 Poster: A snowHead
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First post here so excuse me if I miss something.
I'm a (stylistically) slightly old school all mountain skier - somewhere between carving and parallel with very wide flat feet. All previous boots have needed heavy forming to get close to the right width.
Because of the annoyances I've always had, it's been 15 years since I've had a new pair and wondered if anyone has any recommendations. I know there are specially sized boots etc but I'm looking for first hand experience and not just some monitised blog reviews if possible.
PS. I've not got elephant stumps or donald duck looking things... theyre more..... hobbit 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A warm welcome to 
IMV. You are better off getting a recommendation for a good Bootfitter. If you give an idea where you live, someone can probably help with this. The other option is getting fitted in resort.....and if you say where you are going, then help can usually be forthcoming for that as well.
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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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thanks for the fast response!
I live near Lugano if that helps?
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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 can't personally help - other than to say what I said.
Are you skiing this year - and if so, where are you going, as this might be more likely to yield a recommendation?
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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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Yes, this year I'll be in Cervinia/VT, St Moritz and/or maybe Andermatt but only the first is confirmed as I live within an hour or two from a lot of places and try to play it by ear/forecast/bargains.
I'm always a bit weary of bootfitters as a lot of them are just trying to shift the stock they have so I was looking for some feedback (bad or good) from anyone else with fat hobbit feet!
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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 have wide feet but am lucky enough to live near a good bootfitter. The boots he suggested for me are “Full Tilt” and they were stretched a little here and there but overall they have been fine.
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| icywombat wrote: |
I'm always a bit weary of bootfitters as a lot of them are just trying to shift the stock they have so I was looking for some feedback (bad or good) from anyone else with fat hobbit feet! |
What you are weary of, is "Boot Sellers"...Which is why a personal recommendation from here is valuable. A proper Bootfitter won't sell you something that is unsuitable.
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One of my ski buddies has a foot width of 110mm.  He can only wear Atomics.
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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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| JHS wrote: |
| I have wide feet but am lucky enough to live near a good bootfitter. The boots he suggested for me are “Full Tilt” and they were stretched a little here and there but overall they have been fine. |
Damn.. that's exotic, I'd never even heard of Full Tilt. nice to see a company doing new things, those wired/strappy ones look really comfy
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| Old Fartbag wrote: |
| A proper Bootfitter won't sell you something that is unsuitable. |
I wish it were always true, i've met some people who are clearly blagging it. The worst was a guy in a big name brand outlet centre in upstate NY who told me I should buy a few sizes bigger (which he obviously had in stock) then just stuff something up into the tips of the boots to fill the space at the front.......
Sadly (especially in northern italy) they have had the 3 worst seasons on record now due to covid and theres either been a lot of staff turnover - even the veterans still have mouths to feed.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| One of my ski buddies has a foot width of 110mm. He can only wear Atomics. |
Not looking for bragging rights, but I just measured mine, and they are just under 115mm wide unweighted. I ski in Atomic Hawx (the last model before they name changed to prime), and iirc they were a nominal 102 last (at 26 - mine are 29s.). When I shell checked them in their original config, my feet touched both sides of the plastic!
Point of the above - modern plastics have got a lot of stretch in them! They needed some mechanical help to get there, as the thermo stretch alone didn’t quite manage it, but I’ve had no problems since.
Also (it’s kind of obvious) - don’t think you’ll want to go with a bigger/wider model if it compromises other areas. I decided the hawx was right for me as they matched my foot shape for ankle hold (skinny ankles), and instep height/overall volume for the size I fitted in lengthwise (another topic, but ended up with a <10mm shell gap even though ‘performance’ is the last word you’d use to describe my skiing!) I tried on a Magna for example thinking I could do with the extra width, and my foot was just swimming in it - lots of slop and limited ankle hold.
TMU, Stretching the width is the easiest of the mods to do, and therefore the least important when trying on a boot in its factory settings - so long as you’re in the range (which as per above can be quite extensive). The challenge is, it can be quite hard to get past the mental ‘this feels way too tight’ in the shop, and you’ve got to commit and believe that can be adjusted successfully - and that’s where the boot fitter comes into their own, to provide that expert confirmation and reassurance.
(My feet are quite claustrophobic, so an unbaked ‘liner’ just compounds the ‘too tight’ problem in the shop - I normally last about 10 mins before I feel the need to rip them off). Once they’ve been thermo fitted with a toe box to create wiggle room for your toes, it’s a completely different story, but again you just have to trust it will all be ok and commit)
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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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all brands make in general terms a narrow a medium and a wide, the key is not the actual width of the forefoot last that they talk about but rather how the mid foot and rear foot fit you, any good boot fitter can make a boot shell substantially wider, but it is difficult to make the heel narrower in a permanent way (sticking foam padding onto the liner isn't really the start of a good boot fit)
remember the difference between the narrowest "consumer" last and the widest in the same size is only 7mm
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@Pejoli, Chatting with my pal Dessy today at the COVID test centre (we fly out to Selva tomorrow).He also has Atomic Hawx. He reckons that his were 106 standard and he had them blown to 110.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Mollerski wrote: |
| @Pejoli, Chatting with my pal Dessy today at the COVID test centre (we fly out to Selva tomorrow).He also has Atomic Hawx. He reckons that his were 106 standard and he had them blown to 110. |
Yeah, they go 2mm wider per mondo size, so depending on his shoe size the stretch isn’t quite as big as you think (here’s the last sizes for the current Primes’s for example https://www.skatepro.net/a251.htm )
Enjoy your trip to Selva - was due to be there this time last month, but well, you know ….
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