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Bootfitting issues.

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
As the ski season is almost upon us, should anyone have any Boot or Foot Problems we would love to help you solve them. As all of you are very induvidual, i belive that some descusions are too general to help. Please feel free to use our Zoo to help deal with your personal queries here on line. Will would love to help get you skiing in comfort. Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
If I stick my feet in one of your cages, will the public be allowed to feed them?
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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?
SMALLZOOKEEPER, I bought my boots in the u.k and tried them on indoor slope had aches and pain in the bottom of my feet when going up the t bar an poma lifts and sometimes when stood in the lift queue. Got some superfeet for low arches and they have not worked any suggestions
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Joshua this could be many things, however the use of superfeet is already a help. Firstly, try sking without the superfet to see if you have the same problem. If so, did you ski without any insole? If so, this could just be a matter of flexibilty in your ski tendon motor, causing a problem in one of the three tendons. In your case perhaps the Plantar Facier. Sounds complex but is not.
If, when you skied, without the superfeet and no other insole and the pain went away, then it maybe that your boots are a little too tight. You do need to ski with an Orthotic(insole), so the volume of the boot needs looking at and adjusting so the boot fits with the superfeet.
I have a feeling that it maybe the former. This problem is very common in shorter, stronger built people and is of a result of tendons needing to be stretched out. A simple 8MM heel lifter placed between the liner and the shell works well, but will also lift the instep height causing presure there. so be careful. I would suggest seeing someone in the U.K. like, Lockwoods (leamington Spa) or Pro-Feet(London), this would be better still, done in your Ski destination, where are you going skiing this year? Very Happy
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
SMALLZOOKEEPER, i am taking some friends and my son 7yrs to Niederau in Austria as none of them have skied before and i had a very happy experience learning there. After that well i am hoping for another couple of weeks but as yet i have not decided. Oh yea do you think the heel lift will make any difference to my skiing?I am really hopeful that i can get rid of these aches and enjoy my skiing even more!!
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, sorry missed a couple of points from my last post. Before i had the superfeet insoles i tried the boots with the standard insoles and yes the pain was there then,so then i got the superfeet and again the pain came back. S+R in sheffield have offered to sort out the problem if i get the heel lift as suggested would i then be better getting a moulded footbed or maybe a conformable liner(the injectable one) or have you any suggestion which may help further. Looking forward to painless skiing. Laughing
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Don't worry about all the rest yet. Take things step by step, otherwise it becomes too difficult to isolate the problem. Get the guys to put in the heal raiser between the liner and the shell. Never in the liner! Do just this, use the superfeet and see what happens. If the problem is still there, but comes on more slowly we've hit the problem. If it stays the same we'll need to know more about you and the type of shell shape and size, don't spend any more money until we are closer to a result. Step by step! Laughing
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
SMALLZOOKEEPER, thanks for the advice i am going to snow an rock on monday so i will let you know how ge3t on Very Happy
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
deleted


Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 8-10-05 18:18; edited 1 time in total
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
Get the guys to put in the heal raiser between the liner and the shell. Never in the liner!


Why not in the liner may I ask? Just had a ski shop put some in mine and they stuck them in the liner, was wondering if that was right?!

ScottyDog


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Wed 12-10-05 9:46; edited 1 time in total
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Dear Mr. S.Z. KEEPER,

My X-Wave 10 liners are packing down a lot more than expected. Whats the best way to bring back that nice tight fit feeling I enjoyed on our first few dates?

Regards

Marc
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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.
Hi there,

Me and my girlfriend are off to Whistler for 12 weeks from January - I've no problem coz my snowbooard boots are nice and comfy (though I took a while getting a pair that did fit right!) but I need to get my GF sorted out with some ski boots.

She currently a timid beginner/intermediate and is buying her first boots. Every pair of hire boots she has used in the past (4 trips) has caused her toes to go numb - even though there is no pressure from the boot on her toes. When she takes the boot off, her toes return to normal pretty much straight away. We recently tried several pairs of boots on in Ellis Brighams and no matter how comfy the boot initially felt, her toes went numb within 5 minutes (even with superfeet insoles inserted).

