Zipfit Liner. Cork material sitting kind of low. How long does it take to break in?

[Mr_Orange]

Have a Zipfit Grand prix and Zipfit Indy on hand to test out the fit. They are both mondo 26.5 (my feet are ~26.75).

I noticed that the cork material in the heel area feels like it's about one cm lower than where it ideally should be, mostly on the Grand Prix. Like it's pinching the base of the heels rather than the cavity area behind the ankle bone.

This is testing it with a very thin footbed inserted too. The thicker SOLE footbed i usually use just exaggerates the issue.

Haven't yet tried the thing where you heat the liner and shell up and allow it to mold. Will this do the trick in shifting the cork material up higher to where it needs to be? I haven't had it on for more than 20 minutes either. Maybe it just needs more time to break in?

It could also be because it was pretty hard to put on and me forcing my foot down into the boot shifted the cork down also.

The heel area on the Grand Prix also feels much harder than the Indy. Like you can really feel the firmness of the cork. It's actually sort of painful right now, but maybe this just has to do with the cork not being properly molded yet.

On the indy, the cork doesn't feel quite as low. The Indy also uses a thicker neoprene material all throughout so the cork feels softer. I think this also means it's slightly less snug than the grand prix. Plus it makes other areas up front feel more cramped so i might have to do more shell punching.

Ideally, I'd like to just go with the Grand Prix if i know i can get the cork to break in. I have very narrow heels/ankles and i can already tell the zipfits are going to do the job better than the intuitions i've used before?

So is this a common issue with zipfits?

[creaky fossil]

The Omfit cork slurry is mobile, you can push it around before you put your foot in the liner and the liner+foot into the warmed up shell.

[XavierD]

push it around to the right place, add more if necessary, and mold that shit.

[fcetoface]

Whenever they are brand new, you need to pull up the OMfit from the heel. The tight lower heel is one of the most common issues when new. And yes heat your shells too, Preferably Heat them and go ski some laps.

[Mr_Orange]

Ok, ya. Sounds like it's what i suspected. Thanks.

I guess i should probably just heat mold them to test the fit. It's not like they're intuitions where they look obviously heat molded and you can't return them.

[Gaperious Basterd]

Yeah I had same experience; there are like two "claws" or cork jabbing on either side the tuberosity of the calcaneus.

If you heat those up, and mold as directed, all the cork moves around that area.

[Ggreenie]

If you don't have them heated and moulded REALLY WELL before use they take about 3-4 days of unpleasant skiing to get them to set. Heat them up nice and hot and wear the boots for a few hours. Re-heat several times.

Once you get these things set properly you won't ever be able to go back to the crappy stock liners. They are fantastic.

[Mr_Orange]

Which method of heat molding is better?

1) Heat just the shell up and put the liner inside? (Instructions from the ZipFit guy):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28uD...rwIGy4&index=4

I'm not sure if you're supposed to keep the water boiling the whole time the shell is in the pot or turn off the heat.

2) Heat both shell and liner in oven. I found these instructions on a TGR post.

Here are my ZipFit instructions. I developed this process over many fittings and re-fittings and it works for me - YMMV.

ZipFit Liner Fitting Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees for 10 minutes
2. Remove the liner and powerstrap from the boot shell, also remove the footbed from the liner
3. Set oven to 225 (ZipFit recommends 228) and heat boot shell (buckle-side down) and liner for 10 minutes (on a layer of aluminum foil)
OR *** Heat liner in microwave for 60 seconds at 50% power *** (better to use oven at 225 along with the shell, but this is the more "official" option)
4. Remove liner from oven
5. Replace footbed in liner after heating
6. Put liner on foot and tighten laces
7. Remove shell from oven
8. Put foot with liner into shell
9. Buckle shell (wrap powerstrap around top temporarily), set ankle pocket, and flex forward a few times

Once liner and shell have cooled to room (or body temp) remove.


