Advice fitting AT boots?

[sporkbunny]

Halp! I just sold a _second_ pair of AT boots that didn't quite fit. I need advice. I need halp! There aren't any stores in my area (San Diego) and I am having a heckuva time fitting myself into a pair of AT boots. My first pair was the Scarpa Matrix size 28 (under advice from the Black Diamond rep). These were huge but I skied haplessly in them anyway for a while ... until I discovered that they fit men like twice my size so "duh" that was probably too big. So then I sold these and got Garmont Grides in 26.5. They were wonderful but maybe a little too tight. Amazing boot ... maybe too stiff though. Now I'm looking something "just right" ... if anyone has had similar experiences maybe you could tell me what you got and how it fits? Maybe there's a boot expert out there who can tell me what's up with the sizing?

"About my feet"
I'm on the tallish side for a girl so I've been getting mens boots (just cuz the selection is better). I wear like a 9.5 or 10 inwomen's street shoes (and that's part of the problem ... half a size makes all the diff). My feet are narrow and I have hiker's calves so the cuff is sometimes a little too high in ski boots. I spend about 50% of my time in the backcountry and the rest practicing on the blacks and double blacks at the resort. I want to spend more time backcountry but I am building skills this season.

[SquawMan]

take a drive up to Mammoth and visit Footloose Sports and have a proper bootfitting done if there are no good places in the L.A. area (other mags can probably suggest some)

with what you've spent so far, getting it right the next time will cost you far less than another mistake, no?

customer liners and footbeds willl probably take care of all your problems assuming your shell size is correct

and this time of year, the bootfitters can spend all the time they need to dial you in

http://www.footloosesports.com

[skier0178]

Go to Mammoth Mountaineering. Footloose will do fittings but MM has all the AT gear you would ever want and they are very knowledgeable.

[Sphinx]

Scarpas are quite high volume. Garmonts are much lower.

If the Grides were just a tad too short but otherwise OK, why don't you go to a good bootfitter and have them punch them out a bit? They're not extremely stiff, but you could have that same bootfitter soften the flex if you really need it. Did you bake the liner? Put a thick pad in the front while baking and you can probably squeeze some extra room out of them.

Remember, ski boots are supposed to be a bit tight. Size the shell first. Take the liner out, and stick your foot in the shell. With your toes at the front of the boot, you want about half an inch of space behind your heel. My toes hit the front of my Denalis if the buckles aren't cinched down. They fit as close to perfect as I can imagine. AT boots aren't hiking shoes, they will not be fun to walk downhill in.

Oh, and if you like the Garmonts, get Megarides. Then you can use Fritschis at the resort and Dynafits in the backcountry.

[Yossarian]

i'd have to warrant a guess that the GRides were about the right thing too.
The more aggressive the boot, the higher the cuff, etc, etc. Probably best solution is get the GRide up in Mammoth as suggested, have a good bootfitter work with you and give you a heel lift to help raise the calves (moooooo) up a little (very common issue for ladies, BTW)...

Sounds like you're not far off, just not quite there yet...

[LIP]

Scarpas are quite high volume. Garmonts are much lower.

If the Grides were just a tad too short but otherwise OK, why don't you go to a good bootfitter and have them punch them out a bit? They're not extremely stiff, but you could have that same bootfitter soften the flex if you really need it. Did you bake the liner? Put a thick pad in the front while baking and you can probably squeeze some extra room out of them.

Remember, ski boots are supposed to be a bit tight. Size the shell first. Take the liner out, and stick your foot in the shell. With your toes at the front of the boot, you want about half an inch of space behind your heel. My toes hit the front of my Denalis if the buckles aren't cinched down. They fit as close to perfect as I can imagine. AT boots aren't hiking shoes, they will not be fun to walk downhill in.

Oh, and if you like the Garmonts, get Megarides. Then you can use Fritschis at the resort and Dynafits in the backcountry.

Garmont adrenalines!! They're supposely coming out with various levels of stiffness for this season. Done got me some last year and they rock the cash bar. Interchangeable DIN and vibram soles so you can ski them in AT bindings or regular. Fitting is always a bit of an issue. The half inch/two fingers behind your heel with toes touching the front of shell sans liner is right on. Definitely go to a real bootfitter and plink down the cash to get 'em dialed. Custom footbeds are MANDATORY!!!!!!! Veras wedges, heel lifts, etc. can make just a world of difference. I have super skinny calves, so I'm probably going to end up putting some custom Zip-Fit liners in mine just to take up some extra volume. The Garmont G-fit liners pack out REALLY fast, so make sure they're nice and snug when they're new.

[Sphinx]

Adrenalins might be overkill.

Custom footbeds worked wonders for my stance, but I know lots of people who have no issues without them. If you notice you're very knockneed or bowlegged in the boots, foodbeds might be worth the dough.

[StroupSkier]

Get boots that are designed for women. They usually have a lower cut to help fit womens calfs a little better.

[Core Shot]

Oops in my earlier post I listed these as size 26. I just double-checked and even though the shell is size 26, the liners are 26.5. Garmont told me they only makes shells in halfsizes and then they scale the liners up or down to fit half sizes.

