the answer to "WTF is wrong with my boots?"

mntlion, thanks for all the good advice.

Good to meet you at the shop in March, a shame I didn't have time to wait for the right Intuition liners to be ordered in. Would have loved to have you fit them.

Anyhoo, after trying on a ton of different liners at Intuition, I bought some Luxury Liners. Cooked them myself, and after initial issues with cramped toes, they now fit perfectly - almost.

My perennial problem is low front foot volume (my foot, not the boots). The high volume Luxury Liners took up most volume and felt way firmer on my skinny feet than wrap type liners, but I still feel I could do with more downward pressure on my forefoot.

I've resorted to pads of EVA foam (approx 3 x 5") loosely stuck between tongue and liner. Would Bontex shims help? Can't seem to find any in NZ. How about an adhesive pad of foam, stuck to the liner and covering the tongue?

I'm loath to put a footbed in, as the liners have moulded perfectly to my feet, the soles of my feet too. They fit and ski so much better than anything I've ever tried, but still, it could be better.

All the best, and thanks in advance for any help and tips.

FWIW; Nordica Speedmachine 12, 28.5, 12-13mm shell fit, 29 hi-vol Luxury Liners.

I would try a bit thicker sock?
shims or foam under the liner
might be able to make foam over the top of the liner, around teh ankle flex point, work?
a smaller shell, and make the shell longer?


speed machines are NOT a low volume boot.. maybe keep the liner, and look at a more racey volume shell?

IB - What happens when you are skiing that makes you want to take up more room in the toe box? Is it solely space vertically above your toes that you want to take up? I'm with Mtnlion on the shell thoughts. That is not a low volume boot in the least. I have hobbit feet, and find the Doberman Pro (98mm last to the Speedmachine's 100mm) roomy. If you like the dynamics of the Nordicas, try the Dobie Pro/Girish/Enforcer Pro.

You guys are fast! Thanks for the advice.

Worth, it's not my toes. Maybe forefoot isn't the right term, should have said instep. To be more precise, my toes have a bit of wiggle room, nice. My heel is firmly stuck in a nice pocket. But from my ankle and about 5" ahead I could do with more hold downward. The width is perfect!

I may have the wrong boot, but then I've never been in a boot that didn't feel like that. For future reference, if I was to buy a beefy AT boot, which one would you think might suit me?

Thanks again - a lot!

Nordica tends to be higher volume in the instep. For a burlier AT boot, Tecnica Cochise, though you may find it similarly roomy as well.

new cochise 130 is a smaller volume then the cochise of last year. might be a good option too? get both soles, and it can just be "a boot" rather then just a AT boot.

Oh, and just one last question.

Would the Cochise Light be the same low-volume fit as the 130?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mntlion

new cochise 130 is a smaller volume then the cochise of last year. might be a good option too? get both soles, and it can just be "a boot" rather then just a AT boot.

---

That's exactly what I meant.

Cheers

coachise 130 is the bodacious fit from last year (98mm) and all the rest of the cochise is 100mm, and same as last year.

the cochise 130, with an intuition, will be similar in weight to the light I bet.

Heads up, someone's clearing a bunch of zipfits on ebay. They are the older model, but IMHO they are the answer to "WTF is wrong with my boots?"

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw...at=0&_from=R40

Gotta love search alerts. Just scored these :)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170917643364...84.m1497.l2649

Looking for AT boots for backcountry touring but have Raynaud's - so light, warm and good walking (movement helps) are priorities. Need to order from US into Canada so trying to get a good guess on size. While non available in town, Dynafit TLT 5s seem very well suited to my use (very light & easier walking) but are lower volume and narrower shell with thinner, colder liners (7mm); I am thinking of putting in Intuition Protour Liners (10 mm), custom footbeds, and boot warmers to get a warm but very light boot. My questions: Anyone done this? Is this a reasonable approach or would you recommend against it. If it does sound good, do I need to go up a size in the TLT to make this work? p.s. Tried various makes and Dynafit seems best though quite tight from mid-instep to little toe (my feet get very red along the edge when I pull my foot out - pronating feet): actual models and sizes that were available in town to try were ZZeus 26 (very heavy but looks like the right shell length, heel holds well and toes just brush inside of liner when standing using thin liner socks w/silnylon vb), One PX 27 (feels "nice" but likely too big) and Mercury 26 (seems very stiff for what I am doing). my feet shape: b heel, d forefoot, med arch.

