Boots...finally?

[Ron]

for ha' ha's?  Are you taking them to a fitter?

[Glenn]

Probably not.  I live dangerously....or at least painfully if they don't fit. 

[Ron]

its not pain, its performance, all the money you spend on lift tickets and gear and all, then you wear a boot that was desinged to be adjusted to your foot and to alligned with your body in order to function properly.

[Gary]

Glenn....to really max out the performance of a boot and get the most out of how it goes to work for you, things like, knee and shin aligment, canting, foot alignment in the boot to make sure your ankle is neutural in the boot are big factors.

But maybe you're like the few that are pefectly aligned...

Still if you're up to the shell fit, take out the liners, go bare as you were born into the boot and see if there are any hot spots or gaps around your foot. If you have a foot bed, put that in the shell first. If not, use the foot bed that comes with the boot. You can also purchase a surefoot footbed that at least I think is better than the stock bed as is somewhat adjustable.

Let us know if there are any foot beasties in there!

G

[midwif]

Jim, what happened to Rule #2? That is really rule #1... Lynn won't argue that point...

Gotta agree with Jim on this one. Rule#1 is "THE WOMAN IS ALWAYS RIGHT".
Remember Ron, I emphatically encouraged Glenn to do the shell fit as you heartily suggested.
Did he listen to either of us???NO

We may have to have an intervention.
With coffee NOT from Dunkin Donuts on the sideboard.

[Ron]

Lynn, I will never go against a chick from the Bronx! All noted and agreed upon accept that I would view his being banned from D&D coffee as more of a rehabilitation than a punishment.....

[Glenn]

I'd say I've got about 3/4" of an inch of gap in the heel area with my toes up front (shell fit). It's so hard to tell because it's almost impossible to look down the boot with the angle and all.

[Ron]

Find a dowel, piece of trim or a stick that is about .5" ,with your liners out, put your foot in just so the toes hit front. Just lean forward enough to stick the measuring stick down the back of the boot. If yo can find a .5 stick, it should just about make t between you heel and the back of the shell, if the boot is larger, obviously, the shell is too big. I woun't go bigger than a .5".

[midwif]

I'd say I've got about 3/4" of an inch of gap in the heel area with my toes up front (shell fit). It's so hard to tell because it's almost impossible to look down the boot with the angle and all.

Glenn
Given the length of time you wore packed out, roomy boots, I think the 3/4 inch room in the shell will probably work for you. Though you may find in a couple of years that you ARE ready to advance to a tighter fitting boot. (which may require "break-in" time and ample tweaking, ie grinding out, etc).

Ron
Don't scare the guy away from gradual immersion to upper level ski boot agony....er, I mean ski boot nirvana.

Lynn

[Ron]

Lynn, gotta stick with my 1/2 here. No reason at all that a snug-fitting boot needs to be or should be painful. A properly fitted boot should not be painful, it may feel slightly overly-tight for a couple of days but there is no reason the boot should be painful or have hotspots. My Atomics were race plugs that required grinding and all but they were actually very comfortable. They were really overkill. When I bought the Head S11's, all that was done was to adjust the cuff and make a couple of minor tweaks, like removing the spoiler.  The footbeds were so good (thanks Billy kaplan; fitter extriodinaire) the allignment was so close no changes were needed. Now, everyone is different but the point is if you start with the right shell and the right type of boot; racers need a different fit and different setup, that's more than 1/2 the battle.  Not everyone is going to be so lucky as to not need a grind or a punch but it shouldn't be extreme.

[Glenn]

I think I should be good to go with these.    I can't wait to test them out!

[jim-ratliff]

Ron:

You've been married how long?? There are no exemptions from Rule #1.? In fact, Global Rule #2 says that "in the rare event that you think the woman is wrong, better think again."

IMHO, it's all iterative.? The boots I have now fight tighter but are just as comfortable as the boots before.? The last pair of boots was looser than these, but much tighter than the boots before those.? I finally "got it" at about 55 years old, Glynn is way ahead of me.? Glenn, in the event that the current boots do "loosen up" after a year or two, there are custom replacement liners that can be used to fill the voids between your foot and the boot and can get a pretty decent fit out of larger boots.

Jim
PS.? It's August.? How many days 'til RealSkiers III

[Ron]

Jiim, Geeze, I just realized I violated the golden RULE!   YIKES>.....

 This October will be our 20th anniversary....

Yes, if needed, a Intuition liner would be a great choice. One of the advantages with the intuition is that it not only compresses when being setup, it expands to fill as well. It's also a very warm liner. It has been a great solution for people with difficult fits. If the foot is OK in the shell but due to irregular shape, there are gaps and such, the liner can really tighten up the fit.

[Gary]

Here's my 21/2 cents on this matter

Hmmm...I personally think the 1/2 dowl rod is the way to go for the "feels and uses lots of foot work" skier that want's immediate response. ALong with that may come the price of bumping and grinding out some hot spots in the boot. The 3/4 fit maybe a  more recreational/performance oriented rider who wants a comfortable boot right out of the box. Keep in mind, if this persons technicnal ski skills evolves, having that boot whose shell has little wiggle room laterally and the 1/2 dowl room front to back, will reap mega rewards.

Well at least this has been my experience.

Some people can fit a boot with minimum adjustments...just some luck there.

I also think Glen that a good foot bed may better fit your foot to that boot.

Best,
Gary

[Glenn]

I have been pretty lucky in the past...my boots haven't needed much in terms of modifications. I'll give these a few days on the snow and then go from there. Gotta break em' in first.