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New Boots

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi,

This is probably an impossible question to answer....but...my new Burton Moto boots have just arrived and I'm just wondering if I've gone to small.

I always get 26.5 which is 7.5 in UK (normal wink size and have never had any problems...however that is of course with rental boots that are fairly worn.

I spoke to the shop when ordering and they suggested that Burton boots typically fit fairly well based on your standard shoe size, given I've always rented the same size as well I went with that.

Now I'm slightly concerned that perhaps I should have gone higher (whenever I've tried larger in a resort they've always felt too big).

Has anyone else had a similar issue with these particular boots or is it simply that new boots feel a fraction more snug (at the toe end) than I'm used to and with wearing them around the hosue a bit they will feel more normal in time?

Obviously I appreciate its impossible for a 100% answer on this...but it would be good to hear if anyone has any experience with Burton boots?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
For reference, my big toe is right at the end of the inner (as in no more room), which may be correct...I'm just not sure!
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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?
In reality for a performance fit you'd probably want even smaller - toes pressed firmly against liner when standing up straight - they should then release a little when you bend your knees and get into a snowboarding stance. You'll be fine, snowboard boots should be snug plus Motos are particularly soft and will give in no time.
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Okay cool thats good to hear, I can wiggle my toes a bit and I think they release slightly when I get into a snowboarding stance, so hopefully thats okay.

Is the generally consensus, when they are a borderline fit, a fraction smaller is better than a fraction bigger (presumably that reduces the likelihood of heel lift)?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Your ankle binding strap will pull your foot into the back of the boot liner a bit.

If your big toes aren't too squashed to stand in an apres bar for two hours, you should be ok.
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@bar shaker,
After 2 hours I hope you would be dancing on the tables snowHead
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Badly fitting boots will ruin your holiday. Never buy online, always go to a store. If your toes touch/are cramped when your knees are flexed, the boots are too small.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@Gainz, yeah but theres the problem. Not very many shops carry a good range of boots. I was at the S&R in Chertsey the other week (one of their superstores) and they had less than 20 boots to choose from. And gawd help you if you happen to be a woman. If you want access to the full range, you have to be prepared to buy multiple sets of boots online and return what you don't want to keep. I'm looking for new boots at the moment and reckon i'll have to buy 2 or 3 pairs online at Blue Tomato or similar and make the final decision from there.
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Hmmm, sitting normally I'd say my toes just touch the end of the inners (nowhere near the end of the actual boot).

In a riding position, I think they are just off touching, or maybe just touching.

My concern is that bigger will be too big and I'm better off sticking with these...
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I've just bought a pair of Atomic Hawx Ultra 110s from my local shop. My initial reaction when I put them on was "wow"! But the fitter insisted on modifications that I hadn't thought of and as a result I've now got a pair of boots that I feel confident will be okay for the coming season. An Ill fitting pair of boots is hell times ten. Surely the inconvenience and perhaps slight extra cost is worth a visit to a good dealer whose job it is to fit boots. Mind you I have really weird feet so maybe I'm biased.
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The problem is there aren't really any in (East) London! Just the standard high street shops.

For Ski boots it would be easy, I'd head straight to profeet, but they don't do snowboard boots.

Also aside from that, boot fitters opinions differ too, so given the mixed views on this forum I'm not sure I'd be any better...I'm clearly in between sizes or something and some think bigger is better some smaller...I think the consensus though is that a fraction to small is better than a fraction to big, especially as they will soften up a bit, even new standard shoes feel tight initially after all?
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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.
@esaw1, mmm, but thats really the point, there are more ski boots available to try on in places like S&R that snowboard boots. And while there are dozens of manufacturers with multiple models in their ranges, finding someone who carries the boots you're interested in is tricky.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I'm fortunate that my local fitter here in deepest and darkest South Wales stocks the boots that work for me. Also he seems to take pride in what he does. If ever I moved from the area I would happily drive a couple of hundred mlies for the peace of mind. Perhaps the hardest part of buying boots is finding a good fitter. With modern materials a boot can be modernised a lot.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I was just chatting to the shop as to whether it was best to return and upsize or stick with them and they mentioned the inners need to be heat moulded. Given that the fit is very close, is the general opinion that once moulded the fit should be better?

If so...does anyone know who heat moulds! Can I just walk into a Snow & Rock or would somewhere like Profeet in Fulham offer this?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@vjmehra, anyone who says bigger is better is talking out of their harris. A tight boot will give a bit, a loose boot is only going to get looser. The worse foot pain I've ever had was caused by my feet moving around in my first pair of boots. Now when I buy new boots they're pretty uncomfortable for the first week or so (might even rotate an old pair to give some respite) but after that they're very comfortable and responsive and stay that way for a long time.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Ok cool, I was edging that way, so thank you for clarifying, sounds like sticking with them is the right decision!

