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Wearing in Custom Footbeds?

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captainslack
Posts: 296 - Karma: 436
Hello all,

3 years ago I bought some full tilt drop kicks. Wasn't really fitted for them but they felt fine in the shop and I'd already had to pay for them as i'd had to order that size in (regret this now but oh well)

I've worn them for about 5 weeks skiing in total over the years but as I'm going on a season i though i'd get some custom footbeds to prevent the pain I often got with them.

Had the footbeds fitted yesterday, guy seemed to know what he was talking about and when i put my feet back into my boots they felt very tight but snug and fine. Trying them on back home and i feel the sides of my foot are being pressed by the arch support, not painfully but noticeable, and the top of my foot doesn't have much room. Is this something to get use to? Will the boot pack out further as i wear them more with the footbeds, would be good to have a little more room in the top of the liner.

The best option would be to buy new boots - I may end up doing this mid season when I have more money but for now I'm stuck with the FTs. Will the boots repack and get comfier?

I can take the footbeds back anytime to have changes made to them. I'm reluctant to do this before I ski with them, There will be sidas fitters in resort and i don't mind giving them some cash to change the footbeds once i've had a ski.

Many thanks for any help

TL:DR: why hasn't getting custom footbeds made my boots into slippers?
Nov 23 2014 12:54PM
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rozboon
Posts: 1642 - Karma: 868
If you haven't had footbeds in them the top part of the liner will be barely packed down at all, so there will be a little bit of give in that area over time. Do the boots have Intuition liners? If so they will definitely need re-cooked to factor in the new fit with the footbed.

If you still don't have enough room, there may be some scope to take material off the bottom of the footbed, and some (most?) models of FTs have a removable boot-board that you can grind down to gain a crucial few millimetres.
Nov 23 2014 1:48PM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6638 - Karma: 10,532
captainslackTL:DR: why hasn't getting custom footbeds made my boots into slippers?


You can't go from zero arch support to full arch support without some adjustment. Basically your foot is used to nothing, and now it has tons of support. Your feet, your muscles, tendons, etc need to adjust to this new interface.

A super good idea is to wear your boots around the house for like 20 minutes at a time, and if the footbed allows it, put them into your street shoes as well. You want to get used to them as best you can before you go skiing. And once you are used to them you will never want to be without them.

Also- did your boot-fitter remold your liners when you got the footbeds made? Or did you just toss them in and go? You definitely want to have your liners remolded (with toe caps) when you get new footbeds as your foot will be in a new position and the liner will not match up to said position.
Nov 23 2014 3:27PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
onenerdykidYou can't go from zero arch support to full arch support without some adjustment. Basically your foot is used to nothing, and now it has tons of support. Your feet, your muscles, tendons, etc need to adjust to this new interface.

A super good idea is to wear your boots around the house for like 20 minutes at a time, and if the footbed allows it, put them into your street shoes as well. You want to get used to them as best you can before you go skiing. And once you are used to them you will never want to be without them.

Also- did your boot-fitter remold your liners when you got the footbeds made? Or did you just toss them in and go? You definitely want to have your liners remolded (with toe caps) when you get new footbeds as your foot will be in a new position and the liner will not match up to said position.


All I would add to this is maybe don't use the sidas footbeds in your shoes as the forefoot will crack in a soft soled shoe. I would get a pair of sidas or superfeet trim to fits. They are relatively cheap and will have a less pronounced surport then the full customs so it will help your foot get used to te surport.
Nov 23 2014 3:57PM
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Wompuscat
Posts: 818 - Karma: 380
Thank you for posting this thread. I just had custom footbeds made up last spring in Jackson, and while the bottom of my feet felt marvelous, everything else about the boot just felt slightly off unlike before. Certain areas constricting where they hadnt been before and it was causing a lot of pain that I had never had before. I do have intuition liners that were molded to my foot, but not after I had the footbeds made. I was already considering taking them to a bootfitter when I went out west this year, but now I'm positive I will. I have been wearing my boots around the house to get used to the support though, and I can tell that has helped.

