I have a vested intrest in these videos, as the host, however in all the years i've spoken with people involed and been presented with the information regards boots and bootfitting i'm so pleased to have had Dave do this with us. He's been fun, informative and really helpful. Thankyou Dave, we look forwards to hopefully expanding on the subject and helping the consumer "bust some myths." , happy skiing one and all! xx
Great vid, thanks. Fischer's Travers range comes stock with a Palau liner, Scarpa's Maestrale comes stock with an intuition liner. There are probably others, but I thought it worth mentioning that some boots already ship with an "aftermarket" liner.
Indeed they do, however density and thicknesses are kept to a minimum to enable low published weight. Great if you have a high volume foot, and the right size, however unlikely at “try on”. Just thought we’d mention that….not all liners are built to the same recipe. 😊
Invested in Hawx Ultra XTD AfS liner today after being on the stock liner for the same boot 20/21 model. Looks a lot beefier and I hope it will restore some of the stiffness the boot has lost over a couple seasons of skiing. Great episode with a lot of good info!
Great informative videos! I’m about to buy a new pair of boots. I always have a hard time locking down my heel, since it’s a quite narrow foot altogether. Should I still focus on what boot does fit the best right out of the box, or go for a boot that’s more “popular”/proven and get both new liner and soles straight away? It’ll be a hybrid / touring boot btw. Looking at the technica zero G tour pro or something along those lines. Thx! Marius
It sounds suspiciously like the zero g tour pro will be a good platform for you with a narrow ankle and the front of the foot can be worked on to make it fit. I’d definitely expect to get at least a new footbed but probably also a new liner. If you can talk to the guys in sole that would be a good place to get your boot work done!
Another informative video, but I'm wondering about custom footbeds -- if I get a new liner, won't I most likely have to get a new footbed? I've seen that my custom footbeds usually have their bottoms grinded to match the original footbeds that came with the original liners.
Liners and footbeds are a host and parasite situation. Custom footbeds can be made by anyone, you included, getting the foot stabilised correctly is key, it's not about the words and tools, more about the skills to see the needs of your feet. Once done well, we move onto cooking liners, that's another bunch of skills.
Great video dave question for you or the guys at sole boot lab with regards to choosing the correct flex. Is this something that is just personal preference or do you guys have any advice? Thanks in advance Garry
Correct flex comes down to tibia length, flexibility, your weight and your ability to put that weight through the boot correctly. Talk to a boot fitter about it!
Bought my first ski boot on budget havent tried both at the store and now i have pressure point above the ankle. (There is bone sticking out bc of the accident i had) is there any options for me on budget or should i just return them
I've had both my alpine and my hybrid shells and liners heat-molded in a stance that sort of mimics a downhill position -- which I assume is what I would want, since that is when the fit really matters, and they feel suitably snug in that mode. But when skinning in walk mode with my hybrid boots (Salomon Shift Pro 120), my heels are always moving up and down within the boot with each stride. I don't get blisters from this, but I'm wondering if I should be trying to lock that heel down (e.g. by taping some foam to the outside achilles area of the liner), or if that is typical behaviour for touring boots. Whilst skinning I leave the top two buckles undone but keep the bottom two buckled.
That shift pro boot has a massive heel pocket. Sole did a really amazing job squeezing the shell in around the heel for me which was a heck of a lot better than doing arts and crafts with tape and foam.
Hey Dan this is super subjective, perhaps the boot could be smaller, perhaps the heel of the shell could be pinched, perhaps a denser, thicker liner would help, perhaps you lack the dorsiflexion required in the boot so your heel is pulling up to hard as you lean forwards. Cham' is an amazing place to ski, and while here perhaps you could swing by and let us trouble shoot those issues and get things dialled. If not, we sincerely hope you'll find someone competent to help work through those parameters to solve them.
I'd love to drop by but my odds of making it to Chamonix at this time are almost nil I'm afraid! I'll just have to try a local bootfitter here in Vancouver...
okay, stupid question but I have to ask: what to you do with socks ? Do you wear none ? Do you always wearh the same sort of thickness and bring them with you to do fittings ?
Socks is a good question. I wear super thin socks for most of my pairs of boots. Thinner the better. I use the same type so can feel how things differ.
