 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm off boarding for a few days on Thursday and after a very productive lesson yesterday I'm now very paranoid about heel lift....
We went right back to basics and I didn't really ever appreciate how bad my technique was, but it seems what I always assumed was normal is not, so in short, I won't have time to buy a pair of properly fitted boots before going, so it will be a rental pair.
Is there anything I can do as a quick fix to reduce heel lift (other than the obvious appropriately fitted boots)?
I could shoot down to Elis Brigham to get a few bits if anyone can recommend anything (I make the assumption in terms of boot fitting I'd be better off going somewhere else, but happy to be corrected).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have you tried canting your high-backs forward a bit?
Out of interest, what kind of boots do you have? Traditional laces, One of those 'quicklace' system ones or BOAs?
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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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If you're going to get something fitted then you'd likely be better off at the resort; shops there may well have better qualified staff, a wider range of gear, and you can take things back repeatedly if they're not right.
Snowboard technique? Once you know it's there to be learned, actually learning it is easy. Sounds like you're on the way.
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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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I'll be renting Richard, I don't have my own gear yet!
I'm going to Zakopane in Poland, the rental shops are pretty small with not that much choice, so I'd say my options in terms of fitting in the resort are limited (hence I was hoping for a quick fix and then may get my own boots once back and have a couple of dry slope lessons)?
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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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@vjmehra, As Philwig says, the more your technique improves the less of an issue it'll be, but you can try to limit the problem by making sure you tighten your boots up correctly.
Always stand up when tightening your bootlaces up.
For quicklace and Boa systems, apply a bit of forward lean when you do your first tighten, then it'll tighten the boot across your lower foot rather than just taking the slack out of the cuff. Once its tight, hold the tension in the laces, relax back to a normal position, and finish tightening up and tie/lock off. You want to get an even pressure throughout the boot, rather than just a tight upper/cuff which'll allow your heel to move about more than it should.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I guess my key concern is that I simply couldn't get the technique right yesterday, I physically couldn't stop lifting whenever I was riding on the toe edge, I'm now worried I won't be able to stop myself doing that all trip 
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Heel-lift comes from poorly-fitting boots and doesn't have anything to do with technique. It will though, really hold you back from riding well - that 2cm of heel-slop should be getting translated to edge-angle and isn't!
If the rental boots are sloppy, j-bar type inserts can help a lot and you can get hold of these pretty easily.
The binding strap can also make the problem worse/better. Most bindings have more than one mounting hole for the heel strap. Using the higher/further-back hole(s) can help keep your heels locked down.
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One other quick fix - it can be really uncomfortable to have your laces done-up really tight all over. If you have standard boot-laces, you can do a ghetto version of multi-zone lacing as follows:
1. Pull the laces to a "snug but not tight" position over your fore-foot. Most boots have hooks for the laces from here on instead of holes.
2. Instead of running the laces up through the hooks, loop them through the last hole an extra time. This should allow you to lock-off the tension in the lower boot and keep it separate from the upper boot.
3. Lace up as normal on the upper boot. Crank the hell out of it. Make it as tight as you can.
4. Tie laces as normal.
In theory, this should give you a comfortable fore-foot but good heel-hold.
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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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Ok cool thank you, will try those tips out on the laces/bindings.
At a glance I couldn't find j-bar inserts on the Snow & Rock or Elis Brigham websites, could they be called anything else (I couldn't see anything obvious and I won't have time to get anything online)?
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You might want too look at your ankle flexion and range of motion if its restricted for any reason your heel will lift .
You don't mention any foot pain though.
Footpain often comes with a lack of flexion when the calfs and front tibby anterior are under load and not stretched out ?
Often lack of flexion and oversized bootfit are the perfect storm but only bootfit gets blamed as no one can sell flexion.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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You can sometimes buy them separately, but they're also the kind of thing a lot of shops have lying around. Might be worth going in somewhere and asking - or someone in Snowheads world is bound to have some lying around in/from an old set of boots.
You could also search for Dakine Heel Anchors. I don't know if they still make them, but these were similar to a strap which is built into the Salomon Malamute boot. It's a simple webbing strap that wraps around the heel/ankle to lock it in place. I was never sure how well the 3rd party ones (which aren't fixed into the boot shell) would work compared to the Salomons (which are great) but probably worth a go.
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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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You did mention Physically ?
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In the future checking out Salomons str8jkt system might be a idea .
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You know it makes sense.
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I did get pain yesterday, but I assumed this was largely because we were simply working on front and toe edge drills.
Normally on the mountain, when boarding 'normally' (i.e. doing linked turns as opposed to drills, falling leaf etc.) the only pain I really notice is occasional cramping, bar perhaps the first morning when its a bit uncomfortable for an hour or so.
Its not impossible that I naturally reduce the heel lift after a few hours or so, its really not something I'd noticed until the instructor pointed it out, but I suspect I don't, its just that when I'm not spending a lot of time exclusively on the toe edge it probably doesn't hurt, so i've never realised it was an issue!
I'm not aware of any flexibility issues...but thats not to say I don't have any!
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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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Have you tried taking out the insert out, putting them on nice and tight and then putting the boot on? I found that doing that made a difference in heel lift/movement of the foot in the boot.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I haven't, but will give that a go!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Interestingly (and despite virtually no snow), the brief chance I did get to go out on the slopes I didn't really notice the problem reocurring, which makes me think the issue was particularly to do with the rental boots I used on the dry slope.
I think the time has come to get my own...at the end of season sales of course 
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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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Bending more at the ankles worked for me
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