ASagaFanBoy12Okay so I am currently using last years full tilt booters they are a men's 8 (26) and I currently wear a men's 9 for school and life. I went up opening day today and around noon I had sharp pain all along the bottom of my feet and a little bit in the ankles. I'm wondering if my boot size is too small or if it's something else. I also got really bad toe bang I'm guessing they're too small but how does that explain the bottom of my feet? K+!!
It is common for your ski boot to be about 1 size smaller than your labeled street shoe size. But that is not really an accurate way to size boots, just a correlation that tends to exist.
Ski boots are based on mondo point sizing which is a centimeter length measurement of your foot. So a 26cm foot takes a size 26 ski boot.
But to know for sure if your boots are the right size, remove the liner from the shell, step into the shell while wearing a THIN ski sock, slide your toes to the front of the boot so they just barely touch, and measure the space behind your heel. 1cm of free space is a very high performance "race" fit, 2cm of space is normal, 3cm of space is problematically too big. Report back on the amount of space that you have.
Next, you need footbeds. Even if the boot is the right size and shape for your foot, your flexible twisty foot is moving around inside the shell while skiing. It is pronating and elongating and a footbed will help to minimize this movement keeping your foot securely and comfortably in place.