Chicken Feet Thread 🐓

[DGamms]

Skinny ankles. Skinny heels. Skinny calves. Low insteps. Not much of an arch. Wider forefoot with a bunch of bony prominences/bunions.

Are you part of the chicken feet club?

If so, what are your favorite boot shells, liners, shims, footbeds, spoilers, booster straps, or mods to turn your average chicken foot ski day into an awesome chicken foot ski day?

Discuss…

[halliday]

I have size 8.5 feet. My feet are flat as fuck and getting flatter every year but I have normal ankles and no bunions or problems other than feet that are flat AF. I have a pair of Lange World Cup ZB 130 in 26.5 with the plug liners from my old Super Comps with the arches cut out of the factory Lange footbed from the World Cups. This set up is the shit. No punching, shaping, shaving needed. Step in and go. Comfort all day.

[whereiscarlos]

Magic combo for me has been 26.5 atomic hawx ultra with zipfits. Feet measure ~275mm long. Have done a punch for the big toe and will be doing more work to make the little toes more comfortable. Instep fit is exactly what I’ve been looking for and I’m no longer looking for ways to fill space in the upper cuff. Currently sans spoiler. Went with zipfit GFTs for the touring boots (27.5 hawx ultra xtd). Haven’t toured with the new liners yet but the fit at home seems extremely positive.

For reference, my ankles/legs are akin to most Tour de France climbers; high calves and minimal muscle. High-ish arches with a low instep. Using footbeds for both boot setups. Wouldn’t fit in a 26.5 without the support.

[rfconroy]

Is it weird I got excited to read about someone's recipes for chicken feet, only to find out that we're talking about human feet....

[mcski]

Is it weird I got excited to read about someone's recipes for chicken feet, only to find out that we're talking about human feet....

you’re still excited about the recipes

[rfconroy]

you’re still excited about the recipes

[Andyski]

Remember TLT5s? Man, those things were awesome for our club.

I’ve got bontex in fucking everything and do a lot of sizing down and then punching.

[skier2265]

I’m in 25.5 atomic hawx ultra 130s with 3mm bontex shims, sidas custom insoles and zipfits with extra cork. Also using boosters and spoilers. Left foot is flat with super low instep. Right foot has low arch. Right foot fits great but left foot still doesn’t fit quite right. Anyone ever seen a lower instep??

I probably should’ve sized down and punched.


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[Jongle]

Another vote for the Hawx Ultra + Zipfits combo... I'm running Zipfit Freerides in my alpine Hawx Ultras and GFTs in my Ultra XTDs and my feet have never been happier. First time my ankles and lower legs have ever felt truly 100% locked in.

[turnfarmer]

Discontinued Salomon S-Max.. That boot didn’t fit anyone except someone like OP. Lowest instep out there. This years S/Pro Alpha went the opposite way to a high instep. If thats too roomy, race boots are your only option.

[DGamms]

Love the ideas so far!!

Yeah, currently I’m in the Hawx Ultra club too. 274mm and 271mm long feet in a 26.5 Ultra 120. Punched the shell for big toe length, 5th met head width laterally, and Haglund’s deformity in the heel.

Add a HV 27 Dreamliner Intuition (warm, fills up space in the back half of the boot amazingly well for heel hold and Hanglund’s protection, extra length in the toe box) and a custom foot bed, single Bontex thin shim, and Expert Booster strap. Pretty awesome ��

My other favorite resort boot in recent memory was the Garmont Shaman. Might be 2008 hindsight talking, but that thing fit great with just a set of footbeds added.

I’m not an ex racer, so I’ve never gone and done the whole 93mm plug boot rabbit hole. Plus my feet run cold.

Which is why I eventually had to ditch the Zipfits for Intuitions. Maybe a 10-20% performance loss with the Intuitions. But so much warmer, and more friendly for the painful Haglund’s pump bump.

[mntlion]

not sure why people (especially with narrow/LV feet) are anti race/plug boot? Bit harder to get on/off when cold (keep warm to put on) but it skis so well. The plastic is no colder then anything else, but can hold your foot in place so damn well.

If you have a narrow/LV foot then a narrow/LV boot is a great option for you.

If you need to fill up some space in a shell vs foot, then a thicker/stiffer liner will be a great option (foam, extra goo in Zips, think intuition)

Almost everyone will do better with a custom supportive footbed to prevent some foot movement.

Start with the right lengh shell (10-15mm shell fit) Then go narrow so your foot lightly touches both sides of the shell, then add an appropriate liner and footbed.

[dcpnz]

not sure why people (especially with narrow/LV feet) are anti race/plug boot? Bit harder to get on/off when cold (keep warm to put on) but it skis so well. The plastic is no colder then anything else, but can hold your foot in place so damn well.

All true but while the plastic may not be inherently colder, the stock liners definitely are colder than those in most recreational race boots .

Who’s seen/ successfully used an intuition in a true race plug boot? Is the plug race model the obvious choice? Never had one in hand so how much thicker and how much extra shell work is likely to be required to get them to fit?

Not for me since I’ve got moderately wide feet but my racer kids did not inherit that trait - considering having them use last year’s boot for their free ski boots now they’ve stepped up for race boot flex.

[skuff]

Somewhat chicken footed here. Skinny ankles, calfs, narrowish heel, wider forefoot (baby sixth toe), medium(?) arch.