order 2 sizes on the TLT and return one. but yes, that system with intuitions and heaters should work.
I usually fit a 25 in most boots (8.5 shoe) and got the TLT5 in the 26 shell. 25 was VERY tight. So you might need to upsize anyways to get the thicker liner in that boot. Also think about boot gloves. $50 and work well.
I'm in banff, dont sell dynafit, but can help with the fitting and sizing of what ever you bring down to me

Ummm. I'm an 8.5 or 9 depending upon the make of shoe. Size 27 sounds too big even with the intuition liner. I checked sizes: with Dynafit 26 is a 26.5 shell which should give 5 mm extra for size 26 Intuition liner.

p.s. Thanks for the offer - next time I'm in Banff I'll stop by.

if you want to shell size my 26 shell, when you get to banff, get ahold of me.

good luck with that. I would still order both sizes and return the one that doesn't work

Followed up on your advice though couldn't find size 25 or 27 - I received a pair of size 26 yesterday. While they seem pretty good (both shell fit and I wore them for 35 minutes around the house), the insoles are way narrower from mid-foot to forefoot - guestimated at up to 11 mm, insole length and heel width are barely as long and wide - should this be a concern at all? In other words do the shells sound workable. How about with a thicker Intuition liner and boot warmer?

p.s. In the liner I have lots of toe wiggle room, some room in heel, pretty tight around the forefoot but a tiny bit moveable when push up with toes (buckles just over mid-position). Wearing thin liner socks with ID silnylon VB socks (can even squeeeeeze in some heavier vb socks from RBH Designs that are the warmest I have ever used - think 100 wt polarfleece).

shell fit:
1) between 1 and 2 fingers at back of shell.
2) putting weight on foot can just feel sides but big and little toes pressing in, w/o weight can move a few mm side-to-side in shell - I find it hard to judge.
3) Need space for custom insoles and also in-boot warmer.

BOW
1 bottom buckle a bit tighter is better
2 thinner socks per above
3 footbeds tbd
4 downhill stance best though with a little cutting into shin; when standing/walking little toe pushed in hard, top of foot over arch pushes hard into side of boot on arch side, and big toes pushes lightly into liner (to my understanding typical of pronating foot: big toe pushes forward, outer forefoot pushes out and top of foot over arch pushes in)
5 tbd
6 tbd
7 tbd
8 power straps don't seem much use on "inhouse" testing
9 tbd
10 not relevant

sounds fine, go ski em

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good bootfitter in Tahoe area? Trying to get a new pair of boots

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TGR Forums

Start Haus. Real deal

Hi!!

Im going to buy a new pair of boots.. I bought way to big boots last year do to a toe injury, that was Fulltilt Seth Mo in size 27.

This year Im looking at Dalbello kr Two and Full tilt konflicts. The problem is that I cant find a shop here in Norway that sells Dalbello Kr two.. And none of the other Krypton models. I have tried the Full tilt in size 26.5, they was used for a season or two, so i think the liners was packed out. They felt very snug, and around 15-20mm of space between the heel and shell, Im not sure about the width, since i didnt read this forum before i tried them.

Do you know how the Konflicts is compared to the Dalbello Kr two? Is the volume lower, the insteep lower etc..? My feet is narrow, low insteep, small heel and all of the small shitt..

Im a big mountain skier, but I also ski a little in the park, and do a lot of BC-jumps beside! Therefor I like a little more space in the front of the boots.

Im also considering going down to a 25shell, since I can punch out the ski boots.. And the shops Ive talked to can get Dalbello boots and send them to me, but If they dont fit I have to pay for the return(..something that would be veeery expensive.)

So Im thinking about ordering a pari of Dalbello kr two in 25.5 and Full tilt 25.5, cause I may think that Dalbello in size 26.5 will be to big(BSL of the dalbello is 307 compared to Konflict 301BSL).

My own feet is 26.1-2 or something like that, and the width on the widest is 100.

Messy post, but hope you or any one else understands it!

Cheeeers! :)

Mntlion: I sent you an email too.

full tilt in 25

the Kry vs FT, the FT is smaller volume.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...20#post2168120
this is for the older Kry shape, but the new one is not that far off. Also the new FT shape is a bit taller in the toes, and 6th toe, but again very close to the older shape.

15-20mm, in the 26, shell fit is WAY too big. Go 25.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mntlion

full tilt in 25

the Kry vs FT, the FT is smaller volume.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...20#post2168120
this is for the older Kry shape, but the new one is not that far off. Also the new FT shape is a bit taller in the toes, and 6th toe, but again very close to the older shape.

