Thank you!! I am one of the people who requested a video about low volume feet and boot fit. My last is 87mm and I wear 25.5, so even “low volume, 97mm last” boots way too large. I’m on day 3 skiing with some Zipfit liners and WOW after skiing all my life I never knew what was REALLY meant when people would say “your heel shouldn’t lift”. I’m only just feeling that for the first time - what a difference. It’s VERY cool to feel CONNECTED to your skis for the first time through boots that fit. I actually started to giggle and then laugh on my first run down with the ZipFit! I also really appreciated the discussion about the forward lean and ramp angle of your touring set-up. I have the same problem, and therefore always do an incredibly awkward run down after my climb. I sometimes complain about it to friends and they thought I was talking non-sense!! But hearing this discussion gives me the confidence to check out my gear set up and réalise I can probably adjust it to enjoy it much more. Thanks for the info sharing - keep it up!

@mafj

7 ай бұрын

Similar, my boot size is 27 and width is 87mm!

Tom, Great job and one of the best "boot fitting" podcasts that Ive heard! Thx for doing this. Also, against my own principles I took brand new boots never skied to PC several yrs ago and was absolutely miserable after day 1. Called Brents shop and they did emergency surgery on my boots and saved me!!!

After studying delta , ramp angle, and forward lean the past 2 months with limited dorsiflexion due to multiple ankle injuries in both feet, this is confirming what I believe. The only issue I have is this conversation consolidates ramp angle as a combo of delta and actual boot ramp angle into one. Most wouldn't discern the two.

Great insights. A1, Otis

I have struggled for YEARS, especially jumping back and forth between alpine and touring. my lower leg shafts are thin, like chicken thin. I've had a challenge getting forward enough, the opposite of the giant calf problem. I was stuck in 92 last race boots forever and then feeling likke I couldn't ski in the backcountry. This year it finally figured things out. I use a single boot for both, an Atomic Hawk Ultra XTD with HV ZipFits, with GW compatible bindings (Tyrolia Attack 13 and G3 Zed). Then I set up my touring bindings so my overall net ramp angles are the same in both setups by shimming the AT binding slightly in the heel. Rather than measure angles though as a phone won't go flat inside of a LV boot, I just measure the distance from the heel to the ski and the toe to the ski and make sure it's the same in all my setups. I wish I'd seen this video years ago! Thanks!

The Hawx Ultra is one of the few boots that fit and don't hurt my narrow and bony ankles. I think it is the shape of the ankle pockets in the liner. Even so, I still need orthotics to fill some volume in the foot bed. This allows me to wear a thin sock which enables me to feel the sides of boots.

Cliff notes and I definitely appreciate this video. I'm on journey to getting a right size boot and I'm still on bit too big/loose. The list: - Atomic HawX Ultra - Atomic Redster CS - Dalbello DRS - Fischer Curv GT - K2 Revolver (More room on top of the boot) - Lange RS - Tecnica Firebird (Snug in upper cuff) Honorable mentions - Salomon S/Alpha - Nordica Doberman But they all had differences. Other are more snug on top, others from the cuff. Others are really narrow and other from the instep. So I recommend listening the entire video because the boot fitting portions is great also.

Very very interesting and useful video. Would it be possible to make a similar video on ultra low volume feet, or a list of boots, for touring ski? Thx

Thanks Tom, and Brent! I really liked when you guys talked about the consistent shin pressure, adding material to increase lower shin contact. The could be my issue. I definitely feel better foot engagement when I have my straps and upper buckles loose, that help me flex more freely and better lower contact. What other solutions could it be, softer boots? Or maybe the short calf ones they designed for junior racers? oh I race masters, and currently in a race plug boots

Interesting you talk about low volume book fitting is tough but no ski shops carry anything for them and indeed some companies don’t even make them in a recreational boot size yet at end of the season a shit load of huge boots will be on sale. Ski boot manufacturers are failing miserably for low volume boot users as well as ski shops. Hard to find boots when you can’t try anything on in a shop.

I got my first pair of boots a couple of years ago and the fitter measured, assessed and then gave me a choice of one from their stock: the first boot mentioned, the Atomic Hawx Ultra 110S. ‘Slender’ ankles apparently… I don’t know what an ideal fit should feel like as I’ve probably got 3 weeks ski time in total (thanks living in UK and Covid) but they’re certainly snug!