It's clear that y'all haven't skied the zipfit GFT a lot and been watching too much Cody townsend. mine was the sweatiest liner I've ever had, constantly refreezing or getting close on multiday tours, the moisture management of the neoprene in toe box is terrible. Combined with a really stiff boot, the lack of any dampening from the cork feels like a bat to the shins-great for perfect conditions, not for standard Backcountry mixed bag conditions, and the power transmission is still not as good as a wrap liner and less comfortable, though it is very close. It also decreases walk ability similarly to a wrap liner and is twice as heavy. For single day touring for people who don't get along with a wrap liner, or who value the durability it's a cool option. I think most people would ski better with intuition tour wrap which while obviously not as durable, provides better access to the flex of a boot, a more precise fit than a tongue liner can provide, and manages moisture far better. Perhaps I have very sweaty feet, but the GFT is not perfect. It's good, and perhaps great for some people, but it's not in a different category as an intuition wrap.
With just the liner on my big toe is slightly curled, but when in the boot and in a ski stance my toes don’t touch the end. Is it normal to have a slightly curled toe while not in a ski stance ?
I’d say that is close to spot on. As long as you are comfortable enough with it slightly curled. You might be able to gain that little bit of extra length somehow with some modifications. I’m certain sole boot lab would be able to help!
I have a vested intrest in these videos, as the host, however in all the years i've spoken with people involed and been presented with the information regards boots and bootfitting i'm so pleased to have had Dave do this with us. He's been fun, informative and really helpful. Thankyou Dave, we look forwards to hopefully expanding on the subject and helping the consumer "bust some myths." , happy skiing one and all! xx
I was waiting for an on-camera appearance from you....sadly not to be
Great vid, thanks. Fischer's Travers range comes stock with a Palau liner, Scarpa's Maestrale comes stock with an intuition liner. There are probably others, but I thought it worth mentioning that some boots already ship with an "aftermarket" liner.
Indeed they do, however density and thicknesses are kept to a minimum to enable low published weight. Great if you have a high volume foot, and the right size, however unlikely at “try on”. Just thought we’d mention that….not all liners are built to the same recipe. 😊
Thanks alot for very good and usefull videos. Cheers from Lofoten.
You’re welcome!
For me: Intuition liners! Warm, comfortable, good fit, durable
Tend to agree!
How long do these liners last?
I was about to spend $1k on a new pair of boots, but I got Zipfits and they made my boots feel better than new. Great investment!
This is what I’m hoping will fix my issues! How did you go about the testing process?
Invested in Hawx Ultra XTD AfS liner today after being on the stock liner for the same boot 20/21 model. Looks a lot beefier and I hope it will restore some of the stiffness the boot has lost over a couple seasons of skiing. Great episode with a lot of good info!
Thank you! very useful hints. Would it be possible sharing a link to the Conformable liners?
really good one! thx Dave
No worries!
Thanks Dude! Great stuff
Glad to help!
Nicely done. Cheers
Great informative videos! I’m about to buy a new pair of boots. I always have a hard time locking down my heel, since it’s a quite narrow foot altogether. Should I still focus on what boot does fit the best right out of the box, or go for a boot that’s more “popular”/proven and get both new liner and soles straight away? It’ll be a hybrid / touring boot btw. Looking at the technica zero G tour pro or something along those lines.
Thx!
Marius
It sounds suspiciously like the zero g tour pro will be a good platform for you with a narrow ankle and the front of the foot can be worked on to make it fit. I’d definitely expect to get at least a new footbed but probably also a new liner. If you can talk to the guys in sole that would be a good place to get your boot work done!
Fischer rc4 pro come with zip fit. Worth checking it out maybe
Loving these videos! Are you guys able to supply Zipfits when doing a boot fitting?
Sole don’t stock them. You can buy them directly from zip fit though.
We see no benefit of them at the moment, we sold thousands in the early 2000s, times have moved on.
@smallzookeeper6180 care to expand on what you don't like about them?
@@dFrame06 everything else seems to tick more boxes.
Another informative video, but I'm wondering about custom footbeds -- if I get a new liner, won't I most likely have to get a new footbed? I've seen that my custom footbeds usually have their bottoms grinded to match the original footbeds that came with the original liners.
The footbeds should work with the new liner, unless the liner is vastly different.
Liners and footbeds are a host and parasite situation. Custom footbeds can be made by anyone, you included, getting the foot stabilised correctly is key, it's not about the words and tools, more about the skills to see the needs of your feet. Once done well, we move onto cooking liners, that's another bunch of skills.
