jnshapiro Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Well, it looks like I'm going to have to replace my boots. They are just too big. I was hoping I'd get through the season, but it doesn't look good. They are SB225's, size 27. My feet are 26.3. I can feel the liner lifting up with my feet when riding. The battle isn't pretty. (yes, I have cork insoles and heat molded liner) However, i get some pressure on the side of 1 foot (the back one, pressure is about 1 inch back from the little toe) when I put the boots on. It gets worse throughout the day and becomes painful. It's possible the boots are a touch on the narrow side. So I've been thinking about a pair of Deelux or Head boots. However, I don't know which one will fit better or serve me better. I'm planning to save the 225's for powder days, so I don't really need a softer boot. But I also don't want to batter myself with a really stiff boot (the Indy's for example). Anyone have any good advice to help? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I fouind the Af series (Suzuka/Indy) more roomy in the toes than the SB series but that's just me. Same narrow heel which works well for me. Wide-footed riders seem to rave about the Heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDY_2_Carve Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 I have that same pain about 1" below my little toe on the outside of both feet. Nothing has helped thus far. I had SB224's, SB325's and I even had the 325's widened at a bootfitter. I've offloaded all my Raichele shells since then... Trying Head Stratos Pro's this season to see if they are any better. If this doesn't fix it I'm off to Surefoot and forking out the $400-500 for foam injected liners and their custom footbeds. Heads are suppost to be much wider than Deeluxe and UPZ are wider too from what I understand. My suggestion to you would be to go see a veteran bootfitter. Fork out whatever cash is necessary to get properly fitting boots. The comfort is worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 So are you getting heel lift...with the liner too? Thermoflex or another brand? At which shop did you have them cooked? Granite Chief at Squaw Valley are the best. Did you lightly pound your heels back in the warm liner and stand on an incline surface until they cooled? Counting buckles from the toes up to the shin. Buckle #1 (closest to the toes) does almost nothing, but most people overtighten this one. Buckle #2 and #3 most important for keeping your heels in place. Buckle #4 and 5 (if you have one) keep the shin from banging or rotating. I like to take a warmup run or two and tighten them all a little more (except #1). Get #2 and #3 tight enough to keep you foot back without any heel lift, many of us crank these down during the run and flip open on the lift. I put a square of the thick Mole Skin on the back of my heels, no blisters and no movement. ~0.7cm shouldn't make that much of a difference with molded liners, unless the liner wasn't heated enough or your heels weren't all the way back. --Hugh Well, it looks like I'm going to have to replace my boots. They are just too big. I was hoping I'd get through the season, but it doesn't look good.They are SB225's, size 27. My feet are 26.3. I can feel the liner lifting up with my feet when riding. The battle isn't pretty. (yes, I have cork insoles and heat molded liner) However, i get some pressure on the side of 1 foot (the back one, pressure is about 1 inch back from the little toe) when I put the boots on. It gets worse throughout the day and becomes painful. It's possible the boots are a touch on the narrow side. So I've been thinking about a pair of Deelux or Head boots. However, I don't know which one will fit better or serve me better. I'm planning to save the 225's for powder days, so I don't really need a softer boot. But I also don't want to batter myself with a really stiff boot (the Indy's for example). Anyone have any good advice to help? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnshapiro Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Hugh, I did see a very competent boot fitter when I got Intuition liners. He told me then that he thought the shells were too big. But I wasn't ready then to replace them so we cooked up some Intuition liners. Yes, my heals were set. Yes, the buckles are buckled correctly. Yes, the shells are too big. I'm tired of fighting them, especially going from the transition from healside to toeside. A bootfitter can't fix shells that are too big. They need replacing with ones that are the right size. I'm trying to decide what to get and, since I'll have to mail order them, it'll be an educated guess. I suppose I could order a pair of the Head's and one of the Deelux models and send back whichever doesn't fit as well. But I'd rather get the right ones up front. Forget about what I have now and trying to fix it. It's not going to happen. What do I get? That's the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 jnshapiro, for comparison's sake: My feet measure between 26.5 and 27.0. Can't recall the exact length but they're both different and betwwen those two numbers. Narrow heels and wider at the toes. I started on a 27 - way too big. Went to a 26 - better but still found myself overtightening to prevent heel lift. Did shell test - says they were too big. Went to 25's. Shell test says "in range but on the big side". SB series pinched my toes - needed some punching out sideways and the toebox also felt low. AF series, great but a little heel lift. Shell-tested a friend's 24 SB series on Saturday. Shell test says "in range on the small side". I put my size 25 liners in her size 24 shells, massive pinching on sides and top but I got that with the size 25 SB series too. So - I am interested in trying some AF series size 24 shells. Yep, that's right... I just want to slip my feet and liners into the shells. If I can walk around for a few minutes in them without my toes hurting then I know they are enough for my bootfitter to work with. If it helps get ride of the heel lift with my skinny ankle/heel/calf - perfect! If anyone going to Snowperformance has these... may I try your shells on during video review one evening? So there you have it - my feet are longer than yours and a size 25 is a hair bigger than just right for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy T. Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Joel, You could check out Elite Feet. They have a place at Squaw and at Northstar. Good bootfitting service and they sell Head Stratos Pro's. Elite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnshapiro Posted December 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Randy, funny you should mention that. I just got off the phone with them! I have an appt tomorrow. They have a couple pair of the Head's in what is likely to be the right shell size. The guy I spoke to also indicated that they might be able to do something with my 225's as well. I was so frustrated with my boots yesterday that I was nearly ready to drop 'em in a trash can. Looks like there is a solution coming. I'll post an update tomorrow afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy T. Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Right on let me know how it goes. The guys there are great and will take care of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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