Another boot question - sorry

A snowHead

Hi all, i bought myself my first pair ski boots from Lockwoods at the start of the year, and they (and i) are having trouble getting them comfortable. The boots are Saloman Impact 8's, which were heat moulded and fitted with Orange Superfeet footbed's when bought. I have since had about 10 hours skiing on then at various snowdomes and dry slopes, along with wearing them around the house.

The problem i am having is that I am getting a lot of preasure on the outside 3 toes of my right foot, combined with a lot of preasure around the widest part of this foot. This is giving me numb, and after 2 or 3 hour skiing, fairly painful feet around the 3 toes and also on the ball of my foot. I am told this is something to do with my foot naturally falling into it's outside, and so sliding to that side of the boot.

I have been back to lockwood a few times to try and get them sorted, and so far i have had the shells pushed out a little around the problem toes, the footbed ground down on the outside of my foot, and the shells and inner remoulded a couple of times. I've also had a small heel lift put in to deal with some pain in my achilles (which it has done very well). All these things have helped to a degree, but they are still not comfortable enough for much more than 2 or 3 hours on my feet.

The guys at lockwoods have been superb, and very helpful trying to sort this, but i wondered if the collective knowledge of snowHeads would come up with any ideas/suggestions that may help the situation as i am running out of time before i go on my first trip. I'm concerned that having only ever worn hire boots in the past i may not even know what a well fitted boot feels like anyway!

Alternatively, should i just pull my head back in and trust the folk at lockwoods to sort it out???

Thanks in advance for your help.

A snowHead

stevec - to be honest a good boot fit isn't a one hit process and 10 hours isn't much breaking in time. I had some boots foamed recently have so far taken six days to break in (and they're still not quite there). I had the same shells with "kinder" liners prior to having them foamed and it took 3-4 days to break them in. For the next 100 days they were a superb, comfy fit.

Your feet and boots have to "negotiate" on fit and it takes time. The better the fit, the more patience you need.

I had the same "symptoms" with my foamed boots - numbness on the outside of both feet. It's now completely gone in the left foot and is all bar there in the right foot. I know that that'll be gone within another day or two.

I'm sure someone better informed will come along and correct me if I'm wrong, but by getting the liner remoulded then I'm pretty sure that you'll have lost all of the breaking in you've done up until that point as the heating process will have refreshed the liner.

So. I'd counsel patience.

Another thing. There's a great tempation to clip boots up too tight - which doesn't help with new boots. And undoing the clips between runs helps a great deal.

If you wear them around the house then clip them up very, very loosely for half and hour to an hour - then do them up. It's much better.

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

stevec, Lockwoods do have an excellent reputation on this forum - which is only perhaps (don't want to upset anybody) beaten by CEM who works from Bicester http://www.solutions4feet.co.uk/cp7.php.

I would persist at the moment with Lockwoods and trying to "break them in" but would consider CEM if that doesn't work.

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stevec, Canting, Canting, Canting, Canting. Inverse the cant bolts on the outside of both boots. 5mm allen key. Little Angel

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

SMALLZOOKEEPER, I have tried this but i think there is only 1 degree adjustment on the Impact 8's, and TBH it made virtually no difference when i tried it.

PhillipStanton (and SMALLZOOKEEPER) the buckles are very loosely tightened anyway, i was concious of that from the outset. Also, how long is reasonable for a pair of boots ot "break in"?

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SteveC,
I had a very similar issue last year with new boots and super feet. Went to a boot fitter in Tignes who binned them saying something along the lines of "the shape of these are no good for your feet- you need these". He then sold me another make(cannot remember which but not a brand I have seen in the UK), slightly different in shape/support that worked much better for my feet. I am not saying Superfeet are no good they just didn't work for me, but I have heard many other positive experiences.

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

Update. Just been back to Lockwoods again, and have been told that i have moderate to server forefoot varus, and some rather expensive orthotic's may be the only way to cure this.

Quite nice to know what the problem is, less nice to hear it is going to cost me a couple of hundred quid to fix it.

