Newbie boots/pain help

A snowHead

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster!

I know there is a huge thread about boots already but there are some many different conversations going on in that thread that I thought I'd start my own.

I've been learning to ski now for the past year up at the indoor slope at Hemel. Making very good progress and I can currently snowplow, turn, pararell ski, side slip etc still a bit "wobbly" so will be having a few more lessons.
We are going away with friends end of February for a week and we can't wait but there is one thing I am not looking forward to.

Every time I have had lessons, after about 20 minutes my feet feel like they are on fire. I just want to take the boots off or sit down, which obviously I can't do in the middle of a lesson! I'm a big guy (rugby player, about 105kg). With the rental boots I have tried correct size for me (12), bigger size (13), thin socks, thick socks but to no avail. Still the same pain.

For Christmas I ended up with some vouchers for Snow and Rock to buy some gear and wondered if it was worth investing in some custom boots? From looking on the net, people have been saying having their own boots have really helped them but it is a big investment. Some of my friends have also said that the hire equipment in the resorts will be better than a ski slope in the UK and they may have different styles of boots which may fit better so I should wait to we are away to try this out? However I don't want to be on my holiday for 7 days of pain if that's not the case.

Should I make the plunge and invest? (I have all the other gear now anyway) and if so what do people think about the fitting process at Snow and Rock? Also, there is a shop called Captains Cabin (In Sevenoaks, Kent) which do boot fitting if anyone has had any experience with them?

Thanks all for your help in advance Very Happy

A snowHead

S&R seem to have differing reviews. I had my boots fitted in Exeter and found the service fine, especially as I have wide feet. I still tend to get some pain during the first hour of skiing each day so generally stop to make adjustment. By later in the day the boots will be fine and I can happily ski until last lift, so I usually put the early pain down to me tightening them too much first thing.

I suspect that properly fitted boots will help a lot you're likely to need footbeds too. I've got high arches so needed something to offer a bit more support and it was all added cost, just something to bear in mind.

All this said, I'm a bit of a weird case. Like an idiot I decided to buy boots after only one day of skiing, luckily it worked out fine.

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

Burning pain is usually cured with a footbed. At least mines was

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I have very odd feet. Wide and supinated (walk/more pressure on the outside of my foot) so I'm guessing a custom fit would be best.

It's just that lots of people I have spoken to have said that the range of boots available to rent at resorts is normally very good and most people will be able to find something comfortable. I don't really want to take that chance though if it's going to ruin my trip so I'm thinking I should take the plunge? Hopefully they will last many years so the price will be justified.

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Hi @Fridge03, I've been skiing about 18 months and like you had lessons in the UK before my first holiday. I was getting terrible foot pain in the boots I was learning in, but had decided I really liked skiing and didn't want to risk ruining the holiday with a gamble on the hire boots in resort. Some properly fitted boots with custom footbeds sorted me right out. By the sound of it you've already decided you like the sport - so it's probably not that big a gamble to buy now(?)

I do still occaisionally get foot pain, particularly in my first hour skiing - this is usually due to clenching my feet (in some kind of ridiculous attempt to grip the slippy snow with my toes), I find wriggling my toes or making a conscious effort to lift my toes helps with that. So might be worth thinking about whether you are doing anything like that.

I can't comment on the bootfitting at Snow and Rock, I got mine from Ski Bartlett in Hillingdon (as did Mrs. T) and I can heartily recommend them - about 30 mins round the M25 from Hemel. Other boot fitters that seem to get good reviews around here include solutions4feet and ProFeet. If you've got odd/ problem feet generally then you might be better talking to one of them.

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@Fridge03 hi, I'm a similar size to you (maybe a bit bigger) and I have quite wide feet (120) according to the boot fitter I used.

I was told that the head boots that they use a Hemel were on the wider side, I asked as I was nervous about the fit first time I went there, thinking that the boots would be too narrow.

If your feet are hurting that much I would suggest maybe you should get some boots. If you've been learning for the past year you must be enjoying it and well fitting boots are a must. If you think about it you're going to be standing in them all day.

I managed to bug my feet up on the EoSB last year due to poorly fitting hire boots. It stopped me skiing the last day. Hence the boot purchase. It was only my second ski trip.

Best bet would be to get your own boots and take them to Hemel and see how they feel, most boot fitters will do free adjustments if you have bought the boots from them.

I bought my boots through captains cabin, had custom insoles and the cuff flared to fit me better. Minor adjustment after a couple of hours use on Folkestone dry slope and been happy with the fit since. I got lucky and bought a previous seasons boots as they fitted best so it wasn't as expensive as it could have been.

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I bought my boots at S&R Hemel Snow dome and was happy with the service. Where are you skiing in February? If anywhere near Courchevel I can really recommend the Boot Lab.

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I've recently had some boots from Solutions4Feet and would highly recommend them. It was well worth the journey as I've got weird feet and end up in agony whatever ski boots I wear. They are feet experts and really know their stuff. I've yet to try the new boots but I've got high hopes. They also gave me useful advice on exercises I could do to try and correct my feet, was nice to find out I can solve the problem and don't have to be strange footed forever!