15-20mm, in the 26, shell fit is WAY too big. Go 25.

---

Oh, sorry. I meant 10-12mm space between my heel and the shell. I was reading wrong from my shellfitpaper(yes, I am writing down how my feet fits in different shells.) Would you still recommend me to go down to 25?

I also decided to order a pair or two of Dalbellos from America. Should I order the Kryptons in 25 there too? I feel that I have to try two pairs to feel the difference, but if none of them fits - it will be very expensive to send them back..

But thanks for the answer!!

Oh, sorry! I meant 10-12mm. I was reading wrong on my shellsizepaper(Yese, I am writing down how my foot fits in different shells.) Would you still recommend me to go down to 25?

And I have decided to order a pair or two of the Dalbellos from America. Should I go for size 25 there too?(BSL of the 26shell FT, and 25shell dalbello are around the same). I really want to order two pairs, so i can feel the difference, but it will be very expensive to send them back if they dont fit..

Thanks for the answer!

10-12mm is about right, so order that shelll. Odds are you wont be able to go smaller without a LOT of work.

Reality Check Please:

I'm looking to fit into Dynafit TLT5 Mountains. My feet measure exactly 27.5 cm in length, 10 1/2 shoe size, fairly narrow width (AAA or B on a Brannock). Super narrow heels, small bones, small ankles. Arch..unknown. Never an issue.

I've got two pairs at the house, need to return one. Dynafit breaks sizes on the half, so a 28 is a larger shell than a 27.5.

Size 27.5. Foot in shell has about 10mm behind heel. Little difficult to measure exactly since the heel pocket is so cupped. By sticking pens and markers down there I give it 10mm or so. Width..feet solidly touch both sides of shell when stepping directly on the plastic. Skin pushed in a little, not squishing though. When I lift my foot off of the plastic floor of the boot the sides of my foot barely touch the sides of the shell. With liners, walking around the house in these, the fit feels snug, tight but good, except for the width. Squishes my foot a little at the ball. Could be painful after a few hours of skinning. I'm ok walking around the house for a couple of hours. Buckling the lower buckle does not help, adding a thin shim under my foot to raise it a little does help with the width. Raising it up to a wider spot in the shell? I can wiggle toes a bit, not worried about that.

Size 28. Foot in shell has about 19 to 20 mm behind heel. Width..foot has a very little to no space on each side of the shell. Fit feels comfortable right away. Still snug in the forefoot for width. Does not have the same glove-like fit as the 27.5 (even thought the 27.5 may be a too tight glove)..I can raise the front of my foot up and down inside the boot a little, and the heel feels good, but wonder if it would pack out and be sloppy. I've had blister issues before from my skinny heels.

What to keep? Keep the 27.5 and try to make some width? Or keep the 28 and be more comfortable right away. I'm leaning toward the 27.5, but I have a history of trying to use "too tight boots", and have read that a number of people are up-sizing. I've read users with a foot one whole size smaller than mine going with the 27 shell.

smaller ones, Do you have someone near by that can help push the shells winder if needed?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Preserved

My feet measure exactly 27.5 cm in length, 10 1/2 shoe size, fairly narrow width (AAA or B on a Brannock). Super narrow heels, small bones, small ankles. Arch..unknown. Never an issue.
I've got two pairs at the house, need to return one. Dynafit breaks sizes on the half, so a 28 is a larger shell than a 27.5.

---

Get the small ones. My foot also measures 27.5 and I wear a 10.5 street shoe, I'm in the 27 shell. I'm between a D and E on a Brannock, and punched the shell at the 1st and 5th met heads plus the medial midfoot, to get the boot to fit. It's not that hard to punch the TLT5, but find someone who has experience heating Grilamid if you can.

PS TLT5 shells are the same for 27 and 27.5, most people call this breaking on the whole or even size. Only the DyNA/Patrouille des Glaciers shells break on the half.

Thanks for the feedback Mntlion and gregL. Smaller pair it is. That was my gut feeling, I appreciate the back up!

I just got my krypton 2 pro fitted + custom footbed. At the shop it was really nice when I put my feet in after heating the liner up but now that i'm home, boots are crazy tight.
is it possible that i took the boots off before the liners fully cooled off and that it expanded in the mean time? it's not painful but really uncomfortable enough to almost hurt. feet are really numb at this point.

E: was looking at my liner and turns out they put both superfeet AND the custom footbed. This isn't right is it? Took the superfeet out and now it's 50x better

Is it common for feet to change shape?