This process can mess with your shells if you're not careful (depends on the plastic). I've done this with Flexon and Krypton shells with no problem. The resulting fit is on a par with thermoflex type liners, but the ZipFit is far more responsive.

More specifically to the OP, there are different ZipFit liners available with different volumes. I've only been successful with the low volume liners with the Flexon and Krypton. If you have one of the higher volume liner models then you need to also be using a higher volume shell.

[fcetoface]

You can't go wrong with Sven's instructions, he did invent them!!

[Ggreenie]

Which method of heat molding is better?

The shop I got them from followed the recommended method. It felt like it did NOTHING.

I recommend placing liner and shell into a hot room (a really good boot drying room) or a hot gear bag and get everything toasty warm. Place liner on foot, place foot in shell and wear it for 30 mins. Repeat several times. Then go skiing.

These liners feel like your boot has been painted onto your foot.

[Ggreenie]

As long as you don't melt the shell or set fire to the liner it will be fine. These liners pretty much take care of themselves. That's what makes them so good!

[LiveLarger]

So school me on this. Are these liners even better than the intuition ones?

[BushwackerinPA]

So school me on this. Are these liners even better than the intuition ones?

Different, works better for some people. worse for others.

[LiveLarger]

Different, works better for some people. worse for others.

Different how? What makes one of the other the preferable choice?

[Ggreenie]

That's pretty much it. It's a preference thing. They feel like a concrete slipper with zero movement in the heel and ankle. I love it.

[Ggreenie]

Different how? What makes one of the other the preferable choice?

Some people prefer the softer feel of intuitions and similar liners. Others prefer the more rigid feel of zips. Intuitions also have a reputation for packing out after <100 days. Zips don't pack out. I just clocked over 100 days on mine and they're sill rock solid. No slop at all.

[Gaperious Basterd]

Zip fits would be comfy if they weren't so thick and tight. The liner itself doesn't make them tight, but squeezing them into your shell does.

[dcpnz]

Zip fits would be comfy if they weren't so thick and tight. The liner itself doesn't make them tight, but squeezing them into your shell does.

Jeez that probably why they make several different models with... Wait for it.... Different thicknesses.....

[Ggreenie]

Jeez that probably why they make several different models with... Wait for it.... Different thicknesses.....

Fuck me. That's revolutionary!

[Gaperious Basterd]

Well according to ZipFit, the Gara and World Cup are identical except for 20% more cork in the WC.

Now, a little investigation reveals that the cork is only in bladders around ankle and two places in tongue.

What makes the thing bulky is the mass of leather and non-moldable liner material, not the cork that is segregated in bladders.


I respect your point about thicknesses, but it seems the Gara actually won't be any "thinner" than the World Cup or Grand Prix (just going off of what ZipFit's website claims).

[XavierD]

We always put the shell in the convection oven, and liners on the heat stacks. Add cork as necessary.

[XXX-er]

when you watch all 6 of the You tube series it makes sense, the heated boot bag looks cool.

How true is the claim that zipfits are cold which would really make the Heated boot bag $$$?

I have intuitions with 200 days on them and they aren't packing out I think because the shell size is correct to begin with

[Ggreenie]

How true is the claim that zipfits are cold

I find them quite warm actually.

But apparently they used to have some sort of silicon gel instead of the cork. I'm told those older models were cold.

[XavierD]

zip fits are between most stock liners and intuitions, IMO.

The sheep skin toe box is great at retaining heat. Cork does well too. Great liners for folks who need warmth but have heel retention issues with an intuition.

[Gaperious Basterd]

It's too bad that the OMFit is viscous (liquid) at room temperature. Bootfitter here says it sinks over the summer from gravity.

If the ceramic binding adhesive was a yield-stress fluid, it could suspend the cork and be elastic at room temp, suspend the cork, yet still flow, because the applied pressure of your foot in the boot would exceed the elastic modulus and reach the viscous modulus, making the material flow.

Or maybe it is a yield stress fluid, and the bootfitter who posited that the OMFit sinks over time is wrong.