Her feet are quite square in the toes and her arches are pretty high. I think it obvious that she's going to need a custom footbed, but are there any logical/possible explanations for this?

Cheers!

Rod
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
rodmason, Go to Snowcovers in the marketplace (at the far end of the north village) when you get there, definitely some of the best boot fitters there.
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
stuarth wrote:
rodmason, Go to Snowcovers in the marketplace (at the far end of the north village) when you get there, definitely some of the best boot fitters there.
Cool - that's just across the road from the condo we've booked Smile

Do you think we'll be able to find a decent deal on skis/bindings in the village, or would we be best having a hunt around Vancouver before going up to Whistler? I definitely see the value in having a top notch bootfitter, but skis is skis...
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
At the start of the season you might struggle a bit to get a bargain, I don't know much about the ski shops in Vancouver (pondor might be able to help you there). Comor (opposite the brewhouse) usually start their end of season sales quite early so you should catch that. Most of the places seem to start selling stuff off at a decent price from about mid march onwards.
I bought some Volkls from Snowcovers last season and got a pretty good deal on them, though I bought some boots from them earlier in the season which took a bit of work and was a fairly regular customer so I knew the guy who did me the deal.
Whistler Village Sports (opposite the crystal lodge) are fantastic for service, I didn't actually buy any skis from them, but the manager got Atomic Canada to warranty my SX9s with a cracked edge (despite the fact I bought them in the UK - apparently a bit of a problem for warranty issues), swap them for new SX10s off the shelf (when he'd convinced Atomic to warranty the old ones) and put my bindings on them completely free of charge snowHead I know lots of other people who would recommend them too.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
rodmason, welcome to Snowheads.

Would recommend your GF ignores UK shops and sees a good bootfitter in resort. End of.
In terms of foot-shape, I have your GF's feet Shocked as it were. My boots were perfectly ok in terms of fit, but custom-fit footbeds made a massive improvement to my lower body alignment and hence foot comfort.
Otherwise, it's technique - as a beginner she might have poor technique which is causing all sorts of problems (common ones: clenching toes, and badly balanced weight over feet), so the other thing to shell out for is lessons.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Manda wrote:
... and sees a good bootfitter in resort. End of.

How do you recognise a good bootfitter? Do they have a particular characteristic which makes it easy to distinguish them from a mediocre bootfitter?
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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?
rob@rar.org.uk yup. It's the reccomendations they get from chalet staff, ski instructors, and friends. Cool
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rob@rar.org.uk, You can only recognise a good bootfitter AFTER he/she has fitted your boots... rolling eyes
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Manda wrote:
rob@rar.org.uk yup. It's the reccomendations they get from chalet staff, ski instructors, and friends. Cool

Personal recommendations are great, especially if the person making the recommendation has widespread experience. But it does mean that you are potentially limiting your choice of ski resort to where your friends and acquaintances believe there to be good bootfitters. On the other hand, you could buy your boots in somewhere like Profeet or Lockwoods, and go to whatever ski resort you want to.

I suppose my point is just because a bootfitter is located in a resort doesn't mean they are guaranteed to be good.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
Juergen in Sport Jennewein in Nasserein is such a boot-fitting god it is almost worth making a special trip to see him!

Seriously, he looked at my feet and told me which boots would be right for me - I tried every other model in the shop and ended up buying the ones he recommended. In terms of comfort they are the canine's cojones!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Cheers people. Having nearly sorted out our flights (unbelievably complicated - it's just the first leg of a round the world trip Very Happy ) we'll be heading straight to Whistler and by-passing Vancouver, but it sounds like we should get looked after in the Whistler shops...

