 Poster: A snowHead
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I ride regular and my right foot has a tendancy to go numb - not from the cold. I'm a competent boarder and this problem has plagued me - in fact it has been extremely painful - and I mean painful. Usually starts after about 30mins of riding.
I sort advice from loads of boot shops in Whistler earlier this year, but they didn't really know what was up - they said it could have been my knackered old boots, so I bought a pair of Burtons (Can't remember the name, but they are one of the best they do) - still have the problem.
Any clues?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'd guess that your toe strap is done up too tightly. I used to have similar problems, and fitted a set of cap straps to my bindings. Never had a problem with numb feet again. You could also try Flows, but I didn't fancy them as I found them a bit heavy.
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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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europa, I'd go with Lager, straps too tight or even lacing your boots too tight. Slacken things off a notch or two and see what happens and then try cap straps if there's no improvement.
I've got the same prob with my Flows but because they're a booger to adjust it took a lot longer to work out. I've finally got a set of 4 toe ratchets to fit to the flows to make them adjustable and I'll post a diy thread when I get the time to fit the things.
As an addition, I use gel (sorbothane) running insoles under my liners rather than the crappy thin foam things that most boots are inflicted with and they give me better arch support and great forefoot cushioning. That alone cured most of my comfort issues
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Masque,
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or didn't, a tendon repair has destabalised the right ankle, but I'm working on rehab rather than an artificial support first
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using an orthotic is not really going to cause you a problem, work on the rehab, but the external support will not detract from this, you do not need a corrective support just a stabilising one, the problem i have with sorbothane is it is almost too cushioned, it can act as a pronation accelerator, it is bit like running on soft sand, the foot keeps collapsing to find the solid bit and you get no propulsion if you find somthing like superfeet or conformable too hard under the forefoot then a small amount of extra padding can be added this way you gain support and get padding
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CEM, I use the additional arch support with them because of the strap pressure over the arch has a tendency to flatten the arch and cause pronation. I think a lot of riders clamp their back binding down too tight to compensate or try to cure heel lift and in the process stress the foot arch and restrict venus blood return. But I have a fairly wide (in relative terms) duck stance and my pelvis through to forefoot bio dynamics are all in neutral lateral tension. Add in to that my boots have always been on the stiff side and close fitting so there's little chance of me developing over pronation. My riding style uses body mass transfer into my boots and bindings so my feet and toes do not get highly tensioned (if I can wiggle my toes gently during a toe-side carve my feet are relaxed) into a position to cause pronation.
But I did say I seem to be lucky with my feet, there are some very gnarly 'plates' out there that do need better fitting than that supplied by the bootmakers.
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Thanks for the replies. I've been experimenting by just wearing my boots around the house. If I tie the laces tight (but not over tight) my toes still go numb, even out of the bindings. I do have surefeet insoles, but as yet I don't know if they help or hinder. I think I've got quite 'arched' feet and hence I get pressure on the top of my foot, which cuts of circulation. That's why I'm unsure whether the surefeet insoles are helpful or not.
I'm going to try lacing my boots up fairly loose, but fit the j-bars to stop heel lift.
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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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europa,
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I think I've found the problem - I have a high instep!
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ok here is the solution (in most cases) start by lacing the boot normally for the first couple of eyelets then twist the laces across 4 or 5 times (as if you were tying your laces at the top of a she but more times, pull this tight which will lock the bottom section of laces, now thread the laces straight up through the eyelets either side so that they do not cross over your instep, when you get passed the highest area cross the laces over and twist 4-5 times as before. now continue to lace the boot as normal. you can control the tension independantly in different areas of the boot by tightening / loosening the twists.
this method makes sure that there is no pressure directly down onto the instep crushing the foot into the bottom of the boot, the same technique can be used on running shoes, hiking boots etc, in fact any shoe or boot with laces and more than a couple of rows of eyelets
as for your footbeds once you have tryed the lacing technique, if there is still a problem i would look at changing the superfeet product you have to a custom version of the same, possibly the Kork or Kork Vac, both of these are vacuum cast to your foot and a good technician can add a little extra cork material to fill the arch cavity better
good luck 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thats an excellent suggestion and one I'll try out this coming holiday. Thanks.