Great video dave question for you or the guys at sole boot lab with regards to choosing the correct flex. Is this something that is just personal preference or do you guys have any advice? Thanks in advance Garry
YT wont let me post on the subject, and link to our article about it. Arggggh
Correct flex comes down to tibia length, flexibility, your weight and your ability to put that weight through the boot correctly. Talk to a boot fitter about it!
What are my options in terms of boot fitting with a stock Tecnica Cochise 130? Theoretically they already come equipped with a thermoliner, right?
The stock liner is very good. Best in class. If you need more space taken out then a thermo wrap would be the way to go.
@@DaveSearle Well that's great news! Thank you very much! Great video series btw!
Best stock liner on the market bar none, by miles at the moment, that said, aftermarket options push the needle further again!
Bought my first ski boot on budget havent tried both at the store and now i have pressure point above the ankle. (There is bone sticking out bc of the accident i had) is there any options for me on budget or should i just return them
There might be some options for you depending where the point is. Best to go see a good boot fitter and talk to them.
I've had both my alpine and my hybrid shells and liners heat-molded in a stance that sort of mimics a downhill position -- which I assume is what I would want, since that is when the fit really matters, and they feel suitably snug in that mode. But when skinning in walk mode with my hybrid boots (Salomon Shift Pro 120), my heels are always moving up and down within the boot with each stride. I don't get blisters from this, but I'm wondering if I should be trying to lock that heel down (e.g. by taping some foam to the outside achilles area of the liner), or if that is typical behaviour for touring boots. Whilst skinning I leave the top two buckles undone but keep the bottom two buckled.
That shift pro boot has a massive heel pocket. Sole did a really amazing job squeezing the shell in around the heel for me which was a heck of a lot better than doing arts and crafts with tape and foam.
Hey Dan this is super subjective, perhaps the boot could be smaller, perhaps the heel of the shell could be pinched, perhaps a denser, thicker liner would help, perhaps you lack the dorsiflexion required in the boot so your heel is pulling up to hard as you lean forwards. Cham' is an amazing place to ski, and while here perhaps you could swing by and let us trouble shoot those issues and get things dialled. If not, we sincerely hope you'll find someone competent to help work through those parameters to solve them.
I'd love to drop by but my odds of making it to Chamonix at this time are almost nil I'm afraid! I'll just have to try a local bootfitter here in Vancouver...
okay, stupid question but I have to ask: what to you do with socks ? Do you wear none ? Do you always wearh the same sort of thickness and bring them with you to do fittings ?
Socks is a good question. I wear super thin socks for most of my pairs of boots. Thinner the better. I use the same type so can feel how things differ.
WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ON SKI BOOTS WITH BOA FITTINGS
It's kind of clear that y'all haven't skied the ZipFit GFT. It's a pretty incredible liner.
I’m looking forward to skiing it more
GFT is the best liner in the game, especially for touring boots.
It's clear that y'all haven't skied the zipfit GFT a lot and been watching too much Cody townsend. mine was the sweatiest liner I've ever had, constantly refreezing or getting close on multiday tours, the moisture management of the neoprene in toe box is terrible. Combined with a really stiff boot, the lack of any dampening from the cork feels like a bat to the shins-great for perfect conditions, not for standard Backcountry mixed bag conditions, and the power transmission is still not as good as a wrap liner and less comfortable, though it is very close. It also decreases walk ability similarly to a wrap liner and is twice as heavy. For single day touring for people who don't get along with a wrap liner, or who value the durability it's a cool option. I think most people would ski better with intuition tour wrap which while obviously not as durable, provides better access to the flex of a boot, a more precise fit than a tongue liner can provide, and manages moisture far better. Perhaps I have very sweaty feet, but the GFT is not perfect. It's good, and perhaps great for some people, but it's not in a different category as an intuition wrap.
With just the liner on my big toe is slightly curled, but when in the boot and in a ski stance my toes don’t touch the end. Is it normal to have a slightly curled toe while not in a ski stance ?
I’d say that is close to spot on. As long as you are comfortable enough with it slightly curled. You might be able to gain that little bit of extra length somehow with some modifications. I’m certain sole boot lab would be able to help!
@@DaveSearle Hey thx for the reply, think I’m aways from you guys unfortunately for some hands on help but I appreciate it