Helpful Hints - How To Try On New Ski Boots 

Good info! Somehow in 15 years of skiing nobody has ever told me the "correct" sequence of buckling the boot, nor which buckle should be how tight. Very good to know.

For 10 years in the 70's and 80's my two friends and I skied every Friday night at Snoqualmie pass WA. Weather was never an issue. If the lifts were running, we skied. After a couple of years we all had Rosemont boots and 210 skies. We had season passes and our families typically skied weekends The women (did not work) had a free day at Chrystal Mountain. We often did the torchlite parade on xmas and New Year. Skiing as a family with friends has a premium time when riding up the chair lift. Hank an Laurie Kaufman owned the Ski Rack in down town Seattle. We got almost new equipment and clothes in Sept every years. Thanks for your valuable lesson in fitting boots. We had lessons on the carpet in the living room where we practiced falling and breaking out of bindings, then putting skis on while laying on the floor. None of us ever had broken bones but we sure had a lot of great fun. Iguana

Excellent guidance and coaching in what to expect in ski boot fitting. Thanks 😊

Excellent suggestion about 80% of the way thru to ski the boots before fine tuning the fit with heating/ molding and other adjustments.

Very important tips! Thank you!

Such a great, informative video. Thank you

Really helpful analysis!

Great video,helped me a lot. Thank you!

Very informative. Thank you very much!

Good solid video. I have HUGE calves. The VERY first thing I ALWAYS have to do BEFORE trying them on is to move that "macro" adjustment ALL THE WAY OUT and even then I can't even buckle specific brands.

Very helpful video, as I'm not living in a ski area and I've got my boots online. Now I'll know how to try them when they arrive 😎 And not running to the boot fitter (which is not close either) sounds like a great idea 🙂 Trying them when skiing rather than standing in a shop, definitely makes way more sense to my engineer logical thinking 👍🏻 🙂 Thanks for the video!

This is a great vid! Could you do a follow up talking about boot flex? I've been skiing a 130 for ages which seems fine, but it recently occurred to be maybe a more flexible boot can be better but I have no reference point of what it would feel like.

I been skiing over 40 years & he is using my boot comfort & buckling system LOL.62 years young on 140 flex

Super video-many thanks!

excellent info ...looking fwd to breaking in my new boots!

The important point of @13:50: "go skiing". And I got a practical reminder that it is the actual measure of boot fit, just as I am in the pain of getting new boots in my 5 year iteration round. I never realized the quite drastic effect of my foot temperature vs. boot fit, as I have lately been going out with a certain brand 50/50 boot. And when fitting them at home at the livingroom temperature, one boot definitely feels like the "weird handshake"-tight, the other even more, like it could use a punch at the pinkie toe. After an hour drive to my home resort and putting the boots on, I have now twice realized that the first boot is very fitting, not as tight. And the other has a definite feeling of not needing the pinkie punch at all. And the shell material being Grilamid (PA), it apparently is more temperature-stable, hence the cooler foot is not counteracted by the shell getting that much smaller. And as those are 130 flex boots, the liner is not too cushy to fill the volume too much. My previous boot was with a full PU shell, and you actually could feel the shell getting progressively tighter in freezing temperatures, especially on longer lift rides, where you might have over +0 Celcius temperatures at the bottom, but going well below zero while ascending. But also, they were bit of work in the spring time slush, when the feet got still a bit cool, but the boots were warmed up by sunlight.

Such a great tutorial, helped me a lot! Thanks

This is a great tutorial.

Thank you

great video. very helpful!

Best and most instructive boot try on / buckling video ever. No real news to me but very well explained. Speaking of explanations. When will you make a video of how to clean the boots from snow underneath without destroying the bindings? People spends a fortune on state of the art bindings for safe protection (which is good), but they do not spend 30 secs to clean the boots from packed snow with a glove or stick. Kicking the binding front piece randomly assuming it will remove ice/packed snow underneath the boot is like driving without seat belt. Might work…

Nice 24.5 stickers 👍👍

To get into my boots I have to put the boot in walk mode and best if the shell is warm. Secondly, why aren't the first two buckles straps? for the reasons you pointed out.

