Race level bootfitting for touring boots??

[skibumsmith]

I would like to know if there are bootfitters who offer the equivalent of FIS race level bootfitting but for touring boots. I know race boots are thicker plastic and it's more difficult to manipulate plastic in the area where there's a walk-mode etc etc. But I am seriously at my wit's end and becoming increasingly desperate to find a pair of comfortable touring boots. I have haglund's deformity (google image search for examples) and so far dalbello krypton series are the only boots I've tried that don't hurt. But... it feels like my feet are swimming in those boots. I have zipfits and custom footbeds + spacers under the liner and still they feel sloppy. I'm not kidding when I say, "I'm willing to get on a plane and travel to a fitter if they can make my feet happy."

[heckacali]

Dang that's a hard place to have a lump for ski boots

[skt07]

Reach out to Tom and see if he can help you. You could start with an online consult. He’s a master at fitting touring boots.

https://www.thebootmechanic.com/

[XavierD]

haglund's deformity/lange bump should be pretty easy for most fitters to account for on other boots with a lower overall volume. I wouldn’t pick a boot on that part alone.

[garuda]

I have big heel spurs / haglund's and got my Hawx Ultra and Hawx Ultra XTD Boa boots punched last season in the heel pocket. It helped a lot. Might need more and/or grinding to fully resolve the issue. But I would find a boot that fits your overall foot volume and instep, and then punch the heel and any other areas from there to get the best outcome.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Tech Talk, JONG!

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/137151-the-answer-to-quot-WTF-is-wrong-with-my-boots-quot?p=7131683#post7131683

[skibumsmith]

haglund's deformity/lange bump should be pretty easy for most fitters to account for on other boots with a lower overall volume. I wouldn’t pick a boot on that part alone.

I tried with:
- Lange RX
- Tecnica Mach1
- Atomic Hawx
- Scarpa (I don't remember)
With each boot, the fitter did what they could and when I said, "It still hurts," they said, "I'm sorry. I can't grind anymore. The plastic is too thin." I randomly picked up a pair of kryptons and there was no pain. I've been using them ever since.

[zion zig zag]

I have a Haglund's deformity on both feet, but much worse on my left. When I wear stiff, leather hunting boots I have to use one of these on my left foot: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

For some reason, I haven't had trouble in ski boots (knocks on wood).

[gregL]

What do you mean by "FIS race level" bootfitting? No one planes/cants/routers touring boot soles, and no one does fully foam injected liners for touring boots. Both are a given for real race boots.

Punching for Haglund's isn't really a race-specific thing, and the problem with AT boots is dealing with the walk mode lever (many touring boots have levers that fasten just where the typical heel spur is). Grinding touring boot heels is usually minimally effective because the plastic isn't that thick around the base of the latch (plug boots are typically 6-7mm thick here) and punching can lead to the lever not working after the fact. If the heel spur is off to one side you can sometimes punch both medial and lateral sides of the heel to keep the lever base straight, but it takes some experience. You have more freedom to punch with a boot like the MTN Lab or Shift series boots where the mechanism is on the top of the cuff rather than the heel, but lots of bootfitters will just say no rather than risk having to buy you a new boot.

[~mikey b]

FIS level touring boot fitting


this is one of those questions like “what is the STRONGEST glue for mounting skis?”

silly

[gregL]

FIS level touring boot fitting

The bootfitters I would trust with my plug race boots are not the ones I'd go to for my touring boots because, for the most part, they don't tour and have little interest in the gear. Working with thin Grilamid and boots with a bunch of moving parts requires a whole separate sphere of experience that doesn't overlap that much with performance alpine boots.

[North]

What's your shell fit? I know that's a very basic question that implies you've missed something obvious but here's why I'm asking.

I used to race (poorly) in plugs. For 10+ yrs after my racing days I insisted on a very tight shell fit, even for touring boots. Day in day out fit was tolerable and I put a lot of big days in. But the issues would slowly accumulate and I got heel spurs every year, bad enough that I considered surgery. Feet were trashed at the end of every season etc. All my problems went away when I reluctantly went to a more reasonable shell fit. No regrets.

[XXX-er]

Race level touring boot is like jumbo shrimp or military intelligence

I think you need to find the shell that fits your foot,

nothing even remotely scarpa will work for me

I just got lucky buying Mercury and then Vulcan on line

pretty good fit with an intuition pwrwrap/ no shell mods

[BaseFloopy]

"Bro, do you even race fit your touring boots...?"

Skintrack convos just added a new layer of flavor. It's about time.

[Buster Highmen]

... that doesn't overlap that much with performance alpine boots.

I see what you did there.