Cramp in lower leg with new boots

A snowHead

In December, I was fitted for some freeride boots, and ended up with the Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 115 (women's), the non-BOA version. The shells were moulded above the centre of the foot to relieve the pressure here and stop my feet going numb, but the liners were not heat-fitted. I have fairly high arch but already had custom moulded footbeds from my old boots, so these were reused.

Six-ish weeks on, the fit seems good – my foot does not move inside the boot, and I have no pressure points that cause pain. However, I do suffer from cramp in my lower legs and have to open all the buckles at the bottom of every run, but have not yet found the exact cause and am looking for some ideas of what that may be. Maybe “cramp” is not the right term, but more of a dull ache that makes my legs feel very tired quite quickly, specifically in the lower leg.

Because these new boots have a GripWalk sole, I don't currently have any narrower/piste skis that they are compatible with, only 93mm or 107mm. Current conditions being what they are, today was not a day for wide skis, so I picked up my narrowest pair (84mm AM) and my old Salomon X-Pro 90W boots (circa 2015), sans custom footbeds. The liners have packed out (and I believe they may be a wider last too?), so they are as comfy as a well-used sofa, albeit slightly heavier. Not exactly a precision fit anymore, but I had no aches which makes me think that is being caused by the new boots rather than purely a problem with the user.

There do seem to be a few differences from the old boots to the new ones that may be having an effect:
• Stiffer
• More forward lean
• Top buckles are much tighter

The third point is most noticeable to me. I don't have skinny legs and my calf muscles are reasonably large, so the top clip won't actually meet its hook unless I apply pressure to get it a bit closer. I can only use the first hook on the top buckle, the second on the lower one. The twisting adjuster is almost at its maximum, and maybe has 1-2mm to go. When I unclip and push the buckles to the side to relieve the aches, I have to tuck them under the plastic away from the hooks, because if they get caught on a tighter hook I may not be able to undo them again, especially if my fingers are cold!

Is it likely that the boots are too tight around the leg and causing this problem? Can the buckles be moved to make them looser? I see that there are holes towards the outside of the buckles that would make them tighter, but I don't know what kind of matchstick-limbed skiers those were put in for! If I do move the buckles, is that going to negatively affect the fit?

I am also aware that there may be another cause – I've had ankle injuries on both legs, so flexibility is not particularly good here. It may also be that the boots are still very new. I can get back to the fitter if I need to – they're about an hour away – but I would rather see if I can solve the problem myself, or at least work out what the precise cause is. I don't seem to be able to replicate the problem at home, only on the slopes.

A snowHead

Women's boots seem to be designed for dainty Euro-lady ankles.

Could it also be a fitness issue?

I'm surprised you were sold boots that don't actually fit. Is it possible to move the clips to give you a bit more room around the calfs?

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I know that it sounds obvious but there also any holes to make the buckles looser, I’ve just had to move mine since I had to want on the power strap in order to get the top two buckles to reach the racks especially if the boots are cold, the hole was only obvious when you took the fittings off. These were in Fischers, but I guess the principle is similar across manufacturers.

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@davidof, There is clearly a much lower circumference around the top of the boot compared to the Salomon – I was surprised to see that I could easily tighten those onto the 4th or 5th hook. Probably some kind of weight-saving effort by reducing the plastic. Gotta say it does work as they are noticeably lighter. This may or may not be an advantage Confused

Fitness issue – maybe, how? I skied as much today as I have on other recent excursions, but with no achey legs at the end of it. The only difference really was the boots (and skis, but I regularly switch my skis around with no ill effects).

I'm not sure if I can move the clips, hence the question. One of the boot fitters will know. I can see that they can be moved outwards (making the fit tighter), but inwards is unclear.

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Fitness issue – maybe, how?

• Stiffer
• More forward lean

Possibly a combination of lack of flexion and a lack of blood flow via the tight calf buckle area

The fact you had to release after a run allowing bloodflow to relieve footpain may point to a restriction but a lack of flexion in the ankle and lower leg chain can also give exactly the same pain .

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I'd be looking at whether it is possible to reduce the tension on the upper buckles, followed by improving ankle flexibility. I don't understand why the whole thing wasn't moulded as that is how Atomics are designed to be used, nor do I really understand why you wouldn't have a new footbed. I replace my boots every 5 years or so and consider my feet will have changed so much in that time that the old footbeds are unusable.

After all it is free

I'm no boot fitter, but your calf muscle has to work to ski. If it works it needs space to move, and if the top boot clip is too tight to allow this then you are going to get pain (possibly referred pain). The boot clips should allow your calf muscle to work/flex/expand/pump blood, whatever is the correct term, while keeping your heel still. If you have to apply force to engage the top clip when you put the boots on (when your calf muscle hasn't started to work yet) maybe this is the cause of the problem? Can you get hold of a clip extender hook thingy? I've used them at a snowdome where they use men's boots as the standard rental boots. Its an 8 shaped bit of metal. Boots aren't cheap - back to the boot fitter?

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@Scarlet, as always some good and not so good advice from the armchair experts

my first thought based on the description of what is going on is potentially the forward lean, on the salomons it is around 13 degrees, the atomic out of the box is 15degrees.... simple thing to try , back of the boot, there are two screws holding the walk mech in place, loosen these (3mm allen key) and the walk mech should be able to move up or down a little on the serrated mounting point you want to shift it up as far as you can and then tighten those screws up making sure they are really snug... this will move the cuff back to 13 degrees, if that works fantastic, if not then i suspect you just need a little more volume around the calf, moving the cuff buckle ladders out will achieve this, but it might also just be the shaping of the liner on the junction between the two calf muscles that is getting compressed and need a little heat to reshape it

but two simple things, the tooth plates and the walk mech should be a good start towards getting the stance closer to the salomon

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@CEM, Excellent, thank you. I'll dig out some allen keys...

Help!!

Cramp in lower leg with new boots

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