So...next question, how do I go about heat moulding?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
musher wrote:
@bar shaker,
After 2 hours I hope you would be dancing on the tables snowHead

Or sleeping under it . . . Embarassed
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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?
@vjmehra, I can't believe you're that lazy to head over to S&R or TSA in central London to try on some boots man! Anyway, I forgot I heat molded my liners while in the USA. They were a snug fit when I bought them (over the internet) but Burton have always fit the same for me at my usual size so I took the gamble as it they were reduced by 40%. When I got out to the resort and put them on they were unwearable! The toe box was so cramped I had to hobble over to a fitter and they heat molded them for me. It took about an hour all in all as there was some faff and other customers. Problem solved. I wore a second pair of socks and a foam insert which stretched the toe box and molded the rest of the liner, so yes do that but you'll still need to go to a shop where you could have gone from the beginning!
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Sort of fair...but there were 2 reasons why I didn't:

1) The price difference was £50 or 50% more to buy in store
2) The general vibe seems to suggest the chain stores aren't specialist boot-fitters as such and their opinion is no more expert than me randomly trying boots on myself (which if I'd done, I would almost certainly have gone for the larger ones, which seems to be the wrong choice based on consensus).

So in summary, if I had gone to Snow & Rock or TSA I have a sneaky suspicion I would have paid more and ended up with the wrong boots!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Okay, so I finally had my first try out of the new boots (and board), which felt a bit strange, but seemed to get better as the week progressed!

That said, from feeling slightly too small, now I'd almost swear they were too big....however only really on one foot, which is a bit of an issue.

Not being a pro I have no desire to buy another set of boots and chuck one away, but my leading foot is a whole one size smaller than my trailing foot (I presume the otherway round is marginally less of a problem, albeit not ideal).

So, other than wearing the dreaded two pairs of socks on one foot, what else could I do (I already have custom footbeds and the inners are heat moulded)?
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vjmehra wrote:
...if I had gone to Snow & Rock or TSA I have a sneaky suspicion I would have paid more and ended up with the wrong boots!


Buying stuff in the UK may not be the best idea, in that the shop staff in general are less likely to have any experience of what you're trying to do, and their product range tends to be narrower.

The UK just isn't as busy as a resort for buying gear, and most gear is cheaper outside the UK - it tends to be "pound for dollar" exchange, and we're not down to that yet.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
You could try a thin spacer under the footbed to take up volume as a test .
Superfeet sell these I think as saw them in store or just use what ever is to hand cut to fit using the stock insole as a template .
When you do this it lifts the foot up so it can present another issue you have to use trial and error.
If your boots are Motos that's a entry boot so you can bet its a high volume recreational fit for the masses .
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
This website: https://www.stopheellift.com

Seems quite useful, it has a couple of bits that look like they may help, a heel lifter/J shape inserts!
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I wouldn't put in heel lifts - you want a flat sole -

something like this? - http://www.skiequipmentuk.co.uk/shop/products/Sidas_5mm_Ski_Boot_Volume_Reducer_.htm

Try that first and see. There's other pads for volume reduction too - Maybe a "butterfly" rather than a j-bar?
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Interesting...although I already have custom footbeds from profeet, I hope they won't negate the use of them!
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Didn't profeet shell check your feet in the current boots ?

Either way go back and get it done plus get all your foot stats written down .
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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.
In the shop they felt great, they did the shell and footbeds, it seemed perfect, its only after use I noticed heel lift on the one boot.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
You state you are this or that size in boots this is not fact its your opinion its a fk up to believe this and it will cost you ..
Sizing is variable lasts change in any year .
Boots may have variable volume and shell gaps can change with a new last or model year boot ie entry boots are often a recreational fit , riders often lack flexion to tolerate tight fit .

One reason salomon str8jkt system helps with recreational fit boots .


Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Sun 22-01-17 21:31; edited 1 time in total
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Who gives a whatsit how they feel in London
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Whilst I see your point, surely there's not much more than having them heat moulded and custom footbeds put in I could have done?

Even if I bought in resort, after usage no store would take them back anyway!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Its a highly variable thing fitting boots to different individuals ie complex.
Its very good you used profeet but boots and feet need a technical shell check to help confirm length on each individual foot.

Feel is no good.
As feel is in your head and the boots are on your feet, doing zero speed ,under zero load in a shops 18-20 degrees.
Not to mention not in stance flexed at the ankle in your bindings ?


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 22-01-17 21:34; edited 2 times in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
None of it matters its only one pair .
When its 12+ pairs over decades then that's worse that's costly it limits everything .
Many are in wrong lengths for 20 years

Go get shell checked at profeet they may be ok or they may not ,open the door.
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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?
All fair, however my problem is specific to one boot, as my feet are 1 size different, so the left one is fine...the right isn't. Being realistic, wouldn't that always be an issue (if I was a pro I'd just get to different sets of boots and throw one of each away Happy
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@vjmehra, I had the reverse situation, with one boot feeling too small in resort. A heel lifter helped stop my toes being squashed.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Also sorts of issues arise as said bootfits a highly variable personal thing, take it in your stride, your trying and that's all very good.... as it will end up in improvement.
Just don't use your thoughts as they will likely be off course... use the fitters like for your footbed .

The salesman are like.... forget about it .


Most peoples feet are different , look at tits a good matching pair is hard to get hold of for nothing .
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