I'm getting ahead of the annual ski thread here, but I'm working on getting my wife a new set of ski boots. We've always rented in the same past and she's struggled to find a pair that's comfortable. The ones she gets tend to dig into the sides of her shin. I was thinking of getting moldable ones, but would love some direction as to what brands/models to look for. Thanks

I'm in northern Wisconsin. In the past we've just gone on 1 trip a year, but will be skiing small hills here now in addition to our bigger western trip.

Where do you ski mostly? I'm in the Twin Cities and have wanted to wander over towards the UP (don't think I've got the stones for Bohemia) for a weekend for sometime.

K2 Anthem Boa
Technica Mach1
Dalbelo
Atomic Hawk

Try those 4 and pick the best fit, use thin socks. All pretty highly rated.
Wife skis the Technica, daughter the Atomic.

It really depends on wide/narrow preference.
Weight and skill will impact flex, but for rec skiing I tend to go more flexible.


Edit: Also decide if you want walking mode, Technica Cochise has a lever on back that gives you increased flex for walking.

No clue. It's our first year here. Troll haugen and Christi mountain are close to me, but I hear the up is best

Where you at? You could easily get to Afton, Welch and Spirit as well.

BOA never was intended to be used in ski equipmnt and should stay that way forever.

Please dont buy anything BOA. I'll pay You Not to….

I'd rec waiting until you're Out West to get then fitted.

You want the fitting to occur somewhere that adjustments can be made mid day or over night.

Really - you want to bring them or pick them from the fitter on the first night. Then ski them for the open the next day. Mark where you have hot spots and then bring them back to have them remolded or shaved punched etc

Last thing you want is to fit them, show up, have them kill, and start over w a fitter than has no history w the boot.

Where Will You be skiing this year? I can probs give you some recs on local fitters if you let me know.

If you go w a rossi owned company boot then I can get you 30/40/50% off msrp.

Also, avoid ANY boot that's a 3 strap. The weight distribution once the liner settles will almost always result in either arch pain, numb/frozen toes, or shin bang from how you have to buckle the boot. They feel great in the store but The ergonomics don't work well at the grade of most front side US ski hills.

I have difficult feet to fit and used to hate, I mean hate skiing as a teenager and in my 20's. Almost quit the sport b/c my feet hurt so badly, or boots were loose and hurt for that reason as well, plus I couldn't control my skis.

Couldn't agree more with spending money on a custom fitting. Total game changer. I used the Racer's Edge in Breckenridge. Measured my stance, corrected some symmetry issue with custom insoles, and then heat molded the boot shell to eliminate pressure points and ensure max comfort. Worth every penny.

Just checked my rossi deals and I actually get 60-75% off now.

$1200 boots are $480
$999 for $360 and
$700 for $280

Thats the shadow, the concept, the world cup, xt3 free, etc

Hahaha oh yeah one more thing - you're going to want to see if she needs a LV MV or HV boot.

My personal rec for her would be the XT3 Free GW 95 W or the Shadow GW 85 W. PERSONALLY, I would go w the XT3 Free 95s. Surefoot carries the Shadow 95 and 85 in stock and will sell you the hard shell only for $500. The price of the liner and orthotic is the same as if you walked in with the shell. They don't provide a discount for the total package.

The Shadow 85 W is $1480 after tax if you do the boot, liner & orthotic.

I can save you like $35 in tax from the lower cost of the boot and like $230 on the boot. That's like 20% almost. If you decide to take the boot to an actual fitter, you will save much much much more. Surefoot is/will almost always be the most expensive so it's a nice worst case scenario how much is this gonna boof me price.

I can't for most shop but I can speak to Boot Mechanics in Avon/Golden. They charge labor at $150 an hour (very reasonable for their skill level) and their insoles are a flat $300. You don't NEED them but I would STRONGLY suggest them. It makes the overall fitting process MUCH easier and the overall fit is BETTER. What you spend on the orthotic, you will save almost 1/2 of it in fitting labor time. It really is an internal part of the equation that for some reason ALOT of people skip because of the excess price. PLEASE DONT DO THAT.

