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Toe Bang, Stretching and Fitting Advice (Full Tilts alert).

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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
So before I receive "buy the boot that fits" advice. Today I spent 4 hours in two different shops getting my feet poked, prodded and rammed in to various brightly coloured torture devices which make up the boots which apparently fit me.

My Feet:
narrow and 'slender' according to one guy in the shop.
left foot (big toe especially) is about 4mm longer than the right (dropped a dive bottle on it a few years ago).
Seems I am RIGHT on the limit of a 29 but the 30s they had in stock and I tried were all too roomy.

The Boots
Salmon Questmax (100) 29
Salomon SPK (100) 29.5
Atomic Hawx (110) 29
FT Dropkick 29.5

These all fitted my foot well with varying positives and negatives. All except the SPKs had a considerable tightness on my left big toe. My right foot felt perfect in the Dropkick. Close fitting but comfortable and well supported. BUT my big toe in the left boot was pretty painful. In the shell only fitting there was about a finger's width between my heel and the boot.

The guy in the shop was cautious as to whether he could make it fit but said he 'probably' could. Naturally i don't want to shell out all my savings and have a tech work on the boot for hours only to have a boot that doesn't quite fit.

So my question is: How much can you realistically stretch a FT length-wise. Especially considering there is no intuition lining over the toe piece... Or am I better off going for a slightly looser fitting boot or shelling out the extra $$$ for the SPKs which didn't feel as close/performance fitting generally.

Thanks for the Advice NS.
Jan 19 2014 6:43PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
Ok first of all what footbeds are you looking at? How much instability do you have in the foot? What was your weighted length compared to unweighted. All these things will have an impact upon not only the toe issue but the overal fit in general.

Next who picked those 4 boots? You have a 98, 99, 100 and 104mm lasts. They will not all work for you. The hawx is also much higher in the instep then the rest. They really don't match shape wise those 4 boots. Which shell check worked out best?

It may be worth trying to get some more opinions as what you have so far sounds more of a case of those were the boots thy had left in your size.
Jan 19 2014 7:26PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
Are you still in the uk looking for boots? If so I may be able to help advise who to go see
Jan 19 2014 7:45PM
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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
Thanks for the reply.

Sidas/Surefit footbed I believe.
pretty little instability. I run a lot, don't have a massive instep, but as I said, 'slender to start with'.
Weighted and unweighted length was very, very similar.

They were a little low on boots in the one shop which recommended the Atomics (Which came up feeling the shortest) and the Questmax. I'm heading to London next week. Might try and drop in to a larger store there and endure another 4 hours of torture...

BUT The FT was such a sweet fit on my right side though. snug, close and comfortable; it really felt 'right' without any sloppiness.

Can the toe-boxes of the shells be heat moulded and lengthened or does that destabilise/weaken the rest of the boot?
Jan 19 2014 7:48PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
If your coming to London come see me in the Kensington ellis brigham.

Toe boxes can definitily be modified. You can lengthen, widen, square off ect ect. But getting the foot stabilised first is the most inportant thing
Jan 19 2014 8:29PM
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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
Awesome. Ellis Brigham is where I had my fitting in Bristol Yesterday. The guy was super attentive but mentioned the London Store would have more stock and be able to try out some more 30s/ different fits. He failed to mention the NS Stronghold — Nice one. They've ordered the last pair of last seasons discounted FTs to the Bristol store for me.

I'll drop into Kensington Thursday Morning.
Jan 20 2014 4:42AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
Cool man, nice to see Bristol were helpfull.

Yeah Ill be in on Thursday, ill try to get a few boots in for you in the 29/30 size. Other then the full tilt which shape felt best, the quest or the Hawx?
Jan 20 2014 5:12AM
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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
Hawx bed felt a little high for my relatively low instep, but it also felt supportive and like I could get a lot of performance out of it.

Quest felt really different. A little sloppy almost... not like anything I've worn before and felt a bit unsupportive on my calf. but comfortable.

SPKs in Snow+Rock were the most comfortable and super-roomy. (but weight 3 x FT and covered in gadgets I'd be too lazy to fiddle with). The rubber toe-bang preventer worked wonders straight out the box for my long left big toe.

