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Boot Fit Help (Not the most threadworthy, just need some help)
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I posted this in the guide on how to fit boots, then realized that maybe I would get some more/different help if I made my own thread. Sorry for the wall of text.
Alright guys I'm going to need some boot fit help here.
Hopefully I don't sound like a gaper or something like that because I'm not, it's just I've never skied so hard and been on skis so many days out of the year so boots weren't the most important thing ever. BEFORE if a boot didn't fit perfect, I didn't ski on it too much to make it hurt. Since I ski basically every day now though I find they're one of the most important things in my ski set-up.
Alright, well first off I'll try to keep this short, even though I know it will turn out to be pretty extensive.
Ok, so back in August I was looking around to get some new ski boots, but I was on a low budget. (not the best time to buy new ski boots I know). Well, me not thinking, I bought boots online. I wore them around my house a little and they felt fine. Then I skied on them about 5-10 times and I got the most horrendous shin-bang ever. It literally felt like someone just ripped all the muscle off the bone in my shins. Later then I did some quick sizing tests that were stated in the OP and I realized that these boots were HUGE on my feet.
I decided that since I'm going skiing basically every day that I'm really going to need to invest and pick up some good solid fitting boots.
A few days ago I went up to my local shop (Zimmermans, for anyone that knows it) and got my foot fitted for a boot. I had my foot measured and the employee went out back and brought out a pair of Dalbello Krypton's. Last years Kingston ones. He had me put them on, and after reading stuff about people having their boots fitted for the first time, I knew they were going to feel tight in comparison to my jumbo boots that I had before. So the worker had me wear them around the shop for about 5 minutes and they felt great! I told them they felt perfect.
So I bought the boots and he told me to wear them around for 5-10 minutes at my house the day before I go skiing again. So I did that, then the next day I went, and could only ski for about an hour because I had stuff to do later. The boots felt really good for about a half hour and then for the next half hour my feet felt kinda tingly.
I went back to the mountain today and after about 2 runs I couldn't feel my feet. So I tried everything out adjustment wise. I tightened them as tight as they could go, still was losing circulation. Next I loosened them all the way and was still feeling numb.
My local mountains shop was open, and since it was Christmas I knew that I wouldn't be able to make it up to Zimmermans until tomorrow. I told the boot fitter at my mountains shop, my story and he looked at my feet and noticed that my feet are on the wider side and that the kryptons have a more narrow footbed. He then put in an insert and told me to wear it around for 5 minutes to see if I felt any difference. Well it felt fine, but so didn't the boots at first when I walked around in them. He was saying that either the worker at Zimmermans just wanted to sell me that pair of boots because he'd had them sitting around, or he didn't have wider feet so he didn't really even pay attention to the width. If I'm going to be spending upwards of $400 on boots I would expect him to pay attention to the width though...
Well other than those inserts what other options do you think I have?
I'm going up to Zimmermans tomorrow and am going to see what they say they can do for me. I'm just wondering how I should go into the shop too. Should I be expecting them to do something for free because they didn't fit me correctly in the first place? Or is it somehow my own fault? Is there any other solutions that a ski shop can do to fix a boot? I bought the boots around 3 days ago and have skied in them twice so there's no way they can give me a refund or get me a different pair of boots right? I wouldn't expect them to do that, but I feel like if that's what it has to come to then isn't it their fault in the beginning for not fitting me right? Am I wrong or am I right? I'll keep you guys updated when I go up there tomorrow morning.
Any help whatsoever will be greatly appreciated. I'll always give out +K too. Thanks a ton guys!
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I just got a pair of dalbello voodoos and there amazing and I do have a wider foot did you try those out ?
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That definitely helped out a ton! Thanks man!
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After thinking about it for a little though, if a boot is not the right width for me, and width (I guess) was not taken into consideration when measuring, why should I be the one to drop $50 on an insert? Shouldn't the shop have measured me right at first a couple days ago?
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the nice thing about buying boots from the shop is they will help you out in situations like this. At my local shop, they will do whatever it takes to make the boot fit your foot or your boot is free. ie: free punching out shells, heat molding etc. Almost all the time labor and stuff is free, you just have to pay for the parts such as footbeds and stuff like that. Walk into the shop and just tell them that your feet hurt when you are skiing. describe to the boot fitter your problems and they will sort it out for you. Also try and get the same guy that fitted you in the first place, it will make things loads easier.
let us know how it goes.
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Ya I will definitely let you guys know how it goes!
I'm reading on their site right now that it says that they will do anything to make the boot fit right for you. Just like you described. So I am definitely happy I bought them from my local shop and now I'm a little more at ease and at least I know that they'll be able to help me out.
Hopefully I will be able to get the same guy too, he was really friendly and helpful so I'm sure he'll be able to help out!
Thanks guys!
