Boot shin fit

I am coming back to alpine after a few years on the pain stix and have been having some issues with all the boots I try on. Any info would be cool.

Every pair of boots I have tried on or used does not fully contact my shin. Basically I find I can only apply forward pressure from a very small spot at the top of the boots. The lower shin does not feel in contact with the boot - no matter how much I crank up the buckles or push forward.

When I ski this means that I bruise my shins if I try to give some forward pressure. I can't absorb shocks from the ankles becaue I can't bend the boots forward to meet an impact without getting mild shinbang. This all means that I am perilously cloes to be thrown into the backseat a lot. This, friends, is far from ideal.

I have an idea my calves might be quite beefy. I also seem to have quite a muscle on the front/side of the shin. My suspicion is that this has been causing these problems. Are there any boots that would be a better shape around the calves? Are there any ways of modding boots so they will fit my shins? Any other advice?

Boots I've tried on/used without success:

Salomon X wave 9 and 10
Some Dalbello 5 buckle boot
Denali XTs (these were prolly worst on the shin, perghaps because so low)
Some Technica freeridey type boot
Head World Cups (I sold these because the shin fit was so bad)

Before my pain stix period I skied stiff race boots (most recently Solly equipe) without any fit problems around the shin so I don't think stiffness of those boots was the issue. I like to push forward in my boots and drive the front of my skis.

Try the new Dolomite Rage series... either the pro or the next boot softer the x12. It has a dual tongue... one in front and one in back. It works really well to fit your calves and shins.

Dolomite USA

Could be cool. I used some Dolomites last winter without success but I think they were quite old (they were actually the 5 buckle ones, not the Dalbellos).

Thanks Slim.

Get moldable liners, Thermo, Foam or Zip fit...end of problem...or you could just get flexons or if you can find some F1 Pros

I had the same dang problem for ever and ever.

The moldable liner (zip fit) thang worked for me for a year or so and was the best thing at that point, but once they pack out you are back to the original problem. If the shell is not the right shape for your foot/leg, then this problem will return. After doing the moldable liner dealeo twice over 4 years I decided to start from scratch.

For me the solution was the Doberman. I'm not suggesting them because most people find them miserably uncomfortable, but my point is you still have to find a shell that matches the shape of your foot/leg. You just have to try on a hell of a lot of boots. Flexon's for example didn't work for me even though they help the shins of most people.

For me Footworks in Cham was great because they have a load of hard to find boots. Things like the Dobie, Tecnica XT, Soli Plug boot, etc. Not just the same old consumer stuff that most UK shops have.

Keep trying different boots and good luck.

Thanks for the input. I was worrying that I might have to head to Chamonix just before next season. Not ideal but if I get some boots that fit it'll be worth it.

There is a shop in the 3 Vallées that has Flexons so I will try to see if they are going to be any good. I had some Raichlee boots just like them a a child racer and loved them.

I am not too sure if the problems are due to the shape of my shin (slightly curved outwards) or the size of my calf (the penalty for 2 straight seasons of pain stix). I don't think my calves are huge but... Whatever the solution is, I have a feeling it will be expensive. :rolleyes:

Flexons tend to fit the bird shinned among us.

Get your favorite boots fit at a good shop. That makes all the difference.

i have skinny ass shins and really narrow feet.. and flexons. this on its own was about 100x better than my langes from before. I've recently added eliminators and booster straps as well, and have been in great shape since.

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Originally posted by Buster Highmen
Flexons tend to fit the bird shinned among us.

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I'll keep that in mind. not only do I have chicken legs, but I'm so tall that the bulk of my calf muscle doesn't even really get down into the cuff.

On my rossi boots, the foot and ankle fit is perfection but the top buckle is cranked all the way, and I have to use my booster straps to supply so much of the pressure that it's possible for the buckle to easily flip open without me even noticing.

I'm also very bowlegged, shins slanting outward when I'm standing straight, but my knees tend to come towards eachother when I bend them, and since I already invested mucho dinero in having the soles ground for canting purposes that makes me a little more reluctant to look for a new pair of boots. But I've just recently noticed the liners starting to pack out significantly, so next season it might have to be new liners or new boots.

