 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, I wonder if anyone has any advice for us. My partner has wide feet with very high arches. He had a pair of second hand boots but they were quite uncomfortable and his toes were numb for months following last year's ski trip. To avoid that this year, in the Autumn we went to Ellis Brigham to get custom fitted boots. They spent ages fitting and moulding the boots but unfortunately when we went to the dry ski slope they were unbelievably painful, he could only ski for 20 minutes or so before stopping. We took them back and they widened the shell a bit but he went to the dry slope again tonight and they're still really uncomfortable. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice or recommendations of wide ski boot brands we could try if Ellis Brigham can't do any more with the current ones?
Thanks for any advice!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Read up lack of flexion then start a ski specific exercise program for it
Secondly get Superfeet or a known bootfitter to advise on your boots and make footbeds .
Ellisbrig staff kids do a bootfitting day course some are better than others ,ultimately they are hit or miss .
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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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Welcome to Snowheads, @Moomin. Sympathies - painful boots are so miserable, and you tried to do the right thing. Footbeds might help, but a good bootfitter starting from scratch should help more. After two tries, can you just ask EB for a refund? Presumably they gave you some sort of "comfort guarantee". I'd rather start afresh than take ill-fitting boots to a different bootfitter.
There might be a lack of flexion - but a good bootfitter will spot that. The problem might be quite different, including, possibly, the wrong choice of boot in the first place.
Where do you live? And when are you going skiing?
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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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Thanks a lot, its incredibly frustrating! We're going skiing (serre chevalier) on 10th Feb and we live in Bath. I've booked another appointment at ellis Brigham on Saturday but as you say, that might be more focused on getting a refund!
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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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A friend of ours has incredibly high arches - we joke her feet are like wedges of Stilton. Had similar problems to those you report. Eventually went to sure foot. Cost her circa. £700 a few years ago, but has not had any problems since.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Oh that's good to hear, thanks! Is surefoot a chain or is there just one shop?
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Surefoot are just in London in the UK.
You might be lucky and be able to get an appointment at Solutions 4 feet in Bicester. They'll be nearer to you than London.
PS. numb toes could be a sign that he's tightening the first two buckles on his boots (the ones over the foot) too tightly and cutting off the blood flow. These should only ever be done up loosely.
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Thanks, that's really helpful!
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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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| Moomin wrote: |
| Thanks, that's really helpful! |
Speak to Colin in Bicester and if he has no availability, he’ll likely direct you to James who’s a few miles down the road and works with Colin from time to time and is very experienced.
James is excellent and I would personally recommend him;
bootsureuk@gmail.com
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@Moomin, same issue for me. I just paid for a quality boot fit in St Anton, realised the boots I’d paid for in lockdown weren’t right for my foot shape. Great boots but not for me. Was measured up and advised a wider than normal boot, 3 choices all top brands, custom insole, pads all over feet at pressure points, heated shell, allowed to cool and all good now. I’d suggest booking in advance (it takes 2-3 hours minimum) and getting it done in resort so can keep calling back for tweeks if required. Same principle as I’d never buy a surfboard in Leicester, a sea kayak in Birmingham, or a mountain bike in Norwich, deal with those who are experienced and doing it all day long, have huge stocks and are in the right place.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you!
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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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That's a good idea actually, going back and forth to the dry slope is a pain. Don't suppose anyone knows a good boot fitter in serre chevalier? (Preferably one that speaks English? My French is OK but my partner doesn't speak much at all)
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@Moomin, PM me if you want details of the boot, I can give you info, I have high instep, wide foot and high volume calf’s, like a duck they joked in the shop. 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Moomin wrote: |
| That's a good idea actually, going back and forth to the dry slope is a pain. Don't suppose anyone knows a good boot fitter in serre chevalier? (Preferably one that speaks English? My French is OK but my partner doesn't speak much at all) |
While accepted that there’s great boot fitters in resort, I don’t think you need to actually seek out one that is resort based. Any competent, experienced boot fitter will work for you.
@Markymark29 I don’t agree with your point about buying goods based on geography. A knowledgable professional is a knowledgeable professional, their location re: ski boots doesn’t really matter. Many of the UK-based boot fitters for instance have a very well respected and deserved reputation.
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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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@Reezo, I’ve not seen a U.K. boot fitter with 200km+ of test track on their doorstep. The proof is in the skiing after fitting imv, the option to keep calling back for any fine tuning if required is important to me. That’s all. I know there’s decent bootfitters in U.K. I’ve used them.
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you are in agony in rentals then you need a professional and not a shop assistant boot fitter. That is it really. ilm one of those people and had to have boots fitted before I could even learn to ski. Wife and daughters seem to be able to wear them out of box no problem so what I save it on mail ordering theirs needs spending on fitting for me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@markymark29 I'm embarrassed to say I can work out how to PM you via this forum (possibly just because i am on my phone)but would be interested in the boot brand please!
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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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@Moomin, I’ve sent you a message
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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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Where in the UK are you based @Moomin?
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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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@richard_sideways we're in Bath
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| @Moomin, PM me if you want details of the boot, I can give you info, I have high instep, wide foot and high volume calf’s, like a duck they joked in the shop. |
Very similar here too, my kids can't stop laughing if I put on shorty flippers for mucking about in surf on bodyboard either. They also with "duck" observation that's just enhanced by the flippers.