Using a Full Tilt, First Chair boot with a Full Tilt Pro Wrap liner that holds everything in place very nicely. The First Chair model is supposed to be slightly wider in the forefoot area compared to Full Tilt's Classic version of the Flexon. I've worn both styles and the First Chair feels better on my feet than the Classic because of that slightly wider forefoot area. Added a booster strap which snugged everything up against my skinny calfs/shins

Had the liner molded at Sport Loft in SLC and they did an excellent job, very comfortable right away, good support over my entire foot. Although I did buy an Intuition Pro Wrap after the person working on my boots said the liner from Intuition is a better quality by using different layers of foam(?), than the Full Tilt variation from Intuition. I have yet to get the new liner molded but am very curious to see if I can notice the differences between the two. Plus, the liners are toasty warm

edit: Had the Intuition Pro Wrap molded and that holds my foot in place better than the Full Tilt version of a pro wrap. But, the Intuition liner is much stiffer than the Full Tilt liner and slightly less comfortable. Maybe the Intuition needs to get broken-in a bit for better comfort?

Currently, I like the Full Tilt liner more than the Intuition liner

[gregL]

Discontinued Salomon S-Max.. That boot didn’t fit anyone except someone like OP. Lowest instep out there. This years S/Pro Alpha went the opposite way to a high instep. If thats too roomy, race boots are your only option.

X Max.

They raised the instep for the S/Max, then raised it again this year for the S/Pro Alpha.

[skier2265]

X Max.

They raised the instep for the S/Max, then raised it again this year for the S/Pro Alpha.

GregL, what are the other differences in fit between x max and a max? Other than the lower instep, I heard that the x max is a noticeably higher volume boot everywhere else than the s max


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[Westcoaster]

282mm narrow forefoot/ankle/chicken legs in 27.5 mach1 lv with zipfits, 27.5 zgtp with protours mv, and 28.0 f1lt with stock liners with kinda shit fit.

[gregL]

GregL, what are the other differences in fit between x max and a max? Other than the lower instep, I heard that the x max is a noticeably higher volume boot everywhere else than the s max


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Where did you hear that?

The X Max, S/Max and now S/Pro Alpha are all iterations of Salomon's 98mm "narrow" consumer boot from different years. Width has remained pretty constant in the forefoot, instep height has increased incrementally, and the newest iteration (S/Pro Alpha) has a much reduced cuff diameter - but they are all similar in volume around the foot. The medium volume options were/are X Pro, S/Pro, and S/Pro (name stays the same for 2023). The current "high volume" last is S/Pro HV.

[mntlion]

All true but while the plastic may not be inherently colder, the stock liners definitely are colder than those in most recreational race boots .

Who’s seen/ successfully used an intuition in a true race plug boot? Is the plug race model the obvious choice? Never had one in hand so how much thicker and how much extra shell work is likely to be required to get them to fit?

Not for me since I’ve got moderately wide feet but my racer kids did not inherit that trait - considering having them use last year’s boot for their free ski boots now they’ve stepped up for race boot flex.

Put the thickest intuition that will fit the shell and not cut off circulation

And get heated socks

[GoldenBC]

Finally tried on the S/Pro Alpha. It feels like a boat compared to the X/Max. Customers comparing between S/Max and S/Pro Alpha really find more room in the Alpha.

[old goat]

I've been happy with Tecnica Mach I LV 130 with the stock liner, custom footbed, Bontex shims under the liner because of the low instep, expert booster strap. Great heel hold. After a few hundred days I got new Intuitions--one of the tongue models--FX Race or HD Race, can't remember which. I also have tried an old Power Wrap. I'm not sure which I like better. I don't have any bad lumps and bumps so they fit me well out of the box when they were new.

With the stock liner and no spoiler I was not maxed out on the upper buckle in the standard position. The Race liner series are supposed to be high volume around the calf but roomy in the forefoot.

[Spats]

OP said "wide forefoot." Salomon race lasts, or any race lasts, don't have a wide forefoot.

The best combination of "wide forefoot" and "still has heel hold" I've found is the Scott Cosmos touring boot. It's extremely wide, with a high instep, but somehow also keeps your heel down...even when you have skinny lower legs.
Scott seems to have quietly fixed all its problems over the years. The walk mode lock is stout and no longer fails, and the newest version has a forward lean adjustment. Unfortunately you now have to pay extra for the Grilamid version: I think the regular one is now Pebax.

It runs about 1cm short for the shell size, so you might have to size up.

[DGamms]

Put the thickest intuition that will fit the shell and not cut off circulation

And get heated socks

Yeah, in addition to increased heel hold, the HV Intuition liners are significantly warmer than anything else I’ve tried. I almost never need my heated socks when using them.

This works within reason of course. Some HV liners are simply too high volume and a no go for me in the Hawx Ultra. I tried a 27 HV Power Wrap + last year, and returned it to Intuition unmolded. No chance at all of making the upper half of the boot work with so much liner material.

[MacFive]

Love the ideas so far!!

Yeah, currently I’m in the Hawx Ultra club too. 274mm and 271mm long feet in a 26.5 Ultra 120. Punched the shell for big toe length, 5th met head width laterally, and Haglund’s deformity in the heel.

How did you punch out your haglunds on the hawx ultra xtd? I cant find a bootfitter who is willing to do it, and am trying to figure out the process.

[The Stopper]

For those with high or skinny calves, how much volume did you have to add to Zipfit tongues? I'm around 293mm in a 28.5 Krypton, trying WC Sidewinders and Gara's I've got a great heel fit but noticeably more room to fill up at the top buckle.