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Boot problems: wide feet, skinny ankles and high instep

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pcurran871
Posts: 263 - Karma: 152
I have the same old problems with trying to find a boot that fits. I have wider feet with a skinny ankle and high instep. I have bought a number of boots over the years but none really seem to deal with all 3 problems. I have bought from shops in Japan, Canada, Australia and Europe and even though I have figured out what I need I can't seem to find the right boot for me. I still ride park most days in resort unless the snow is good. At 65kg a 100 flex boot would be perfect, but any boot that will fit my feet and ankles would be nice and I can tinker from there.

Boots I've tried:
Salomon SPK 100 - didn't fit my foot at all. No room over the instep so I took most of the rubber boot board out and cut the liner out to make space but no room for footbeds. I put 2 sets of ankle wraps in to try and hold my foot down which helped a little but took a lot of trimming to stop my feet cramping. Also no cuff adjustment was a little annoying as my knees tend inwards but not a major issue. The boot flex was perfect for me and was perhaps the only thing apart from money that kept me in these boots for the season.

Atomic Tracker 110 - slightly narrow and had to be punched out especially around the toes. Cuff adjustment and room over the arch made these the best fitting boots for my feet that I have tried. That said, I still had a lot of room around the ankle and especially my shin even when the boot was fully tightened. Also I think a mix of the 4 buckle system and a little extra flex gave me very bad shin bang after a few hours, to the point where I would need a day of snow after 2 days of riding just to let my shins recover.

Dalbello Krypton Pro - These came with two tongues and I used the softer one which was meant to be 100 flex but was definitely softer than the SPK. These didn't have enough room over the arch but fit the width of my feet well. I had too much space at my ankles and again the boots gave me terrible shin bang.

I've had a few other all mountin boots before then but I don't remember the models just that I have the same issues and it seems like every time I go into a shop I have to choose a compromise.

I have also tried on a lot of boots in shops. I have found a compromise of a narrow boot with a high instep and just punching it out and dealing with the shin bang. If anyone has any boot suggestions or what the best approach might be to finding a solution I would really appreciate it.
Dec 22 2015 1:19AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Dec 22 2015 3:42AM
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Poikenz
Posts: 1478 - Karma: 3,762
If your boot selection is is chronological order you clearly don't know what you need because dalbello is known for terrible heel hold (either that or you are bad at judging what actually fits your foot).

If you are struggling to get your upper cuff tight enough you have two options: hit the gym or get the underlapping section ground down a bit. You boot will feel softer after this but you will be able to crank the shit out of them. The truth is your boots might be seeming tight but they probably aren't, so doing this will help solve your shin bang. 2- obviously you need more padding cut and inserted to hold your ankle in place. 3- you can get the top of your boot punched to accommodate your high instep- this will fuck up the overlap so be careful with that and always travel with duck tape or your feet will get wet. If you don't have custom footbeds, do go and get them. Spending $200 extra for a well fitting boot sounds better than buying 3 ok fitting pairs.
Dec 22 2015 8:00AM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6656 - Karma: 10,862
pcurran871Atomic Tracker 110 - slightly narrow and had to be punched out especially around the toes. Cuff adjustment and room over the arch made these the best fitting boots for my feet that I have tried. That said, I still had a lot of room around the ankle and especially my shin even when the boot was fully tightened. Also I think a mix of the 4 buckle system and a little extra flex gave me very bad shin bang after a few hours, to the point where I would need a day of snow after 2 days of riding just to let my shins recover.


Of all the things you said, the main conclusion is this: if you want the type of fit you are after, then you are going to have to spend a lot of time getting a narrow boot stretched to fit the wide parts of your feet. Nothing will fit you out of the box like you expect it to. The Tracker series of boots had the same heel dimensions as our (Atomic's) world cup race boot, read: the narrowest heel you can find commercially. Since that was too wide for you, you either have a super super narrow heel or some unrealistic ideals of heel retention.

You should approach your next boot like this: find what works for your heel and have the boot-fitter make space in the areas where you need it (like forefoot, etc). Knowing that you had some success with the Tracker fit, a really good place to start might be something like the Atomic Redster Pro 120 or 100. It tends to fit a bit higher volume and has a more open toe box than other narrow fitting boots. And if your heel moves in that, then you should look into getting a foam injection liner and your heel movement issues will be solved.

