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May, 2025

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Ski boot fitter question from a newb

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Tirade
Posts: 4 - Karma: 12
Went to Park City last month for a Spring Break trip with my wife and kid and tried our hand at skiing via a group lesson. Was immediately hooked, made the drive to Alta 3 times that week and hit up Deer Valley as well. Three more lessons later and the whole family is addicted and we were all hitting blues by the last day (even the 9yo!).

So that last day, a lot of the local mom and pop shops were having end of season blow-out sales and we picked up a lot of gear for everyone including good gloves/helmets/layers/outerwear but their boot inventory was super depleted (especially for common sizes like a mens 11) and we walked away without getting any boots.

Fast forward to last week, I live in the SE US and there are no boot fitters in my state or within a days driving of me. The online stores are starting end of season blow-out sales and I decided to pick up boots for everyone (take it easy on me, I thought boots were boots and didnt know about the boot fitter requirement). Anyway, because of the pricing, some of the boots are non-returnable or returnable only for store credit.

So my question is, what are the odds that a good boot fitter can make the boots I purchased work? I actually purchased two pairs and had planned to exchange the one that didnt fit the best for credit but now that Ive done a little research I feel like I might have goofed.

For me I picked up the following two boots:

Salomon QST Access 90 and Dalbello Panterra MX 90

I wont be skiing again until the end of the year unless I can make it to CO next month so itll be a while before I can even get to a boot fitter but I plan to keep the best fitting ones out of the box and just walk in them on and off for the next few months to start forming them.
7 years ago
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mmccarthy81
Posts: 415 - Karma: 761
What size is your sneaker and what size are the boots? Do you have a wide, narrow, or average width foot? I am a boot fitter and can tell you that it is not a necessity to see a legitimate boot fitter to get into a boot that works, it is just necessary in order to get into the perfect pair for your own specific feet. Skiing cautiously to moderately on greens and blues doesn’t demand an ultra snug fit. Chances are at least one of the pairs of boots you bought will be comfortable enough to have a good time on the mountain until you really progress your skiing.
7 years ago
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6747 - Karma: 11,771
TiradeSo my question is, what are the odds that a good boot fitter can make the boots I purchased work? I actually purchased two pairs and had planned to exchange the one that didnt fit the best for credit but now that Ive done a little research I feel like I might have goofed.

For me I picked up the following two boots:

Salomon QST Access 90 and Dalbello Panterra MX 90

I wont be skiing again until the end of the year unless I can make it to CO next month so itll be a while before I can even get to a boot fitter but I plan to keep the best fitting ones out of the box and just walk in them on and off for the next few months to start forming them.


Only buy a boot from a person who can assess your footshape and other biomechanical needs, like ankle flexbility and footbed needs etc. When you buy a boot based on your street shoe size, there is a solid 99.99% chance you bought the wrong size and wrong shape for your foot. It might feel fine walking around the house, but as soon as you strap a 1.75m lever arm called a ski to your foot it will most likely cause you grief. Buying a boot blindly off the internet now will most likely be a complete waste of your hard-earned money.

1. Wait until you go on your next vacation (do it in January/February) to buy boots and get footbeds. Footbeds are added insurance for your comfort and warmth. If you don't get them, chances are you will be less comfortable, colder, and your skiing performance will be far less efficient.
2. Boot flex is based on your weight, strength, height, and ankle range of motion. It is not based on your skier type, where you ski on the mountain, or how many days you ski per year.
3. When you get the right boot that is based on your foot/leg shape with a flex that is based on your weight, strength, etc. then you will have a proper fitting boot that you will progressive with over the coming years and not need to buy a new boot again for a while.

Not doing these steps will most likely result in wasting your money and being uncomfortable.
7 years ago
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50Kal
Posts: 2836 - Karma: 5,541
^^^^ what he said.
There’s no rush on getting boots now that the season is over.

Of all the things you could buy in skiing, boots is where you should spend a lot of money.

A good boot fitter, even when a beginner, will make your skiing experience exponentially better.
Well worth the money.
7 years ago
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johnblaze
Posts: 1545 - Karma: 2,860
You probably went too big. Very few people are actually 11 or bigger in ski boots regardless of what size shoe you wear. I can't tell you how many people I have fit who say they are size 11 and leave with an 8.5. Gotta see a boot fitter until you get some more experience and learn what you actually need.
7 years ago
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1234567891011121
Posts: 1750 - Karma: 13,850
johnblazeYou probably went too big. Very few people are actually 11 or bigger in ski boots regardless of what size shoe you wear. I can't tell you how many people I have fit who say they are size 11 and leave with an 8.5. Gotta see a boot fitter until you get some more experience and learn what you actually need.


