On our last skiing holiday my wife had some problems with her ski boots. By the end of the 3rd day her feet were red sore and skiing was no fun at all.
With Winter fast approaching ( and more like here if our weather is anything to go by 🙁 ) I decided to get her down to a specialist ski boot fitter to try and fix the problem.
Word of mouth (or more accurately posts on a popular ski web forum) guided me to Colin Martin who runs Solutions for Feet in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Colin is a certified Pedorthist (C.Ped), a skier and instructor who has spent many years specialising in fitting and customising ski boots.
Colin examined my wife’s feet and ski boots and it quickly became apparent after testing and measuring that there are 2 big problems. The first is that her boots are 2 sizes too big, and the second is that she has tight calf muscles which reduces her ability to flex at the ankles, a key skiing movement.
Colin proceeded to check my boots. I wasn’t surprised to find my boots are also 2 sizes too big as my buying decision was influenced by the unbearable pain inflicted on me by my 1st pair of boots. I was surprised to hear that I could also do with working on my calf muscles to loosen them up. Luckily for me my ski boots feel fine although the liners will wear out quickly.
Unfortunately for my wife the only solution for is a new pair of correctly fitted boots and some stretching exercises.
For many skiers buying ski boots is fraught with problems as I know from personal experience.
However today proved to me that it is worth taking the time to search for someone who is skilled and experienced enough to suggest the most appropriate ski boot for you and your level of skiing, AND have the skills to craft and tailor your ski boot to your foot.
With the vast range of boots available from the many and varied ski boot manufacturers, the trick is to select a boot with a plastic ‘shell’ that matches your feet as a starting point. Small adjustments can then be made to the shell and liner for a perfect fit.
A couple of visits back to the boot fitter to fine tune the fit will leave you with comfortable, perfectly fitted boots which will help you ski more effectively and will as likely as not, last longer too.
PS. No ski boots were purchased in the making of this blog. Yet.
It really good to hear about good boot fitters, there are not many in the UK. Your chap in Bicester seems to be worth visiting. My feet are probably the worst feet you have ever seen, I used to have knee and lower back pain and I was close to giving up skiing because of the pain. I was recomended to a shop in Reading called altimus, they are amazing. They have an instore podiatrist who fitted me for ski boots, but also determined that I needed a special insert, not the usual ski insert but a medicaly corrective orthotic.
My skiing was great (the first time ive been able to ski without pain in years) but more importantly I now use my orthotic in my other shoes. What a difference. I can not recomend altimus enough. If solution for feet are as good as altimus then the UK’s boot fitting expertise is moving in the right direction.
I agree. UK Boot fitting does seem to be moving in the right direction.
The other consideration is that boot fitting is a process and it may take more than one visit to get the ‘perfect’ fit. It’s important to factor in the prospect of follow up visits when selecting your Boot Fitter and may be a trip or two to your local indoor or dry slope.
Thanks for the recomendation, i had been suffering from plantafaciitis and persistant knee problems for a long time and i had given up the idea of sking again untill i read your post.I live in Woodley but I never thought any local shop could help,but I went to Altimus and saw their foot specialist. Altimus worked wonders. I purchased some special orthotics ?275 and a pair of head boots ?189. My pain has cleared up and I had the best sking ever.
Thanks again