General Terms and Problems
Ski boots can make or break even the most awesome day of skiing, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Ski boot problems and pain are often caused by one or a combination of just a handful of issues. Here is a list of the most common ski boot issues people face.
Before reading this please note that this list will help you identify what might be going on in your ski boot but it is best to leave it to the professionals to fix it.
Heal lift: If your heal is lifting in your boot it could be that it is too big or that the liner has broken down. This can lead to lack of response from your boots as well as soreness and/or blistering on the heal. The best thing to do is apply adhesive padding to the out side of the liner. There are two way to hold the heal down through the use of adhesive padding. One is to apply the padding around the ankle bones in a half moon shape with the open space facing your toes. The other method is to hold the ankle down by placing strips of padding on either side of your achilles. Tip: If you don’t have adhesive padding you can use strips of duck tape.
6th Toe: This is a boot fitters term for the pain many people feel behind their pinkie toe on the side of their foot. Most of the time this is caused by the boot being too narrow. Luckily, a simple expansion of the ski boot shell can provide great relief. Tip: Don’t go grinding away on your boot for more room. The plastic is thin at this part of the boot and a punch (expansion) will be much harder to do later.
Black Toe: Consistent banging against the front of your ski boot can lead to pain and blackening of the toe nail. This is often caused by the boot being too small. A good boot fitter will be able to grind out some of the plastic out or expand the shell to give you more room. Tip: If you do develop Black Toe it can be quite painful. You can try to drain the blood that is causing the pressure and discomfort by drilling a small hole at the base of the nail with a very sharp knife or by heating up a needle. When working your way through the nail move slow. Once you have gotten through the nail blood will come rushing out and the pain will subside immediately. BUT BE CAREFUL.
Shin Bang: Pain or discomfort to the front of your shin is often referred to as shin bang. The problem with the pesky discomfort is that there are many issues that can lead to server case of shin bang.
What Causes Shin Bang?
- Your boots are too Big. When your foot doesn’t fit your boot properly it slides forward in the boot and hits the front of the shell. (Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about bigs that are to big for you. Get some new ones.)
- Your boot is too stiff. (Get new boots or cut out plastic from the inner cuff of the boot to soften the flex)
- There is something in the cuff of the boot or in the sock. (Make sure your sock is not bunched up and that your pants are on the outside of the shell. If you feel something in the cuff try to remove it or smooth it out.)
- The Flex point of the boot does not mach your foot shape. (Heel lifts sometimes help)
I got black toe last season on both toes and my toenails are just now falling off
skiing in the back-seat=shin bang…duh
Hey, about black toe, yep it can definitely be caused by a boot that is too small, but as often as we see it for too tight boots, it is just as often caused (especially among “recreational” skiers) by a boot that is too big. This happens because when said snow slider went to buy his/her new boots they felt too tight in the store, no matter what their bootfitter told them. As the liner begins to break in and the foot is no longer cradled correctly the foot will often slide around in the boot, with the toes repeatedly banging/bashing into the toe box and leaving said slider with black toes. Foam can be added to lock the foot back down, but it is foam, and it will breakdown. The real interesting part is that the slider will then often return to the original point of purchase thinking his/her boots are still too small. This is the perfect example of why a proper initial boot fit is so important.
The man speaks the truth.
Now this is a great article. Perhaps going into the arch support aspect would also benefit those “DIY” boot fitters who do not have the option of going into a shop with a Pro Boot Fitter. I will say that getting a shell fit will also increase the likely hood of a great pair of boots.
Also, never ever assume your “shoe” size will match your “ski boot/snowboard boot size”
We all want something that is comfy, however do not sacrifice performance for comfort (ie, buy boots too big) They will stretch out.
Local REI and Sport Authority stores, although decently priced, have shitty boot fitters. ( I know I had to re-train all of them at my old job when i left my real ski shop job)
First off, it’s “heel” lift, not “heal”.
Second, ChemDog is right with black toe resulting from a boot that’s too big. It’s rare that I see boots that are too small, mostly from racer kids who either aren’t good enough to be sponsored or otherwise hooked-up, or their parents who are too cheap to pop for new boots when their kids outgrow them. And generally speaking, black toe is the least of the worries.
While this is a good primer for general info, a good fit can be guaranteed if the skier is willing to invest time, energy and money and listen to their fiiter. We take everything into account, from ability level, type of skiing (racer, big-mountain, park rat, etc.), days expected on the hill and most importantly, the size, shape and mechanics of the individual feet.
