On 2 Feb 2005 19:13:12 -0800, "lonerider"
wrote:

Baka Dasai wrote:
You could try a boot/binding combination that does not cause pain
like
that.

Like these boots:

http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/deeluxe.cfm

Seriously. Other people have switched to hard boots for the exact
same
reason.

I don't see how you can say that - if you look on the Bomber forums...
a good number of the postings are people asking about how to get their
boots to fit right and how their feet kill in their hardboots - the
main replies are almost exactly the same as the ones posted he

- get custom footbed ($150)
- get moldable liners ($150)
- get custom bootfitting from a knowledgeable bootfitter ($50-$100).

And those are all good suggestions, especially getting a knowledgeable
bootfitter.

Actually... it seems like most hardbooters fit terribly out of the box
because of the hard shell, where as many softboots, while not great,
are rideable as is. For one thing... ordering online is just really not
the greatest of ideas for boots and you almost have to do that for
hardboots.

I would say that it has a LOT more to do with the pressures put on the
foot while carving than the fit of the boots. I am miserable when I'm
in my softboots now if I'm doing anything other than just doing park
runs. I took 'em out 2 weeks ago for the 20" of fresh we got in
Vermont and now have one black toenail on each foot. I can't do much
soft-boot carving just because my feet get too beat up.

I'm sure that if I put as enough effort into getting soft boots fitted
correctly I could get a good fit. I would still have to deal with the
pressure of the straps (or continue to use step-ins). Of course based
on past experience if I were to drop real money for new soft boots, I
would want the same level of service I've received with my hard boot
fitting at the Starting Gate. Maybe there are standard snowboard
shops that do good fittings, but I wouldn't even know where to begin
looking.

Ordering online is not the best way to do it, but if you understand
how mondo point measurements work, you really can get pretty close.
It helps to know how a specific boot fits, i.e. Solomon's are
generally best for narrow feet, but again, I'm not sure a novice would
find this info. If you're going to go to a bootfitter anyway, I would
pretty much prefer to take my chances online than go with most of the
retailers I've dealt with. (My wife got some new ski boots at a large
and generally well respected shop in NYC last season, went to get
footbeds and the bootfitter refused to do it because they were a size
and a half too large, after the original shop spent 2 hours 'fitting'
the boot.)

One thing that may be an advantage for hard boots is that you can have
the shell stretched and molded. I haven't seen much that can be done
to soft boots rather than adding custom footbeds, but I'm sure that
some work can be done.



So back to the original point, I'm sure some people have noticed that
hardboots happen to fit them better after switching, but I don't see
hardboots as a general solution to bootfit issues - it's just silly in
that you are changing some many other factors as well (would be like
switching from a sedan to a motorcycle because you don't like the way
the driver seat feels).

I agree with your main point, though for technical riders are don't do
park/pipe stuff, hard boots are a viable alternative. The problem
with hard boots is that it leads to buying lots of expensive
snowboards. (If you think a Burton T5 is expensive price a Madd or a
Virus.)

Jeremiah