If you go there you're probs looking at $750 out the door w the orthotics MAX. That's including a couple of adjustment times. That puts you in at ~$1000 MAX. Jock09 on the ski thread I want to say used them last year for his boots. You can ask him what they charged him OTD. If you go there, I probs get you the shop discount, too. I've known them for years (the Avon shop). The liner won't be custom but w the customization from the tech will make it feel the same. Even if it's not a "custom" liner. They can still heat mold it. It's not injected like SF, but it still the heating is kind of like putting 50 days on the liner without putting the 50 days of stress on the hard shell. It's a quicker way to form the liner to your foot/ankle/calf. It may sound weird but I've had SEVERAL customers have their SFs not feel great and ended up having have them refit so many times, they would've been better served going to a proper boot fitter. I'm not going to say it feels like it's mostly women with the complaints but it does kinda feel ike maybe a 2 to 1. SF is great but I wouldn't say their expertise is anywhere near that of say Boot Mechanics. Disclaimer - I have Surefoot liners and insoles in my main boots. My touring are fitted from BM. I can't personally feel the difference. If I could I wouldn't use them , I'd replace them. Just some info you didn't ask for but I thought may be helpful.

Meaning, there are ways to make this process not SO SO SO painful.

To give you some reference, most women's "non-demo" rental boots are a R60/65 and the demo women's are usually around 75/85 SOME are 95 but not many. Out of 100 womens pairs, we probs have like 5 95s. They aren't the common. Usually they're the ladies ripping the trees hard on thewider waist RallyBirds or Backland 107s and want a little stiffer set. Also, the racers if they don't bring gear, they want the 95s and the eTitans haha

the mens "non-demo" are usually a 75/80 and the demo are 95/100.

60-90 is back of the envelope beginner
90-110 is back of the envelope intermediate
110-140 Expert/Race

Pahdz said:

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Where you at? You could easily get to Afton, Welch and Spirit as well.

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We're in rice lake

Bayou City said:

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To give you some reference, most women's "non-demo" rental boots are a R60/65 and the demo women's are usually around 75/85 SOME are 95 but not many. Out of 100 womens pairs, we probs have like 5 95s. They aren't the common. Usually they're the ladies ripping the trees hard on thewider waist RallyBirds or Backland 107s and want a little stiffer set. Also, the racers if they don't bring gear, they want the 95s and the eTitans haha

the mens "non-demo" are usually a 75/80 and the demo are 95/100.

60-90 is back of the envelope beginner
90-110 is back of the envelope intermediate
110-140 Expert/Race

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Thanks for all the info. I guess I'm going to get her into a localish shop and get her fitted. Hopefully they'll do a better job then the rental shop guys

They better be if they want the sale.

I'm doing it the hard way and shopping last years discount gear to build the wife a kit. I'm trying to get her back into it after 20 years and ease and comfort and having "her own gear" will matter. I'm trying to work the line between a comfortable boot fit, my limited budget, and something that can last a little while and perform well enough as she hopefully progresses a bit.

I've been my own testing ground for the experience and it's definitely something to defer to the experts to get it right the first time, but I have managed to get myself mostly sorted, and that gave me a little bit of experience. I think we got a good beginner boot for her but we're definitely going to go to a fitter to get it set up correctly. It took some trial and error but I got the mondo, last and volume about right without too much trouble, and went with a pretty customizable boot for the price range, and about a 75 flex which should be ok for beginner into intermediate I am hoping. She's never likely to be a hard charger so that's all that she would need in responsiveness.

Pay now or cry later is pretty much how it seems to go, but it'll be light years above repeated rental experiences

75 should be a great stiffness. Thats a step above comfort and a step below intermediate. That's a solid womens green blue and groomed black boot. For ref, the womens Nordics sport machine 75 is one of the most clsssic womens demo boots ever made. Its the go to for most Rental shops. DOESNT MEAN ITS A RENTAL BOOT. It's got comfort but still performance and got style. It's a fire little boot.

Rental boots suck because 150 peoples feet have been in them so they compact funny plus most people don't store them correctly.

Store them Buckled like you're wearing them, somewhere that's 45-85% and NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER - One more time EVER- use a Space heater to warm them up. Next to a fire isn't a great choice either. Really the key is don't store them cold, keep them buckled w the tounge correct, and don't warm them up w external heat unless it's an actual boot warmer. Please please please.

