 Poster: A snowHead
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I've just bought my first pair of ski boots and now realise a lot of my problems were because my hire boots were way too big. My new boots are very snug, not as snug as a downhill racer's though I am told!
When I get into a skiing position, my toes come away from the end of the boot (just!), so I am happy with that but what I am worrying about if I am having a leisurely lunch and not in the flexed position my toes are touching the ends of the boots. It doesn't help that I have 1 foot half a centimetre larger.
Will the inner liner compact enough to help and I also wondered whether the cold will also shrink my foot very slightly to help? Or do I just have to get used to this feeling?
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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|The liner will pack down and help with this - but if you are not skiing in them, no huge reason not to take them off while you eat lunch. I've had to do this one or twice with very new boots, once they pack down a bit you can just undo a couple of buckles and they are comfortable enough without forward pressure.
I doubt the cold will shrink your feet. If they are still killing you after a few days on snow you can go to a fitter to tweak things - I've found just baking the liners again and strapping the boot up seriously tight has given me the extra couple of mm I need to be comfortable.
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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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I Am Not A Bootfitter, but one might be along later 
Your boots will never be as tight again as they are now; eventually the liner will pack out and it won't be nearly as snug. So that's one thing. I assume they were fitted by a pro who knew what they were doing? On that assumption, you should probably just go out and ski em hard!
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mini_mo, Get some very thin socks for the first few days... I've used pop socks in the past for the first couple of weeks bedding in. Undo the buckles and lunchtime - but don't be tempted to take them off. If you are still getting issues - any good ski boot fitter will be able to stretch the toe box of the boots to help.
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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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Ask your doctor for a large prescription of MTFU/WTFU. Alternately you could always pop them off when you stop for a coffee - usually first few days of new boots I have to.
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Great thanks all for the tips - Boots fitted with thin technical ski socks at a specialist boot fitter (appointment only fitting). I think the next size up would have been too big and as you say, the boot for the bigger foot could be stretched. It's just such a different feeling from wearing floppy fitting shoes!
I am hoping now I have my ski boots I wont suffer the agony of last time where I could hardly walk or ski after day 4 (of rather intensive skiing!).
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Agree with ski re:pop sox, they will loosen up over time a little, unless you actually have hot spots on your feet I'd just get out and enjoy the control you have. If you need to loosen them off on lifts and take them off at lunch so be it. Put a spare pair of socks in your pocket tho, can pretty much guarantee your socked foot will find a puddle in the cafe. Miserable feeling having wet feet and might make your boots reek too!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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mini_mo, Wear them round the house each evening for a couple of weeks 
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Fri 12-10-12 17:36; edited 1 time in total
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mini_mo, even thin technical socks might be too much to start with - wear silk ones. And keep your toenails very, very, short. And don't walk too much!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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mini_mo, thay sound like a very good fit to me. They may feel very tight for the first few runs, but as has been said, they will pack out/wear in very quickly.
Try a few trips to a dry slope or fridge to try them out.
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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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| Boredsurfing wrote: |
| mini_mo, Wear them round the house each evening for a couple of weeks |
+1 worked for me.
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Dry ski slope deffo. Mine would have crippled me if I had not tried them there before going on holiday. Tight is great but pain is a different thing. Take a written note afterwards of any problems and note any bad markings on your feet. My boots were very tight before my holiday last year. By the fifth day I actually wished that they had not compacted as much as they did.
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You know it makes sense.
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think others have covered it mostly..
short toe nails
thinnest socks or pop socks for couple of days
stay in good skiing position
clip upper clips first (ankle buckle can be as tight as you can without causing pain
get a few sessions on them before your holiday, that way if they need any work it can be done before you go... boots can be made bigger, it is making them smaller that is really difficult
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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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Just do a quick check with them. Take out liners. Put bare foot in boot with toes just brushing front of shell and stand up straight. Get someone to look down behind ankle and gauge gap between heal and shell. 19mm/3/4 inch is a comfort fit, half that is a performance fit. Anything less and it is possibly too tight unless you are a racer? - suggest check with a really good boot fitter.
When I bought my current boots, I went down to 25.5 from 27.5 and had one boot eased/blown in a couple of spots where 1 foot was a mm bigger than the other.
Even with a performance fit, stand by to bruise big toe nails and eventually loose them - another good reason to really trim back nails. In last 2 years I've lost both big toenails!!
There is a USA website with useful info, which I now cannot find, and on boots it talks about toes touching ends when standing up and pins and needles with a correct fit.
I do take my boots off at lunchtime - I now have a small carpet square in my rucksack to rest my feet on.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| colinstone wrote: |
| - I now have a small carpet square in my rucksack to rest my feet on. |
Now there's something that did not appear in a recent thread on what one caries for a day in the mountains.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mini_mo, Sounds like they are the right size. When I left the shop with my current pair I was absolutely certain that I would have to return to have at least one toe area blown out. After a dozen or so dry slope sessions I was not sure, then after thier first week on snow I was completely convinced that they were big enough! Have now had zipfit liners which have improved heel grip even more.
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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.
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Hi all,
It's been invaluable hearing other peoples feeling of their own boot fit. I have been wearing the boots over the weekend and I have now gone from thin technical socks to using pop socks. The right foot feels very tight but good, the left foots feel just a little too tight for comfort.