As far as your shinbang goes, it is not caused by 4 buckles or an overlap construction. That is a myth. What it was caused by was that the shape of tongue, shape of the cuff, cuff height, lack of footbed or at least a footbed that did not support your arches properly enough, and that it had too much flex based on how strong you are/how much you weigh. The good news is, don't fear a boot simply because it has 4 buckles or an overlap construction because you might be fearing the exact boot you need.
Dec 22 2015 8:55AM
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BenWhit
Posts: 4654 - Karma: 3,256
pcurran871Also no cuff adjustment was a little annoying as my knees tend inwards but not a major issue.


if you are spending 6hrs a day riding in a valgus knee, this is a MAJOR issue. you are compromising the structural integrity of your knee, leaving you ligaments susceptible to shearing loads and tears. in addition, a valgus knee pinches the lateral meniscus lending to radial tears. often times, the valgus knee can be mitigated by a custom footboard that gives more support to the arch of your foot. the valgus knee is a result of many factors, one of those being a collapsed arch, causing the ankle to roll inward. if you can better support the arch, you can better support the knee. upsteam/downstream relationship.
Dec 22 2015 12:11PM
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pcurran871
Posts: 263 - Karma: 152
I have bought all my boots in the last 8 years from a shop and have been fitted. I also have custom footbeds already. I definitely find it very hard to tell in the shop as it feels completely different to actually skiing with them on. The last pair of boots I bought (SPK's) were purchased due to money restrictions, and definitely were not a good boot. The trackers worked pretty well but I didn't have enough money at the time to repurchase and since I had moved hemispheres without bringing my old boots I had to make do with the SPK's since no boots equals no skiing... This year I will actually have money to spend on a pair of boots that fit so I'm trying to make sure I don't spend it on something that doesn't.

I have had knee problems since I was 15 (9 years now) so I guess I didn't really notice any problems with the lack of cuff adjustment because of that but it definitely makes sense as they definitely got worse last season.

One nerdy kid thanks for the advice, it seems pretty logical to start with a narrow ankle boot and work from there. I don't have any issues with a 4 buckle boot at all, I have owned a good few pairs in the past because 2 and 3 buckle boots, particularly those designed for 'freestyle', do not fit my foot or ankle.
Dec 26 2015 9:51PM
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adrian191
Posts: 144 - Karma: 425
go to a sure foot location. They make custom liners and custom boots but its deffinatly gonna cost you some extra cash.
Dec 28 2015 12:53AM
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HuckNorris44
Posts: 1025 - Karma: 2,393
You could get something with a moldable shell also. Ive stretched the fuck out of Salomons shell.
Dec 28 2015 4:05AM
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eheeth
Posts: 459 - Karma: 2,528
Fischer vacuum. Sure they look like race boots, but they're the shit
Dec 28 2015 6:02AM
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haggis_hunter
Posts: 399 - Karma: 207
onenerdykidOf all the things you said, the main conclusion is this: if you want the type of fit you are after, then you are going to have to spend a lot of time getting a narrow boot stretched to fit the wide parts of your feet. Nothing will fit you out of the box like you expect it to. The Tracker series of boots had the same heel dimensions as our (Atomic's) world cup race boot, read: the narrowest heel you can find commercially. Since that was too wide for you, you either have a super super narrow heel or some unrealistic ideals of heel retention.

You should approach your next boot like this: find what works for your heel and have the boot-fitter make space in the areas where you need it (like forefoot, etc). Knowing that you had some success with the Tracker fit, a really good place to start might be something like the Atomic Redster Pro 120 or 100. It tends to fit a bit higher volume and has a more open toe box than other narrow fitting boots. And if your heel moves in that, then you should look into getting a foam injection liner and your heel movement issues will be solved.

As far as your shinbang goes, it is not caused by 4 buckles or an overlap construction. That is a myth. What it was caused by was that the shape of tongue, shape of the cuff, cuff height, lack of footbed or at least a footbed that did not support your arches properly enough, and that it had too much flex based on how strong you are/how much you weigh. The good news is, don't fear a boot simply because it has 4 buckles or an overlap construction because you might be fearing the exact boot you need.


I went with the Tracker 130 which solved all the problems I've had with other 98mm lasted boots, I needed something with soles I could walk on for touring in Scotland so it really ruled out the Redsters unless I was never going to fit the tracker.

The out of the box fit was good, the fit after I had Alain Baxter adjust my foot beds even further became perfect, like the OP I've always had heal retention issues that a moulded footbed alone would not solve. Alain lifted my bootbeds in the liners a touch with some denser foam under the heal and some lighter foam under the toe and it solved all the issues.
Dec 28 2015 8:12AM
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