Boots?

[Canada]

So we got some money from taxes and Valentines day is coming up and my wifes boots don't fit her well, and sometimes her feet get cold.

We have a surefoot dealer here, and tons of people that represent themselves as Guru's at custom foot beds. She's advanced intermediate, (No one tell her I said that), and is currently in a race fit boot. She has no need for a race fit, and it detracts from the experience for her. Her feet grew with the delivery of each of both of our kids.

Anyone done anything in park city with any of the local shops, or on the salt lake side? Anyone have any feedback on Surefoot. How do they match the mold in the shop to actual on slope performance. Anyone have any thoughts on really warm boots / boot warming systems.

I've been in various top end Solomons since the early 80's and have been happy. She is in the same boot, but I think the race fit prescribed by an ex boyfriend in Breck is the real problem there.

Looking for some good tips

Thanks,
Ken

[WhiteLightning]

I used to be a Surefoot customer. I have footbeds from them. I'm a ski instructor and had them recommend a boot, try some on and recommend a size. After less than 30 days on the boots, they feel too big, and have packed out, so I went in and asked about custom liners. They told me the shell is too big, i.e. the one they sized me for. I can't bitch too much, since I pro formed the boots. ( I didn't have an extra $1200 laying around to do retail, plus all the customs) I just can't believe they tell me the boots are the wrong size and they can't help me, when they sized them for me.

I asked some other instructors, and they all use a guy at Christy's Sports. I would say ask around your favorite resort. Find out who the patrollers and instructors like to work with, and ask for the PERSON (not just the shop) by name.

I'm not saying SureFoot is bad, I am just saying that they kind of left me hanging. The guy at Christy's told me my shell size was fine, and he did some work that helped a ton. I was about to buy new boots, but I'm going to give them a shot. The sad thing is that I was eyeing some new AT boots, that was going to be the last straw that was going to force me to buy some AT gear. Oh well, too much $$$$

[Kato]

I sell ski boots and i'll give you some advice. The most important thing is fit. If she has a wider foot you should be looking mainly at tecnica, nordica, and salomon; and rossi and lange for narrower foot, generally speaking. there are a couple exceptions to that. Make sure whoever sizes her does a shell fit and she has no less than one finger or more than two fingers space between her heel and the shell when her toes are lightly touching the front. If you ski more than 25 days a year i would recomend leaning more towards the 1 finger than the 2 finger fit because they will pack out quite a bit.

Most people will say its way too small when they fist put it on but you need to buckle it up and flex the boot to know. Your toes should be lightly touching the front when the boot is fully flexed. Then just compare a few boots, looking for the most snug, but also the most comfortable fit. You should be in a boot that's borderline too small because they are only going to get bigger and bigger.

As far as foot beds, make sure you do not go with a weighted mold. you should get something like superfeet that are molded when your foot is neutral. hope that helps.

[sick rick]

I agree to kato to a certain degree, everything that he said was right on the money.

my personal preference for foot beds though is different. I think that all foot beds should be molded weight bearing. the reasoning being you will be using them in a weight bearing position, so I think that they should be molded that way. I would definitely not suggest a surefoot insole, I have been told many times in my boot fitting career that their insole is molded to one of twelve different foot shapes. some surefoot bootfitters are great and experienced, but some others are new and inexperienced. so in general the best thing to do is talk to someone and get a feel for their knowledge before you even start.

I'm sorry, I'll get off of my soapbox.