Custom fitted boots....but on a budget!

My 2 cents on this. This thread is drifting more toward looking for (what I would call)a performance fit. IMHO If you are not questioning whether the boots are too small for the first couple of weeks, then you will not end up with a performance fit later. I have found that liners make very little difference. In a 26.0 shell, I can use the 26.0 liner or 26.5 liner. The only difference is that the 26.0 takes a little longer to pack in. I always start out in very thin under socks and expect to need thin ski socks, followed by medium ski socks as the liners pack in. If you get to the stage where you need thick socks, you no longer have a performance fit.

This is ofcourse not good news if you only ski two weeks a year and want both a performance fit and a pair of boots that will last several seasons. It means you will be in very tight boots for two seasons before you get the fit you are looking for :cry:

Now many people are happy slopping around in very comfortable boots and if works for your skiing style, good for you. For this reason I wear different boots depending on the degree of control I want. So for a morning of full bore carving, I wear a very snug fitting pair and if in the afternoon I'm cruising with my daughter, I'll switch to a pair that are less snug. I realise that most people don't have that option and will have to compromise.

Trencher

Well said.

Ill fitting boots are a health risk. I have had surgery twice on one foot as a result of ski boots not quite accommodating my metatarsal bones.Oh, the boots mostly fitted my feet, except for one teeny little tight spot. Oh skiboots are never really comfy if you want a performance fit are they.. :twisted:
Also, any skier with diabetes should seek out a competent fitter as loss of sensation in the feet is a problem related to the condition. A good fit is very important.

Trencher, whats the difference between CEM's 25mm "cushy" fit and a sloppy fit?

Trencher

i would hope you could wear either liner in a 26 shell...being as the 26.0 an 26.5 shell are the same. in most boots the only difference on the .0 and .5 is either the thickness of the sock liner or sometimes a small increase in the foam density over the saddle of the liner.

not sure how many times it has to be said but here are no real 1/2 sizes in ski boots

you also mention that you think i am talking about a performance fit...well you know what I am, [to an extent] and Why...simple because every body deserves a boot which fits well and preforms the same way, anything much more than that 25mm is just plain sloppy, it may feel ok for the first week or 2 but do you want to replace your boots every 3 weeks skiing

Now many people are happy slopping around in very comfortable boots and if works for your skiing style, good for you. For this reason I wear different boots depending on the degree of control I want. So for a morning of full bore carving, I wear a very snug fitting pair and if in the afternoon I'm cruising with my daughter, I'll switch to a pair that are less snug. I realise that most people don't have that option and will have to compromise.

wow...now i know i am fighting a loosing battle.... there should be no compromise, i am not talking about a race fit, all i am suggesting is people get the correct size and shape for their foot...not the number on a box not the number on a measure but the one which matches the foot, after all it is the foot we are putting inside the boot is it not.

Trencher wrote:My 2 cents on this. This thread is drifting more toward looking for (what I would call)a performance fit. IMHO If you are not questioning whether the boots are too small for the first couple of weeks, then you will not end up with a performance fit later. I have found that liners make very little difference. In a 26.0 shell, I can use the 26.0 liner or 26.5 liner. The only difference is that the 26.0 takes a little longer to pack in. I always start out in very thin under socks and expect to need thin ski socks, followed by medium ski socks as the liners pack in. If you get to the stage where you need thick socks, you no longer have a performance fit.

This is ofcourse not good news if you only ski two weeks a year and want both a performance fit and a pair of boots that will last several seasons. It means you will be in very tight boots for two seasons before you get the fit you are looking for :cry:

Now many people are happy slopping around in very comfortable boots and if works for your skiing style, good for you. For this reason I wear different boots depending on the degree of control I want. So for a morning of full bore carving, I wear a very snug fitting pair and if in the afternoon I'm cruising with my daughter, I'll switch to a pair that are less snug. I realise that most people don't have that option and will have to compromise.

Trencher

Unfortunately, I only ski 3 times a season, and therefore I only have the 1 pair of boots. It is vital for me to have this 1 pair fitting me perfectly, which they did, but now they dont.
I think you are right, as I felt great in them the first 4 weeks or so, I would have found a smaller boot uncomfortable, and that kind of defeats the object for me. I want comfort, and I want performance. I dont want 2 pairs of boots as I am not skiing enough to warrant it. I dont really want a compromise. All I want is my boots to fit me again. I wasnt slopping around before, so I guess I have to accept that the linings have packed out, and that the boots are now too small.
Bugger.

Tony, if it is practical, why not visit CEM?

i don't think anyone has to be in boots too tight for 2 years to have a good fit, if the boot is shell sized correctly width and volume as well as length then the foot will be close enough to the shell to minimize the packing out of the foam in the liner without causing pain, along with the footbed the shell selection is up there with the most important parts of the fit.

Tony what make and model of boots do you have/ and in what size? describe your foot is it wide, narrow, high, low etc and what size shoes you typically buy,also if you know it what mondopoint measurment you have been measured at.

it sounds like a volume issue if it is not a size issue also

cem wrote:Trencher

i would hope you could wear either liner in a 26 shell...being as the 26.0 an 26.5 shell are the same. in most boots the only difference on the .0 and .5 is either the thickness of the sock liner or sometimes a small increase in the foam density over the saddle of the liner.

not sure how many times it has to be said but here are no real 1/2 sizes in ski boots

That's why I said liners make very little difference (implying it's the shell that counts and putting a thicker liner in the boot may not help).

I wasn't critising CEM's advise, which is very good or suggesting that what I said could not be done under the guidance of a bootfitter. I guess I was talking about something approaching a race fit. I think some people demand that kind of performance on and off the race course. It is one end of a spectrum and what I was trying to convey is that there is not one fit for ski boots. That as you demand more from your skis, you may need a different fit in your boots.

I was also not implying that you should be in pain, just that the boots will be a lot more snug than you might think.



Trencher