Great video sir, on a topic not often discussed outside of Ski School locker rooms and Race Clubs. Most high end ski pros SEARCH for that 'race fit' feel - and once you find it, your feet are so 'dialed in' it is like the Princess and the Pea - you feel (and control) every minute detail at the connection of the edge to the snow. Getting a close as reasonable fit to the shell with your bare feet in it is key, but also you must invest in a solid custom fitted insole (Hell yeah Patriot) AND some kind of foam-injected fitted boot liner. Back in the day, we opted for Strolz foam injected liners because the leather was hard wearing and they lasted for season after season with little break down of the foam (despite the fact that sometimes we would be 8-9 months of the year working in the boots, Northern - Southern hemispheres). Another bonus: I absolutely credit a dialed in race fit for keeping my feet free of developing bunions and other typical 'standard fit' boot horrors that I noted on fellow ski pros who were not as discerning with their fit. You WILL be opening buckles in the lift line after zipper lines or leaving trench arcs in the ice, but you will never trade the fingerspitzgefuehl you get with your edges for anything. Love, Light and Peace.
I’ve recently gone into a Lange World Cup ZA. This information has really helped. I’m in day 10 of them, my boot fitter has done the work, now it’s just adjusting to having them cranked down on the run and unbuckling at the lift. Also temps have just dropped to -20°C plus wind. That being said, I’ve put my feet through more pain with an off the shelf Lange RS. One thing I can testify is the Plug Boot has amazing performance, especially on the World Cup GS I am on. 😝
Thanks for making me feel better about my down sized Lange 130 RS. Could ski in them3 days out of 12 in total over Christmas. Have made a reservation with my bootfitter to stretch the toe box to give my big toe some extra room.
I ski in an Atomic Redster World Cup 150. This is a "plug boot" where grinding and punching might be necessary. Fortunately I have "normal" feet, but they are thin and most in most shells I need to fill in rather than remove material. I have Atomic Stock Mimic liners that are heat moldable (along with the shells) and I think are a 92 mm last. These are plug boots that are made out of PU (polyurethane plastic). They don't sell racer plug boots at regular ski shops because they have to be customized and rarely are perfect on the first fitting. Normal ski boot customers want a boot that feels comfortable at the time of purchase and don't have to readjust them. After putting in various sticky pads and duck tape I have come up with a boot that conforms to my feet and do not have any pressure points. I also installed a Hotronic ski boot heater. If you get you boots correctly fitted, you don't have to crank down the buckles to get a tight fit. The key buckle to get a correct fit is the instep buckle. If it is not correctly fitted then you have to over tighten them which leads to a pressure spot that your instep nerves will feel and make your feet cold. I have warm boots even though I have pretty thin liners and they ski well. Watch Word Cup skiers on TV when they get near the starting wand and buckle their boots. They barely have to tighten their boots as their whole foot, liner, and shell are conforming. Another hint for warm feet is to use really thin socks. I use a very thin silk/merino wool blended sock. Another trick is that I use a portable hair dryer in the rest room to dry my feet before I put socks on. Don't ever use the same pair of socks that you used in your shoes on your way to the ski area.
Hi ! You hit the bull's eye by saying : ''Being ready to PAY THE PRICE for tight shoes'' ! I paid the price, and still do it = bunionette (or tailor's bunion, or quintus varus) on each foot. I now need surgery (but as I work in a hospital, a doctor I know advised me not to do it, except in case of absolute necessity, because this surgery can easily go wrong...). Conclusion : instead of wonderful and powerful tight boots, I now have boots with 104mm last, and they still needed some stretch to fit right... The price to pay !
Yeah definitely need to get boots punched or ground to prevent this building up. It is something very common to need to create space for the 5th met. Is this long term damage or something recent? I hope you don't need to go under the knife if you can avoid it.
Wow! Some really good advice. I’ll be able to all the above except start at the beginning of the season. I’ve juts got my 1st pair of race boots, and will be getting them fitted next week for next winter. I’m wondering if I should be wearing them before I get them fitted?
Yeah it can help to wear them as you get close to the start of your skiing, to help build the tolerance of your feet. but yeah if you get any custom work done, that is what will make quite a bit of difference.
I’ve just got a pair of head raptor 120s fixed to 130. Theyre tight and i cant buckle it in the lift and need a min or two between laps due to numbness. Feels like my foot dont get bloodflow. Even when sitting down with them unbuckled. I have to take them of and wait for blood to come back. But i guess this is normal then?
Thanks so much for this video, couldnt find any advice on this! Im an ski instructor but teached and skied mostly on comfy boots (salomon 100 boots) that were a size too big I found out lol. Just got my first pair of racing boots: Rossignol Hero WC 140 (the white ones poahhh). They fit great its just the pressure around the foot that I need to get used to I think. How long do you recommend skiing on them the first couple of days? I only managed to do like a couple run before I didnt feel my feet anymore haha
I thought I was completely misfitted because I’m a 12.5 US but wear 28.5 Lange LX 130s custom fitted and maxed out - cramping like crazy and foot going numb but after 10 days out they fit great
Can someone please help me? I'm new to skiing. I'm looking for a boot that has a 107 mm last. My foot measures 27.5 cm/107 mm, but the only boots I can find are 104 mm. Can someone point me in the right direction?
Hi Troy, That isn't really how it works. I recommend looking at a few videos to gain a better understanding of how to get the right width of boots. These videos are in my back catalog.- Ski boot sizing, how to find the right ski boot last and also wide feet in ski boots. :)
Great analysis as usual 👍⛷ I would add that the boot liners are custom molded. I herd the term “ plug fit” used. I thought you might have gotten into the role of Custom footbeds ( being Patriot Footbeds ) which is an essential factor in race fit. Also you might want to get into canting the boot sole to achieve the optimal performance for individual athletes. ⛷⛷⛷👍👍🙏🙏❄️
