personally ive found that the stiffer the tongue, the more painful the shinbang. the best way to minimize shinbang imo is make sure the tongue of the boot/ part of the boot that contacts your shin has an even distribution of pressure across the shin. so if for example the top buckle is already cranked and the middle one isnt quite as tight, putting the strap under the tongue will probably make the problem worse not better, and what you should really do is find a way to get buckle #2 tighter.

evanballpersonally ive found that the stiffer the tongue, the more painful the shinbang. the best way to minimize shinbang imo is make sure the tongue of the boot/ part of the boot that contacts your shin has an even distribution of pressure across the shin. so if for example the top buckle is already cranked and the middle one isnt quite as tight, putting the strap under the tongue will probably make the problem worse not better, and what you should really do is find a way to get buckle #2 tighter.

I don’t have my boots cranked down really tight as of right now I’ll try that next time I’m out. I find when I crank them down super hard my calves hurt tho like not shin bang but my calves so if I lean back it hurts like a bitch. I loosen my boots on the lift to try to prevent this but if I keep ‘em tight for to long my feet start going numb wtf am I doing wrong or is this normal

Alright dude, here's the deal for me. I don't know anything about your height/weight/whatever, but the biggest cause of non backseat skiing shin bang is that your ski boot does not fit your lower leg/instep. Ski boots as a whole are often made with the idea of trying to fit as many people as possible. Most people who want to enjoy skiing are wealthy tourists. Wealthy tourists are usually not the most skinny of people. Obviously when you go to try on boots, or shoes, or really anything it won't fit just right. My personal issue was that most boots are not very skinny/narrower through the lower leg, and I have a tall shinbone where my calf muscle sits mostly above the boot with a skinnier lower leg. I used to get terrible shin bang because everyone said your shin should be pressed into the front of your boot and didn't tell me anything about how I should be making the liner consistently be touching my shinbone/lower leg. You have to protect your shinbone from the trauma of slamming into the front of your boot. In addition, most liners will pack out more quickly when used by your average Newschooler because they put more force through their boot than your average tourist. For me, that meant buying a low volume boot like the Smax 130 from Salomon, putting a foam eliminator pad in it and using a booster strap to be able to tighten the whole operation. I also pad my lower shin/instep with a beer cozie as well. This puts the liner right up against my shin, while padding it effectively. Here are some pictures showing what I mean. Not everything I've done would necessarily work for you, but this same concept does work in terms of protecting against shin bang. Unless you're skiing in the backseat, then you're putting to much strain on your dorsiflexor muscles which is the cause of your pain. Also, the reality is once shin bang sets in, you need to give it some time to rest, preferably a week or more if you can.

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2022 at 8:37:00pm

BigPurpleSkiSuitAlright dude, here's the deal for me. I don't know anything about your height/weight/whatever, but the biggest cause of non backseat skiing shin bang is that your ski boot does not fit your lower leg/instep. Ski boots as a whole are often made with the idea of trying to fit as many people as possible. Most people who want to enjoy skiing are wealthy tourists. Wealthy tourists are usually not the most skinny of people. Obviously when you go to try on boots, or shoes, or really anything it won't fit just right. My personal issue was that most boots are not very skinny/narrower through the lower leg, and I have a tall shinbone where my calf muscle sits mostly above the boot with a skinnier lower leg. I used to get terrible shin bang because everyone said your shin should be pressed into the front of your boot and didn't tell me anything about how I should be making the liner consistently be touching my shinbone/lower leg. You have to protect your shinbone from the trauma of slamming into the front of your boot. In addition, most liners will pack out more quickly when used by your average Newschooler because they put more force through their boot than your average tourist. For me, that meant buying a low volume boot like the Smax 130 from Salomon, putting a foam eliminator pad in it and using a booster strap to be able to tighten the whole operation. I also pad my lower shin/instep with a beer cozie as well. This puts the liner right up against my shin, while padding it effectively. Here are some pictures showing what I mean. Not everything I've done would necessarily work for you, but this same concept does work in terms of protecting against shin bang. Unless you're skiing in the backseat, then you're putting to much strain on your dorsiflexor muscles which is the cause of your pain. Also, the reality is once shin bang sets in, you need to give it some time to rest, preferably a week or more if you can.