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As I mentioned in the boot sticky, get a footbed. This is the most important part of making the right boot fit and continue to fit correctly. These inserts properly position your foot in the boot and keep it there during skiing. They guard against shin bang, toe bang, ankle rub, all sorts of fit issues, even when you are in the right boot. Make sure you pick up a good pair when you go back in.
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sorry i had to go to bed it was almost 4 in the morning in the u.k when i posted this.
The idea of a bootfit is to get you a boot that fits perfectly but to do this with a shell made for someone elses foot is unlikely for most people, hense bootfitters have ways of altering boots. the idea is to get a shell that either fits perfectly or a little bit to small, because then they can do something about it. so really they did you a favour in making it a little tight because even though it fits worse now, after a little time it should fit perfect.
The shop i went to will do labour for free but you have to have a footbed first, this is because whilst boots are made for some random persons foot, footbeds are designed for your exact foot and will pretty much undoubtably make your boot fit better and work better because it makes your foot and boot work as one.
im going into my shop today. so excited to get them finally fitting perfectly.
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A dalbello/intuition liner will help with your wide foot in those kryptons and the shop that sold you the boots should have a pair either from another dalbello boot or a extra laying around, another option is that you can have them blow out the boot where you are feeling the pain. or lastly the voodoo is perfect for someone with a wider foot
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The shell is the ultimate limiting factor of the boot, so if his foot is too wide for that shell, no liner will make it better. He needs to have the shell checked for length and width to know what will work for sure
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Thanks for all the help guys! I just got back from the shop and they said that they are going to stretch the boot width a tiny bit for me. The worker there says he uses the kryptons too and he has a little wider foot so he had to do the same thing to his. He said that solved all his problems. I'll probably go and pick them up later, or tomorrow. Hopefully all my problems are solved!
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Alright guys, a little update here, I picked up the boots and the guy said he stretched the width and put in a heel raise. He didn't explain why but he said he thought it should be all good now.
I drove down to my mountain, took about 5 runs and couldn't feel my feet again. All circulation was gone.
So I drove an hour back to the shop and explained how the circulation was gone again. I had a tiny heating up pressure point on the balls of my feet too. So he said he would take the boot back and I heard him say he would do a "post" something to another co worker. Not sure what that means.
Then he explained to me that it was my foot that was the problem and not the boot. So he said he would work on it and it should solve the heating up pressure point. I then said "oh so this should solve the circulation problem then right?" (Just asking the question) and he's like "well it will definitely stop the pain".
I just hope the guys at the shop don't think I'm being a pussy. Honestly if my boots were uncomfortable I really wouldn't care. I don't care how uncomfortable they are, but the fact I can't feel my feet after a few runs is kind of a problem. It's just really affecting my skiing, just because I have little control over my skis once my feet go numb. I hope they understand this and don't think I'm just being a BP.
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he said your foot was the problem and the boot was not? He is going to fix your foot how? I lose circulation if my boots are buckled to tight. How tight are your boots when your on the hill? Also, when you get your boots back again, stay in the shop with them on for as long as you want. Walk around, flex the boot, throw some 360's and see if you feet lose circulation there. Then if the problem is still there, the bootfitter will be right there at your service to fix the problem. Their job is to make skiing a fun thing, not a painful or numbing thing. I have wicked flat feet and some other problems with my feet, and i have clocked atleast 6 or so hours just at my local shop for them tweaking my boot. Keep going back until your boot feels perfect.
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Alright I'll definitely try them on and just walk around in the shop for awhile while they're on. That will definitely save me a half hour drive back and forth from my house. Then an hour to my mountain. That's the thing though my feet only lose circulation while I'm on the mountain. They only get a tiny bit tingly after about 20 minutes of wearing them not skiing. I also have a very forward aggressive stance too, if that helps. Also the boots are on the last buckle notch and I've adjusted the buckle length to as wide as possible but no luck. Then I also tightened them down pretty tight just to test it and that also just made it worse.
I don't get what he means by my foot being the problem and how he plans to fix that.
I do have the weirdest ass feet though. I have a high arch, but a wide foot. And instead of my toes laying down flat like normal peoples they always stay curled up so my toes are automatically the tallest thing on my foot. My toes are also missing basically the knuckle part on my foot. I don't know how to explain it, but I'll try... where my toes meet the body of my foot, they can't bend down, only up. The only way I can bend my toes down is on the toes themselves. I don't know it's just really weird and I don't know what he plans to do to fix the boot to fit my foot.
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what i meant by him fixing your foot. He pretty much HAS to fix or alter the boot, i doubt your boot fitter is a foot surgeon, so the only way he can really alter your feet is with a foot bed. I just thought it sounded funny in your other post. The reason your losing circulation is because something is too tight. Since you tried tightening your boots alot, and it got worse, this makes sense. It cuts of your blood flow to your feet. Even if you are not on the hill, your feet should still be losing circulation without you actually skiing. Try it out at the shop and just walk around and stuff. I would also go check out other shops around as well. Nothing hurts if you go to another shop and ask advice. Explain your feet get numb just after a few minutes of skiing. See what that shop suggests. I have done this many times before, don't hesitate.
