Ski Boot Fitting
Wednesday, August 20. 2008
On our last skiing holiday my wife had some problems with her ski boots. By the end of the 3rd day her feet were red sore and skiing was no fun at all.
With Winter fast approaching ( and more like here if our weather is anything to go by
) I decided to get her down to a specialist ski boot fitter to try and fix the problem.Word of mouth (or more accurately posts on a popular ski web forum) guided me to Colin Martin who runs Solutions for Feet in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Colin is a certified Pedorthist (C.Ped), a skier and instructor who has spent many years specialising in fitting and customising ski boots.
Colin examined my wife's feet and ski boots and it quickly became apparent after testing and measuring that there are 2 big problems. The first is that her boots are 2 sizes too big, and the second is that she has tight calf muscles which reduces her ability to flex at the ankles, a key skiing movement.
Colin proceeded to check my boots. I wasn't surprised to find my boots are also 2 sizes too big as my buying decision was influenced by the unbearable pain inflicted on me by my 1st pair of boots. I was surprised to hear that I could also do with working on my calf muscles to loosen them up. Luckily for me my ski boots feel fine although the liners will wear out quickly.
Unfortunately for my wife the only solution for is a new pair of correctly fitted boots and some stretching exercises.
For many skiers buying ski boots is fraught with problems as I know from personal experience.
However today proved to me that it is worth taking the time to search for someone who is skilled and experienced enough to suggest the most appropriate ski boot for you and your level of skiing, AND have the skills to craft and tailor your ski boot to your foot.
With the vast range of boots available from the many and varied ski boot manufacturers, the trick is to select a boot with a plastic 'shell' that matches your feet as a starting point. Small adjustments can then be made to the shell and liner for a perfect fit.
A couple of visits back to the boot fitter to fine tune the fit will leave you with comfortable, perfectly fitted boots which will help you ski more effectively and will as likely as not, last longer too.
The result of ill fitting ski boots.
PS. No ski boots were purchased in the making of this blog. Yet.
