DingoSeanFirst and foremost, spend the money on the footbeds. They are not 400$ (and if they are, go to a shop where they are half that, theyre the majority) That's more likely what's causing your knee and joint pain... Stabilizing the heel and the foot is absolutely critical when youre using something as rigid as an alpine or AT ski boot, and if your heel is rolling and your arch is pronating, and your feet are generally unstable and whatnot, its going to absolutely CANE your joints. A trim to fit footbed is better than nothing, but theyre made for someone who might ski 9-10 runs in a day, and spending the rest of the time in the bar or on the sundeck eating overpriced burgers and PBRs, not someone trying to put in uphill mileage at 6am with something like 10kg on their back and 4kg on each foot. That's not going to be appropriate and youre gonna have a bad time.
Anyway, you gotta realize that a lot of people come into a store looking for a specific size and boot based on what they read online or what a friend told them etc... It happens constantly (and if youre in a city shop, even moreso)... It becomes a massive waste of time when you have appointments and stuff. My suggestion for the future is to not ask for a certain boot in a certain size, but rather ask which boots are made for touring, yet can actually fuck shit up and send some sends if you really think you need to drive the point home that youre aggro out there.
Additionally, for touring, a lot of shops are often going with a little more relaxed fit than what people go with in their alpine boots. You're spending over 90% of the time pounding the skintrack, so the standard aggressive fit is often the wrong call... I use a 25 shell for my alpine boots, and use about as stiff as I can muster, but I actually go up a size to a 26 shell for all of my touring boots, and even soften things considerably in the case of my F1s. Of course with any bootfitter, you have to listen to your client and their needs, goals, and wishes, so sometimes its best to stick to a certain size, but at the same time, you have to educate your clients because often theyre as misinformed as an antivaxxer about things - especially the older boomer dudes who are absolutely full of it half the time.
As for switching brands... always consider it if you hear the recommendation - alpine and touring applications are not really as synonymous as you may think.. They may both be skiing, but It's like comparing mountain biking to roadbiking a lot of the time. (and the touring boot that says Hawx on it, is quite a bit different than the alpine boot that says Hawx on it)
I understand that being a girl, youre likely getting mansplained a lot... and its fucking bullshit and sexist, but in the shop, often whats often happening is youre being bootsplained... and most everyone gets that kinda treatment in the shop.
You are right though.. often times female customers get treated like theyre some fragile thing who's never seen frozen precipitation in their life. I have worked in some pretty damn boys-club environments and I always hated it... Luckily now I work in a shop where we really push to bring in women bootfitters, or at least train podiatrists fresh out of university how to do it... Women are always going to feel a bit more comfortable talking to a woman, and there are some great female bootfitters out there. I always suggest women call around and try to find a shop with some lady fitters who generally understand their concerns a lot more than the 43 year old balding divorced guy with a bad attitude towards anyone with a uterus.
Thats too bad they didnt ask about your skis... I always make sure to know what someone is going to be using gear-wise - not just in order to try to sell someone on something fresh, but also because it helps understand a customer's goals and whatnot in the backcountry, or otherwise. A good fitter will always ask about the rest of your gear too. Cant tell you how many times someone comes in for a new pair of touring boots when really what they need is to update their ancient Ortovox F1 or Ortovox Patroller to something designed this millenium...
What do you mean by a custom footbed? Is it similar to a moldable boot liner where they just heat mold it to the shape of your foot? I mean yea I can't really afford $200 footbeds right now but I have some old footbeds lying around that were fitted at the shop a few years ago. I might just throw those in and see if they help first....
Also that makes sense about sizing up for touring boots, but I went with the tighter fit with the assumption that my liners would pack out fairly quickly, and once they're broken in they'll be a lot more comfortable. I also haven't gotten the liners molded yet because apparently heat molding them makes them wear down even quicker... do you think I should get my liners molded??
Lol - yea I agree though it'd be super sick to see more female bootfitters out there for sure. Nothing against dudes, but having another chick there who understands how our bodies are different and move in different ways would definitely make a difference.
But yea thanks for taking the time to explain things!! I appreciate it. I see the cuff alignment issue with my Lange XT's from a totally different perspective now.