I wear 11.5s and 12s in sneakers but my ski boots are 27.5s which are about a 9.5 in sneakers.
7 years ago
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Tirade
Posts: 4 - Karma: 12
mmccarthy81What size is your sneaker and what size are the boots? Do you have a wide, narrow, or average width foot? I am a boot fitter and can tell you that it is not a necessity to see a legitimate boot fitter to get into a boot that works, it is just necessary in order to get into the perfect pair for your own specific feet. Skiing cautiously to moderately on greens and blues doesn’t demand an ultra snug fit. Chances are at least one of the pairs of boots you bought will be comfortable enough to have a good time on the mountain until you really progress your skiing.


I wear a size 11 sneaker and have a normal/medium width foot. I bought 28.5's based on two factors, one being that the rentals I had when skiing were 28.5 and the website I bought them from showed 28.5 as my suggested size.The rentals seem to fit fine (no sore spots, toes just touched the front when standing and pulled away when shins were against the boots) but my arches were burning by about day 3 and Ive neer had problems with my arches (they are normal) so I attributed it to the rentals just being beat up and not having any foot bed left in them. For what its worth, the rentals were Salomons, so thats why the Salomons are one of the two boots I picked up.

I'll do a shell fit when the boots arrive and see how close I am and see if I can exchange them for a smaller size if required. I'm 6'1 155lbs athletic build but do have chicken legs/small calves so thats something else Ill need to keep in mind.
7 years ago
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chicken
Posts: 6844 - Karma: 2,122
size 11 shoe is almost always a size 27 ski boot. Like 95% of the time.
7 years ago
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Tirade
Posts: 4 - Karma: 12
chickensize 11 shoe is almost always a size 27 ski boot. Like 95% of the time.


Looks like you are correct, at least in my case. First pair of boots arrived today, the Dalbello Panterra MX 90's and a shell fit shows they have an inch of space between the back of my heel and the shell (28mm). Assuming when the Salomons arrive and they dont fit any better, I'll exchange one or the other for a 27.5 and then have a boot fitter do the rest.
7 years ago
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chicken
Posts: 6844 - Karma: 2,122
TiradeLooks like you are correct, at least in my case. First pair of boots arrived today, the Dalbello Panterra MX 90's and a shell fit shows they have an inch of space between the back of my heel and the shell (28mm). Assuming when the Salomons arrive and they dont fit any better, I'll exchange one or the other for a 27.5 and then have a boot fitter do the rest.


Not really much point in seeing a bootfitter if you bought boots online. All they can really do is tell you if the boot is not going to work at all or if it might work. You could also pay them to heat mold them (really easy to DIY). If you buy boots online and you are pretty sure they are the right size, you might as well just ski them and see what happens. If you have issues you can bring them to a fitter who can (maybe) fix the problem.
7 years ago
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OhJay
Posts: 345 - Karma: 1,237
Re your arches burning. Could be that you were just tightening the lower two buckles (assuming your rental was a 4 buckle boot) more than you need to. They should be at a tension just enough to snap the buckles down.

Also, and maybe you already know this, but make sure you consider your instep height as well in the future. You might find a boot with a good shell fit length and width-wise, but if the instep height doesn't work, you could be in for some pain, i.e. burning arches or pain across the top of your instep.

This was, sort of, the exact case with my boots. My arches/instep were fine for the first couple days without footbeds, but once I threw in a pair of Sidas footbeds (trimmed and beveled), my arches were in a world of pain immediately. The footbeds took up more volume than I'd hoped for which caused more pressure across my instep, but luckily I hadn't heat molded my liners yet. Once I did, my arches felt way better and after a few days of riding, it completely disappeared.

**This post was edited on Apr 10th 2018 at 3:10:13pm
7 years ago
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OhJay
Posts: 345 - Karma: 1,237
Also, the link below may be helpful since you say you don't have any shops near your home.

https://www.stopheellift.com/pages/ski-snowboard-boot-fit-problem-solver
7 years ago
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Tirade
Posts: 4 - Karma: 12
OhJayAlso, the link below may be helpful since you say you don't have any shops near your home.

https://www.stopheellift.com/pages/ski-snowboard-boot-fit-problem-solver


Thanks, I returned the Dalbello's that today arrived and swapped them for some Salomon X-Pro X90's in a 27.5, that way if the QST X90 28.5's are also too big I'll still have something that fits well enough that can be heat molded (shell and liner) and adjusted by a boot shop/fitter when I get back to a ski town and I'll end up with a store credit to use towards something else if they wont refund the pair I send back.
7 years ago
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MoneyMakerMike
Posts: 1254 - Karma: 5,764
return the other boots and get full tilts
7 years ago
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HypeBeast
Posts: 10078 - Karma: 76,396
PhreeKandireturn the other boots and get full tilts


Such bad timing for such a played out joke
7 years ago
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