One thing not mentioned in your piece is the need for some form of arch support. While everyone doesn’t “need” a custom footbed, everyone “will” benefit from having them! They increase the skiers comfort and performance and make it easier for us to get the fit dialed once the feet are stabilized.
We also look at hip/knee/ankle alignment and ensure perfect balance in the boots.
Far too often we see people with their “city bought” boots having nothing but problems. We take pride in turning shitty fits and misery into comfort and satisfaction (which all could be avoided with an investment in a qualified boot-fitter)! We all pay way too much to enjoy our sport to have to suffer with uncomfortable gear!
I have been boot fitting (still not sure if qualify as a full blown bootfitter) about 100 pair of boots a year for the past 5 years. Just when I feel like I’ve seen it all, I realize that that’s not all by any stretch of the imagination. If you look around, especially away from a resort, do your research, and listen to people who have had good experiences with their boots, you can often find a good bootfitter near you who, when it comes to custom work (footbeds, liners, punches, sole planing, grinding and stretching) can do it for way cheaper than you can find custom work at a Mtn. For example, we do all shell work (except sole planing) for free for you for the 1st years after purchase if you buy a boot in the size and style we recommend. If you do not buy what we recommend it’s $80/hr PLUS any other fee we can give you because you had to have a particular color or you read on the internet what was better for your foot than your bootfitters suggestion, because what does your bootfitter know? He is probably just a pot smoking hippie that is trying to ruin your trip (that was sarcasm). My recomendation if you do not like the way a boot looks, but it fits well, buy longer pants you fucking kook.
booster straps
Drop in foot beds are also a option if you have to watch the budget and they correct the most important part of the by posting the heel wich will place the foot into the sweet spot of the boot where it is designed to be worn.
Weed is the best solution to ski boot troubles and pain.
Black toe is quite common since a lot of boot fitters put you in too small boots
so your toes bang the front of the toe box a lot.
6th toe is common since most boots are “one width fits all” – NOT.
When I bought my first boots 40 years ago they came in THREE widths:
Small, Medium, Large. Why did this stop? ??????????????
When the Alta Deep Powder House gave up on me they sent me to
see the old German guy (“Boot Nazi” } at the Lift House who they
considered the best in SLC. Boot Nazi says we have no boots for you.
My foot is 11 1/2 EEEE.
Black toe is more common from boots too big than too small. Period. 2nd, boots do come in plenty of widths. It is referred to as a last. A true race last is 92-97mm @ a mondo point of 26.5, a consumer narrowish boot is 97/98mm @ 26.5, standard last is about 99-101 @ 26.5 and they go up to 106mm @ 26.5 out of the box, and with the proper tools and experience it isn’t hard to easily add an extra 3mm to a boot. It used to be that to go wider you would sacrifice performance, today, not so much. For example the Head Vector series is a fairly wide boot that has plenty of performance or most people. Dalbello’s C4 technology also goes a long way in providing some extra space out of the box in what is technically fairly narrow boots (the Viper Series). Wish I could see your feet and put them on a brannock. Often, I would go as far as saying 85-90% of the time people wear their shoes at least a half if not a full size or more too big. Especially someone with a very wide foot. Because a shoe is soft, it is often easy to accommodate for a very wide foot by buying a larger shoe. This does not work in a ski boot. If the boot is too long and you have a wide foot, when your heel is correctly in the heel pocket of a ski boot, the wide part of the foot is now pulled back so that the widest part of the foot is too far back into the narrowing part of the ski boot, which won’t naturally form fit like a shoe.
In my experience when a shop passes off a boot fit on another bootfitter, it generally because A.) they don’t have the correct tools or B.) the customer is uncooperative will not listen to what the original shop had to say about breaking in a boot, won’t take the shops suggestion about particular boots (and the shape of the shells and how they fit particular feet shapes), i.e., they know more than the shop / bootfitter (the internet has obviously made everyone an expert) and it is easier to make them someone else’s problem.
black toes are way more likely in a boot too big
Uhh, not quite. Black toenails are usually because the boots are too big and your feet slide around. Especially if you are a gaper and spend 90% of your day in the back seat.
Boots come in different widtths. Just look at the size of the last. 98mm, 100mm, 102mm, etc. A bigger number = wider.
Oh, and if your feet are EEEE width, you don’t need ski boots. Or skis. Those monsters have plenty of float all by themselves.