After all it is free

Just take a hammer to your feet and keep bashing away until they fit... should do the job nicely Very Happy

shoogly, to save £200 i think it may be worth a go!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

stevec, knowing nothing about this, is it a silly question to ask why Lockwoods didn't cotton onto your problem a bit earlier?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

stevec, do you still have the stock insole which came with the boot....try taking the footbeds out and putting the stock footbed back in.....here is the theory.... if you have a supportive insert in the boot it can stabilise the rearfoot and in doing so may help to hold the forefoot in the varus position, if you do not correct the rearfoot then the forefoot will not be held up and the foot will compensate for the rotation..... a true fixed forefoot varus is very rare and i doubt if too many boot fitters have ever seen one, a compensated forefoot varus however is much more common, if you have tight calf muscles you may be able to stretch them out and solve the problem as often times it is the lack of flexibility in the calf which causes the foot to rotate into this position in the first place

NOTE: removing the footbed and trying the stock insole may work or it may not work, it depends on your foot and the boot but mostly your foot, but is worth a go before you go to the next step. not much more coment than can be made without seeing your feet Little Angel

snow reports

CEM, Thanks, i may try that.

pam w,

You know it makes sense.

Lockwoods please dont take offence too this as i have no experience of your service and you could be an exception.

I have never found a boot fitter in the uk who has the slightest clue at what they are doing, and i ve tried alot. I even used too be a fitter and have thirty years experience.

Sounds too me that when you had your boots no one checked the width, happened to me a t snow and r*** even went to there podiatrist who also never checked the width. I couldnt keep the boots on for longer than 30mins skiing, all felt fine in the shop told to walk around like that will replicate the skiing loads. The podiatrist just kept putting wedges to the inside of my foot by the time she had finished there was about 2.5cm of wedge.

To cut along story short ended up in surefoot and the guys couldnt believe what they had seen within a couple of minutes they had sorted out what direction we needed to go in replaced my hand made orthotics with one of theres and informed me i had totally the wrong boot, began shell stretching which in itself was not enough so had to grind away the boot around the widest part of my foot to give me some room. The pressure point was removed by providing a small cut out around the ball of the foot where there was excess pressure.

None of this was picked up by the podiatrist service offered by snow and cack who finally gave me the advice to take painkillers as they could do nothing else. By the way my feet have now been permantley damaged due to ther incompetance. all at the cost of £250 boots £150 consultation and £150 orthotics.

You cannot wear in a ski boot to relieve numbness, my advice is if they have not checked your width take the boots back and demand a full refund, and go to a resort fitter. Personally i would recommend sure foot there young skiier dude staff without there degrees made snow and cack look like incompetant barrow boys.

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

mukka, So as you've been in the trade for 30 years, you must already know CEM, and all the ZOOKEEPERS then Very Happy

Not that they work for any of the UK retail chains, but it's quite a small industry in europe at the "top", as I'm sure you'll agree. Very Happy

A snowHead

mukka, Just a thought, as you have had 30 years exp in bootfitting, why on earth let someone else do the fitting??

A snowHead

not thirty years boot fitting experience, been skiing for thirty years, used to be a boot fitter while skiing and bumming around,
im a useless english fitter, always trust the pros, dont get a plumber to fix your car!!!
hence snow and cack have record shop assistants fitting boots

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

There's a theme developing here, will S & R every be able to turn things around? I see 'Brighams' making strides to get this 'Ski' business right in the UK. What are the SH's thoughts?

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In defence of Snow & Rock, I bought a pair of Solomon Impact 8s from Snow and Rock Portsmouth, whilst I am not sure that the fitter had a lot of experience, he was obviously well trained and worked to a proven formula, i.e. measure foot accurately, offer two types of boot at cost point, sell moulded inner sole etc. I spent 3 hours trying on boots and was very happy with my purchase. A week of skiing in ADH and I am still happy with my purchase. It would have been a pain losing 3 hours of Skiing or drinking time in ADH, and I am not convinced that the French technician would know any better.

I stand to be corrected, but Snow and Rock in Bristol or Port Solent are really the only big stockist near to the South West (I am in Devon).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

guess your one of the lucky ones who seem to fit boots, guess its easy to fit a pair of boots that already fit but when you have a challenge they seem to come unstuck

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Help!!

Another boot question - sorry

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