06/07 I skied ~80 days (touring & resort) in a pair of Garmont Megarides, went through a break-in period but they fitted fine, no problems.
I switched to tele skiing & didn't put the mega rides on my feet for several years.
Now my knees hurt a bit more & I want to ski the Mega rides again, likely mix up between tele & AT.

Problem: Megarides are now virtually un-wearable. No particular pressure points, just tight all across the front of boot (ie squished toes). Numb toes, circulation is cut off. Top of my foot is ok, heel / calf area is ok. No heel lifting or anything.
Can I punch the toes out to get a bit more space & thus get a few years use out of the megarides?

edit for more info:
I remember trying Garmont Adrenalin & Scarpa Spirit 3 (I think?) back in 06/07, ended up with Megarides because they fit the best. Something on the Scarpas hurt, felt like the middle ratchet strap/buckle. Which is weird because the same ratchet strap/buckle on my T1 tele boots is no problem.
Megarides are 27.5. My tele boots are Scarpa T1 28.
My forefoot is quite wide, ankle/calf are skinny cycling-type ankles.

I've got an extremely non-ideal boot situation that I need a redneck solution to. Major issue - I live in North Dakota, and do not have access to a bootfitter. I don't get to ski any where near as much as I used to (maybe 10-15 days a year now), and want my time in the mountains to be as enjoyable as possible.

My foot measures about a 28.25, and I wear a 10-10.5 US shoe depending on type (10 in dress, 10.5 in running shoe). I've been on Technica Icon X's since 2001 which were custom fit at PhD. skis in Bozeman when I used to live there. They were a 26.5, and I've had an issue with really since I bought them. My issue with the boots has always been that my feet feel like they are being squeeze by a vise grip from either side, and it feels like a tennis ball is directly under the ball of my foot causing my foot to go numb. This has typically happened within the first 10-15 minutes of wearing the boots while skiing, and while I used to buckle the bottom buckle 1st notch I quit buckling them at all about 6 years ago (except the top buckle). Usually by noon I am in so much pain I'm almost ready to be done for the day, but if I take a break, and take the boots off for an hour I can usually make it the rest of the day. On ski lifts with rests I get a bit of relief, but not much. If I buckle them tighter the pain increases significantly.

I decided last winter I was buying new boots before this upcoming season as I'd like to start logging more days on the snow, and I can't take the pain anymore. The only shop we have locally only sells beginner boots, and always sells boots that are way too big, so I resorted to the internet, and some input from Mnt.Lion.

I ended up purchasing the Nordica Hell and Back from last year on a Black Friday special last week. I went with the 27.5. Received them yesterday, and measured the shell w/o liner - less than a finger behind the heel (its basically a lip balm container width). My width with foot centered in the shell is barely brushing on either side, but no room to spare. My foot in the liner is very snug. Not comfortable though as the liner stretches.

I realize this isn't ideal at all, but it is really all I have to work with. I wore them for 30 minutes on the elliptical machine yesterday. Had the bottom and middle buckled on the first notch. The first 5 minutes where fine, and then it started. Felt like a tennis ball was directly under the ball of my feet, and pain and cramping on the outside of both feet. After about 10 minutes my feet are completely asleep. I tried again today for 30 minutes with the bottom buckles compeletly unbuckled with the same result. My goal is to get the liners to pack out before I hit up Big Sky in January, so I'm not ruining my few days on the mountain in pain.

I was hoping that the 100mm last of the Nordica's, and the size would be the ticket, but since I am experiencing identical issues to my Technica's I am making the assumption that my boots are not wide enough. I forgot to add that I had custom cork foot beds in the Technica's, but I haven't put them in the Nordica's. My plan is to continue to wear the Nordica's each night on the elliptical machine to break the boots in.

Ideally I'd like to work with a bootfitter to get the best fit possible, but that isn't an option. If the boot is ultimately too narrow, how does one punch the boot out redneck style? I'm not going to do anything with them until I have at least a week of wear on the elliptical machine trying to break the boots in. My issue seems very simialar to jgb@etree's posts many pages back.

