Boot doctor: How should ski boots fit?

Janine Winter from Profeet answers your ski boot qs. Email skeeks@fall-line.co.uk to submit your own

Question:  How should ski boots fit? Should my toes go all the way to the front of the boot and feel pressured/kind of curled when I first put the boot on?

Answer:  It may surprise you to hear that when you step into a new boot, you want your toes to be in contact with the front of the boot. It may feel too small initially but once the upper cuff of the boot is buckled and you flex forward a few times, your heel should settle back into the heel pocket and your toes should come away from the front. If you don’t contact the front of the boot, when you ski your foot will slide and your toes will bang the front causing bruising and you will struggle to control your skis.

If your toes are feeling crushed, the boot is probably too small so you’ll end up with sore, cold toes. We can gain you further toe space when we start to custom fit the boot to your foot. For example, fitting a custom insole that supports the arch will prevent your foot from splaying out when weight bearing, so you’ll gain extra length in the boot.

Aside from the toes, you do want the whole boot to feel snug initially because once it is heat moulded and you start skiing the liner will begin to pack down, giving more space. Specific hot spots are not so good and will probably need to be worked on.

Another key area to check is that your heel feels secure – when you flex forward in the boots, your heel should stay down. The top two buckles of the boot are the most important and should be buckled firmly so that you have snug contact around the shin and calf. If there is space here, you will end up banging the front of the boot when flexing causing some very sore shins!