General Terms and Problems

Heal lift: If your heal is lifting in your boot it could be that it is too big or the liner has broken down and there is now room in your boot where once it was tight. This can lead to lack of response from your boots as well as soreness and blistering on the heal. The best thing to do is to remove the liner from the shell and apply adhesive padding to the out side of the liner. There are two way to hold the heal down through the use of adhesive padding. One is to apply the padding around the ankle bones in a half moon shape with the open space facing the front. The other method is to hold the ankle down by placing the padding on either side of your Achilles.
Tip: If you don’t have adhesive padding you can use strips of Duck tape.

6th Toe: This is a boot fitters term for the pain many people feel behind there pinkie toe. Most of the time this is caused by the boot being to narrow for your foot. Luckily a simple expansion of the ski boot shell can provide great relief.
Tip: Don’t go grinding away on your boot more room. The plastic is thin at this spot on theon this part of the boot and a punch (expansion) will be much harder to do later.

Black Toe: Consistent banging against the front or tip of the toes can lead to pain and blackening of the toe nail. This is caused by the boot being too small. A good boot fitter will be able to grind out some of the plastic or expand the shell to give you more room.
Tip: If you do develop Black Toe it can be quite painful. Try drain the blood that is causing the pressure and discomfort. You can do this by drilling a small hole at the base of the nail with a very sharp knife or a small drill bit. When working your way through the nail move slow. Once you have gotten through the nail blood will come rushing out and the pain will subside immediately.

Shin Bang: Pain or discomfort to the front of your shin is often referred to as shin bang. Many things can led to shin bang but heal lifts, padding, and a softening of the boots will help.

What Causes Shin Bang?

1. Boot is way to big and the foot is sliding in the boot and hitting the front of the boot. (Nothing you can do about a big boot – get some new ones) *see shell sizing
2. Boot is too stiff. (Get new boots or cut out plastic from inercuff of the boot to soften the flex)
3. There is something in the cuff of the boot or in the sock. (Make sure there is nothing other then the sock in the boot and that the sock is not bunched up; If it is something in the cuff remove anything that feels out of place or where it is hurting)
4. The Flex point of the boot does not mach your foot shape. (Heal lifts sometimes help)

 For the best bootfitter in Squaw Valley talk to Tim Konrad at Surefoot 530-581-2421

Sea Also: Bootfitting - What you need to know

Share This