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It's perhaps worth thinking about ski technique. While by no means all, at least some of the people I've taught who have painful boots can alleviate a lot of that by learning better technique. Specifically, shin or calf pain from the leg banging back or forward in the boot and mid-front foot cramps from bunching the toes. Oh, and ankle skin rubbing off - I used to get that all the time in my bacon skiing (lean back) years from unwanted movement wrt the boot lining.
In such cases the best fitting boot in the world will not help, and I've known people who've spent years searching for that perfect fit without realising that the problem lies elsewhere.
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@Moomin,
As indicated, very high instep, wide fore foot, std heels are my shape.
I can walk on flat sand....tide just gone out....with my fore foot and heel making completely separate mark, no connection between. Not out of the ordinary, in reality very good gait, wear shoe soles minimally that last for years with nil underlying problem. That high instep won't go into a shoe that's a fixed tongue and has strength of sprung steel, it's never going to be flattened by a mere ski boot structure 
My boots are old now (reluctant to change them because it took a bit to get them right) and so of no use to inform model wise. They are Nordica make though, selected by boot filter for nearest volume, then pushed out twice around instep, with ski trip in between.
Wide fore foot too at 110mm (hence the duck reference) that also took work to accommodate.
Moulded insoles after we got the shell correct...broadly the are very thin heel and foot ball area to move foot away from crushing top of instep on boot...while fully supporting the arch so the ski movement doesn't try to squash the arch and splay the fore foot even further.
Sounds complex, but really just a logical pathway to accommodate properly the foot structure without undue compression.
As example, my "posh" brogue boots are a G last size (really wide) with full lace and loose tounge to comfortably wear them. But also very good in matching my foot shape.
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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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@Moomin, have a look at this thread re flexibility - if your partner has limited ankle flexion then that's something to work on.
Numb toes lasting months is no fun (been there, got the t shirt) and suggests the top of his foot may be being squashed. That could be boots that are the wrong shape, or too big (so he's tightening the clips over the foot too much, to compensate). No way for t'internet to know - someone needs to see his feet and boots to advise.
Many people manage just fine in an average boot, and can buy anywhere with success. But for those of us with non-standard feet, a proper boot fitter (as opposed to someone in a shop that sells boots) is essential. You've got good recommendations for UK fitters near(ish) you. @Hells Bells, are there any good boot fitters in Serre Chevalier?
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Thank you everyone! What a brilliant and helpful forum!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi @Moomin,
Can't you take them back to ElissBig'em and say, "they dont fit... give us the money back".
I've had so many boots that don't fit me ... I got lucky the last time, thank heavens, at last.
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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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@Moomin, I hope for you/your partners sake you've not had an expensive lesson in why going to Ellis Brigham for a boot fitting is generally not great.
I'd always recommend Solutions4Feet having had my last pair fitted there, and my partner had hers fitted there too. They've been mentioned here already, and there's a reason why! Colin that runs it is also a forum member.
Profeet and Ski Bartlett are also commonly used and recommended. That's your best options in the South of England.
Hopefully you can get some adjustments made that'll help, and hopefully Ellis Brigham haven't just sold your partner the wrong boot.....
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If you have no luck with off the peg/heat to fit boots, then I can recommend Strolz. These are specialist made to measure, this place up in Yorkshire are licensed to fit them (I live down south but was desperate enough to travel that far twice for fittings!):
https://www.glideslide.co.uk/
I have super wide feet which, after having kids and getting wider, brilliant for swimming, but not skiing. Could not find anything to fit, even using Profeet etc as above. Absolute agony like almost nothing else I’ve experienced. These Strolz are amazing, like the comfiest slippers. Weigh about 1000lb and cost the same, but the only way I was able to carry on skiing. Worth it if you’ve tried all the usual advice.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Moomin, additional information, about putting them on to best effect.
Sounds simple and may already have been covered, but can make quite a difference to feel, comfort and performance of the boot.
Start with warmed boots, open fully to get foot in place, let shell loose close with foot inside, then tap the heels back to get full location there and heel as far back in the structure as the original fitter allowed (sitting down, gently strike heel on floor in an arc to achieve this) then pull & push liner tongue up down and wriggled to make absolutely sure it's not snagged in any way on other parts.
This bit with the tongue will usually give an appreciable shift in basic fit to the boot foot dimensions.
Finally start closing buckles lightly, wriggle tongue again if necessary, to bring boot to it's formed geometry and all lightly buckled.
Can be done at home to assess if he feels any basic difference. A little time spent doing this will give the best possibility of matching what the boot fitter was doing during fit session which can contribute significantly to the ongoing evaluation.
Worthwhile going through this thoroughly to see if there's any appreciable shift in the comfort and practical use of them.
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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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I got my boots from Colin in Bicester and then sent my husband the following year as he couldn’t get on with the boots he had bought from Ellis Brigham. Colin said he couldn’t sell my husband any suitable boots with such a wide foot so called Daleboot in Abingdon for him to see the same day for custom made boots… to this day I still don’t know how much he paid for them though 
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Poster: A snowHead
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@mishmash83, best not to ask
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