
Originally Posted by
anotherVTskibum
I can't load the image, but it's generally easier to start with a boot that's too tight and make it bigger than the other way around. I've got this year's (2020/21) 26.5 Hawx Prime XTDs, which were decidedly not big enough in the toe box until after heat molding the shells and liners; with things baked, they're just about big enough, although in hindsight I wish I had used toe caps to get just a little more space (my toes do run into the front of the boot in some circumstances, particularly when they're unbuckled for standing around or touring). FWIW, I also picked up a pair of race boots (Redster TI) but in proper race sizing, and I couldn't even get the right one on out of the box. After heat-molding and grinding (a fair bit on the left one and a whole lot on the right), I can now keep them on for several hours at 20 deg F or higher (I don't think I'd be able to take three hours at 15 deg F, though).
With that said, if you can't afford to replace the boots (and can't find a pair of used boots in the right size), I'd agree with the suggestions about going with a high-volume liner, possibly with some shims on the boot board as well. I'd think that if you can get a good lace-up liner, it might also help a little because even if your foot and the liner move inside the shell, they'll move together rather than your foot moving while the liner stays put, thus creating blisters. Then again, I'm not a bootfitter, so YMMV.
Re: moving the Shifts: they should have at least a full shell size worth of adjustment, and the instructions for adjusting them are in the Shift thread. Adjusting forward pressure isn't particularly hard, although the AFD on those bindings is finicky.
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