Att zipfit gurus!

[arild]

Arild, did you have any issues with pressure on the bump on top of your foot above your arch (medial cuneiform, I believe)?

Got my new Corsas and and the seam on the liner goes right over that bump, and the edge of the tongue cut-out is right above it as well. Basically everything comes together at the worst spot possible.

Switching out the Zipfit tongue for the tongue from the stock Lange RS 140 liner is much better right now since it has rigid plastic across that whole area which protects the bone from pressure cause by the liner seam.

Not sure it’s a problem some cork is going to solve, but this is my first experience with Zipfits so could be wrong.

Hey Mark,

I did have issues, but mostly because the soft neoprene in the "window" tends to jam in the beartrap. Can't for the life of me grasp why zipfit's tongues are as narrow as they are (and they tend to fold inwards if you're not a total nazi about it when heat cycling them), nor why that window over the instep needs to be there.

Now, this is a thirty seconds annoyance present only when entering the boots, at least to me,but I totally get the why of switching to another tongue, if only just for the sake of them being whole plastic. Was just looking at ordering some LV tongues from Atomic, seeing as they are super affordable, but then I suddenly got the fit I wanted from the cork, and abandoned the idea.

Hope you're doing well!



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[SoVT Joey]

(very mild) Buyers remorse confirmed, but that's OK, I'll get over it as soon as I go skiing this afternoon, lol!

My garas broke in quickly. A few days. I’m pretty sure I skied two days of lift served and then tossed them in my touring boots for two quick short bc hikes. And after that they were like a different machine. I did find that my cork had migrated after hiking with them and it took an hour or so back in my alpine shells and they were molded back to normal. The gara is by far my favorite liner. The corsa 92 is great and all but the leather inside is a pain in the ass, and gets noticeably more moisture in it because it doesn’t wick. I guess I’m an outlier but I wouldn’t trade a gara for a workhorse. I’ll take the stiffer taller liner any day of the week over a leather finish.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Hey Mark,

I did have issues, but mostly because the soft neoprene in the "window" tends to jam in the beartrap. Can't for the life of me grasp why zipfit's tongues are as narrow as they are (and they tend to fold inwards if you're not a total nazi about it when heat cycling them), nor why that window over the instep needs to be there.

Now, this is a thirty seconds annoyance present only when entering the boots, at least to me,but I totally get the why of switching to another tongue, if only just for the sake of them being whole plastic. Was just looking at ordering some LV tongues from Atomic, seeing as they are super affordable, but then I suddenly got the fit I wanted from the cork, and abandoned the idea.

Hope you're doing well!



Sent fra min LE2123 via Tapatalk

Thanks.

Will likely just start with the Lange tongue and stick with it unless it gives me problems - one of which could be that the Velcro is reversed between the Lange and Zipfit ones, may need to do something with that.

[arild]

Thanks.

Will likely just start with the Lange tongue and stick with it unless it gives me problems - one of which could be that the Velcro is reversed between the Lange and Zipfit ones, may need to do something with that.

Might as well do that. One option, though slightly bulky,perhaps (depends if you have three mm of vertical room in your toe box), is to use adhesive velcro, reversed, so you can attach the lange tongues. Either that, or get your sewing kit out.

Now, I have skied the corsas with the raptor tongues (almost identical to the Lange ones), and once you're actually wearing the boots, any slippage seems negligible. Best of luck!

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[DoubleBogey]

That cutout on tongue is in the most perfect spot for me. Keeps that hard plastic off of a pressure point, everyone is different.

[skinipenem]

Thanks.

Will likely just start with the Lange tongue and stick with it unless it gives me problems - one of which could be that the Velcro is reversed between the Lange and Zipfit ones, may need to do something with that.

Just another idea...

What works for me is only lacing up the top four holes thereby leaving the instep area with no laces. This takes a lot of pressure off my insteps.

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[J. Barron DeJong]

Appreciate the suggestion but the new Corsas removed the lace holes over the instep. The laces really only go around the leg now, they don’t extend down onto the foot.

[garuda]

The biggest problem I have with bontex shims is it then pushes me up higher in to heel pocket, which makes the rest of the boot fit get screwy around the ankle and elsewhere.

TAFKALVS - I used to have a narrow foot that would fit in to a plug with little trouble. As I’ve aged my arches have flattened out making my foot fairly wide relative to what it was but also very low height.

