Thread: Let's hear about your custom ski boots!

After about 6 years of only telemark skiing, I got used to bedroom slippers on my feet. But since I missed the power and control that you get only with alpine, I went back to that.

My problem is that I cannot find a pair of boots that fit. My feet are different sizes (about a 1/2 size different), they are flat and narrow. I have a custom orthopedic footbed that helps a lot, but I cannot find a pair of good alpine boots that fit and don't hurt in bad ways.

I've looked at Surefoot and other custom boot liners, I figured some of you might have some experience.

Don't really know what you mean by a custom boot. The only "custom" boot I have seen is Eric H... Hoji's boot. My feet are low volume higher arch and i have superfit superfeet in them that are ground down to the max because i have a high instep and lose circulation.

What companies have you tried on so far? And obviously don't expect it to fit like a tele boot, because its not

Originally Posted by ace..

Don't really know what you mean by a custom boot. The only "custom" boot I have seen is Eric H... Hoji's boot. My feet are low volume higher arch and i have superfit superfeet in them that are ground down to the max because i have a high instep and lose circulation.

What companies have you tried on so far? And obviously don't expect it to fit like a tele boot, because its not

Umm yeah..Hojis boot is not custom its a franken boot he made...

surefoot would be the most "custom" boot youll get. Surefoot liners and a good bootfitter or maybe just a good bootfitter is all you'll need.

Surefoot do a pretty stellar job. I know they have stores in many areas and I surely can't speak of the work done at all of them, but I drank the kool-aid this year and it tastes goooood.

Not only is the liner molded to your foot, the precision you get from such a stiff liner is amazing. They're a tiny bit cold in the toes but nothing too bad. I skied mine for about 15 days strait to break in the liners and found a few pressure points from the shell. The guys at surefoot encouraged me to come back as often as needed and did what it took to mold the shell to my foot as well. Most comfortable and best skiing boots I've ever had both for work and play.

I would be very surprised if they could not make a boot fit your foot properly.

Surefoot=Sorefoot in my experience. I have not seen much good come out of there other then some of the best smoke and mirrors in the ski industry. If your foot is pretty standard, they can make boots fit like a glove, otherwise prepare for expensive pain.

Foam injection liners are not everything they are cracked up to be. They work well for some people, but cause alot of pain for others.

surefoot is actually the only "custom" boot maker that I'm aware of also, but there are several companies that make liners that can be heavily adjusted as well.

In any event, don't worry; I do not expect alpine boots to fit like tele boots. In my 20s I skied in Lange with practically zero slop and zero pain. I miss those boots and I'll acknowledge that my feet have changed somewhat. But I do know that my current boots are waaaay too big and I have a lot of slop.

They fit fine when I bought them and the shop let me demo them for a day, which was also fine. But by day 7 the was significant pain and slop, so I'm a little frustrated, mostly with myself.

Note to self: Don't be in a hurry when buying boots!


Do they still make white, rear entry ski boots for men?

Daleboot.com

One of the most well-known custom boot makers is DaleBoot in Salt Lake City.

http://www.dalebootusa.com/root.html

My wife swears by them and I am seriously thinking of getting a pair myself.

My skinny, narrow, flat old dogs LOVE my Flexon Bumble Bee's/Scarpa Intuition set up with a custom molded foot bed. My 1/2 size difference of my feet required a toe punch.

I was hooked on Strolz before this season (moved to Titans). They're more a Euro thing though.

Originally Posted by BrianH

After about 6 years of only telemark skiing, I got used to bedroom slippers on my feet. But since I missed the power and control that you get only with alpine, I went back to that.

My problem is that I cannot find a pair of boots that fit. My feet are different sizes (about a 1/2 size different), they are flat and narrow. I have a custom orthopedic footbed that helps a lot, but I cannot find a pair of good alpine boots that fit and don't hurt in bad ways.

I've looked at Surefoot and other custom boot liners, I figured some of you might have some experience.

That doesn't sound like a difficult fit. Boots can be punched/ground on hotspots, intuition liners, and etc. can help. I'm pretty sure most people's feet are a half size difference. If not most, many. Where are you going for fitting? Are you bringing your insole and some ultralight ski socks?

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Where are you going for fitting? Are you bringing your insole and some ultralight ski socks?

The local shoppes (which seemed more geared to the intermediate Texan market, but whatever...), I tried about 10 different brands.

And yes I'm using my insole and socks to try them on.

I'm not a total n00b!

Originally Posted by BrianH

The local shoppes (which seemed more geared to the intermediate Texan market, but whatever...)

Not whatever. Not at all. This is your problem right here, you need to find a great (not whatever!) bootfitter. They will tell you which model(s) will fit your foot the best, and then do all the customizing you need before you even walk out the door. There is no other good option. Where do you live?

