Heat Molding Boots after a few days

[AMaziarski]

So I'm in the process of buying new boots, likely Lange RX 100s. At least those are the most comfortable I have worn so far. Anyway, the guy at the ski shop said he would actually advise riding a few days on the mountain before getting them put in the oven to heat mold. Anyone have any experience doing this? Is this bad advise, good advise, or does it not make a big difference? Appreciate any tips on this!

[Meadow Skipper]

I've never understood why some people recommend this. Just have them molded when you get them.

[AMaziarski]

Also are custom footbeds worth the extra money? or is really case by case?

[PlayItLeo]

Also are custom footbeds worth the extra money?

Absolutely.

[shafty85]

Get the shell properly fitted/modified before cooking the liner. Also, a couple days are needed on them to determine which areas will require extra padding while molding the liners and which areas of the shell need punching (if you don't already know which areas are problem areas for you).

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[I've seen black diamonds!]

Get the shell properly fitted/modified before cooking the liner. Also, a couple days are needed on them to determine which areas will require extra padding while molding the liners and which areas of the shell need punching (if you don't already know which areas are problem areas for you).

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^^^^ This. If the boot is comfy before being molded, it may well be too big. What shop?

[Meadow Skipper]

Get the shell properly fitted/modified before cooking the liner. Also, a couple days are needed on them to determine which areas will require extra padding while molding the liners and which areas of the shell need punching (if you don't already know which areas are problem areas for you).

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I've always worked with either Intuition, Palau, or Garmont thermo liners, and IME pretty much any information you get before the liners are molded turned out to be worthless. Most of the time just molding the liner correctly addresses issues, assuming a decent bootfitter looked at the foot, asked the right questions, and selected the right shell and knows how to pad. Or maybe that's just me.

Footbeds are worth it, assuming you don't have perfect feet.

[wasatchback]

Heat molding those liners does nothing other than take a few days of break in out of them. So if you ski in them first there is no reason to then heat them. The padding in those liners doesn't really move or conform much. Shops just do it to make the liners all warm and squishy. The liner material will move a tiny bit but nothing that wearing them doesn't do.

[TBS]

So I'm in the process of buying new boots, likely Lange RX 100s. At least those are the most comfortable I have worn so far. Anyway, the guy at the ski shop said he would actually advise riding a few days on the mountain before getting them put in the oven to heat mold. Anyone have any experience doing this? Is this bad advise, good advise, or does it not make a big difference? Appreciate any tips on this!

Any advice kinda depends on where/how you ski and the gnarlyness of your feet. Mine are narrow but otherwise "normal" and i've never needed a boot punched.

I'm generally in Meadow Skippers camp of molding when you buy and being done with it. That said I've also molded boots by wearing them while sitting at my desk over the course of several days when I couldn't get to a good bootfitter.

Also are custom footbeds worth the extra money? or is really case by case?

Yes, although you prolly don't need custom orthotics unless your feet are weird. Try some $35 Superfeet before shelling out $100+ for orthotics in a $350 boot.

Get the shell properly fitted/modified before cooking the liner. Also, a couple days are needed on them to determine which areas will require extra padding while molding the liners and which areas of the shell need punching (if you don't already know which areas are problem areas for you).

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Agreed on shell fit. Seems to me that skiing unmolded liners hard in the first few days will leave voids from jamming toes into the shell and shins against the tongue that won't get fixed in the oven - especially with the stock liner. That's sort of why you have to stand kinda still during the molding cool down period, no?

[Meadow Skipper]

Heat molding those liners does nothing other than take a few days of break in out of them. So if you ski in them first there is no reason to then heat them. The padding in those liners doesn't really move or conform much. Shops just do it to make the liners all warm and squishy. The liner material will move a tiny bit but nothing that wearing them doesn't do.

Wow. Let's just say that wasn't my experience over five years of boot fitting.

[Sparwood Dave]

Like black diamonds said - if they are comfortable now they will probably be too big after 5 or 10 days of skiing. As counterintuitive as it sounds, comfort is not a criteria when buying new boots. Long story short new boots should feel quite tight all over rather than 'comfortable' but not painfully so and without any pressure points.

[old goat]

That said I've also molded boots by wearing them while sitting at my desk over the course of several days.

Are you the GSA?

[TBS]

^^^ No - GSA molds his boot liners by staring at them intently for 2 minutes.

[gregL]

So I'm in the process of buying new boots, likely Lange RX 100s.

There are plenty of liners that will benefit from "heat molding" but the stock RX 100 liner isn't one of them since the foam isn't designed to hold the shape of your foot after cooling. As wasatchback says, the primary effect of heating this liner will be to accelerate the breakdown of the foam. If there are spots where the the liner is tight on your foot or the shape of the stock foam doesn't match up well with your foot, stretching or compression by a bootfitter is probably in order. Likewise not every liner tolerates going in a convection oven well - depending on the materials used in the upper, type of foam, hardware in the liner (i.e. Boa) and whether a layer is glued to the bottom of the liner you may be better off using heat stacks (Full Tilt, K2, BD etc. all recommend stacks).

