Brits and Boots

A snowHead

This may be controversial but what is it with British skiers and their boots? It seems that no Brit can buy a pair of ski boots without having custom footbeds, bits punched out, other bits filled with foam and then they still don't fit right. No Brit ever buys a pair of boots the same size as their feet. They start off at least a size too large then go at least a size too small.

This obsessions with tweaking seems to be a curiously British obsession, does it make up for lack of time actually skiing as another poster to SH's commented? Of all the good French skiers I know very very few have any mods done to their boots. They generally go to the store, select the boot that fits (generally similar to their street shoe size) and... erm... that is it.

Maybe the boot manufacturers don't cater for a British shaped foot?

A snowHead

Interesting point. It used to be the case (until the makers went searching for cheaper labour) that about 90% of ski boots were made in Montebelluna, Italy.

Isn't the passion for custom-fitting even greater in the States? But isn't it also the case that one of the world's most respected boot customising companies is .... err .... French?

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

davidof, I quite agree with you.
I have always shopped until I have found a pair that fit comfortably.
I must confess to be wondering what I am missing, apparently, I could spend up to £100 on a pair of cork insoles.
Maybe I'm strange.

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davidof,

My boots are stock but I have a footbed. I've had the boots 5 seasons. I think, and they can hurt sometimes so I will try the footbed next time out. Its only a bit more 'solid' that the one that came with the boot so its more of a replacement than an embellishment IMV.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Never had that sort of problem with my snowboard boots NehNeh

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davidof, A fair number of the (French) instructors here are in and out of Cedric's for foamed inners and bit s and bobs of fitting - maybe that's just the length of time wer're in them though?

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

After all it is free

Back in the 1970s I would have agreed with that - lasts were generally narrower than today. I have a slightly wide foot, and the only serious grief I had was a pair of Langes (which were like tanks in those days) in 1974. Since then I've had long-term relationships with Nordica, Salomon and Tecnica, straight off the shelf, no customising.

Although I made the remark about Montebelluna, in reality the boot factories have to sell so much product in the US for Anglo-Saxon feet their products are more generous in volume (against a given length) nowadays.

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davidof,

Could it be the French purchasing boots, are use to spending time in them so know what to expect, where as Brits expect them to be as comfortable as their lamswool slippers.

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davidof, as easiski says a lot of ESF instructors - and all the racers/coaches at the ski clubs that I know - have feet/boots checked out, and footbeds fitted. Makes sense really, especially if you have 'irregularly' shaped feet - there's a limit to how much the standard 'self-moulding' footbeds can adjust to people with high arches, etc. When you stand barefoot on the pressure thingy that reveals points where there is abnormally high pressure, the benefits are obvious for some, less so for others.

I used to get a lot of cramp in both feet (around the arches), but not any more, would recommend it to anyone. It's nothing to do with getting the 'right boots' in the first place, although it's obviously crucial to make sure you have the most suitable pair for your type of feet and level of skiing.

All competition skiers have it done, for better comfort, but also improved feel and contact with the snow. That's pretty conclusive on its own.

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davidof, ski boots come out of boxes, your feet do not, if people are willing to accept a pair of boots that fit where they touch then more fool them.
I also think the Brits & boots thing may be a little to do with the fact that people in the UK generally work very hard for their week or two on the snow, they want comfort and performance and are willing to pay for it.
The problem as I see it is there is a lack of availablility of quality services (loads of fitters, but all human so they do not get it right first time every time, if you are in a small resort with no real master of the art (or do not know where to find them) then you have a bad experience and cannot rectify it) There is however a lot that can be said about places charging £100 or there abouts to have boots fitted by someone without a qualification.
In the past i have seen several racers / instructors with feet that have been seriously messed up by not having boots fitted correctly.

The manufacturers all have their idea of what the ideal foot shape is, they start with this and produce boots either wider, narrower, higher or lower volume to suit their market, and gaps that they see in other manufactures ranges. all feet are different European feet can be wide or narrow, Anglo saxon feet can be wide or narrow. the main reason that there are more wider, higher volume boots out there than narrow lower volume ones is that someone with a narrow foot can put a wide boot on comfortably but someone with a wide foot cannot wear a narrow boot. At the end of the day all these companies are run to make a profit, and the vast majority of ski boots, like day to day shoes are bopught on the basis of colour and 'can i try that in a size 9 please mate' If everyone who sold boots understood how the foot functioned and how to select the correct shell for the foot then the industry would be a better place

many people are happy with an off the peg suit and many will have one tailored...all a case of what works for the individual Little Angel

It is interesting to contrast shops selling ski boots. The UK shops and French ski-resort shops seem to have one display model of each boot plus "experts" who advise and get boots for you from a store room. French and Swiss shops but not in the ski resorts have many boots of different sizes on display, often unboxed, and expect customers to serve themselves. Any experts these shops have are busy elsewhere in the shop. Perhaps my comparing specialist ski shops like Ellis Brigham or Snow and Rock against sports supermarkets like Go Sport and Decathalon is unfair.