Crikey! I'm a long time tele skier who has demoed and tested alpine gear from time to time as part of jobs I've had. I never had a problem with alpine until I picked up some old but unused AT gear on a great deal--here in Japan FWIW--and what I ended up with is exactly what Brent is describing. I too went to Lou's old table on wildsnow and found that my binding, Dynafit Rotation 12, has a heel to toe difference of 13 mm. That's high but not the highest on the list. Like Brent, I fabricated a 5 mm shim for the toe and that helped some. I can now ski it somewhat comfortably on groomers. But in wild snow I still feel totally unbalanced and have to ride hard on the back seat and steer with all my might just to control the skis. The boots are a ten year old but unused Scarpa Maestrale. It took a while to find the forward lean angles for the two ski modes and finally found that they are 16 and 20 degrees. That is crazy! And the boot is so soft, that even when I max out my excellent dorsiflexion, I get zero tip pressure and the skis are like logs. So I've been following Brent's advice in a more recent of your videos by putting a spoiler on the tongue. That seems to help in carpet testing, but I have been sick and not getting out since then. I still want to reduce the forward lean in the boots and the only thing left to me is to drill another hole in the stainless steel bar that forms the spine of the ski/walk mechanism so I can lock into a lesser angle for ski mode. I tried once and couldn't prevent the drill bit from wandering without a drill press. I'm thinking I should try again because what do I have to lose? I don't enjoy skiing this setup at all and tele is so much more comfortable for my biomechanics. If I get that done, I will check back in here and report on the results. Thank you Tom and Brent!

Yes the Atomic CS is still available in a 21.5 110 flex

As there is not bindings ramps marked, all boots are not mentioning their ramps, or even lean. And: ist there any standard method to even measure lean? You cannot get it from back of the shell as the inners thicknesses vary. Anyhow there is few things I wonder with these as first we are worried about our ankle movements, and then we put foot in concrete boot with hardly any ankle movement: stiffies allow few deg move on angle. I'm on opinion we do not need actually any ramp on bindings or boots, but we need sure lean. If we have knee lean it allows our feet to be flexible and have power to allow hard carve, or lightening in heavy deep stuff etc. If we have upright stance, we do not have anywhere jump from -so add power downwards. Years back we needed lean also to move the weight forward to get skis curve->to turn. As the middle of the skis is unde ball of the foor, and if I recall even under toes. And surely even now not under heels, where people standing upright drive their skis. And last point: if we have tilted knee, lean: it is safer. As we have our muscles around knees working, and if there is sudden sideways move, ski trapping under bush, or heavy snow, it turns our whole leg up to the hip. But if we are upright, all turning goes to hurt the knee.

This is the advice I have been looking for all my life, i.e. I am a classic ULV with flat feet. I am currently in a Tecnica Mach 1 LV 130, but struggle with shin bang as I have "chicken" legs. I am located in the Boston area and ski in NH. Brent - I need to see you! Do you ever get out to the East Coast, specifically Boston, NH, or Vermont? I believe your shop is in Park City? I will make an appointment immediately if you do venture East? Thank you...

Super useful info. Many thanks. Can you expand on why WC racing boots are "too agressive" for intermediates? There are junior 92mm boots in 90-110 flex, which seem to be ideal for narrow feet. I actually find 92mm WC boot fairly roomy for my chicken feet.

@Bigpictureskiing

Жыл бұрын

In that flex range I don’t think they are actually. I recommend that to many intermediates. Others may not. But you can do things to soften them with a good boot fitter and get best of both worlds.

@Brent i have experienced that the liners are often 1 size smaller than what can be easily fitted into the shell. Especially on the Vacuums (4 different pairs) but also kids boots from both Dalbello and Fischer I have had to get bigger liners than what the shells came with. Is that a general thing or simply just me being unlucky? (this is issue has made me buy punching of the shells for a fortune with no effect bcs it was the liner that was too small) Otherwise thank you very much for these great insights. 😊

Great conversation. Learned a lot. I have a boot that seems to fit pretty well. My question really is I wonder what I don’t know? Does it really fit in the sense of maximizing my abilities? I was fitted so I know it’s generally correct but is it “perfect”? Tom, you’ve said you used Carv to guide your decisions. I have them but am not sure how to apply the information. Is there an episode that goes into helping advanced intermediates take their boot fitting to the next level? Love your channel and all the help throughout Carv.

@antonsailer1346

Жыл бұрын

HALLO geh zu einen bootfitter der zipfit innenschuhe hat ist bestimmt was für dich dabei super geile teile passen sich an jeden fuß an VIEL SPASS

Im having a hard time knowing which Lange RS boots have the low volume. Are there extra code terms in the boot name itself to indicate the narrow versions? So far, the ones in my size didnt seem to show a low volume width in the description? It looks like they may even make wider versions of the RS - do they? Or did the RS get narrow starting a specific year, or have always been narrow? Maybe im seeing some misprint, noting that, i have found the LV RX (unfortunately not in my 24.5 size) but for some reason not the RS at all. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The boot fitter i was working with also told me to look for Lange RX’s since they were LVs according to him but he didn’t mention or write down RS’s for some reason.