If your foot happens to match the height and shape of a trim-to-fit footbed in a position that's appropriate for your skiing style and you are happy with the density of it, by all means try it as it will be cheaper. If not, a custom and/or posted footbed made by the right person will be the better though more expensive option.

[Finstah]

Wow. Let's just say that wasn't my experience over five years of boot fitting.

Let's just say that wasatchback knows a whole lot about ski boots, even more than you may have acquired in 5 years of fitting boots.

You do know the Lange liner in question is not an Intuition, right?

[Meadow Skipper]

Let's just say that wasatchback knows a whole lot about ski boots, even more than you may have acquired in 5 years of fitting boots.

You do know the Lange liner in question is not an Intuition, right?

Well that's something I just breezed by when I made my reply.

Disregard anything I wrote if the liner in question isn't a moldable liner ala Intuition/Palau.

[TBS]

There are plenty of liners that will benefit from "heat molding" but the stock RX 100 liner isn't one of them since the foam isn't designed to hold the shape of your foot after cooling. As wasatchback says, the primary effect of heating this liner will be to accelerate the breakdown of the foam. If there are spots where the the liner is tight on your foot or the shape of the stock foam doesn't match up well with your foot, stretching or compression by a bootfitter is probably in order.

Ok, I thought these liners were thermo-moldable too. Realistically, how much can you modify non-moldable liners without shortening their useful life considerably?

[AMaziarski]

Thanks for taking the time to explain. any experience with superfeet? are they generally easy to get in boots or does it take a lot of shaping and cutting. I wouldn't mind spending the 50$ as, at least from my perspective, my feet aren't really mangled to the point where I think I would need custom footbeds.

[XXX-er]

I got flat feet and the soles work really good FOR ME, I also have several pairs of 300$ custom molded orthotics so I tried a sole in one boot and a custom orthotic in the other at the end of the day I couldn't remember which boot had which so all that means is I found the right cheap foot bed

I didn't think Lange had real heat moldable liners but whatever

I don't know why any one would buy a boot with heatmoldable liners and not mold them but it strikes me that it sure would be easier for the shop selling the boot not to have to bother ?

IME the palaus that came in a lot of garmont HAD to be heat molded, if the boot was comfy right out of the box it was probably too big, I couldn't wear my xena's for more than 10 minutes until they were molded

[gregL]

any experience with superfeet? are they generally easy to get in boots or does it take a lot of shaping and cutting. I wouldn't mind spending the 50$ as, at least from my perspective, my feet aren't really mangled to the point where I think I would need custom footbeds.

Superfeet makes many different trim-to-fit footbeds - the ones most skiers are familiar with are the Green (mid to high arch) and Blue (low to mid arch) plus the insulated Redhot and Hot Pink for winter sports and many more speciality ones. If the height, length and fore/aft placement of the arch and support are right for your foot (or very close) they can work fine and are around $45. Conform'able's new Three Feet are nice too, and offer three different arch heights.

All of the trim-to-fits require a little shaping, but it's generally just taking the OEM insole out, tracing it's shape on the new footbed with heels and first metatarsals aligned, and cutting with scissors so they match.

Whether you're a good candidate for a custom footbed doesn't depend so much on how "mangled" your feet are, but arch height and position, arch and subtalar stability, ball of foot sensitivity, and budget.

[steved]

Performance can vary, often by what you consider performance...and (as said) what shape of foot. Fwiw , like others, I've often found it easy to get the best fit, asap...in the important areas, without softening up the liner, then..in time find out where comfyness can be added, but have not had to do if the shell dims are great. Liner has been a modified Zzero(Dynafit).
$.01

[skimaxpower]

Thanks for taking the time to explain. any experience with superfeet? are they generally easy to get in boots or does it take a lot of shaping and cutting. I wouldn't mind spending the 50$ as, at least from my perspective, my feet aren't really mangled to the point where I think I would need custom footbeds.

I'm a big fan of Superfeet. I require generous arch support, but my feet are otherwise normal. The superfeet "red hot" are great for snowsports.

If you're going to heat-mold your boots, make sure the superfeet are in there with your feet during the molding. Otherwise the added volume of the insoles will give you problems.

[XXX-er]

Tape the foot bed to the bottom of your foot with some masking tape and wear a thin sock

[icelanticskier]

i recommend all of my customers ski in their heat moldable liners a few days, then come back if they have irritating discomfort. just ski em in i say. only folks with funky feet come back. probably mold 35% of my intuition customers liners.

superfeet foot beds ftw. I've skied the same intuition liners in my scarpa typhoons for 5 seasons or about 300 days, most of them touring. never heat molded my own liners at all. liners are in good shape and i love my superfeet green foot beds.

rog

[gregL]

Realistically, how much can you modify non-moldable liners without shortening their useful life considerably?

You can do a lot, ranging from heating the toes with a hair dryer and stretching them over a broom handle to compression of the foam in select areas using boot fitting tools, a vice, or vise grips. You'll probably want something stronger and more pain resistant than your foot to do most of these mods. Most of these things don't really affect the life of the liner - that depends more on the quality of materials and foam used, how hard you ski them, how many times your remove them from the shells, placement and design of interior rivets, etc.