+another for Daleboot.

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...light=daleboot

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...light=daleboot

I really like mine. I've got a fair number of days on them now, like them a _lot_.

IMHO, they're not for everybody - if you've got one of those feet that fits comfortably in an off the shelf boot, a Daleboot won't seem quite as cool. I don't think the off the shelf stuff is _better_, but if it does not fit, it still sucks.

For those whose feet DON'T fit comfortably into an off the shelf boot, Daleboots are awesome.

I blathered a lot in the second thread, but in a nutshell, I'd had several off the shelf boots "tweaked," foam fit, Intuition, footbeds, stretched, ground, etc - often by "the good bootfitter," and got the same result each time - a boot that skied great, but hurt while standing around. Unbuckle at the bottom, buckle at the top. Etc.

Started using snowmobiles for access, and the "hurting while standing around" piece became unbearable. Got Daleboots. They do things a little differently, but it _works_.

I think I gave up a bit at the upper end of the spectrum - some of my old raceboots are likely better at warp factor 9 on hard groomers - but that's EASILY offset by what I gained - all day comfort, warm feet, etc. I'm not planning on making any changes anytime soon.





Iain

PHILLIPE!

^^^^^^^^ exactly. Slight performance compromise with Daleboots but my high performance boots were worthless because I had to stop for 20 seconds every 10 turns. Plus I honestly think they make you ski better because you have to think about how to engage the edge of the ski rather than just leaning on stiff ass plastic. That's paraphrased from an old fart on their website but I agree with it.

Originally Posted by JayPowHound

Not whatever. Not at all. This is your problem right here, you need to find a great (not whatever!) bootfitter. They will tell you which model(s) will fit your foot the best, and then do all the customizing you need before you even walk out the door. There is no other good option. Where do you live?

No doubt. After a few years on the shop floor, you can see what specific model will probably fit a person's foot best (if you're doing it right).

what kind of boots do you have? some shells are easier to work on that others, after some shell work on my world cups mine fit great

surefoot (as far as I know) doesn't do true custom shells (as in a one -of made just for your foot) Like most good, high end stores, they take something that is close, and make some changes to make it fit better. Like buying a the best fitting suit off the rack, and then custom tailoring it to you.
both daleboot, and topshelf (fernie) have a bunch of parts (uppers, lowers, etc) and mix and match for you. In fairness, most high end stores will do this too, but it is NOT cheap.
Topshelfs is cool with a $1500 boot. You pick the upper, (size, flex, height) pick the lower (size, flex, width) and pick a liner (stock, foam, intuition) pick your footbed (off the rack, stiff, soft, etc) They usually use nordica? but have some other brands as well.

Originally Posted by mntlion

surefoot (as far as I know) doesn't do true custom shells (as in a one -of made just for your foot) Like most good, high end stores, they take something that is close, and make some changes to make it fit better. Like buying a the best fitting suit off the rack, and then custom tailoring it to you.
both daleboot, and topshelf (fernie) have a bunch of parts (uppers, lowers, etc) and mix and match for you. In fairness, most high end stores will do this too, but it is NOT cheap.
Topshelfs is cool with a $1500 boot. You pick the upper, (size, flex, height) pick the lower (size, flex, width) and pick a liner (stock, foam, intuition) pick your footbed (off the rack, stiff, soft, etc) They usually use nordica? but have some other brands as well.

Top Shelf still around? Their website no worky......

I'm in the Lange 120 RX. I had some more work done, we'll see this weekend how they feel after several hours.

Re: foam liners not for everyone. True, they're not, but if you make the shell fit properly, you shouldn't be having pain issues with a foam liner, it sounds like an underlying fit problem with the shell is being transfered through the stiff foam to your foot. In my experience surefoot are pretty upstanding at bringing customers back in to dial in the boot (for free).

Also the OP is going back to alpine because of performance and I've never skied a liner that skis as well as foam injected... IMHO.

Originally Posted by Skidog

Umm yeah..Hojis boot is not custom its a franken boot he made...

surefoot would be the most "custom" boot youll get. Surefoot liners and a good bootfitter or maybe just a good bootfitter is all you'll need.

customization is something made to suit personal taste... Custom is exactly what it is.

Originally Posted by nickel

In my experience surefoot are pretty upstanding at bringing customers back in to dial in the boot (for free).

Until said customer gets sick of having to deal with their incompetence after several visits, and goes somewhere else and is happy skiing after one visit.

That's funny. I asked some guy about his Surefoot boots this weekend.

"They're great, but it took two years to get it right," he said.

Another nod to Daleboot.
Been in mine now about forty days and finally have them where I like 'em. As has been said earlier, they take some getting used to. They are a soft flexing boot, but they can stiffen them using rivets. If you have a place nearby, take a look.