I shoulda gotten the 27s. I bought these new, and it only took me three hours on the slopes to figure out that the 26 size boot is just too tight. They are practically new. This is the 2004 model, bought in March, worn once.

I dunnno. can't wait until you get the 27 size and they are too loose

The fact that you got your foot into the 26.5 and skied it indicates it just might need to be broken in.
Did you shell fit it? pull out the liner, insert foot so toe just touches the front, then check how many fingers of space is between your heel and the shell?? 2 fingers is max size, 3 is sloppy, 1 is race fit.

In what way was the 26.5 too small? if width, then you can get it blown out (not likely since you said feet are narrow). If length, then maybe larger shell will help. 26 and 26.5 same shell size. 27 is larger.

I assume you had the liner baked and hot-fit??

edit: comparing garmont scarpa and other shell sizes is tough.
You really should be fit in person. you could also try tracing your bare foot and sending the paper to a shop that carries several brands.
It is very hard to internet size, as you are discovering.

Before you pack up and ship your 26.5 Garmonts, do a shell fit with the liners removed.

edit 2: measure your foot to find your mondo size. place your heel against a door or wall. Measure to the end of your longest toe. that distance is your mondo size. If you can't measure cm, measure in inches and multiply by 2.54
27mondo = 10.63inches = 10 5/8 inches

[Sphinx]

Garmont generally has more volume than Scarpa

Uh....not in my experience.

I've got flat, wide feet, and big ankles and calves. Garmonts (specifically, Gride/Megaride) fit my feet perfectly, but there is nowhere near enough ankle room, the buckles aren't long enough to accommodate my feet.

Scarpas (specifically, Denali and Matrix) fit my leg perfectly, but have too much volume for my feet. So I have Denalis, and used some creative ways to fill the extra foot volume.

[snowfire]

I have women's Grides, and I'm pretty small, 5'2 with a 23.5 mondo point foot. I like them a lot when I'm carrying just my bc day stuff, but not when I'm carrying a heavy (overnight) pack. Then they're too soft and feel like I'm trying to ski in shoes. I say this because if you're a tall girl, they might be too soft for you all around. Others might say different, but I wouldn't recommend them to a taller/heavier person who likes a stiff boot. I would definitely demo anything before you bought them. If you go to a specialty backcountry shop, they should let you demo. Also, I don't like the Gfit liners very much, they pack out REALLY fast and you have to get them reformed, and you can only do that so many times. So, it might be better to get them a bit on the small side, and make sure you have 'em formed with your custom insoles in there.

[Foggy_Goggles]

You guys are slipping.

Take it to TECH TALK

Use the SEARCH function

Snowfire, you can stiffen up the G-Rides. Search in Tech Talk. Also, you left you visor at my house.

[snowfire]

You guys are slipping.

Take it to TECH TALK

Use the SEARCH function

Snowfire, you can stiffen up the G-Rides. Search in Tech Talk. Also, you left you visor at my house.

yeah, I know. I'm lazy. If I end up needing to carry a heavy pack on skis again, I'll do that. Until then, oh well. And, oops. I was wondering where that one was.

[Lurch]

You guys are slipping.

Take it to TECH TALK

Use the SEARCH function

Snowfire, you can stiffen up the G-Rides. Search in Tech Talk. Also, you left you visor at my house.

Seriously, not one mention of the fact the we need to see nakid pics before we can accurately size said woman's feet over the internet.

[H-wood]

I've worked at Footloose in Mammoth for about 10 years.
If you get up here, come in and talk with Corty or Kevin in bootfitting- Corty is the most experienced bootfitter on the W coast, and Kevin's been at it for almost 20 yrs (and he's real familiar w/ AT stuff).
If you don't have 'em, get some good footbeds before you buy another boot.

Mammoth Mountaineering (almost next door) carries a bunch of good AT boots, but my guess you may just need some work on the Garmonts.
Keep in mind that shops that don't have bootfitting capability will have to sell you boots that are on the big side, but it's much better to get in the smallest, narrowest possible boot, and then address pressure points by modifying the shell/liner.
If you do actually have a narrow foot, there isn't really any other option, because most other AT boots are relatively high-volume. You can expand (to some degree) a narrow boot, but you can't make a wide boot narrower.
As someone said above, if you can get your foot in it and actually ski, it's not too small. I'm a men's sz 8-8.5 (about the same as you), and I can ski in some 24.5 alpine boots w/ no modification. As long as you can get one finger between the back of your your heel and the shell with your toes brushing the front of the shell and your ankle flexed, you're in there.
The liners will pack out and the boot will feel a half size bigger soon enough. If the shell is creating presure points, a bootfitter can grind/expand to address them.
Any boot that feels really good as soon as you put them on is way too big.
If your a tall, athletic woman, women's boots might be too mushy.
When I tried the Adrenaline on, it felt like a higher-volume boot than the G-Ride last.
Don't be scared to get a used pair of Langes or something for the ski area- even the best touring boots are fundamentally compromised for skiing hard- they flex backward.

[mntlion]

find dude's boot fitting 101 thread and read it