What a conundrum! What you can't get with rental boots is a custom footbed. If your feet are unusual, you will struggle to get something comfortable and that will spoil the whole experience.

What is clear is if you choose to buy your own boots, and it sounds like you already have, you will need to go to a decent boot fitter, and many snowheads will recommend one - my favourite is profeet, but I'm sure you will want somebody near where you live. Assume if you are using Hemel, you are London or North of London so profeet could be a good fit.

The 1st question any decent fitter will ask is your skill level. That will decide the level of flex you need. This will be further adjusted by your weight, foot shape and so on! As a learner the hope is your skill level will improve, but that also means the type of boot/flex you need now will change after a few seasons Confused

They should also measure weight distribution as this will affects the custom foot beds. I put more weight on my right foot so this meant my foot beds are different thickness.

You know it makes sense.

The rental boots I was given in the snow dome a few years back (Tamworth) were completely rubbish the correct size, and even with everything cranked down they still slopped about like a pair of wells. the liners were so packed out. Two changes of boots and lots of complaining didn't help. I rented some boots in resort for a day and they were much better (I didn't have my boots with me, I'm mainly snowboard now, but put on some planks to stop the incessant droning of a pair of ski bores for a day. Guess they didn't know that I skied for 20 years prior to seeing the light Laughing

)

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

Aren't we all forgetting one thing here?
THE RULES

In this case rule 1 and rule 5 Toofy Grin

A snowHead

A snowHead

Have a look at this article:

http://welove2ski.com/the-good-ski-and-boot-rental-guide

It explains how to rent ski boots and suggests putting in your own footbed.

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

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Feet on fire. I had this problem if it was the soles of your feet. Had no footbeds due to rubbish fitting, got custom footbeds done after explaining the whole feet on fire thing. They'd never heard of this apparently. It feels like some kind of medieval torture.

Anyway the custom footbeds were a waste of £60 and when a proper boot fitter saw them he told me they were done wrong and basically rubbish. I took them out half way down a run just for relief.

My remedy was Sidas gel insoles. The heat went away, but the boots still didn't fit. Looked into this a bit and there are a number of reasons why it happens, some due to feet moving, some due to physical reasons or sensitive feet. The softer gel insole worked for me.

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@sugarmoma666, @SnoodyMcFlude, the link has a full stop at the end in error

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Thanks for all your help everyone.

I definitely do see the boots as an investment as skiing is a sport that me and the other half love and will be certainly carrying on with for as long as our bodies let us! We are either heading to Les Duex Alpes or Alpes d'Huez in Feb and then planning to go away over next xmas.

We live on the Kent/East Sussex border so we can access most areas off the M25 fairly easily, hence why we go up to Hemel as it's real now and only about an hour and 45 min away. I have £250 worth of S&R vouchers hence why I'm more leaning towards them for my first pair. We have spoken to them a few times when we have been in and out and they have been very nice and informative (of course I know they want the sale!)

I just want to ski pain free (I'm no pansy but wanting to take the boots off after 20 minutes isn't ideal!)

Hi Fridge,

Boots are the most important purchase you will make! i have very wide feet, try the Atomic live fit 70's good flex for a beginner and the Atomic has a great wide fitting. i just bought a pair for £130 online and had them fitted at my local store with footbeds (definitely get footbeds). the footbeds were £65 and the fitting was £40. i'm very happy with the result. for years i've been skiing boots two sizes to big to get the width but now with the Atomic's it's great. spend the £250 on boots!!!

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Hi Fridge,

Boots are the most important purchase you will make! i have very wide feet, try the Atomic live fit 70's good flex for a beginner and the Atomic has a great wide fitting. i just bought a pair for £130 online and had them fitted at my local store with footbeds (definitely get footbeds). the footbeds were £65 and the fitting was £40. i'm very happy with the result. for years i've been skiing boots two sizes to big to get the width but now with the Atomic's it's great. spend the £250 on boots!!!

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opps! sorry about the duoble post rolling eyes

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@gazzaredcruiser, I've got the Live Fit 80's and very happy with them too, I was amazed just how short my feet turned out to be when I got in a boot the right width for them. I normally take an 8.5/9 shoe to get the width, my ski boots are Mondo 25 - thats about size 6!
But @Fridge03, don't take too much notice of others recommendations - get a proper fitter to show you the boots that are right for you. Clarify with S&R at what point in the fitting process you have comitted to the purchase, and take time to make sure you're happy. (certainly when I bought mine I could have backed out after the heat moulding). If hire boots are that uncomfortable you'll probably know within a few minutes of marching round the store if a boot isn't a good fit. Try to go at a quiet time, so the fitter can spend time with you, and tell them when you book the appointment that you have problem feet, ask for their most experienced fitter.

You know it makes sense.

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

[quote="SnoodyMcFlude"]

A snowHead

To Señor Fridge.........

Boots are, hands down, THE single most important piece of equipment, period. Period. Rental boots of ANY kind, even those in the Himalayas as purveyed by shamans are crap, period. Period. Small wonder your feet hurt. Forget about cost. If you are as you claim interested in trying to have some semblance of enjoyment (and positive net experience skiing) come February (and the future) with friends wherever it is you are going to go, your only intelligent choice is to buy a set of decent boots that comfort YOUR feet first and last. Focus on comfort.