Thanks for any input in advance.

waterbath the shell (near boiling water for 5+ minutes)
heat up the liner with blow drier or CARFULLY in oven, or rice method.
toe caps on toes
3mm pads foot anywhere you want more room
thick socks.
bottle of scotch

remove the liners from the heat, and inset foot. make sure heel is back and down all the way
remove shell from hot water, and stuff foot/liner into shell. make sure heel is back and down all the way. Pull up on liner, as you flex forward in shell.
make sure heel is back and down all the way
buckle middle buckle to make sure heel is back and down all the way
tighten toe buckle tight, Now go 1-2 notches tighter on it.
add scotch
wait 10-15 mintues. 10 if you can cool the boots in snow, 15 if you are somewhere warm
add more scotch as needed

remove boots, remove all the padding, toe caps and thick socks. wait until you can feel your feet again.
put on THIN socks, remove boots stock footbed, and try the boots with the toe buckle OPEN (not loose, but off)

redneck, but it will work....

^^^ Very nice write up.

Took the wife to the boot fitters last night, 2 hours of punching, bending, grinding, heating her Langes are well fitting her small and wide feet. Well worth the Buck30 it cost.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mntlion

waterbath the shell (near boiling water for 5+ minutes)
heat up the liner with blow drier or CARFULLY in oven, or rice method.
toe caps on toes
3mm pads foot anywhere you want more room
thick socks.
bottle of scotch

remove the liners from the heat, and inset foot. make sure heel is back and down all the way
remove shell from hot water, and stuff foot/liner into shell. make sure heel is back and down all the way. Pull up on liner, as you flex forward in shell.
make sure heel is back and down all the way
buckle middle buckle to make sure heel is back and down all the way
tighten toe buckle tight, Now go 1-2 notches tighter on it.
add scotch
wait 10-15 mintues. 10 if you can cool the boots in snow, 15 if you are somewhere warm
add more scotch as needed

remove boots, remove all the padding, toe caps and thick socks. wait until you can feel your feet again.
put on THIN socks, remove boots stock footbed, and try the boots with the toe buckle OPEN (not loose, but off)

redneck, but it will work....

---

Thanks mntlion. I have 2 bottle's of Maker's Mark that I'll put to use while doing this. We have snow, but will keep them on as long as I can stand it. Really hoping this does the trick. It will be nice to have a pair of boots that are comfortable, and practical for once!

mntlion is a professional -- I'm basically some guy off the street. So listen to him. But I would mold liners first before messing with the shell. Here's what I'd do:

1. Mold the liner. Tons of threads on oven method or water in turkey bag (I prefer oven because it heats both sides, which makes it easier to create space). Read them before trying anything. I'd pull the old footbeds out first. Put your custom footbeds under your foot. Put a toe cap on your toes (and over the footbed), double up on the toecap to get more space. Because you have a good sense of where the boots hurt, cut some foam and tape it to your foot in those where you need more space. Now tape the the footbed to your heel (just one strip of tape is needed, no need to go overboard). Now pull a thick sock over that mess. When the liner comes out of the oven, put your foot in and adjust so it lays flat. Then pull a thick pair of pantyhose (or super thin sock) over the whole thing and slide it into the shell shell. Follow mntlion's instructions re heel lifting and buckling.

Now get back on the elliptical (or whatever) and see how it feels. Continue to determine where the pressure points are and break the liners in a bit more.

2. If that's not enough space, heat mold the shell. http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...odacious-boots

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by auvgeek

mntlion is a professional -- I'm basically some guy off the street. So listen to him. But I would mold liners first before messing with the shell. Here's what I'd do:

1. Mold the liner. Tons of threads on oven method or water in turkey bag (I prefer oven because it heats both sides, which makes it easier to create space). Read them before trying anything. I'd pull the old footbeds out first. Put your custom footbeds under your foot. Put a toe cap on your toes (and over the footbed), double up on the toecap to get more space. Because you have a good sense of where the boots hurt, cut some foam and tape it to your foot in those where you need more space. Now tape the the footbed to your heel (just one strip of tape is needed, no need to go overboard). Now pull a thick sock over that mess. When the liner comes out of the oven, put your foot in and adjust so it lays flat. Then pull a thick pair of pantyhose (or super thin sock) over the whole thing and slide it into the shell shell. Follow mntlion's instructions re heel lifting and buckling.

Now get back on the elliptical (or whatever) and see how it feels. Continue to determine where the pressure points are and break the liners in a bit more.

2. If that's not enough space, heat mold the shell. http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...odacious-boots

---

UPDATE:

So - after 1/2 of a 1.75 of Maker's tonight (thank you Costco for being $9 cheaper than every liquor store in town), I followed Mntlion's instructions. Sorry Auvgeek, I didn't see your post until after I attempted the boot fitting. It worked out fairly well except I should have looked a bit closer at the liners before putting them in the oven. The Maker's made my attention to detail just a bit cloudy. I set the oven to 220, and had the door half open. All was fine, except when I took them out (after 7 minutes) I then noticed that the liners have some rubber on the upper. That melted a small bit, but only cosmetic. So much for returning the boots (oh well).