Add in big calves and ankles, it makes boot fitting very frustrating.

I’m literally open to trying any boot at this point. Maybe a Dalbello or Scarpa?

TAFKALVS - I recently purchased, and returned, a pair of Tecnica Mach1 LV 130s. I also have quite a low volume instep and forefoot (height). The LV Mach1 felt very low volume and good over the instep and forefoot. The heal pocket created huge issues for my heal spurs, but that could have probably been fixed by a punch. I'm already invested in bootwork on some Atomic Hawx Ultras, so trying to make them work. But the Mach1 LV was much lower in the forefoot and instep. So maybe try to check out a pair of those?

Also, for the experts -- I'm looking at either a Zipfit Freeride or Gara HV for the atomic hawx to secure my foot adequately. How much performance (if any) do you think you loose without the plastic cuff material going all the way up in the back of the Freeride? I do like to ski with a playful style and always look for airs and gaps, but never skiing switch. Found a reasonable deal on some Freerides, but debating if I should just pay full pop for the Garas. Anyone with experience with both?

[pfluffenmeister]

Anyone have experience fotting a Sidewinder?
I'm in boot Nirvana, but also going down the rabbit hole.
I've got a cherry pair and also love the grippy leather interior, almost like smooth suede.
Anyway, I also have wicked big ankles and that inner, top to bottom layer of that stiff honeycomb powertransferstuff does not play nicely.
Shell is punched there; "punch" the liners there
too?
I was thinking targeted, light heat gun (now that I think more about, probably masking off the area outside of ankle point with aluminum foil) and yje handle of s screwdriver from inside the liner?

Ive already done (just once, I think) a heat fitting via hot water bottles placed w/I the liner.

[Gepeto]

I want my Gara's to work!

Ten tubes and the fit is so sweet... zero lift with no discomfort, aaand... eezy to stand around in.

But, damn... I can not solve the acute pressure I'm getting over the instep in a ski posture.

Milled the bootboard to the nth. Corsa lacing from the top 4 loops only and cut out the 4 lower lace loops. I'm maybe 50% of the way there. Time to get serious.

I'm going to cut away the portion of the shell marked in yellow. Maybe a little wider.


Yeah or Neah?

eta: I've heat formed the same location without significant improvement.

[DoubleBogey]

Anyone have experience fotting a Sidewinder?
I'm in boot Nirvana, but also going down the rabbit hole.
I've got a cherry pair and also love the grippy leather interior, almost like smooth suede.
Anyway, I also have wicked big ankles and that inner, top to bottom layer of that stiff honeycomb powertransferstuff does not play nicely.
Shell is punched there; "punch" the liners there
too?
I was thinking targeted, light heat gun (now that I think more about, probably masking off the area outside of ankle point with aluminum foil) and yje handle of s screwdriver from inside the liner?

Ive already done (just once, I think) a heat fitting via hot water bottles placed w/I the liner.

Probably not the advice you’re looking for, but I saw a video of a guy on YouTube that removed the honeycomb all together. I don’t believe it was sidewinder but his point was that it takes up too much volume.

[GoldenBC]

I want my Gara's to work!

Ten tubes and the fit is so sweet... zero lift with no discomfort, aaand... eezy to stand around in.

But, damn... I can not solve the acute pressure I'm getting over the instep in a ski posture.

Milled the bootboard to the nth. Corsa lacing from the top 4 loops only and cut out the 4 lower lace loops. I'm maybe 50% of the way there. Time to get serious.

I'm going to cut away the portion of the shell marked in yellow. Maybe a little wider.


Yeah or Neah?

eta: I've heat formed the same location without significant improvement.

Heat that shell and manually roll up that edge. Make it count.
Try hammering the blue/green seam in the liner against a wood block to bed it in.

[GoldenBC]

Handy tip for all liner molds.

I often find that the cork in the Achilles channels can be uneven after an initial mold and the customer can notice. Now, i preemptively push cork down the Achilles channel to right above the heel. It will work back up if it really needs to but usually serves people better down low.

[Gepeto]

Heat that shell and manually roll up that edge. Make it count.
Try hammering the blue/green seam in the liner against a wood block to bed it in.

I'm on it 🫡

[chewski]

Super stoked to get a zipfit fitting from goldenbc tomorrow after following this thread loosely!