At the risk of sounding arrogant/imperious, I HAVE been around and died on the cross years/decades ago when equipment was crap, beginning with boots. Trust me when I say I know what it means to have foot pain vis-a-vis ill fitting boots, one episode which I will not describe. Been there. Done that.

It is not appropriate ever to suggest brand as boots (per mfgr.) vary widely in terms of all important last (of foot) for starters. Some feet can be accomodated by one of several brand, but not by others, and vice versa. Width and volume are the two biggest nuts to crack on average. I would suggest to not allow yourself to be upsold on "too much" boot........... E.G., for years/decades in the States the worthless magazines and shops promoted nothing but uber highest end racing boots to the most pedestrian of skier with obvious results. A boot's ability to FLEX is critical. Think ergonomically.
There exist for a good number of years a number of brands which offer MORE than enough "perforamance" and are altogether comfortable, PROVIDED said boot fits the entire foot. Sure............, any well fitting boot requires a bit of fine tuning. That is SOP. But if the last is wrong, or it is too stiff, or too cramped............ You. Are. Screwed.

Over the next two weeks spend time focusing in on a proper set of boots for you that fit YOU. Work WITH the shop that you select who should be no less than 100% + committed in making 100% certain you get exactly what YOU need with their fullest assurance/guarantee. Then, come February you will have had these boots by a few weeks, having broken them in a bit, made the necessary adjustments and your trip will not be plagued by not having the aforementioned single most important piece of equipment that fits you to a "T".

Oh........... Speaking of "T". Here are a few tips to preserve your boots......... Boots are made to be skied upon, not endlessly walked within. You truck around enough on road/walkway, etc. on a set of boots and you compromise the interface of boot to binding. NOT a good thing. Further, you wash out as it were the fit. So, avoid walking around whenever possible. There's a solution for that, it's called a (compressible) rucksack that you hump your boots and some additional items in such as a second set of gloves, goggles, a balaclava, UV protectant, lip balm, a gun, etc. You get to walk to the lift in your sneakers, then change out on the snow, capice? Then, at the end of the day reverse the process and your legs will thank you for it. Also......, at day's end once back at the cat house, get some newspaper and ball up about six or seven pages each, stuffing the balls well into both boots. Leave these in for a good two to three hours, then remove. This pulls out significant amounts of moisture that otherwise will not fully evaporate by next a.m. Also, always where fresh socks each day, preferably a full length "ski sock".

A snowHead

What if the primary issue is physically you ...are you in the boots .... so look at yourself.... don't just look at the boots in isolation ie. blaming the boots ?

Many may "first" need physical flexion analysis separate from bootfit analysis from a high level boot fitter too determine any possible physical issues or you are just another lemming in the bootfit learning curve at a local chainstore.

Your £250 at snow and rock will be worthless in this physical issue respect. You will be dealing with a salesman, some are kids doing a few months others do have experience but at very varied levels .
So in effect you are gambling and the chances are zero if the pain is largely a physical issue combined with also needing a suitable boot/fit choice and footbed for your personal needs .

Everyone on this forum knows who too go and see in regard too "Physical flexion analysis" and "Expert bootfit".
You should consider the best or you may never get off the bench.
The chance of possibly going backwards without first consulting a expert fitter on foot analysis if pain exists as described exists .

A very common issue in all of Cems posts seems to be a lack of physical flexion in the lower legs he mentions this a lot along with needing to see the feet in question for any accurate analysis .

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

As senor fridge says, the right boots are the ones that fit YOU. You need to get a proper fitting.

My missus has huge size 9 feet that are also very wide, with women's calves and always always struggled with hire boots when her beloved, fitted pink ones broke. She ended up with a pair of men's Head boots in Alpe D'Huez after 3 teary trips back to the hire shop in the same day. Liked them so much, she bought them at the end of the trip. When they're done, she'll be following my example and getting another custom fitted pair.

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Hi all,

Just a quick update. After a visit to my local ski store and a bit more dithering I've decided to take the plunge with new boots and footbeds. I am convinced it will sort my issues out!

Now just super excited for the trip! Off to Les Deux Alpes last week of February. Fingers crossed the snow continues.

Thanks for all your helpful advice.

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Hi all,

Just thought I'd give an update on my thread. I took the plunge today and got my boots.

After initial panics about not having anything in my size which will fit my wide feet, he pulled out a pair of Atomic Hawx 100. They felt great off the bat but after a good amount of time in them pacing around and flexing I felt a pressure point of my outside metatarsal on both feet. With a quick blast in the oven and some creative use of foam they were stretched and now fit great.
I was dithering about a custom footbed as well but I didn't go for one yet....I thought I'd test them out first as I can always adjust/go back for a footbed.

Wore them during my lesson and although tight as would be expected with any new boot/shoe etc (until I wear them in) I had no burning and no pain!

All in all. Very happy. May still consider a custom bed as that may make them even more comfortable/better fit?

Help!!

Newbie boots/pain help

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