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2022 at 8:37:00pm

Thanks for the in depth reply that helps a lot. I do think my shinbang is from backseat skiing/improper boot tightening as I’ve been putting effort to fix my ski position but still slip up sometimes, I do feel the boot fits pretty good and I’m going to play around with the buckles and see if something different works, if I can’t sort it out this season I’m going to go try on every boot in the store and find a perfect fit, even if not fts

edit: I’m about 5’9 160 and I think a big part is that I literally haven’t taken more than 3 days off since it set in which never let it fully heal

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2022 at 8:49:04pm

2manyVitaminsThanks for the in depth reply that helps a lot. I do think my shinbang is from backseat skiing/improper boot tightening as I’ve been putting effort to fix my ski position but still slip up sometimes, I do feel the boot fits pretty good and I’m going to play around with the buckles and see if something different works, if I can’t sort it out this season I’m going to go try on every boot in the store and find a perfect fit, even if not fts

edit: I’m about 5’9 160 and I think a big part is that I literally haven’t taken more than 3 days off since it set in which never let it fully heal

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2022 at 8:49:04pm

that'll do it too. Is the pain more on your shinbone, or more on the sides of your shin running down the leg?

I'm skinny too, it's like the kiss of death in America.

And @BigPurpleSkiSuit it's exactly as you say, the gap between the instep and ankle that needs to be tightened up always always. Great post.

BigPurpleSkiSuitthat'll do it too. Is the pain more on your shinbone, or more on the sides of your shin running down the leg?

Sides of the shin bone is worse than directly on top usually but both hurt, as I said earlier my calf hurts pretty bad, almost as bad as the shinbang itself. I didn’t have shin bang for the entire season until this one fatefully day I didn’t tighten my boots enough and it’s been a problem since.

I put my power strap over, and crank the everliving fuck out of it and I haven’t had a problem with it yet

Maybe you should get tighter socks. The friction with a loose sock can also cause shinbang because it will pull on the hair on the leg thus causing an inflammation. Some proskiers even shave their lower leg.

BigPurpleSkiSuitAlright dude, here's the deal for me. I don't know anything about your height/weight/whatever, but the biggest cause of non backseat skiing shin bang is that your ski boot does not fit your lower leg/instep. Ski boots as a whole are often made with the idea of trying to fit as many people as possible. Most people who want to enjoy skiing are wealthy tourists. Wealthy tourists are usually not the most skinny of people. Obviously when you go to try on boots, or shoes, or really anything it won't fit just right. My personal issue was that most boots are not very skinny/narrower through the lower leg, and I have a tall shinbone where my calf muscle sits mostly above the boot with a skinnier lower leg. I used to get terrible shin bang because everyone said your shin should be pressed into the front of your boot and didn't tell me anything about how I should be making the liner consistently be touching my shinbone/lower leg. You have to protect your shinbone from the trauma of slamming into the front of your boot. In addition, most liners will pack out more quickly when used by your average Newschooler because they put more force through their boot than your average tourist. For me, that meant buying a low volume boot like the Smax 130 from Salomon, putting a foam eliminator pad in it and using a booster strap to be able to tighten the whole operation. I also pad my lower shin/instep with a beer cozie as well. This puts the liner right up against my shin, while padding it effectively. Here are some pictures showing what I mean. Not everything I've done would necessarily work for you, but this same concept does work in terms of protecting against shin bang. Unless you're skiing in the backseat, then you're putting to much strain on your dorsiflexor muscles which is the cause of your pain. Also, the reality is once shin bang sets in, you need to give it some time to rest, preferably a week or more if you can.

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2022 at 8:37:00pm

Really good idea man. Never thought about it like this

its not really about flex its about how well the boots fit and how snug they are. you'll get shining from having to much room in the boot. Id recommend going to a good boot fitter is your best start. also, full tilts may honestly be the cause of your shin bang. they wear out super quickly because of their flex pattern

700billionits not really about flex its about how well the boots fit and how snug they are. you'll get shining from having to much room in the boot. Id recommend going to a good boot fitter is your best start. also, full tilts may honestly be the cause of your shin bang. they wear out super quickly because of their flex pattern

Although that might be the case further down the line, I’m in the 22 b&e’s and have only been riding them about 3x a week since just after Christmas time so I sure hope they aren’t destroyed yet. I want to go to a good boot fitter but I’m limited by the fact I live in a small city and there’s two small ski shops who don’t have the most in depth process. I plan to find my way out west sometime soon and go to a good fitter and really get it sorted out. Until then I’m going to try to correct my skiing and take the advice in this thread to make boot adjustments and pray to the shin bang gods I am freed

If youre not putting a lot of impact on them they wont wear out as fast. Also, try getting some superfeet insoles for them. An rei can help you find the right one. Definitely #1 thing thats gonna keep you from geting shinbang is not landing and skiing backseat, but if the boots fit improperly, pain is going to be inevitable