FT Right foot with a footbed was still the best. Tight, comfy, supportive, light, and I really enjoyed what i felt of the flex profile. the price point of the FT also means custom footbeds (vital, right?) are financially possible for me...
Jan 20 2014 6:07AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
Ok cool, well I have been ordering in a few things for you. I found those drop kicks from last season in the warehouse so I can get those here.

Yeah footbeds will be absolutely essential for a good fit. They will be 67.50 so not too bad when bought with a boot. We also fit for free.

I have a few Xmaxs on the way too, those are our smallest volume boot so if your struggling to find a tight fit these may work well.

I have also got a range of sizes from 28 to 30 so we have some choice.
Jan 20 2014 7:02AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7158 - Karma: 17,575
Ok I spoke to Bristol, I have the full tilts on the way, I have some X max's, Hawx, Overlords and Xpros's so hopefully we should be well set.

Let me know if you have any questions and if not we will see you on thurs.

Cheers
Tom
Jan 20 2014 7:22AM
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grifter
Posts: 933 - Karma: 102
Major +K,That all sounds awesome, thanksTom. See you Thursday!
Jan 20 2014 10:12AM
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CB_Radio
Posts: 197 - Karma: 39
try a lange rx 100 lv. the lv is for low volume. very high performance boot and fits a wide variety of foot sizes and can be punched out a ton. But try it on with a footbed. i use superfeet verde but probably will get a custom cork bed and possibly a surefoot foam liner installed.

Jan 20 2014 3:47PM
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cnewell1
Posts: 9 - Karma: 72
I have a pair of the SPK's I've used for the past 2 seasons and I really like them. Very comfortable to wear/walk in and keep my feet very warm. However, I'm looking at buying some FT dropkicks for next season...Let me know what you think when you decide.
Jan 20 2014 7:54PM
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Skummit_559
Posts: 122 - Karma: 26
Had Spk pro's with rubber toe and loved them in the park, never got toe bang. Now I'm in Lupo S.P's as I'm getting older and shredding the whole mountain more often. Love the extra support and response however I'm getting toe bang on the regular and will soon lose toe nails. Any good solutions for toe bang? I've already heat molded with toecaps but it didn't do much. +K for responses
Mar 13 2015 12:10AM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6666 - Karma: 10,943
Skummit_559Had Spk pro's with rubber toe and loved them in the park, never got toe bang. Now I'm in Lupo S.P's as I'm getting older and shredding the whole mountain more often. Love the extra support and response however I'm getting toe bang on the regular and will soon lose toe nails. Any good solutions for toe bang? I've already heat molded with toecaps but it didn't do much. +K for responses


In the future, we have this awesome little thread for questions just like yours:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/768122/The-Official---What-is-wrong-with-my-boots---Thread


If you don't have a proper supportive footbed, you 100% need to start there. Footbeds support your foot in a way that prevents your arches from collapsing and your toes from jamming into the front of the boot. This will solve the problem at its source- flexible foot moving inside a rigid shell.

If you already have a footbed, 1) get it checked to make sure it is properly supporting your foot and then 2) if it is you can have the shell punched in that specific area to make more room. Do not do step 2 if you don't have a footbed because your unsupported foot will simply slide into the stretch that was made and you'll still get toe bang.
Mar 13 2015 3:45AM
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Skummit_559
Posts: 122 - Karma: 26
onenerdykidIn the future, we have this awesome little thread for questions just like yours:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/768122/The-Official---What-is-wrong-with-my-boots---Thread


If you don't have a proper supportive footbed, you 100% need to start there. Footbeds support your foot in a way that prevents your arches from collapsing and your toes from jamming into the front of the boot. This will solve the problem at its source- flexible foot moving inside a rigid shell.

If you already have a footbed, 1) get it checked to make sure it is properly supporting your foot and then 2) if it is you can have the shell punched in that specific area to make more room. Do not do step 2 if you don't have a footbed because your unsupported foot will simply slide into the stretch that was made and you'll still get toe bang.


Thank you! Really appreciate the reply.
Mar 13 2015 3:54AM
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MLJ
Posts: 1849 - Karma: 3,649
This thread just summarises why n's is the best. If I need new boots or fitting, I'll come visit you tom, hahaha.
Mar 13 2015 8:38AM
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