My boots are killing me!

[Chainsaw_Willie]

With the purchases I plan to make this season there just isn't any money for new alpine boots. The ones I have now are some Nordica K7.1s from about 4 or 5 years ago. Since I didn't ski much in those years except last year they're still in great shape.

The problem is they really hurt my feet. I've taken them back to the shop I bought them at a couple times and had them punched out but the problem still persists, especially my right foot. Basically, the boots just seem too narrow. I have a pretty wide foot and they pinch me just back from where my little toe joins my foot and eventually makes the whole side of my foot & my toes numb.

Would a new heat moldable liner help this situation? I would really much rather spend some money on some new AT boots than new alpinie boots, so if I can make these boots last another year or two with a minimal expenditure, that would be the way to go.

Any suggestions welcome.

[72Twenty]

Well, really, new boots would be your best option, but one thing you can do yourself is put them on in your livingroom and crank them down. Take a sharpie and make a small x in the center of the pressure points on the outside of the shell. Then take them off. Find the corresponding spot on the liner and then get an xacto knife. Shave some of the material away, or make a series of small parallel incisions that alow that spot to 'stretch out'. Also, in the corresponding spot on the shell - heat it up quite hot with like a heat gun or a hair dryer on high can work. Get the plastic really hot to where it is kinda soft. From the inside of the shell (with the liner removed, obviously) push out on that spot with your thumb if it isn't too hot to touch, or with the butt end of a short screw driver. Keep pressure on that spot as the plastic cools. This will give you a couple mm's of room that might just help relieve some of the pressure in that spot. It might help the boots be bearable for another season or two. I did this in my old Langes.

[72Twenty]

Another thing...

Think of your boot as a triangle, if you were looking at it straight on from the toe. The higher you sit in the triangle, the less width you have. If you feel it is too narrow in the forefoot, take your footbed out and cut it in half just ahead of the arch, so you are cuting the portion that holds the ball of you foot up to your toes off. Replace the footbeds and you'll have more room. Do this in combination with what I suggested above. If you don't want to cut your footbeds, get a set out of an old pair of shoes and try it with those.

In addition, you can go to the footcare section of a store like Walmart and get those little foam heel pads. That this does is raise your heel up, therefore pulling your toes a little back. Again this is helpful if done in combination with the other things I suggested.

Plus, it doesn't cost much to do.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will probably try heating and stretching them myself.

Definitely do NOT want to pull my foot further back into the boot, that makes the situation worse as the boot gets narrower towards the middle so pulling my toes back pulls my forefoot into the narrower section of the boot. Cranking down the strap over the ankle, which pulls the foot back in the boot, makes the pain worse. I might actually try adding some padding behind my ankles in the achilles area to try to keep the foot further forward.

What about a heat moldable liner? Are those only for AT boots? I wouldn't mind dropping a couple bills if it meant these boots would be comfortable, I just can't spend the $350+ it would cost for another set of nice alpine boots.

[72Twenty]

A heat moldable liner might help, it might not. But why spend the money on them? Try my suggestions first, then buy custom liners when you buy new boots in a couple years.

[Dromond]

Also, some heat moldable liners (like my thermoflexes) are pretty high volume. They could make your feet even more squished.

[pechelman]

CW, what size is your shell?
I have some scarpa wrap thermos I could send you for cheap.

[mntlion]

with you foot in the shell only ....

what is the shell fit like 1-2 cm behind you heel and the shell?

what is the shell fit like for width? are you touching both sides of the shell?

do you have the same pain with differnt footbeds? with no footbeds?

does the pain get better or worst when you are skiing, stnading or riding the chairlift?

more info = better answers

[Alek]

What about a heat moldable liner? Are those only for AT boots? I wouldn't mind dropping a couple bills if it meant these boots would be comfortable, I just can't spend the $350+ it would cost for another set of nice alpine boots.

I went to the superstar Boulder bootfitter and tried to get moldable liners for my old alpine boots: they were looser than the originals! I think the thermal liners need a smaller shell because they are not as bulky. the result is that I stood in line for 3 hours for nothing because in the end I just kept the liners I had (painfully) packed out over the years.

What DID work for me was a custom footbed. It makes much more of a difference than I thought, you can move it from one boot to the next and is relatively cheap: try it!

[TurxSki]

With the purchases I plan to make this season there just isn't any money for new alpine boots.
The problem is they really hurt my feet.

Simple. Change your plans, mang.
Boots become more important the more you're in them, and I bet you ski a lot.
They are the basis for your enjoyment.
Life's too short to spend in pain just to save some $$'s
You could prolly pick up some older Tecnica or Salomon boots, with a wide foot-volume, for just a couple a hundred $$'s, I reckon.

Liner-wise, anything you put inside will give you less room.

[Arty50]

AKA went cheap on the boots his first season in Cali. Now he's got 6th and 7th toes and some weird thing growing on his heel...on both feet.

Boots first, skis second. You need to reprioritize your puchases. The best skis in the world won't do you any good if you can't control them because your feet are numb.

[BanditXXX]

With the purchases I plan to make this season there just isn't any money for new alpine boots. The ones I have now are some Nordica K7.1s from about 4 or 5 years ago. Since I didn't ski much in those years except last year they're still in great shape.

The problem is they really hurt my feet. I've taken them back to the shop I bought them at a couple times and had them punched out but the problem still persists, especially my right foot. Basically, the boots just seem too narrow. I have a pretty wide foot and they pinch me just back from where my little toe joins my foot and eventually makes the whole side of my foot & my toes numb.

Would a new heat moldable liner help this situation? I would really much rather spend some money on some new AT boots than new alpinie boots, so if I can make these boots last another year or two with a minimal expenditure, that would be the way to go.

Any suggestions welcome.

Gee Wally. I've had these boots for 5 years and they still hurt my feet. Hey Beav, why don't you buy some boots that fit? Ok , Wally, thanks for the advice. Do you think Dad will lend me some money? Gosh Beav, I don't know.

[steved]

Got my footbeds & dremel Wally, now what do I do..

[Tube Sag]

If you have room to even think about putting pad behind the heel to keep the foot forward in the boot, and if settling the heel back makes it worse (assuming you are then skiing with the heel not back) I would start over from scratch. When bootfitting, you have to start with basics, mainly like the foot being and staying in the right place in the shell. If you cant get or can stand having your heel all the way back, then you don't even have the right basic shell size. All the punching in the world wont fix a problem like that. Save the coin and get in the right shell. Good days are worth too much to screw around with saving the wrong pair of shells.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Well, there seems to be a consensus here - new boots. Hmm, so much for buying AT boots this season. Oh well, I mostly ski lift-served stuff anyway, and don't mind hiking in snow in the downhill boots. I just wanted to get more into the backcountry and carrying the downhill boots in a pack during dirt & rock trail approaches sucks.

Thanks for all the input. Except you, BanditXXX. You're a douchebag and can go fuck yourself.