Anyone got any opinions on Wild Willies in Whistler? Their website says they're in Powder Magazine's top 10 places to get boots fitted in North America - which sounds impressive!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Cheers people. Having nearly sorted out our flights (unbelievably complicated - it's just the first leg of a round the world trip Very Happy ) we'll be heading straight to Whistler and by-passing Vancouver, but it sounds like we should get looked after in the Whistler shops...

Anyone got any opinions on Wild Willies in Whistler? Their website says they're in Powder Magazine's top 10 places to get boots fitted in North America - which sounds impressive!
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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.
rodmason, The staff in Wild Willies always seemed to know what they were talking about when I went in there, not sure how they are for boots though specifically. Most of the people I asked recommended either Snowcovers or Fanatyk for boots - I think betwen them they cover most brands (and a guy in Snowcovers even sent a customer to Fanatyk when he decided Nordica boots would be the best fit rather thean trying to shoehorn them into something they stocked!) .
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Oops - looks like I was a bit trigger happy with my last post...

Thanks stuarth, good useful info to know!
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
scottydog wrote:
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
Get the guys to put in the heal raiser between the liner and the shell. Never in the liner!


Why not in the liner may I ask? Just had a ski shop put some in mine and they stuck them in the liner, was wondering if that was right?!

ScottyDog


This will have the same effect, but will reposition the foot in the liner, therefore the liner will need to be remolded to accomodate the new foot position to offer better support. Also the liner will feel tighter, sometimes a good thing. Twisted Evil
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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.
marc gledhill wrote:
Dear Mr. S.Z. KEEPER,

My X-Wave 10 liners are packing down a lot more than expected. Whats the best way to bring back that nice tight fit feeling I enjoyed on our first few dates?

Regards

Marc


Would suggest buying a new liner. But if thats happened quickly, maybe the shell is the wrong size or shape. Take out the liner, pop in your foot, move it to the front. Touch the front of the shell with as much pressure you could stand if your foot were to be like that all day. Hopefully you have no more than 8mm between the back of the shell and your heel(just below the achillies). This is based on you skiing well, ie, always in the middle of your ski therefore not leaning back. I hope this is you, your boot model would suggest so. Twisted Evil
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
rodmason wrote:
Hi there,

Me and my girlfriend are off to Whistler for 12 weeks from January - I've no problem coz my snowbooard boots are nice and comfy (though I took a while getting a pair that did fit right!) but I need to get my GF sorted out with some ski boots.

She currently a timid beginner/intermediate and is buying her first boots. Every pair of hire boots she has used in the past (4 trips) has caused her toes to go numb - even though there is no pressure from the boot on her toes. When she takes the boot off, her toes return to normal pretty much straight away. We recently tried several pairs of boots on in Ellis Brighams and no matter how comfy the boot initially felt, her toes went numb within 5 minutes (even with superfeet insoles inserted).

Her feet are quite square in the toes and her arches are pretty high. I think it obvious that she's going to need a custom footbed, but are there any logical/possible explanations for this?

Cheers!

Rod


Rod this is too tricky to descuss here, i need to see her precious feet. Where are you based ? I may know someone who can help near you. It's tendonal, i'd suggest, given she has a high instep, custom footbeads will help, however she needs to work stetching her achillies. Lots and lots. Even if she is supper fit, skiing and snowboarding use a very specific muscle group. This is 80% of most ski/snowboard boot problems and the hardest thing for my customers to accept. "I go to the Gym every week, i play tennis, i jog, i ride a bike." This means nothing in most cases.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
ski wrote:
rob@rar.org.uk, You can only recognise a good bootfitter AFTER he/she has fitted your boots... rolling eyes


Bootfitting is an art not a science. Every person is different and on each person, both feet are different. You need to be patient. Imagine this; You sit at work 40 weeks a year. 2weeks a year, you want to go skiing. Skiing requires using your feet, feet that are evolving, but not to skiing. How fast can you run, 8-9kms per hour? Ok, i think an advanced skier would average arround 45-50kms an hour, with the same feet, then you're going to stop, with the same feet that sit unused 40weeks a year, 8hrs a day. Your feet hurt in ski boots? No they dont, your feet hurt when you ski. They need help to work, if, you want to ski with them. I'm suprised everone doesn't have problems. But i'm sure we will, Evolution says so! wink
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Hi SMALLZOOKEEPER,

