 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey guys -
Just wondering what the general consensus here is. Basically, I've had a lot of trouble over the last season with my boots, and as I'm going back to the same resort for the season this year, although the fitters I saw seemed professional and had a decent rep, I'd rather not try my luck with them again as I ended up spending a fair bit of money to end up in no better a situation than I started - possibly worse. My basic options are trekking to Bicester or Chamonix, or a fitter in Calgary (or maybe even Banff). Oddly enough Cham is probably less hassle to get to rather than down south, as I'm hoping to visit friends out there already before winter, but any time off work before winter is a bit hopeful...
I'm told I have flat feet/fallen arches, as well as pronating a bit. Can't give you foot measurements, but wide forefoot/narrow ankle/low instep. My current boot is a Nordica Speedmachine 8, which I'd like to go a fair bit stiffer than next time too, as I feel like I overpower it pretty easily. My shell fit is approx 20mm between back of heel and shell, with toes lightly contacting the end of the shell I do wonder if this is the main issue that's causing all the trouble.
The problems I've had this season have been varied - I had issues at the start of the season with heel lift and general loose fit, which I intially took to be my stock liners being at the end of their life. I also had a lot of pain in my shins, which after seeing a physio, turned out that the two smaller muscles on the side of my shin (rather than the big one that you get shin splints in, sorry no proper names!) were getting stressed and strained at the top of my foot/instep area, and the pain was transmitted through the shin. This was a big issue, since any forward flexing/bumps/things that I'd normally just absorb were agony.
To try and solve that, and the instep issue, I was advised to replace my green Superfeet with computer built orthotics. These were OK in my old liners, and the extra arch support and shape seemed to get rid of the sloppy feeling, but I still had heel lift.
I then got Intuition Powerwraps, which opened a whole new can of worms. While I love the new feel of accuracy and vice grip on my heel, they sent my foot crazy under the arches, with a burning sensation that made me have to stop to rest every five turns otherwise I'd just lose control. Flat runouts back to lifts were agony.
I went back to my green superfeet with power wraps, and this stopped the arch burning pain, but instead I'd get a growing aching sensation that set in after four or five laps and gradually got worse to the point I'd have to let it rest for 30mins-1hr to allow it to wear off. I didn't notice this when taking it easy or instructing/snowplowing/etc though. The old shin pain thing happened a couple of times, but nowhere near as consistently as with the orthotic/power wrap or superfeet/stock liner combo.
Throughout the season, I also ended each day with the feeling of a crushed achilles on both feet if I skiied open to close , and what I assume is a "sixth toe" on my left foot aching all day, even though the boot has been punched twice in that area to try and fix it.
So - there's my foot problem essay! Obviously not something that can be really resolved online, but any advice anyone has on things to look out for, etc, would be great - last season was amazing but constant foot trouble put a dampner on it and I'd love to sort it for next season!
Cheers all,
Dave
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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See you in Cham soon i guess. You can kip on the sofa big boy. 
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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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