On 2004-01-14, F. Plant penned:
[various sections snipped]
"Monique Y. Herman" wrote in message
...

I'm trying to interpret this paragraph. How many days of skiing does
it take to break in a boot liner? Does it matter how far apart the
days are?

Personally with the older non heat fit boots, I would say 15 to 30
days. If its done over a few years you are always back tracking a bit
as materials do have a memory and they want to go back some what.
Your feet also change over the years. A lot of 2 day a year skiers
replace boots before they are broken in. Even with new boots it takes
a while. I was looking at a performance salomon boot and the rep said
to ski it a week before heat forming it.

Wow, 15 to 30 days. So yeah, I'm probably still breaking them in.

Also, my foot? Do you mean that, every season, my foot needs to
reshape itself to the boot?

A little. During the summer our footwear tends to be loose and our
feet spread. Your feet are also bigger at the end of the day than in
the morning, or when we are very hot. In your ski boots your feet
tend to be constrained, and realistically for a responsive fit it does
exert some preasure on the foot, just as your foot exerts preasure on
the boot, and that preasure manipulates the foot. Sort of a ying yang
thing. Sometimes everything readjusts into a happy position, sometimes
not. At the end of the season you will probably be close to 50 days
at the rate you are going, and you will probably notice a sculpted
shape to your shin and calf, and a packing together of the toes where
they nestle like hotdogs in a blister pack.

I would be very surprised (but psyched!) if we managed 50 days. Twenty
would thrill me. But we'll see =)

Kind of depressing to think that I'll have to get my feet "back into
shape" every season. Ah well.

Shell fit without the liner is very important. A shop should do this
for length, but few do it for volume. With the liner out put your
foot inside but instead of touching the end try to put it where it
would be if the liner was there. Check the width by rocking your
foot. How close are you to the shell? If you are extreamly close or
touching on both sides without the liner, chances are it needs to be
wider. Also how does it feel at the sides where the shell makes
transition to the sides. Sometimes they roll up to much, effectively
making your foot colapse inward. Now try it again but with your
footbeds and do the same drill. Also how do the edges of the footbed
relate to your foot. If they are trimed to the width of the original,
you can find yourself hanging off the outside edges especially if they
do a big shell blowout. Check the height over the toes and instep
while you are at it.

I need to save this bit of wisdom. To the best of my (faulty) memory,
I've generally been checked for heel and toe fit in the shell, but not
other contact points.

Hope this helps to clarify,

It does! Thank you!

--
monique