base below the footbed a few mill in order to allow my foot to sit lower in the boot and thus reduce the pressure on the top....anyone had this done?

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@graemekay, yeah, use a Dremel - it's easy! Worst pain I ever had in ski boots was a set of Nordicas fitted by Profeet. After several seasons they eventually calmed down but I had to ski mornings with the boots open half the time. Got a set of Firearrows that seem to do the same thing - I am plucking up the courage to break them in. I think the best option is the old Nordica Air system that Technica seem to have resurrected recently:

http://snowheads.co.uk/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=67257

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

@graemekay, unless you walk like John Cleese (MOSW), wearing them round the house isn't (or shouldn't be) anything like how you stand in them while skiing.

If it is, you need lessons, not new ski boots...

After all it is free

@graemekay, you need to establish why the feet are going numb, and then deal with the cause, not the symptoms,

what model of boot /size is it?
what is your UK shoe size?
is there a custom footbed in the boot?
are you wearing a thin sock (or at least nothing thicker than was used at the time of fitting)
in what order are you clipping the buckles ? and how tight

yes the base board in most boots can be ground down to give more height, but this is a very general thing, it gives more space everywhere, it may just be a very small area where you have a constriction, and this is often better resolved with a small localises adjustment as this then doesn't affect the overall fit of the boot

lastly people are always very quick to blame the boot and the boot fitter as @under a new name, says, wearing them around the house doesn't accomplish much, it might get your foot used to being in the confines of a ski boot but it WILL NOT break the liner down.... if you sit at a desk or drive a car 50 weeks of the year then putting ski boots on and sliding down a mountain is akin to being handed a pair of running shoes and having to run 10k every day for a week....how would your body feel after that punishment if you hadn't trained at all? a lot of the numbness issues we see are a combination of a bit of pressure from the boot, how it is being clipped up AND flexibility of the skier, if you have limited ankle joint flexion you need to have that dealt with at the fitting and work to increase the range of motion

hope that helps, message me if i can answer any other questions

Am I right in thinking this is the correct way to buckle up boots?
Taken from edge and wax, can't seem to get their picture in situ here.

Buckle 1 being top buckle and 4 being toe buckle.

1. Do up the power strap, the Velcro strap at the top of the boot. This holds the boot together.
2. Hook all the buckles onto the ratchets but DO NOT do them up!
3. Gently bang your heel at 45 degrees to the floor, to set your ankle back in the ski boot.
4. Now slide forward on the seat, and bring the ski boot back to mimic flexing forward
5. Click buckle 2 shut, no need to be too tight!
6. Click buckle 1 shut, again firm but not tight
7. Now go back to buckle 2 again, and alternate with buckle 1 until both of these are as tight as possible. This should be pulling your foot into the back of the boot.
8. Now click shut buckle 4, it should be loose enough to click down with your little finger, it does not need to be tight. Adjust it by turning the buckle clockwise to shorten and anti-clockwise to lengthen.
9. Repeat with buckle 3, again it doesn’t need to be tight! If this buckle is done up tight it WILL cut off your circulation leading to painful feet!
10. Repeat with the other boot. Then to finish stand up and give them a couple of flexes. Go skiing!

http://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/content/correct-way-to-buckle-ski-boots-edge-amp-wax-guides.aspx

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@Dzmarc, a variation on that is what i use but it is pretty close upper buckles tight, lower ones finger tight to stop the water coming in end of!"

for me i do the velcro after the upper two buckles, and i am not a big fan of tapping the heel back, fro some people all that does is bounce then into the front of the boot

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I have had this problem; like @leed02, I have very high foot arches and last season when I tried to buy some new ski mountaineering boots I found almost all of the available boots way too tight. For example I couldn't even get my feet into Dynafit TLT boots several sizes too big for me. After visiting several shops and getting a load of good advice it turns out that, apparently, my existing Garmont Endorphins were about as large a volume boot as you can get. Now I loved those boots but wanted to move to technical bindings and they weren't compatible. Also, apparently, since Scott took over Garmont, one, at least, of their models is still based on the same high volume boot, so it might be worth looking at some Scotts.

I ended up getting some Dynafit Radicals from the previous season which have a particularly large volume and are wonderfully comfortable. But the folk in the shop weren't sure if their newer models has as much space.

There was another boot that had a load of space but was too expensive as it was in the end of season sales Sad

I think it was a Fischer but I'm really not sure.

snow reports

thanks everyone. boot is Head vector 115, size 27.5 and my usual shoe size is 9. Im aware of the correct buckling and I know wearing round the house isn't a great test but I don't wanna be getting numb sore feet whilst having lunch, on the lifts etc. Ill see how it is when I ski in them here in the uk snow domes but it sounds as though tampering with the tongue may be a better way forward than grinding down the entire footplate?

G

@graemekay, that boot (from memory as we do not sell that exact model) has a nice thick bit of plastic over the top of the tongue of the liner, plenty that can be removed, but make sure the foot is well supported first, if the footbed is not doing it's job you would simply be making more space that you don't need

good luck

You know it makes sense.

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

@graemekay, Just for the avoidance of doubt, what do you mean by "professionally fitted"?

That the vendor was being paid to sell them and he said "They'll fit, just right"?

Or that the most appropriate shell was selected, foot beds added if required, shell moulded/etc., etc., to fit and then you were released like a new born lamb to gambol playfully around your house till your feet went numb?

A snowHead

A snowHead

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

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graemekay, Phone and make a firm booking with Colin at solutions4feet, as he gets very booked up and can't squeeze folk in that come off the street.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Feet going numb

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