Interesting take on forward lean! Currently I've been experimenting with my Lange RXs that can go up to 16 degrees with spoilers, idea here is to try to maximize my legs range of motion and still be balanced. To be honest it feels like I need more forward lean given that I have a relatively short torso to leg length ratio, and skinny calves that are not filling the back of the cuff out. Also, hearing Matthew Manser (product manager for Atomic) speak about how racers often crank their forward lean to more than 20 makes me very curious in the very different schools of thought presented here.

@Bigpictureskiing

Жыл бұрын

A lot of the ex racers I know including Olympic medalists don’t use spoilers freeskiing. They ski without them. And still rip amazing turns. They would only put them back in when on really steep courses. So that’s something to consider when you hear about ski racers and spoilers. You also need to realize that it’s not the back of the boot that really determines how far forward you can actually get. It’s the FRONT! So that Lange Rx is quite an upright boot if you ask me. And if you tighten your boots a lot then that makes your boot even more upright. Forward lean is more about the front angle of the cuff and how that fits together as that’s what your shin must deal with as the ankle flexes

@CharlesCheung123

Жыл бұрын

@@Bigpictureskiing thanks for the feedback Tom - I'd like to experiment as much as possible with my current boot setup before committing to a brand new pair. I wonder if it's worthwhile I loosened the top buckle and the power strap to enable some additional give at the top of the cuff?

@Bigpictureskiing

Жыл бұрын

@@CharlesCheung123 that’s what I often do

I would love to see the metric for upper cuff dimensions also when looking at metrics. Not only foot length; foot width and height of foot.

@Bigpictureskiing

Жыл бұрын

I agree! I think for the heel as well

So I make lot of 7075 aluminium 0.5mm binding toe&heel part lift plate to get any binding ramp angle.😂

What does someone like me do who needs a low volume 23.5 with a men's height cuff, not a short cuff and a 120 ish plus flex?

Hi Tom, Not on socials so sorry if you have covered this elsewhere. On another podcast you talked about trying Zipfit. How’d it go for you, or are you still testing??

@Bigpictureskiing

Жыл бұрын

I really like them. Highly recommend.

i found my paradise with atomic sti

@AlvarHugosson

Жыл бұрын

I also love those boots. Got the foam liner as the old one was worn out.

Have you any advice for boots for people with flat feet? I have collapsed arches and have always struggled to find the right boots.

@thomasmedeiros5722

Жыл бұрын

Custom molded or pre molded Footbeds can help your issue in any ski boot. This is a basic part when fitting a customer for boots at a ski shop.

@paulc.8727

Жыл бұрын

@@thomasmedeiros5722 i agree. that will also help you fitting into narrower boots, maybe even a size down

@oitoitoi1

Жыл бұрын

@@thomasmedeiros5722 thanks I'll ask about them

@mrslkungpowchikn1206

Жыл бұрын

@@thomasmedeiros5722do you have any names brands or links to these footbed liner companies that do the custom molds? I am looking for the same kind i got in ‘89 when i was a high school senior working at Mogul Mouse Ski Shop - they were cork footbed liners kind of like a Birkenstock, which our shop pre heated in an oven; where you then take them and then put it under your feet in addition to a plastic bag over both, and it would vacuum out all air to suck the loner up into the curves of your foot really well, and then you stand there a few minutes for the cork to make the perfect mold of your foot until it cooled down. When i had those molds under my feet in my boots and got to the mtn, I couldn’t believe what a major difference i felt in responsiveness to my skis! Unfortunately they got mold or mildew on them and i’m kicking myself for tossing them not realizing how difficult it would be to ever find and make them again!

SUPER DUPER helpful discussion! Thank you SO much knowledgable gentlemen! 💙❄️🤍 This is the info I needed!

TLDW?

I am super WIDE so I don't even care about this. I look for a very specific thing and I just found it. Took perseverance. It's not so much about the money. You got to really work at your boots. I have a nice narrow for anyone who wants it. 26.5 too nrrow for me. nice boot. in USA shipping Diabello is what it is. WTF with Diabello? I can't take it. Really, anyone who wants them for shipping. Too narrow for me. email from profile.

Three words. Think Lange boots.