Oh and Hi I'm new here 
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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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CEM - Thanks mate - I'll give that a go tomorrow. Hopefully I can get this sorted because it really bugs the s**t outta me when I'm riding with numb toes.
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Hi Europa,
I suffer from exactly the same problem as you, in fact to varying degrees all the boots I tried made my toes go numb even just wearing them around the house. After 3 years of tinkering I have pretty much solved
the problem with my Burton Ion's
1. I replaced the footbeds with superfeet ones (I used the blue ones as the green seemed a bit too thick
2. I wear a much thinner sock
3. I wore my boots really tight in the house for an hour then when i took them off i could see the exact spot on my instep (as it was now red) where the boots had been pressing. I took a razor and cut away at the boot liner in this area and no more numb toes. Professional skiboot fitters will do this type of thing to get rid of
pressure points
the other option could be to go for heat molded boots (like 32's) which shouldn't give you pressure points
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You know it makes sense.
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Cheers wrongsideof30 - that's helpful too. I did actually try 32 team Two's, but I found them quite narrow.
I'm gonna give your process a try - I find that the Burton inner linings are quite tight, so your method sounds great 
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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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europa,
if you are going to take a scalpel or razor blade to your liners try to seal the cut areas with something, duct tape will do or thin fabric tape, but anything to hold it all together and reduce water ingress, it think there was sensible words used "proffessional boot fitters" BE CAREFULL
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Poster: A snowHead
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I have a similar problem.... with aching & pins & needles after about 30 mins..... isolating the cause is a proving to be a real challenge, I bought new socks as my old ones were too thick, I have new bindings with the cap toe straps (Burton) and new boots (Salomon) which have been heat moulded and so I don't get pressure points, just a crampy sort of ache....... but by the time I have loosened off my laces enough to stop my feet hurting then I'm getting heel lift....
Does anyone know if you can get insoles or half insoles that would suit moulded boots? Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well i have the exact same problem as everyone else here seems to have or had. I just want my feet to be really tight in my bindings for better responsiveness, and until i find a better size 13 boots, then it's going to stay that way. And sure i may cut off the circulation a little, but it's well worth it at the end of the holiday
Yours,
Reiver
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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| CEM wrote: |
...the travelator is a very un natural way to get up the hill...
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As opposed to gondolas, which grow on trees 
Mrs H had terribly painful feet which were fixed with Strolz formable liners...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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CEM,
It never is........... ?
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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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Europa-What are the 'J Bars' you're referring to?.
Having similar probs with my new boots-Vans Fargo Boa's.But loosening them off at the beginning of usage & then slowly tightening them throughout the day.After about an hour or 2 everythings ok.They have heat moulded inners.& i presume they're just bedding in with the heat of use.
I also have been stuffing the boots with newspaper to keep the inners wide & comfy( I have wide feet).Which i can do as i have heat mouldable inners.
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Simon,
J bars are J shaped supports that slip between the outer boot shell & the lining - AFAIK it's only Burton that do them (I could be wrong)...
see here... http://www.burton.com/eu/gear/tech/techQandA.asp?techCategoryID=2&techQandAID=8#q
They velcro in place. The Burton boots have a corresponding j shaped velcro pad in the boot, although I guess you could try to fit some to a non burton boot. If they feel OK, you could glue them in place. Halfords do very strong stick on velcro tape for bikes/cars - this could do the trick.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I experienced a similar pain the other day. I ride regular and my front foot hurt around the left side of my instep. Couldn't solve it though- even loosening the laces. 
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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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Im having very similar problems. I have Burton Motos that seem to sqaush the ball of my front foot so that i get a painful cramping pain across it which is only relieved by taking the boot off, loosening the boot doesnt seem to work. Is there an easy way of stretching the boot outwards at home or is that something that wont really work with a soft boot? Im going to try some custom footbeds as only being able to do 1 run is a nightmare (i ski usually but do like to board on the soft snow days).
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FAQ
lesson learned ) You're right, everyone should try every means possible to be comfortable, anything that takes your mind off your sliding is a safety issue.
welcome to snowheads
, but judging by the responses here it is somehow reassuring that I'm 'not the only freaky foot person in the village' 