I put the shells in my kitchen sink, added some extremely hot (170 degree) tap water, and then added boiling water to the mixture for about 8 minutes/shell. Made a toe cap out of a thick wool sock, but since I didn't have foot pads I cut the toe cap down the side (where I needed the space), and duct tapped it into place (what's a redneck boot fitting without duct tape?). I did one foot at a time, and stood in a snow bank for about 13 minutes with the shell completely covered with snow. I was able to get the buckles tightened on the last notch, but it took a a couple minutes to work up to that point. The thing I noticed the most during the process was the intense pain in the middle of my arch. It felt like Hulk Hogan was taking the handle end of a screwdriver, and jamming it into the middle of my arch. This was in line with my original issue, so I'm hoping it was a sign that things were going to improve post fitting. The shell heating was obviously working though as before the shell heating I couldn't latch the bottom buckles past the first notch.

Post boot fitting: I tried the boots on without the footbed that came with the boot. They actually felt too loose, so I tried them on with the foot bed. With the foot bed they fell ok. At this point I have been wearing them for 30 minutes while sitting, and the only issue I currently notice is a hot spot right where the 2nd buckle is located. While standing and flexing foward, the hot spot goes away (which obviously is the important thing cuz that's a natural ski position). I'm looking forward to getting back on the elliptical tomorrow, as that will be my version of the ultimate test until I get to hit the slopes. My heel is slipping up a bit when I stand on my tippy toes (which wasn't happing at all before the fitting), so I'll monitor that, and make adjustments from there. If the intense arch pain continues I'll try removing the standard foot bed, and putting in my 12 year old customs. If that fails I'll remove foot beds completely. The boots currenlty (by currenlty I mean post fitting and snow cooling (left them in the snow bank after wearing them)), feel pretty darn good. To be honest they feel tight, but without the pain I was experincing out of the box. I am noticing a bit of pain in the middle of my foot, (the arch) as i was earlier (pre boot fitting). Does that mean I have a flat foot, and the footbed is too arched?

I'll post another update after the elliptical tomorrow - good, bad, or otherwise.

glad it helped.

I think you just need to ski the boots now. if you do much more, you are just going to think too much, and the boot fitting problems will be above the knee

mntlion, what can one do if there is no boot on the market that will accommodate their extremely skinny feet? I wear size 9.5 or 10.0 in regular shoes but my ski boots are 26.0 and they still are way too wide for me even with a 95 mm forefoot last. My ankles and heels are just too skinny. You mention that you can always make a shell a little larger but you can't make it a little smaller. I have worked around this by putting a ton of padding all over my liners but there is still room to move around the heel area and the extra padding certainly doesn't help with circulation. Is there any hope for me?

Soma vacuums sound like a good idea for you,right off the bat.

Norsk.

Perhaps a true plug boot. I know some go down to 93mm lasts.

I just bought the Fischer Ranger 12 vacum boot. Was waiting all summer for full tilts in 99 in my size and tried them on and hate the buckles. Fischer claims you can shrink down from 103 to 98 or less in the shell size with the vacum process.

My friends shop did the bake and bag and I ski'd them. Very impressed, but it was warm out and they felt a little sloppy. We baked them again and squeezed them to 360 psi and added some material to the top of the boot board and a little stick on foam above the achilles on each side and I am set. Can ride them hard and fast on the first or second click and LOVE the vibram sole and walk mode. It got much colder out and they feel about like the 120 stated flex.

We will see how long the liners last and where to go from there. I searched but did not find a dedicated thread. Could be a good low-foot volume choice.

Mntlion have you started working with these? what do you think of their stance machine and process?

Overall I am happy feet and upped my ski control drastically. They only hurt for 30 seconds... When I payed for them.

foam liners can do a good job in filling up volume, if you are in the correct shell to start with. An if a 10mm shell fit, in a 92-95mm boot is still too wide, that might be the answer

Fischer: good idea, but not sure how much is the fischer magic plastic, and how much is the vaccum machine. I dont sell them, but have seen good results. Also heard of good results with using other brands, and sucking/heating them?

really thick intuitions might help, but the sides of the wrap arounds might go too far around?