 Poster: A snowHead
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I went out after Christmas to buy a new pair of boots for my upcoming Ski trip (I have been using rentals for years and thought it was time I owned a pair of my own).
I went to a shop in London where I was quizzed on my skiing type, feet measured and then brought a pair of boots. Since I didn't request any particular brand/type I was confident that the fitter had brought me a set that would be right for my feet. I went through all of the further questions I was asked and then stood in the boots for 45 minutes to determine if they were comfortable for my feet. Everything seemed fine so I purchased the boots.
Fast forward to my first day of skiing and after 3 runs my feet were in agony - my big toes on both feet were horrendously painful and so were the soles of my feet. I thought that perhaps there was an issue of wearing the boots in so stuck with it for a few days whilst trying different combinations of buckle tightness.
Eventually I was forced to give up and visit a boot fitter in the resort, to say he wasn't impressed was an understatement. He measured my feet again and then went through the same fitting procedure I had received back in London. He told me that the boots were too big, with the liner removed there was 3cm of space between the back of my foot and the shell, which is far too much. He said he could improve things but it would never be perfect.
The guy in the shop made me up some custom footbeds and used a hard blue foam to fill areas of the boot, which had a positive improvement. My feet were nowhere near as painful and I got a lot more control of my skis. The problem is that my toes keep going numb, which is quite painful when the blood returns to them, which seems to be down to water/wind getting in to the boot through the seal accross the top of my foot - Which I thought may be better if the boot was properly fitted in the first place.
Is there anything I can do to improve this situation?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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lots of people use a piece of duct tape to stop water/snow getting into their boot at the front
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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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Well if 3cm is the gap then the boot is definitely too big. It may be that you are having to over tighten the buckles to hold your foot in place which is in turn cutting off the circulation, making your toes numb. I would pay a visit to either Solutions 4 feet in Bicester or Lockwoods in Leamington Spa (appreciate both are a bit of a drive) and see what they can do. Be prepared to be told that you need new, correctly sized, boots though.
It may be worth re-visiting the shop where you originally bought them and see if you can return them.
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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 emailed the shop and they have invited me to come and discuss the problems with their head boot fitter - but only during the week as they are too busy at the weekends (which is a bit frustrating).
From the sounds of it they want to try and adjust the boots to fit, which from what the resort fitter said would be a waste of time since they are so far out of correct size.
I will have to wait and see how they resolve this.
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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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garak112, 30mm is at least a full size too big. They ain't going to be able to fix them without replacing them for the right size.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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garak112, Good luck, Head Bootfitter???? hahaha Admittance of incompetence of other staff, cardinal sin IMO. Wouldn't let any of our boys loose on anyone without confidence, for sure people need to learn, but shell sizing is a doddle for anyone.
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My preference would be a refund so I could go and get them from someone who knows what they are doing, but I don't expect to be able to do that.
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If the shells are too big then often your feet will move forward in the boots while skiing and as the boot narrows towards the front, your toes can be squashed. The soles of your feet can hurt due to you arches collapsing and a good orthotic should help with this. Regarding the volume issues, it sounds like the shell will be too big for a custom liner so if you can't afford new shells then a good piece of foam padding on the front of the tongue may help force your feet into the back of the boot when they are fastened (lots of people use padding there even on custom foamed liners). As you're in London I'd recommend profeet and surefoot in the fulham road to get them looked at. Perhaps get them sized properly at a good boot fitters and if they won't give you a refund at the shop you bought them at then and ask them to at least change the shells to the correct size! Good luck!
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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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| garak112 wrote: |
| My preference would be a refund so I could go and get them from someone who knows what they are doing, but I don't expect to be able to do that. |
I don't see why you wouldn't expect to get a refund - they sold you a boot which was clearly too big for you & no amount of 'fixing' will alter that.
I too would recommend profeet in London.
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I had foam inserts placed across the tongues as well as over the heels, which helped a lot but obviously it isn't perfect.
I had the work done by Surefoot in Verbier, and I have to give them a big thanks for managing to get my oversized boots to a significantly better place than they were originally.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have just got back from the store I bought the boots from:
The head guy told me there was no difference in the size of the shells of the boots I was sold (26.5) and the size that Surefoot told me I should have had (26). He said the size was due to liner thickness, which he is going to alter. He also seemed confused by the surefoot footbeds and seemed dismissive of them until he saw they matched the shape of my feet very well.
He said that most of the problems were caused by the lack of footbed, and thought the guy that fitted them was completely insane for telling me I didn't need one considering my very high arch.
He said the remainder of the problems were caused by the width of my feet. He says they are very wide and couldn't believe the fitter told me they were average. He is going to stretch them for a better fit.
He was very apologetic and said the guy was an idiot and would need a talking to as I shouldn't have been allowed to leave the shop with unadjusted boots considering the shape of my feet.
We shall see how much difference there is when I pick them up.
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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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garak112, Hmm this is an internal problem, hope you get the solution they need, not great for the store, but good for the the personal bootfitter.
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Well I have got my boots back, the guy also noticed that the liners had collapsed at the front which he said was caused by them having been heated for too long before fitting.
He has stretched the boot accross the width of the foot so there is less pressure on the important foot parts, but obviously I won't know if its all fixed for certain until I am able to go skiing again (which doesn't look like this season  ).
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You know it makes sense.
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garak112, it does sound rather like that shop only has one real bootfitter...
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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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Thats the impression I got too, but they do have a few guys in there so it would be unfair to the rest to say that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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garak112, so which shop was it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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garak112, why don't you try them out at Hemel or MK a few times?
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