You know it makes sense.

If we go back a couple of years, I seem to remember that the Brit shops in the main only stocked Salomon and Rossi boots, so no matter what your foot shape was, that was what you were put into, and it was more a case of "which of these two is slightly less painful", now we are seeing a wider range of brands being stocked, so people have the opportunity to try others until they get the best ones.
As for the footbed debate, etc, there are very few skiers I know who don't have some form of footbed or customisation work done to their boots - it's certainly not just a Brit thing.

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

got a footbed but nought else. Oh, DIY! I've put the old standard footbed in below the custom one, to take up some space. And I cut off a bit of the standard one. So I guess I DO have boot modifications...

But I'm not a Brit!

little tiger, are you disski from Epicski? the writing style seemed very similar...

A snowHead

Cedric, yup, she is.

A snowHead

I think it's just you only see the folks who have problems talking about there boots on here, so it seems like everyone has mass custome fit issues going on.

Of the 30 or so brits I have ski'd/boarded with I am the only one with any kind of custom boot fit going on, until my friend was guided by easiski to cedric in LDA (I think she got a footbed but could be wrong) and even then, if she hadn't already had issues due to a badly fitting hire boot she would probably have got away with a standard fit. Most of the folks who ski with me go to the hire shop, ask for their own shoe size, try on a couple of pairs and away we go. When they dozen or so that bought, bought, they all found a decent standard fit within a few pairs and most have been happy with the boots, unaltered for a good few years.

The problem seems to be if you have difficulties, the solutions involve LOTS of tweaking...

aj xx

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

ajhainey, vital for many, perhaps not ... an improvement for most, in terms of both comfort and 'contact' with the snow, almost certainly I reckon?

CEM, there are boot fitting specialists, such as Nevada in Tignes and Bourg, that charge considerably less than £100 for footbeds and do an excellent job, in my experience and that of many racers and coaches that use them. Ok I may have got a discount, but I think I paid around £50 or thereabouts.

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I read a thread over at natives which expresses alot of unhappiness towards the Profeet service. I personally wouldn't pay £100 to get boots fitted.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

PG, would you read my post properly then reply! Little Angel

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Edmundh009, that thread was started by sneakybear - the same guy as here, and it was the same thread! (that's why I told him to speak to CEM on here!)

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

CEM, I was assuming, perhaps wrongly, that the price in question was rather lower than that charged for the footbed part of the service (pressure tests etc), in the UK. I had the undivided attention of the proprietor for a good hour at Nevada.

I was a little unsure in your post as to whether you meant 'as low as', or 'as high as', £100 (by unqualified staff). Still am.

After all it is free

Of course sorry. Epic has some expert boot fitters as well. Do you find a boot with a higher, stiffer flex needs more customisation because its less forgiving. Also what about those zipfit liners are they any good. I have Diablo flame boots with the ultrafit liner and find them reasonable apart from a slight rubbing on my left ankle bone. I can't really be bothered going to a bootfitter just for that though.

Do many people getting their boots alighned, I have dual canting on my boots for this, at least that's what I think its for Puzzled

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Edmundh009,

it may be that something as little as an off the peg footbed caosting around £30 will solve the problem. without seeing your feet it is imposible to say if that is the solution, it is worth a visit to a fitter a footbed will almost certainly make your boots fit and work better, and may solve the ankle problem. a slight stretch on the shell may be required but for the minimum cost the comfort is well worth it.

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I have some off the shelf Salomon Evolution 6s. Apart from the smell they are wonderfully comfortable, and have been a great buy. I am also British

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Sorry I do have custom conformable footbeds. It is just the liner rubs on the bone a bit even when their not particularly tight. It is something I can live with until next season.

Edmundh009, hit the bootfitter at the start of the season and have the shell stretched a little to take the pressure away....makes putting the ski on edge a much more comfortable sensation

enjoy Little Angel

You know it makes sense.

Ok will do, cheers. Do you think its worth getting them aligned at the same time

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

Edmundh009,

A snowHead

Thanks, guess that means I'l probably look into it when I go to Canada, cheers for the help.

A snowHead

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

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SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. You're all fish. wink

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

SMALLZOOKEEPER, and you are just baaaaaaaaaaad...fish. That's why you smell of fish... Twisted Evil

(Edited once for baadnessss)

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My boots fit perfectly with normal foot beds. But standing on one ski I cannot ski straight. had custom footbeds made to support my foot in my perfectly fitting boots. I can now ski straight when standing on one ski. Wouldn't have thought about footbeds if I hadn't tried skiing on one foot and failing miserable in a lesson and then spending time with an instructor who had some wedges to put under my boots to show that it was alignment and not balance or ability that was stopping me skiing on one ski.

Help!!

Brits and Boots

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