I'm based in Manchester. Thanks for the useful thoughts - I've started her stretching her achilles tendon every day from now! Smile

Interestingly, she was in the gym yesterday on the stepping machine, and she realised her toes went numb then as well - which suggested the problem could be in the tendon under the arch of the foot??

I think we're definitely favouring buying the boot in Whistler - just makes it easier to go back if there are any niggling problems with the boots....

Thanks
Rod
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
That's great news buddy. She really needs to work on this so as not to permanently damage this tendon, orthotics will help big style. Good luck. Twisted Evil
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Hi SMALLZOOKEEPER, My question is about the care of the boot once you have them. I currently keep the boots clean and free from grit, when I put them into hibernation for the summer I ensure they are dry and put silica gel sacks into the liners, do the clips up and keep them in the bottom of the wardrobe. During ski time I put silica gel sacks into the liners every night Half way through a week I may take the liners out and ensure the shells are dry inside. Does removing the liners often damage them or effect fitting in anyway.
What else should I do to maintain the boots.
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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?
You cant do better than that buddy. Removing liners is important i think, leave 'em in and they might rot, take 'em out and you could damage the form. Be gentle and be regular, treat 'em like a lady i guess. Twisted Evil
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SZK,

do you think touring boots are a viable option as your only ski boots if you spend (say) 80% of your time ski-ing lift-served (of which 70% off-piste/30% on-piste) and don't race?

Also do you have experience of using shims/wedges under boot soles to correct alignment issues?

I'll be in Cham at some point this season and am looking to buy some touring boots.

thanks

J
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Send me a P.M. There has never been a better season to descuss or buy touring boots. The Beer is, as of today, on ice. Twisted Evil
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My boots fit pretty well, but I am in Chamonix over the NY and may pay you visit over the new year anyway.

However, on the advice front, my girlfriend is getting fat, how do I tell her?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Your welcome my friend, i shall not be offering her a beer though!!!!

Tell her how much you looking forward to skiing with her this winter. With her added mass it will be much more challenging keeping up with her, plus fat is an insulator, therefore less moaning about the temperature, therefore can go skiing in January when it's cheaper and the snow rocks! Twisted Evil
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Smallzookeeper, I've thought about some footbeds for my boots, but notice that they all seem to offer more support and claim to help stop the foot roll in, pronate. My problem is that I supinate. When I buy running shoes I go for the most flexible, cushioned shoe in the hope it allows/helps the foot roll in more. Are there particular footbeds designed for supinators or is there something else I should be looking for?.
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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.
SMALLZOOKEEPER,
Quote:

There has never been a better season to descuss or buy touring boots



Enlighten the rest of us ?
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Firstly, we all pronate and we all supinate. This is part of gait. However in ski boots, we need to do neither. A footbed, when we are going through the gait cycle, is designed to keep the foot in a neutral position therefore alowing us to both, supinate and pronate. The problems occur, when we lean towards one or the other too much.

It is my opinion, that a ski boot is a prosthetic. It replaces the lower leg and supports it. It alows us to flex at the ankles, but only longiltudely(heel to toe). It is also my opinon therefore there is no need for the foot to function as if it were going through gait. For this reason i make footbeds to block the joints and support them. I dont wish to change their position just stop them moving.

Therefore to answer your question. Yes footbeds in ski boots always work. Sometimes they may take a little of getting used to!
With a supinated foot, the foot bed will offer better pressure distribution and better sensitivity through the sole of your feet. Circulation will also be improved.

Find someone to varify your supination. True supinators are rare, offen confused with just a high arch. Twisted Evil
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