[DoubleBogey]

You won’t regret it. To GoldenBC’s point, the achilles area in my left boot ended up being the crux of the fit for me. The OMfit is really hard to move/get right with just a heat mold. I came to the conclusion that I had to too much OMfit there and wasn’t getting the heel hold that I wanted, like my heel wasn’t all the way back in my boot. I had to manually move the cork down lower and then up higher and around to front.

[adrian.bee]

Anyone have experience fotting a Sidewinder?
I'm in boot Nirvana, but also going down the rabbit hole.
I've got a cherry pair and also love the grippy leather interior, almost like smooth suede.
Anyway, I also have wicked big ankles and that inner, top to bottom layer of that stiff honeycomb powertransferstuff does not play nicely.
Shell is punched there; "punch" the liners there
too?
I was thinking targeted, light heat gun (now that I think more about, probably masking off the area outside of ankle point with aluminum foil) and yje handle of s screwdriver from inside the liner?

Ive already done (just once, I think) a heat fitting via hot water bottles placed w/I the liner.

I'd be interested to hear how this works. I'm starting to get that inside ankle pressure as well and it's definitely the plastic.

[jackattack]

Probably not the advice you’re looking for, but I saw a video of a guy on YouTube that removed the honeycomb all together. I don’t believe it was sidewinder but his point was that it takes up too much volume.

Can you link to that? I’d like to modify my SW but not willing to go to extremes just yet.

[GoldenBC]

Super stoked to get a zipfit fitting from goldenbc tomorrow after following this thread loosely!

Great to meet you today. Enjoy the skiing this week!

[DoubleBogey]

Can you link to that? I’d like to modify my SW but not willing to go to extremes just yet.

https://youtu.be/BUli9WRIh0A?si=_Hq1twHPxSTputOX

No idea how he did it, but that’s what it looks like.

[MD12]

I have about 80-100 days in a sidewinder. I’ve heated them a few times in a convection oven and added a little more cork but not much. Mine have the leather inner liner which I I like better than the neoprene.

short story - I’ve never done too much work to them and haven’t had a boot fitter work on any zipfits. I have noticed the heel pockets expand and conform to my foot over time including switching between boots. More so on my left foot than on my right. I’ve used these liners in two generations of rx 130 lvs and the past two years in atomic Hawx ultras.

I also have the gara and the gft. The sidewinder was great when I sprained my left ankle very badly - it really helped protect my ankle getting in and out of the boot and while skiing. Can’t say I like the sidewinder more than other zipfits though - but with my sprained ankle it was a big help.

downside to the sidewinder is that in higher volume boots (like the rx lv compared to the Hawx ultra), on very warm days it felt like I could feel the plastic against my ankle a bit while skiing. Not a big problem, but didn’t have that issue with the non-sidewinder models.

Also think the sidewinder adds noticeable stiffness to the boot.

think a hairdryer would work but also think less is more when it comes to zipfits,they all conform to your feet over time.

[Gepeto]

Heat that shell and manually roll up that edge. Make it count.
Try hammering the blue/green seam in the liner against a wood block to bed it in.

Damn, what a few aggressive taps with a smoothed face hammer will do~!

I cowboyed up and brought some heat and pressure. Significant; reduced the discomfort another 35%.


I am going to mill the leading edge where I molded up on the medial side with a die-grinder - nothing significant... 2/3mm, where the tongue drives down on the shell with the heel retention buckle tensioned.

There is no doubt what the liner brings to the user. The viscous medium the cork is suspended in plus the malleability and slow elasticity of the cork itself. No comparison to an intuition or foam injected liner. The fact that when at room temp it's unwavering, but mounted (and especially warmed up) the fit is truly dynamic.

Thanx for the push GBC. This transition has not been easy. Without getting into the weeds, it's Felt with a capital F, old school - like getting a plug boot intentionally x1.5 sizes to small to work just right.

The ride was plush today.

[chewski]

Probably answered already but is a hotronics boot dryer ok with zipfits? The heat feels extremely mild to me, but wanted to check first.

[DoubleBogey]

I would think so. Take your footbeds out though

[gregorys]

I've been using the MaxDry RD (with hoses) equivalent (it's physically identical, but under a different brand name) - which is also very low heat without any issues. So, I think the answer is yes.