Unfortunately my left foot is nearly 5mm longer and I am feeling a little tingling after a while in this foot. When my larger foot is in the boot without liner I have about 10mm gap at the back so very snug indeed, but I did say to the fitters I liked skiing fast! . I had my boots fitted at Solutions4feet and I do totally trust their judgement.
I will book in a few sessions at Hemel and then take it from there. RobinS - what you experienced sounds just like me. I think if anything needed to change after a few ski sessions I would get the left boot enlarged (hoping that this can be done in both length and width).
Having said that, I found a web page that mentions tingling (maybe the one Colinstone mentioned but couldn't find - http://www.thebootdoctor.com/Pages/HOW.htm). The tingling is probably because I sat still with them on.
Would Ultra thin technical socks be the same thickness as pop socks? I need to get the thinnest ones out there, but was struggling to find.
I'll report back.
Thanks!
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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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If you are the person I think you are there was a bit more than 10mm on the longer foot, I can't get to the records today but I think it was a few mm more, we normally work 10-20mm as our sizing spectrum, some people need a little more if they cannot tolerate the tighter fit but when you have a difference in foot size it makes the alternative size feel very loose on the smaller foot, so the soution is to make the boot longer if needed
Give them a few sessions and see how things go, not a problem to make them a bit longer, wider and higher if needed, remember to clip them up snug at the top and looser round the foot to make sure the heel is held well back.
When sitting/standing around the blood is pooling in the foot and not pumping round the body as it does when you ski, so that is as you say a possible cause for that pins and needles.
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Hi CEM - Thanks, yes I am lady from Herts/Beds who came in with husband. That's good to hear about being able to stretch the boot. In the meantime I will test them out as much as possible at Hemel and take it from there. I realise in my case it's a bit difficult as I have two very different size feet!
Thank you for all your help. 
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| Quote: |
When I get into a skiing position, my toes come away from the end of the boot (just!), so I am happy with that but what I am worrying about if I am having a leisurely lunch and not in the flexed position my toes are touching the ends of the boots. It doesn't help that I have 1 foot half a centimetre larger.
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I am surprised no one else has suggested it but why not skip lunch. If that is not possible then my wife takes her boots off.
One thing I have found is to never loosen boots during the day, always keep the cuffs tight this stops the foot pivoting around the achilles tenon area forcing the toe to the end of the boot and always walk forcing the shin into the front of the boot
Enjoy the snug fit since the boots seem to get looser and looser over time.
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mini_mo, I bought my pair in Feb 2009 and have been on 6 weeks abroad in them since then, plus other numerous visits to UK indoor fridges and outdoor mats. My experience was similar to yours, but I remember being told at the time it will take around 20 hours of wear for most people before they start to feel more comfortable. Mine are Salomon Mission boots at a size 28.5, and I have a moderate to high foot arch with broad fore feet and narrower ankle width. 20 hours was about spot on for me, they feel like carpet slippers when I'm on piste now, but it's still always nice to take them off at the end of the day 
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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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my boots (now with Zipfits) are fine for skiing, with one pair of silk socks, but awful for walking more than a very short distance. And if I DO have to walk a bit I find it essential to have them properly clipped up. Slopping around with them undone is no use, because the toes just bash against the front. Normally I leave them done up all day, including lunch, with no problem.
I've skied a good number of weeks in them. Certainly far more than 20 hours.
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pam w, I agree. I've lost toenails by sking/walking in unfastened boots.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
mini_mo, Wear them round the house each evening for a couple of weeks
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Great idea, just don't do what I did when I was young and my parents bought me my first pair of ski boots as my feet had stopped growing. I was so pleased with them I wouldn't take them off and said I was breaking them in, I went down the rickety old stairs of our farmhouse, which had a bend at the bottom, lost my footing and ended up with two booted feet straight through the wall. Worked out to be cheap boots....not! 
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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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With respect, I find it takes about 10 seasons to get boots to fit just right ... or is it my feet growing into the boots.
By then of course the boots are starting to get a bit knackered on the toe and heel.
I don't buy ski boots very often any more but a rule I used to have was to actually wear the boots out of the door from the shop you bought them, that way it stops the staff from swapping them for another pair of boots of the uncomfortable hard variety that they actually sell rather than those super comfy ones the use just for demonstrating and fitting.
We found with our children when the were younger that boots fitted much better if they were red, rather than grey.
Anyway ski boots should not be comfortable at all, or else you are going to miss that divine double orgasmic moment at the end of the day as both steamy boots come off.
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DrLawn,
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Anyway ski boots should not be comfortable at all, or else you are going to miss that divine double orgasmic moment at the end of the day as both steamy boots come off.
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So true....its like the story of the man who wore his shoes two sizes too small. His wife had left him, the dog had died, kids not talking to him and the house about to be re-possesed. Taking off his shoes in the evening was the only pleasure left in life!
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You know it makes sense.
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Corr, I think I would have given up skiing long, long ago rather than subject myself to such pain.
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FAQ
s I'm sure, as others have said, that they will pack down a bit and give you a bit more comfort. The only way to know for sure is to go out and test them but if you are having problems after that go and get them adjusted. There's no pain quite like ill-fitting ski boot pain... speaking from experience. 
