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Upgrade current boots or get new ones

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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
So here is the deal.  2 years ago I searched around for a boot, decided on the Dalbello blender, tried on my normal size (28.5), fit great in the store, loved them, so I took them home with me.  While it was a great bootfitting shop, they didn't do much except size me since I was pretty set on what I wanted. 

Fast forward to now, I am looking to step up my skiing game.  I am moving in my current boots even when they are as tight as possible.  Should've sized down, my fault.  But there is extra room between the liner and end of the boot, can't do anything about that.  Also the footbeds suck.


So I am at a crossroads now.  Do I buy intuition liners for them and footbeds and take them to a fitter to try and get the perfect fit?  Or should I just buy new Rampage ID (or similar) and sell the old ones for whatever they are worth.  I feel sort of bad because they were a present but I really want a perfect fit.

Thoughts?
Dec 13 2012 10:23PM
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Obese.Geese
Posts: 339 - Karma: 288
Personnaly id buy the intuitions. Save a ton of money and it will last you a lil longer. With the intuitons i read you can get them fit to both the shell of the boot and your foot.
Dec 13 2012 10:27PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
How would they last longer? The ID line from Dalbello feature intuition liners so that is what I would be getting.  Cheaper yes.  Different model intuitions have different thicknesses so I guess that is what you mean by fitting the shell and foot different, but it would be impossible to try them all because no shop carries more than one usually.
Dec 13 2012 10:49PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7136 - Karma: 17,388
Intuitions are good, but they ware out so fast. Most bootfitters I know and work with (including myself) use sidas foam injection liners. They are more expensive but give the best fit possible and last so long. Match them with a good sidas footbed with the correct stabilization for your needs and you will be gold. Then its just a case of finding a shell which roughly works for your foot shape.
Dec 13 2012 10:53PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
The shell works good with my foot due to the width, but in general I think the buckles should be tighter.  This has a lot to do with the liner too though.  I will have to check out these liners.  Problem is I don't know of any shops that carry them.  Also I am a little scared to even more money into liners and footbeds and keep the same shell.  Do you upgrade a bmw or do you just buy the porsche? Thats what I am wondering.
Dec 13 2012 11:04PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
I guess the Sugarloaf shop is a retailer, how much do they cost generally?
Dec 13 2012 11:09PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7136 - Karma: 17,388
You will be looking around $600 for the liner and footbed.

If you shells are still in good condition and they work for your foot shape and they are the right size, then why not upgrade them so they fit great. I generally find I replace the shells 2-3 times on one set of liners. You need to get the same shell though, for the liners to work at there best.
Dec 14 2012 12:17AM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
$600 is out of my price range for liners really.  Especially for a shell they don't make anymore.  Which puts me back at square one, intuitions and footbeds or new boots?  I wish I could find last years model boots for a decent price, such as the Rampage ID.
Dec 14 2012 9:18AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
You already admitted your current shells are too big. Start again, and find a better shop.
Dec 14 2012 9:41AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7136 - Karma: 17,388
Well an intution and a footbed will be about $450 so not much less.

Overall it may just be worth starting again. Try to find the best shop you can and go get fitted up. Allocate $200 for the footbed and spend the rest on the boot. Hopefully if you find a good shop all fitting will be included, so it will just the cost of the footbed and boot. Hopefully you can keep it to the $600-800 range.
Dec 14 2012 10:57AM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
Thanks for the help so far.  My feet are snug in the liner which is good but when I go airborne and touch down again I can feel a shift in my boot like my heel isn't fully secure.  It almost feels like its the footbed moving but I believe it is the whole liner, which it really shouldn't be if my toes are flush with the liner.  The clear cola colored shells show me the room between the liner and end of the shell.

I will probably take a trip to the local shop on one of my days off see what they have to say and what they have for inventory, if I remember correctly they have the KR Rampage ID in stock.
Dec 14 2012 11:23AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
You just confirmed that your current shells are too big. Start again, and find a better shop.
Dec 14 2012 12:19PM
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Dirty.Harry.
Posts: 1779 - Karma: 351
Yep. Buy boots that fit. This is a good set of guidelines:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/137151-the-answer-to-quot-WTF-is-wrong-with-my-boots-quot
Dec 14 2012 1:06PM
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k2andcannoli
Posts: 644 - Karma: -36
Haha your fucked
Dec 14 2012 1:56PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35

Thanks for this link, it is helpful.

Obviously I thought the boots fit when I bought them, otherwise I wouldn't have got them.  I will have to pinpoint the issue.  Yes it appears I need new boots, which is not a surprise to me.  Now I just have to decide what to get.

Dec 14 2012 7:40PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7136 - Karma: 17,388
The boots dont actually sound like they are too big to me, it just sounds like the heel pocket is not working for you. It may be that the liner has packed out, the heel pocket may not work for your heel shape, the instep of your foot may be too low for the shell, your foot may be pronating in the boot or your Achilles may be tight. All these things can be sorted out to varying degrees by a good bootfitter.

People hear are too quick to say a boot is too big. Boots take skill to fit correctly and unfortunately there are a lot of bad fitters out there. But if you find a good one you will be amazed what can be done.

What I would do is take your current boots to a good fitter. Have them see what they think of the fit. If they are good they will tell you if they think they can be refitted and not just try to sell you a new boot. If they dont think they are a good fit then at least you know and you can start again.
Dec 14 2012 11:07PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
Yeah that is what I am going to do I think.  First I am going to take an accurate measurement of my foot in the shell without the liner and that should give me a better idea.  Another problem I run into is one foot is a whole size smaller than the other do to various growth plate breaks as a kid.

Thanks again Tom
Dec 15 2012 10:12AM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
If I do size down in a Dalbello boot it should be about a 10mm difference.  Can marker griffons adjust this much or would it require a remount?
Dec 15 2012 11:32AM
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Dirty.Harry.
Posts: 1779 - Karma: 351
If the shell does indeed fit (I would recheck that before going to new boots), you could throw some Intuition liners in there. They really, really help.
Dec 15 2012 10:50PM
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Loafer4life
Posts: 87 - Karma: 35
Thanks, good to know about the liners.  I pretty much got a gameplan now, just have to see.  Thanks for the help everyone who offered it
Dec 15 2012 11:02PM
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