Moulded footbeds

Tony_H wrote:I have absolutely no idea if my moulded footbeds made any difference to my skiing. But the issue I went in about, ie left ski wanting to edge, has not gone away, which leads me to believe they have not been worth having. I have a 100% refund available - should I take them back?

I had this too (before the beds melted); one ski wanting to edge and this was putting pressure on the respective ankle [come to think about it, with this and other aspects I had a rubbish trip :( ] Anyway my boots have 'canting' adjustments on each ankle....1/2 turn of one and all was sorted.

smartski wrote:

Tony_H wrote:I have absolutely no idea if my moulded footbeds made any difference to my skiing. But the issue I went in about, ie left ski wanting to edge, has not gone away, which leads me to believe they have not been worth having. I have a 100% refund available - should I take them back?

I had this too (before the beds melted); one ski wanting to edge and this was putting pressure on the respective ankle [come to think about it, with this and other aspects I had a rubbish trip :( ] Anyway my boots have 'canting' adjustments on each ankle....1/2 turn of one and all was sorted.

Now thats precisely what I've been mentioning on another thread, but been warned off by a few people not to touch the canting.
Did you do this yourself or get someone techy to have a look at your leg/foot position before adjusting?

*Warning Non Pro Viewpoint*
Some boots have inbuilt canting under the footbed. A screw in the heel tilts the plate under the footbed. I know this because I've owned some Technica's that had this. This alters how your foot sits in the boot and where you pressure the ski. Tiny angle changes at the foot can cause knee pain if it's overdone.

Most boots have cuff shaft alignment. This is a scew around about where the ankle joint is and the boot and leg cuff join. It gives a chance for the boot cuff to be aligned with the lower leg Tibia etc. Adjusting this will have some effect on how you pressure the ski, but it can't do a whole fix if you need a cant (wedge) under the sole or inside the boot under your footbed to help your ski run flat.
Tiny 0.5 degree changes can have a big effect on how you ski.

Depends how bad they smell :roll: :lol:

Tony_H wrote:Now thats precisely what I've been mentioning on another thread, but been warned off by a few people not to touch the canting.
Did you do this yourself or get someone techy to have a look at your leg/foot position before adjusting?

Did it myself. I'm no expert about canting but what could go wrong (insert :?: or :!: as you wish) . I always carry the allen key, so if it didn't work i'd just turn it back again.

BTW I have Nordica Speedmachine 10's.

On each ankle (inside & out) there is the simple adjustment. With the boot off, just looked at the rear and I could see the alignment tilting over as I turned each screw. Took two minutes and felt 10 times better instantly, listen to the body..if it hurts it's wrong if its comfy it's fine. )

Tony_H wrote:I have absolutely no idea if my moulded footbeds made any difference to my skiing. But the issue I went in about, ie left ski wanting to edge, has not gone away, which leads me to believe they have not been worth having. I have a 100% refund available - should I take them back?

I was explain that one ski wanting to edge may also be caused by a hip movement/position as you ski. Alignment can be measured though I understand there might be a difference between static/dynamic position of your foot and in shop you can only measure alignment in a static position, while dynamically your lateral balance may be different (just as with fore/aft balance). But you can still do it with and without footbeds, and have some cuff alighnment done if needed (I am trying now not to call it "canting" after reading here that it commonly refers to a more complex alterations than simply turning the key, but this is the same what Smartski meant) and see if that changes anything. If it doesn't maybe have a refresher lesson so that instructor could watch your hip movement throughout a turn. Could be fairly simple or not but should be fixable one way or another.

I would keep the custom footbed because having arches supported is better not just for skiing, unless they are causing you issues. I had bad experience with Surefoot custom footbeds, which gave me sensation that my arches were breaking in two as I skied, so I went back to stock footbeds regardless of what their computer image was implying. But in my new boots I have Superfeet insoles and even not being custom-molded with right cuff aligned a little they seem to do the job.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:

Tony_H wrote:I have absolutely no idea if my moulded footbeds made any difference to my skiing. But the issue I went in about, ie left ski wanting to edge, has not gone away, which leads me to believe they have not been worth having. I have a 100% refund available - should I take them back?

I was explain that one ski wanting to edge may also be caused by a hip movement/position as you ski. Alignment can be measured though I understand there might be a difference between static/dynamic position of your foot and in shop you can only measure alignment in a static position, while dynamically your lateral balance may be different (just as with fore/aft balance). But you can still do it with and without footbeds, and have some cuff alighnment done if needed (I am trying now not to call it "canting" after reading here that it commonly refers to a more complex alterations than simply turning the key, but this is the same what Smartski meant) and see if that changes anything. If it doesn't maybe have a refresher lesson so that instructor could watch your hip movement throughout a turn. Could be fairly simple or not but should be fixable one way or another.

I would keep the custom footbed because having arches supported is better not just for skiing, unless they are causing you issues. I had bad experience with Surefoot custom footbeds, which gave me sensation that my arches were breaking in two as I skied, so I went back to stock footbeds regardless of what their computer image was implying. But in my new boots I have Superfeet insoles and even not being custom-molded with right cuff aligned a little they seem to do the job.

Cheers Verbs. The Superfeet did seem to be particularly comfortable, so I'm going to have a tweek with the canting myself next year on the snow, and not bother going anywhere yet to have it looked at. If I can find the key, of course.....