Going to have to play with that 2nd buckle. After watching this I am convinced mine may be too tight. My boots for the longest time hurt for the initial couple of runs - but then become fine once they have warmed up. They also will end up hurting if I am struggling skiing (if I am skiing icy, steep, ungroomed/bumpy slopes where I have not relaxed - I think I end up clenching my toes, trying to turn with them, or just not fully committing to putting my weight on the front of my boots). While I know its most likely my position... my 2nd buckle definitely does not snap as easy as yours... and I usually buckle up from 1-4. Might try mixing it up. BTW... do you unbuckle/unsnap your boots at the end of each run?

Man, you’re seriously dropping those boots!

Excellent and engaging video, well presented. Do you walk about with clips cranked up or loosened off?

Tried a pair ski boot for an hour in a ski shop and felt snug and okay. But it felt completely on the snow mountains especially after first two runs, foots were feeling pain, not sure it was because of the space of the boots or the custom insoles. Then only felt better after a bit of rest...

That underwear out of the boots are critical!!! I had cramps after 5h and had to take off the boots in the middle of the piste.. because i had the socks over my long underwear...

great advice. would you recommend going a size or half a size down from regular shoe size if buying online?

Nice of RU-vid to drop this in my feed after ordering a pair of boots from you yesterday. Good info, pretty consistent with my general approach (some of which I unfortunately learned the hard way). I'd be interested in how you approach fit for dedicated touring boots.

Great video, thx... I have a rather slim ankle and sometimes feel that I could be more snug in the boots esp around my ankle. How right should a good fitting boot be in this regard? How would you tell if it fits properly?

Very good video. I have a very narrow foot. I am a good skier. Which boots do you recommend?

Any advice for someone with 1+ size difference between right and left foot? Thanks for advice.

Хороший обзор) Спасибо за инфу об том как правильно застегивать ботинок)

Me and my wife were trying new boots and found ones that fit beautifully around the feet and felt good. However our calves felt like they were being pressed against and felt painful. Whats the best way to go about getting a boot that fits the foot but isnt painful on the calf?

What’s your opinion on folks saying high performance necessitates a super snug fit (sizing down a full shell size, for example). I’ve gone with bootfitter advice for years, ski 50+ days a season (I’d personally say at an expert level) and have always wound up in a boot that measures my mondopoint. Should I be pushing for a smaller shell fit? I’ve normally just let my fitter do his thing - but I wonder if I’m missing out!

Awesome video. How can I tell whether it not I have too much flex?

What a wonderful vid. Any recommendations for wider foot skiers? I am currently looking for Tecnica Mach HV 120. Thank you

What about all the settings in page 2 to 4 of the manual. I don't understand anything.

Should your boot liner be snug with your big toe brushing against the end when standing straight and falling slightly back into he heel and off the toes when flexed standing?

When I have a ski boot on and tightened, should I be able to lift my heel off the bottom of the boot, or does this mean that the boot is too lose?

I've seen people recommend flexing tests or rules such as you should be able to flex your knee over the toes and if you can flex the knee too far over the toes then it's too soft. I'm not sure if this applies to room/store temperature what temperature should that be achieved at? Is it the case that if you have your knees far past your toes in the shop they will be good once the boot gets cold or not? Should you be able to flex your knees over your toes in -20 Celsius or -10, -5 etc? I managed to get boots that were too stiff twice in a row. First 130 Lange RS wide (1 size too small) and then 120 Atomic Hawx Prime which they cut some of the back out of to make it less stiff. Need to be 3rd time lucky!

Is that flexing sounds normal? doesnt it bother when skiing? will it reduce by time or temperature?

Could you Guys(Skiessentials) produce a digital version of a printable boot sizer I could stand on and it would have outlines of length and width. So I could see I am a 27.5 with a 102 forefoot. The other thing is the discrepancy boot manufacturers have in sizing and their stated sizes. Aybe each company has its own digital paper sizer. But does standing on a flat floor distort and spread out my feet more than being in a boot? So maybe it isn't as wide. I have always had boot problems since I was young.