I live in the midwest unfortunately, so I dont have any legitimate bootfitters around. Should I take them to a shop and have the liners re-molded and then just have any padding I need done when I go out west in January? Or should I just live with the liners being uncomfortable until I get to a legitimate bootfitter?
Nov 23 2014 4:00PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
WompuscatThank you for posting this thread. I just had custom footbeds made up last spring in Jackson, and while the bottom of my feet felt marvelous, everything else about the boot just felt slightly off unlike before. Certain areas constricting where they hadnt been before and it was causing a lot of pain that I had never had before. I do have intuition liners that were molded to my foot, but not after I had the footbeds made. I was already considering taking them to a bootfitter when I went out west this year, but now I'm positive I will. I have been wearing my boots around the house to get used to the support though, and I can tell that has helped.

I live in the midwest unfortunately, so I dont have any legitimate bootfitters around. Should I take them to a shop and have the liners re-molded and then just have any padding I need done when I go out west in January? Or should I just live with the liners being uncomfortable until I get to a legitimate bootfitter?


Something to consider when your adding a footbed to an existing boot is your changing the position of the foot both inside the liner an the shell. So the liner will have bedded in, in one position but now your in a new position. The liner may take a little time to rebed in. Also the shell may need work. If you were sold a boot without a footbed it's pretty likely the fitter did not really shell check you well and in neutral. The shell may need working on now your foot is hopefully closer to neutral.
Nov 23 2014 4:07PM
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captainslack
Posts: 296 - Karma: 436
thanks very much guys, I really appreciate your help. I'll start wearing them around the house and give them a few days on snow to see how they bed in.
Nov 25 2014 5:05PM
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Thewhiteroom
Posts: 339 - Karma: 468
Hey Man, I've fit ski boots for along time and there are a couple things I would do right away. Re mold your boots because they come with an intuition liner and you can remold those things like 4 times or so. Your liner molded to your feet while they weren't supported and have been getting packed out like that for awhile now. Now that you put a footbed in which raises your whole foot up and changed ankle position and arches and your last (width of foot). So I would remold the liner to re customize it to feel better.

Now you might notice that when you wear footbeds your foot is a lil smaller in length now too. So when you get new boots you should look at down sizing your shell to get a better fit. And DONT buy FT because all the park guys are using them. Go get fitted at a recognized boot fitter and see what they think. Thats what they do for a living (at least winter months) so trust what they say.

Still give your feet a day or so to get use to the support. After they get use to them you will never go without a good pair the rest of your life skiing
Nov 25 2014 11:00PM
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1337hrvy0sw1d
Posts: 15 - Karma: -2
i love the classic boot just like I love me them chuck taylors.. would you wear orthotics with converse?
Nov 26 2014 1:03AM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6638 - Karma: 10,532
1337hrvy0sw1di love the classic boot just like I love me them chuck taylors.. would you wear orthotics with converse?


A fully rigid plastic ski boot is no way similar to a canvas basketball shoe from the 1950s. It is exactly because your flexible foot is inside a rigid plastic shell that you want to use a footbed- to stabilize your flexible foot and keep it from twisting/moving inside the rigid shell.
Nov 26 2014 3:16AM
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1337hrvy0sw1d
Posts: 15 - Karma: -2
i mean that they're both a bit outdated technologically but they still work surprisingly pretty good on an old design that's simple n basic, that's the charm of 'm
Nov 27 2014 2:39AM
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Thewhiteroom
Posts: 339 - Karma: 468
1337hrvy0sw1di love the classic boot just like I love me them chuck taylors.. would you wear orthotics with converse?


I would not wear orthotics in converse but I also wouldn't wear converse to play basketball either. I would buy some badass jordans or something then put orthotics in. I would do that!
Nov 28 2014 10:59AM
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