Fit issues with the Vulcan... help? Which Intuition

[summit]

The liners that came with my 26.5 Vulcans cause crushing instep pain, forefoot numb in <10 minutes, despite liner mods by the bootfitter.

Other liners:
I tried throwing some Scarpa intuition tongue liners from my TLT5 27.5 in, and they prove the fit can be great (although severe medial malleolous pressure on the right side).

Footbeds:
1. superfeet orange (get the forefoot numbness and instep pain, they may be too high actually)
2. No footbeds: big toe pressed against the front, and also this causes medial malleolous pressure on both ankles.

So, to fix this, I am assuming this is a liner problem (many Vulcan owners dumped the stock liners).

I'm looking at the Pro Tour, Pro Tongue, and Power Wrap. I'd prefer not to lose all the tourability, but I also don't want to lose much performance vs the stock liner.

Thoughts?

[milestogo]

Try Superfeet Black, they work well and have a lower arch. I use those in my Mercurys with older garmont palau liners. Another option is to shim just the forefoot under the liner. Taper the cut and this will effectively lower the arch. I have done that in the past with Scarpa boots and has worked well, YMMV.

[GeezerSteve]

Did you remove the seams at the base of the tongue? Those seams are quite thick, can crush top of instep, for some can be remedied by removing the gusset and complete seams.

[gregL]

This is in no way condoned by Dynafit, but I've had success increasing instep volume with Vulcan/Mercury/TLT6 shells (all the Grilamid ones) by cooking the entire shell like a Salomon custom shell boot - 10 minutes in the oven @ 235-240 F. - pad the instep with 3/16" foam, buckle up tight and wait until they cool (~15-18 min). Stand on a hard flat surface during cooldown. You will still want to go with the thinnest footbed you can that matches your arch - I've made some for myself by posting up the paper thin black stock insoles that Dynafit provides, but I've got a very flat foot. YMMV. I'm assuming you've already removed the elastic and vinyl from the top of the liner.

Put your foot in just the liners and check malleolus position relative to the padding in the liner cuff, then flatten mechanically if it doesn't match. You can punch in the cuff some but be gentle on the carbon fiber.

[summit]

^I was told that heating the whole shell like that could permanently soften the flex. Is that just a rumor? Otherwise it sounds like a great way to get a sick fit?

Did you remove the seams at the base of the tongue? Those seams are quite thick, can crush top of instep, for some can be remedied by removing the gusset and complete seams.

Oh the liner has been both sliced and diced... helped but not enough

[XXX-er]

I have a high instep and the stock liners in the mercury did not work, I went to the intuition outlet in vancover where I tried 2 of the tongued liners which didn't work either SO I got power wraps and they work awesume ... I have worn those boots for 25 hrs at a time

[milestogo]

I have a high instep and the stock liners in the mercury did not work, I went to the intuition outlet in vancover where I tried 2 of the tongued liners which didn't work either SO I got power wraps and they work awesume ... I have worn those boots for 25 hrs at a time

With a footbed, or did you mold the intuition as a footbed itself?

[XXX-er]

I used the red yoursole.com which I don't heat molded (you can heat mold soles in your oven very easily) for max arch support of my flat feet and I sand the grey foam off the bottom in the toe area to give a little more toe room. the red is the medium thickness so there is a thinner model

I have been a huge Intuition fan for > 15 yrs always the power wraps so i figured the tongued liner would work great, but IME a power wrap always works but the tongued liners ... not necessarily

[gregL]

^I was told that heating the whole shell like that could permanently soften the flex. Is that just a rumor?

From what I've heard and read (Martino Colonna articles they give out at Masterfit U, etc.) heating the shell while immersed in water will permanently soften the plastic, but not dry heat. But definitely proceed at your own risk.

[summit]

OK... who is a materials/plastics engineer! WE NEED ANSWERS

[mtbcat]

power wraps with surefoot footbeds work for me
not sure on my arch type medium ?

[XXX-er]

My arches are flatter than piss on a plate so put an arch support under the foot and I have a high instep so my foot has a big fucking bump on the top where the met. head starts and this means any liner with a tongue hurts the top of my foot unless of course the boot is too big in which case it hurts but not as much and it skis like shit

[XavierD]

^I was told that heating the whole shell like that could permanently soften the flex.

Wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen to a Vulcan... Maybe it will unfuck the 'reverse-progressive' flex of it too. Honestly I didn't notice any difference in my TLT6 between pre and post cooking the shells.

[mntlion]

I've done the hot water bath with MANY boots, from WC race, to touring, for big and small folk alike. No changes in flex have ever been reported back to me.

you can mold the liner at the same time, but the KEY is to pad the shit out of the foot, everywhere you want more room, and then to buckle the shell VERY tight (like holy shit tight) and wait for 10+ min for it to cool, Works better with feet in a snow bank, and a beer in hand.

[summit]

will this undo the 6th met punch?

[gregL]

OK... who is a materials/plastics engineer! WE NEED ANSWERS

Martino Colonna is a plastics engineer from Bologna who consults for a number of boot companies.

will this undo the 6th met punch?

You'll lose some but not all of it, you can punch it again. Do you really have 6 toes?

[SkiersLeft]

Have both pro wraps and sidas central high slim liners molded for my vulcans. Wraps ski better, but tour dramatically worse. If you have a tight shell fit, less than 8mm behind heel I recommend the sidas. It is a softer ultralon foam, and super super thin (4mm lower) Like thinner than a power wrap plug thin, and way softer. Both have solved the instep issue for me...

[kootenayskier]

Reinforcement on the power wrap compromises ROM. Alpine wrap works great for the up and down in my Mercuries.

[summit]

The cure was a shell molding, custom foot beds, and a special custom Intuition Pro Tour HV all done by Sole Boot Lab in Cham. I'd be comfortable in making the claim that there is no equivalent of AT boot fitting expertise in the US.

[SupreChicken]

I'd love to be able to solve the crushing heel pain I'm having with the stock liners...

[XXX-er]

IME the dynafit liners sucked so I got some liners that don't suck and the boot rocks

[summit]

Dynafit made a huge mistake with their liners.

Go to used gear stores and boot shops. The most common liner you will see in the consigment stores, storage rooms, and dumpsters is the Dynafit Vulcan/Mercury liner. I'm not even joking. Once I was looking for it, they were everywhere. Nobody wants them.

Get an Intuition Pro Tour.

[Hugh Jaynus]

This sounds exactly like the issues my plantar fasciitis causes me in ski boots. Replying so I can easily come back to this when I move and it is time to buy some boots for my fucked feet.

[SupreChicken]

Dynafit made a huge mistake with their liners.

Go to used gear stores and boot shops. The most common liner you will see in the consigment stores, storage rooms, and dumpsters is the Dynafit Vulcan/Mercury liner. I'm not even joking. Once I was looking for it, they were everywhere. Nobody wants them.

Get an Intuition Pro Tour.

I had a pro tour. I couldn't tolerate wearing the boot. It's like the shell didn't have the volume to accommodate the liner. Should I size up the liner?

[sethschmautz]

Supre,

Are you saying that the shell volume was to high or too low? I have pro tours in mine (28s both) and it has worked pretty well for me. Not sure comfortable, but it works. I don't have the same trouble with the arch that everybody else complains about, so my feet must be different.

Seth