Good video :) Have you tried (skied?) Nordica's SpeedMachine previously, and if you did, have you found ProMachine much more narrow, like a big difference? I have a SpeedMachine, want to try ProMachine 120 but in the local shops it's still not available.

Hi :) Do you have that small feet or you are buying few sizes smaller boots? I just bought atomic hawx 110, could you please recommend any skis(including flex) for this model? I like to go resort skiing and do frequent turns.

I have always rented boots, last year my boots really hurt my shins bad. I adjusted them as much as I could but it didn’t help. I had proper socks. Any recommendations on how I can help this from happening?

i noticed you're using a size 24.5... what is your US shoe size normally? Like do you wear size 7.5 solomons?

Never make my mistake of buying boots through the web. Find a good fitter to measure you. I've tried to save 50 pounds and I ended up paying £350 for an additional pair. A good fitter not only will make sure the boots fit the shape of your feet, but also will modify them to make sure any pain is gone.

Surprised no mention of consider the use of basic footbeds or orthotics for variations in foot arch types.

VICQUE BEST FRIEND'S

I see you, like me, have a 24.5 boot size sadly. Where are places you have been able to find this size to try on or even order? It’s very hard to find our size :(

Like your pants what’s the brand.

Told a guy to put pressure in his boots and if he can wiggle his big toe a little bit...then he is good to go. But he said Nah man I'm a back seater so I want to make sure my toes do not jam against the front of the boot when I stand straight up

I have been skiing for years and every year i loose my toenails after they always turn black, can you make any suggestions

Never thought about pulling my long underwear above the boot. I'm going to try that next time.

Trying ski boot inside where its probably 25C is actually counter intuitive since you want to feel the reap flex and its more realistic when boots are near 0C in which condition they are actually going to be used in. Plastic does not have the same flex at 25 and 0C. For example try putting some extension cord in cold and see how harder it gets (unless its silicone or rubber).

how does that boot size compare to your street shoes size?

Can be a good idea to have a boot fitter analyze your feet before you order on line. They can tell you what boots will fit you best.

If it feels too tight it probably is. I've seen people destroyed listening to "boot fitters" that ignored everything the customer said. My wife didn't even make it half way down the run before she was bawling in tears as her boots filled with literal blood from boots being too small and tearing up her doot. 3 punch outs later barely got them big enough. My favorite boots are two sizes bigger than what the expert suggested. They fit like a glove imo. Boot fitter told me my toes should be entirely curled under and it was fine based on his measurements. Dislocated my toe listening to him. There is no reason to have ultra tight boots.

I was lucky enough to have a sports rental shop not too far from my house. They had boots,helmets,skis,goggles it was perfect. the guy tried to give my mom skis covered with cup cakes and sprinkles but then the owner got mad at the guy. : o

My streetwears are 44 (EU). I got a 45 boot. is that ok?

They feel great until they shrink in the cold and then the pressure points start!

Do certain brands run more narrow vs other brands running more wide?

Fit the shell without the liner, sorry guys

A good rule of thumb, size all "footwear" in the late afternoon, as your foot swells during the day. This will give you the most accurate fitting.

24.5 dude i think that boots are too small for you ..

Very informative, but your website totally lacks. As I'm sure you know, there is more to fitting than just foot length/width. Your website has no way of getting down to what boots best match your length, width, calf size, flex level, instep, etc. You must scroll through every boot and only narrow it down by brand, cost, size and gender. If I'm going to risk buying something such as ski boots online, I need to feel confident I chose the best fitting option. See "skis.com" for a fantastic method of allowing one to narrow down their search. Great information here though. Thanks!

Thin socks make me cold

I just recently had some boots fitted for me but the 2nd buckle across the top of my foot always cuts off the blood supply to my foot. It's already on the last tooth of the buckle. Are my boots the wrong size? Or is there something I can do to relieve it? Thanks!

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