New Boots Maintenance tips?

Bump because i too would like to know

All i do is buckle em and leave em inside so i dont have to put on a cold boot

after a day of shredding. Always:

To keep your liners in the best shape, find a cheap boot dryer. Well worth it, and always remove the footbeds!

Rebuckle after taking them off. You don't need to tighten it to the max but just enough to keep the boot in shape. With today's lighter plastics it's great performance-wise and make them lightweight for sure but the lighter plastic will also expand over time if you don't rebuckle

Always remember to do this. Especially when the season's over and they're going to be sitting for a while. It will keep the shape of the boot

If you don't have a boot dryer, take the time to remove the liners EVERY night. Especially with the Intuition liners, they will last much longer if you keep them dried out. And no one will complain about your feet stench.

If you do have a boot dryer, and it has a heater, DONT USE IT. You end up fatiguing the thermo foam, and ruining your liners prematurely. Only use a non-heating boot dryer.

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people will laugh but walking through parking lots fucks your boots

+k thanks any others, i want to keep these boot in the best condition possible and still ski the same way

Well this is just accessability, but keep them warm before you go skiing. Like dont throw them in the back of a truck. If its cold, the plastic is stiffer and they are a pain to get on.

Don't be a gaper and get all dressed in the parking lot. Roll your gaiters over your baggy snow pants and proceed to the lodge like a normal human being. I try to minimize the amount of time my ski boots spend NOT in my skis. Wearing them across pavement/concrete does slowly wear out the heel/toe lugs. If you have replaceable ones, that's fine. But if you don't, those will eventually shrink the contact points to your bindings, which, is pretty darn essential to binding safety/proper function.

Temperature. is. key. I always keep my boots "warm" and dry. As stated, remove the liners, especially after a shuper shloppy shpring day. Don't drop them on top of say... a baseboard heater or hot air duct. Since so many boots these days have heat adjustable liners it is essential to maintaining fit that they dry either slowly/naturally or through a boot drier. Radical shifts in temperature will make you go "wtf bro, I'm not a foot bound Chinese woman, what happened to my boots."

The same goes for the plastic, it will expand (and contract when it cools) in weird, inconsistent ways. Returning to the original is not easy.

Don't leave your boots in your Thule/Yakima/Sears Box during travel. I usually keep mine in the passenger side floor (I tell my friends to deal with it) and keep the warm air lightly flowing. (Old Subaru=little drafty)

Buckle your boots--DO NOT clamp them down--when not in use. After lots of personal experimenting this is my advice: ratchet them so that when you pull them down the plastic is lightly pulled in to place and has a *touch* of play. This could be different for you, experiment.

Figure out a good transport system. Hopefully a boot bag.

Minor threadjack but it's on the same topic. I just got new FT's (Yes, they were fitted by a boot-fitter) and I'm gonna be leaving them in my locker at the hill overnight over the course of the season. should I take the liner out of the shell when I store them and leave it like that? Or keep it together? Any other tips?

It will not be the end of the world if you leave the liner in.

To be perfectly honest, unless I've been bootpacking a fair amount or in aforementioned shloppy conditions, will I take it out. It's good practice to do so, but by no means a deal breaker. (IMHO)

It also depends on how well the boot breathes too. For instance, I used to have Salomon 1080 boots that in their later years did not keep water out, so I was taking those out quite frequently. With my sexy Tecnica's I take my liners out less.

Taking them out, helps everything breath and dry better but MOST importantly it insures moisture doesn't sick in their and contribute to jungle boot rot in the long run.

keep them buckled up every time you take them off and they will keep their shape, other than that avoid walking on pavement excessively

+k really helpful

why is it a gaper thing to dress in the parking lot?

dont be an old man and get dressed in the lodge

I get dressed in the lodge for a two reasons.

1. Avoid the parade of clumsy people dropping poles, etc.
2. My backpack contains food I bring to the mountain so I don't have to pay $15 for a shitty burger and something to drink. And I'm not walking back to my car to make lunch in a far away lot.

I have a pack with my food and I just throw it at the bottom of a lift

Fair enough. This is why I get dressed at the car