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Haha well ya you're right obviously he has to change the boot. I just repeated how he said it that "my foot is the problem and not the boot". I just thought that was a weird thing for him to say. Yes my feet are losing circulation without me skiing, so I'll just walk around in the shop for awhile first for as long as I need to to make sure I'm getting all the blood flow to my feet. It just took a lot quicker for my feet to lose bloodflow when I was on the mountain rather than just walking around in the shop.
There's actually another shop about half a mile down the road so I could always stop in and ask their opinion on it also. I'm definitely going to try out everything that I can to make this work for my feet. Thanks again man.
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no worries dude, I have to go through the same process as you every time i get a new boot (thankfully, my feet have stopped growing.) Your feet are going to lose circulation on the mountain quicker then when your walking around in the shop because of the colder temps on the hill. So it may take a while for your feet to lose circulation, but it will happen.
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Oh that definitely makes sense about the colder temps. I don't know why I didn't think of that.
Ya my feet haven't grown for awhile now too so that's why I wanted to get a good boot that fits because I know I'll probably have it for awhile. I'm going to head up to the shop in a little though so hopefully the work he did to the boot helps out. I'll probably be up there walking around the shop for awhile though. So I'll let you know if my problems are solved or not!
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Whenever a boot-fitter says the problem is with your foot and not the boot, that means they suck at their job. It is their job to shape the boot around your foot. If they cannot do that, then they are not good at their job.
You described your foot as a wide, high volume foot (wide and tall). The boot they sold you is narrow and low volume. Without me seeing your foot, my main guess is that this is why you are in pain and why your foot is falling asleep. The boot is constricting your foot, especially over the top of your foot where a lot of blood flow happens. If you constrict the top of your foot, you turn off the blood flow. This equates to numb, cold toes.
Go back to your shop and have them perform a shell fit for WIDTH, not just length. Remove the liner and insert your foot into the shell. With your heel in the back of the boot, slide the inside portion of your foot to the inside portion of the shell. In a comfortably snug fit, you should be able to get a fingertip around the outside of your foot. Anything less means there is no room for a liner and it will be tight, it will be painful, it will be cold.
You can do this test at home, let us know what you find.
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Sorry I never really responded to this thread until now.
Well I went back to the shop and the guy there gave me a pair of thin socks and I don't think he did anything to the boots. Where he marked on the footbed when I saw him wasn't even touched. So I tried them on in the shop and walked around for awhile, probably a half hour to an hour. No loss of circulation. I tried the fingertip test and I could just barely fit my fingertip down the side, so that didn't seem too bad. I get out to the mountain and after about an hour my foot starts falling asleep again. I went into the lodge and took my boots off and took a little break. Then went out and every time my foot fell asleep I would just go in and take a break.
I'm not sure how much liners can pack in, but after about 3 more days of skiing doing this, my feet finally felt good and didn't lose circulation. I've gone skiing probably 15 times after that and my feet haven't lost circulation since. I guess they really must've packed in a lot or something. The boots do have the Trufit custom fit liner too, so that could also have something to do with it, I'm not really sure. So circulation wise they are all set. I don't know why he would lie the last time I was there and say he did something to the boots though when he clearly didn't. I can also tell he didn't because when he set the boots down after I handed them to him, the power strap was sitting right under the toe of the boot and when I went in the next day, the boots were in the same position and place with the power strap in the same spot, so they didn't even get moved. It's dumb logic, but chances are pretty good that he didn't touch them. Sorry, I pay attention to little things like that. Haha. So I don't think I'm going to go back there, if you think I'm being stupid and dumb for not wanting to go back there after the other stuff they did too, please tell me, because I would like to know if I'm in the wrong here.
There's one more thing that's kind of annoying me lately and I wondered if there is anything at all I can do to fix this.
I have really curled toes. They just curl straight down for some reason, I guess it's the way I was born. I know it's weird, but I've tried to do stretches for years to flatten them down but they really can't. So now the tops or joints of all my toes (except my big toe because it's the only flat one) get really bad toe bang on the top. I mean I'm not just being a wuss here because they really get bruised up pretty good, and the joints turn a pretty bruised up color too. It's actually pretty painful to ski sometimes because of it. I've tried wrapping them up with those pads and like medical tape, but that almost hurts more because everything wrapped on them compresses them in and that doesn't help at all.
Sorry this is really a weird and random question, I just wondered if anyones dealt with anything like this from experience because I'm out of ideas of what to do, to get it to stop hurting. Just wondered. Thanks for all the help here guys. I really hope I don't come off sounding like a pussy. I know ski boots aren't supposed to be comfortable but I just wish my feet weren't in this pain like they are. I really don't know why my feet are no longer losing circulation though, I'm not gonna complain about it! I guess the liners must've just packed in or something. Thanks again guys.
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