How many of you have sore feet because of poor fitting ski boots?

I suspect that the answer from many people, holiday makers or seasonaires, is Yes.  The cause of this is generally boots that are too big or too small or the wrong shape for your feet. 

So what do you do?  Well you could just throw them in the bin or keep visiting the ski rental shop until you find a pair that are vaguely comfy and put up with them for the rest of your holiday or season.  In the long term this is not the ideal solution to the problem, investing in your own boots maybe costly but also well worth it and will probably pay itself back within 1 season if you ski 2 or 3 times a year.

If you own a pair of boots but find they give you pain, maybe on the bottom or side of your foot, have become too big so you are cranking up the buckles to keep your foot still and giving yourself cramp or pins and needles.  Then you need to visit a good boot fitting shop to get some help.

Most resorts will have a shop that offers some kind of specialist boot fitting service some are better than others but they can help to relive some of the discomfort and sort out a solution to some of the problems.

A common solution to many boot problems is to have a footbed made for you.  A footbed is a moulded insole that matches the shape of the bottom of your foot, this will prevent your foot slipping around in the bottom of the boot, take up some space if your boot is feeling too big.  It can alleviate pain around your foot by stabilising it in the boots, stopping it moving around.   These usually cost from about 80 Euros for a pair and they are certainly worth the investment as the first step towards boot comfort.

Many people think a precise fit means uncomfortable but that does not have to be the case, you can have a well fitting ski boot that is a pleasure to ski in all day; don’t confuse comfort and fit as they can come hand in hand.

If you are planning on buying new ski boots then find a good boot fitting shop like ‘Sole’ in Chamonix.  Anyone that knows their stuff will do a proper “fitting” that should take at least 1 – 2hrs and they will in effect choose the boot for you.  They look at you foot and lower leg shape as well as asking what kind of skiing you do and select a couple of boots for you to try on to see how they feel.  Once the best boot has been chosen then generally they will heat the liner of the boot and possibly the shell; before putting your feet back into them to mould the liner to your foot and lower leg shape.

The next 15 minutes or so is usually spent pacing the floor of the shop with hot feet until the boot and liner cool down and have settled in shape.  The next step is to ski in the boot and see how it feels.  If you buy boots in resort this is obviously much easier to do unless you have a dry slope close by in the UK!  If you suffer any further pain or discomfort then you need to return to the shop and they should be able to sort this out with some wizzardy and trickery! 

Everything from lumps and bumps, high instep, flat footed, poor alignment and more can be dealt with by a boot fitter.  If you are going to be doing a ski season and want to buy some kit before you go to resort then I recommend buying boots over skis.  A good pair of boots can make the world of difference to your skiing and you will certainly get your money’s worth across the season.

Sole Boot Lab and Pro Shop

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