And a side note PSA

If You do rent boots, please please please return them buckled. Please dont return them like a bomb went off inside them. Most all shops use boot warmers / heater s to dry them so we have to buckle them back before we disinfect and store them. It's one little step buy it's one step I can guarantee the shop will HELLA appreciate. It's not alot when It's one set or one family but when You have 60 sets coming back and everyone drops off at lift close - that's alot of sweaty feet boots to buckle. We would much rather be Tuning waxing fitting or anything else before Buckling Sweaty boots.

https://www.hitempo.com/foot-lab/custom-fitting/

This is your place, the orthotic plus boots with a custom fitting is the real deal.

Not to crap on all of Bayou City's great info, some of us just can't just hop on over to the mountains for a fitting, plus this is less than 2 hours from you.

Ski boots are a good investment. Good planning. It's nice to have something to look forward to.

Bayou City said:

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Hahaha oh yeah one more thing - you're going to want to see if she needs a LV MV or HV boot.

My personal rec for her would be the XT3 Free GW 95 W or the Shadow GW 85 W. PERSONALLY, I would go w the XT3 Free 95s. Surefoot carries the Shadow 95 and 85 in stock and will sell you the hard shell only for $500. The price of the liner and orthotic is the same as if you walked in with the shell. They don't provide a discount for the total package.

The Shadow 85 W is $1480 after tax if you do the boot, liner & orthotic.

I can save you like $35 in tax from the lower cost of the boot and like $230 on the boot. That's like 20% almost. If you decide to take the boot to an actual fitter, you will save much much much more. Surefoot is/will almost always be the most expensive so it's a nice worst case scenario how much is this gonna boof me price.

I can't for most shop but I can speak to Boot Mechanics in Avon/Golden. They charge labor at $150 an hour (very reasonable for their skill level) and their insoles are a flat $300. You don't NEED them but I would STRONGLY suggest them. It makes the overall fitting process MUCH easier and the overall fit is BETTER. What you spend on the orthotic, you will save almost 1/2 of it in fitting labor time. It really is an internal part of the equation that for some reason ALOT of people skip because of the excess price. PLEASE DONT DO THAT.

If you go there you're probs looking at $750 out the door w the orthotics MAX. That's including a couple of adjustment times. That puts you in at ~$1000 MAX. Jock09 on the ski thread I want to say used them last year for his boots. You can ask him what they charged him OTD. If you go there, I probs get you the shop discount, too. I've known them for years (the Avon shop). The liner won't be custom but w the customization from the tech will make it feel the same. Even if it's not a "custom" liner. They can still heat mold it. It's not injected like SF, but it still the heating is kind of like putting 50 days on the liner without putting the 50 days of stress on the hard shell. It's a quicker way to form the liner to your foot/ankle/calf. It may sound weird but I've had SEVERAL customers have their SFs not feel great and ended up having have them refit so many times, they would've been better served going to a proper boot fitter. I'm not going to say it feels like it's mostly women with the complaints but it does kinda feel ike maybe a 2 to 1. SF is great but I wouldn't say their expertise is anywhere near that of say Boot Mechanics. Disclaimer - I have Surefoot liners and insoles in my main boots. My touring are fitted from BM. I can't personally feel the difference. If I could I wouldn't use them , I'd replace them. Just some info you didn't ask for but I thought may be helpful.

Meaning, there are ways to make this process not SO SO SO painful.

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Just to make sure I understand, you're talking about buying the boot online and then brining everything to the fitter?

Yup.

What's the disadvantage of BOA? Lack of independent adjustment on what would normally be 2 buckles? I love BOA on my bike shoes.

I'm on year 7 in my Lange RS 130s, probably time for new boots, but I hate going through the process of getting them to fit right.

Overall BOA ski boots

1. provide less energy transmission compared to traditional buckles (efficiency between your body movements and the forces that are transferred from the lower leg to the ski edg

2. the inability to make independent adjustments to the upper and lowers.

3. It also doesn't provide the same precise tension Settings (the teeth of the ratchets always catch on the same tension setting - the first tooth second third, etc) as buckles. Boa is more fluid so you don't have the uniformity across uses making it harder to replicate the exact same fit every time.