I know boot fit is paramount, but part of me wants to splurge big time and spend the gear budget on some new DB surreals, hmmm... things to think about in the off season

Eliminators and Booster straps seems like the way to go Mr. Mullet. Picked up a pair of Booster straps recently and I can really feel the improvements, both for contact against the shin but I also feel that I can control the ski better than before (prolly for the same reason I guess).

Flexons might be a good thing if you have really narrow, mutant feet (like you know who) but since I've never taken a close look at them (thank God for that) I can't really tell if that's the case or not. I think Footworks is the answer here, they even charge you money for looking at your smelly feet (how weird isn't that?). Plus they have a huge selection as Comish says.

Sadly I have a budget... Footworks it prolly will be though, I'll just have to save my sheckles. I prefer to pay full price knowing that I can go back and get the shells blown out or whatever - not so easy when the nearest shop is in Chamonix...

Someone else's stinking Scarpa tele boots fitted my feet so I guess the Flexon's could be the dealio. I also like the idea of a smooth flexing boot after slipper-like tele boots.

For some inane reason I am also entertaining a hope that the Garmont Adrenalines might be up to something. Who knows what though?

for a quick cheap fix mullet - just give the eliminators and booster straps a try in your current boots - should help a lot w/ volume issues.

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Originally posted by snorkeldeep
for a quick cheap fix mullet - just give the eliminators and booster straps a try in your current boots - should help a lot w/ volume issues.

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You found some huh? I think I remember you looking at Hunter... Did you get them in NY? If so, where?

lange comp 120's

fixed my shin bang and fit my feet perfect

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Originally posted by snorkeldeep
for a quick cheap fix mullet - just give the eliminators and booster straps a try in your current boots - should help a lot w/ volume issues.

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Unfortunately that will not be so easy. Knowing that the boots would never be perfect, knowing that I would ski them 8 days max this winter and needing to make rent I sold them. The boots were only used for 40 minutes when I tested some skis at the very end of last season so I was able to sell them on (on eBay) for a healthy profit. :D I mostly skied tele but hired boots for the couple of days I was on bondage this year.

Next winter is going to be really expensive because almost all my gear (except binders) and clothes are totally trashed and in need of replacement. Big holes in all the clothes, negative camber on all the skis.

Warning - rant coming.

Gear wearing out I expect; I am, however, pissed because my transceiver (Ortovox m1) stopped working last season. It was repaired (that took 6 months) but now the search function is fucked and the transmit function gives an eratically strengthed signal. It is still just in warranty but the Ortovox agent here say that - because it was repaired earlier this year - then they won't see it again because nothing should be wrong. Fucking disgrace. FUCKERS. [/rant]

Hi M,
Ditto with the "new liners" and a bootfitter working on the cuff thinking....
Does sound like you've been in a shell a size too large....or of the wrong shape.
$.01

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Originally posted by steved
Hi M,
Ditto with the "new liners" and a bootfitter working on the cuff thinking....
Does sound like you've been in a shell a size too large....or of the wrong shape.
$.01

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I can say with absoulte certainty that (as an adult) I have never had boots with shells that are too big. You only need to look at my feet and see all the ugly bone growths from pressure points because I always wanted super-close-fitting boots (down to having raced a load, I think). My last boots had to be blown out in all sorts of ways to account for this. Sadly those boots died and got thrown out...

Recently (since I've been looking for new boots) that did occur to me and I have made a point of trying on boots that are way smaller than I think I need. I shoe-horned myself into a pair of denalis earlier this week that left less than 1 finger space in the shell test and my shins still didn't contact at all below the cuff. Likewise a load of Head boots (I don't remeber the exact model nearer the top end of the range). Thanks for the suggestion but I really don't think that is the case.

Thanks everyone for the input, I really appreciate the knowledge that I'm getting. Hopefully I'll have found something by the time it snows next winter. :)

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Originally posted by Mulletizer
I have an idea my calves might be quite beefy. I also seem to have quite a muscle on the front/side of the shin. My suspicion is that this has been causing these problems. Are there any boots that would be a better shape around the calves? Are there any ways of modding boots so they will fit my shins? Any other advice?

