 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking for ski boots, but can't seem to find a pair that suits me... I rented for years, which never reallly worked because of pain, or no control at all (e.g. Head Cube)... the problem is almost always that the boots are too tight at the instep and forefoot (outside of little toe/just above), and the top part of my calf, but at the same time are way too loose around the heel, i.e. it doesn't really touch the ground/my leg hangs in the shaft (with calf cramp as a result > loosening buckles there means the lower ones need to be loosened too/no control anymore). Also, there is often so much padding around the achilles tendon (which I think is rather short in my case) so that I can never really get my heel into the heel pocket (which is more V-shaped) no matter how hard I push, with a big several cm gap in the back as a result.
Now I have measured my feet using an instruction on the internet (https://patriotfootbeds.com/blogs/bootorials/48749889-ski-boot-sizing...) and they are about 230 mm long, 100 mm wide, with an instep of 265 mm. Calves max. 37 cm, ankles max. 24 cm. So pretty wide feet/high instep (equivalent of 106 mm for standard size). In December I bought, based on this info, the Nordica Sportmachine 85W 23.5, which felt reasonable in the store (tongue was made thinner to create instep room/custom insoles were made but that was a bad idea/only resulted in cramps under my feet), but during skiing I hardly had any control/I got cramps in the usual places. A local store/bootfitter then told me they were completely the wrong shoes, and because I was so disappointed I went with his suggestions... his philosophy was that you need to have a proper heelpocket and the rest can be adjusted. So I bought the Salomon Quest Pro 100 W 23.0, which had a better fit at the heel (not as good as the Lange's, Atomics, and Head 110 Evo W though, but these were really too tight in other places). They were heated in the oven (with padding on the instep), C-shaped stickers around my ankles, pushed out a bit near the toe, and seemed to be okayish. Only at my instep they were way too tight, with cramps under the foot/cutting off of bloodflow on top. So he put a larger buckle on the boot at the instep. Also, he put two pieces of insole under the heel to reduce the excess space around the heel. The result is a shoe with good control (skis actually do what I want/I feel as if heel movement translates into ski movement!), but pretty bad pressure points in multiple places (usual spots minus calf, plus bone on the inside of the foot under the heel bone) and sleeping feet at home within minutes. Bootfitter said never walk on shoes, unbuckle at every lift, you have difficult feet but still... can't go down even a single slope at once without having to get some blood going again halfway. The worst part however is the tongue, which is U-shaped and cuts off blood flow by pressing into my instep.
Sorry, a bit of a long story, but by now I am rather desperate that I will ever find good shoes, skiing holiday was pretty disappointing... has someone got tips for me? Did I buy the wrong shoes/are there others that are better (Dalbello Kyra 95? Lange SX 90?)? Or should I go to a bootfitter and get small things fixed? I read something about heel lifts, could that help? Thanks in advance!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@plantenspuit, sounds to me as there are multiple problems going on, not least that the description you give of your feet makes them sound to be a high arched/ high instep cavus foot type which can often be associated with limitation in ankle joint flexion, with that description the first boot i would look at is a 3 piece shell like the kyra but it all depends on how the foot fits in the shell, i am inclined to agree with your boot fitter about the heel pocket and fit there being critical but i suspect what you are feeling as not enough heel hold will not be fixed by a boot which is tighter there, i suspect it is all to do with running out of range of motion and then your heel lifting as you flex forward, a heel lift in the boots migght help, BUT then you have to balance this with not compressing the instep and cutting the blood off there
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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 a pair of Head Avant 125s that - while not perfect and with some significant modifications from Solutions 4 Feet - manage to handle my high instep.
The most important improvements for me though have been technique and not overtightening first thing in the morning, then tightening up more as the day goes on. If I ski well, my feet don't hurt. I did some deliberate bad skiing and everything felt just as bad as it did in hire boots.
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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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@CEM, thanks for the reply, maybe it is the flexion then, I indeed remember from speed skating that I was less flexible in my ankles than most others... although my heel doesn't lift when I flex forward (that's actually the point where I feel as if I push into the heel pocket the best) but rather when I come up to make a turn so don't know how that fits in? The same happens when I just relax my feet in the boots, it feels as if I'm being pushed up and out of the boot by the padding, and only when I really flex/press down can I get my foot in properly (but squash my calf in the process). This combination means that there is a delay between me wanting to make a turn and the ski actually following my foot.
@skeksis: I tried the head advant edge 95 (women's model) but this seemed even looser around the heel. I don't know about overtightening, I usually can't go beyond the first buckle anyway (for my instep that is)...
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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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@plantenspuit, i have small wide feet with high instep and the only boots that work for me and give good heel hold are salmon quest pro , i have the 120 version which are great but think they do a 100 flex too , the 120 have an endofit tongue which really helps when i added a heel wedge , and have no issues with pressure on top of foot
https://www.salomon.com/uk/product/qst-pro-120.html
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