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Mulletizer, I have the same type of lower legs that you do. Skinny down low, but huge calves and significant muscle mass on the front of my shins.

I have XWave 9s (stock liners) with Boosters and custom footbeds and STILL had excruciating pain.

There were times when I felt my shins acting as levers pushing my ankles forward out of the heel cup and got shooting pains in my feet. I saw stars a few times from the excruciating pain. :( I learned to balance myself in the boots independent of cuff support as a result, so maybe it's not all bad.

If you haven't solved your problem next season, I'll let you know what I try and if it helps or not.

PS -- Eliminators suck; they put you in the backseat automatically.

I second the Lange Comp 120/130. I have the 120 with the 3 band Booster Strap and they snug down real nice and tight on my calves, whereas even with the Booster Straps my old Technica's did not. When in doubt, go with Lange.

-Ben

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Originally posted by snorkeldeep
i have skinny ass shins and really narrow feet.. and flexons. this on its own was about 100x better than my langes from before. I've recently added eliminators and booster straps as well, and have been in great shape since.

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I'll second that. Maximal shin contact; zero shin bang. Great for narrow feet.

Mulletizer - there's a tongue pad that sticks on outside the existing tongue that picked up a lt of the slack I had arund my shins. If you can't find one, pm me.

Mulletizer,
...one of my experiments last season was with some Garmont AT liners which possessed a Much too thin tongue(since Garmont's don't expand much after heating) and a too thick area behind the heel:rolleyes: It REALLY shoved my toes into the proverbial brick wall:rolleyes: ...but what I tried was to take the old and worn out Atomic liners' tongue, sliced & diced and then sewed it onto the outside of the liner's tongue...and that part of the doomed setup skied simply fantastic!...well, maybe it was slightly a hair too thick, but a heck of a lot better than the shin hitting that the Garmonts alone were giving me. The whole boot shell 's fit/design wasn't good for my foot/leg structure and the thick heel section of the Garmont was simply too large for the Atomic...as it gave me a great, close heel fit with the original, thin Atomic liner, but the boot tongue surgury turned out more than just OK...even without a booster strap...
I can't wait to finally! ....begin a ski season with great fitting boots.
.....Best of luck

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Originally posted by crashnburn'd
You found some huh? I think I remember you looking at Hunter... Did you get them in NY? If so, where?

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i actually found them the weekend i was at magic and okemo in the okemo shop.. dont ask why i was at okemo.. ugh.

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Originally posted by 13
Mulletizer, I have the same type of lower legs that you do. Skinny down low, but huge calves and significant muscle mass on the front of my shins.

I have XWave 9s (stock liners) with Boosters and custom footbeds and STILL had excruciating pain.

There were times when I felt my shins acting as levers pushing my ankles forward out of the heel cup and got shooting pains in my feet. I saw stars a few times from the excruciating pain. :( I learned to balance myself in the boots independent of cuff support as a result, so maybe it's not all bad.

If you haven't solved your problem next season, I'll let you know what I try and if it helps or not.

PS -- Eliminators suck; they put you in the backseat automatically.

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from a volume perspective i disagree.. but then again, i ski very forward and aggressively, and like a lot of pressure on the front of my boots. i would say that in my old langes, they probably would have, but with a progressive flex boot like the flexon, i dont have any balance issues at all.

Thanks a lot, everyone for the advice and especially thanks for the offers to help out with stuff. Right now I have 7 months to sort out some boots so there's no big rush. Everything here will be really useful when I get somewhere with a huge range of boots (most likely Footworks in Cham or Espace Montagne in Grenoble).

It sounds as if the Flexons could fit the bill. A pair just came up on ebay for £5 but typically are too big. Bugger, as they say. My only concern is whether my feet are too wide for them. Heck, we'll see about that in due course... For now all I wanted to say is

THANKS MAGGINIONS!

:cool: