Hi guys

I am looking for some advice. I got new boots and custom footbeds. The footbeds have a very high instep as I underpronate badly.

I wore the insoles in my old boots, which are too big length and width, all day last Sunday. They felt a bit achy but not too bad.

I wore my new boots yesterday. Managed 3 runs on the ptarmigan and one on the ciste but had to take them out. They felt really sore On the arch but the whole sole ached as well. Put the standard insoles in and the pain disappeared immediately. Put them in again for an hour after lunch and the same happened.

The boots are fine but I can't see how my feet will ever get used to the insoles if I only wear them 5 single days per year. The insoles have not improved my skiing. They were supposed to put me in a neutral stance but I think I am finding difficulties because I have adapted my skiing to suit my body alignment.

Has anyone had very sore feet with these insoles and did you get used to them?

Thanks for any thoughts before I go back to the shop.

Fluff

I've not used these but I had similar problems with a 'Superfoot' insole.

I started using the green Superfeet in ski boots about 12 years back, They were a little strange to start with but generally comfortable and as they helped my knees I started putting them in other foot wear.

I'd a pair of shoes that they were a bit tight in so I bought the blue superfeet as they are recommended for tighter shoes. However no matter how much I tried I couldn't wear them without getting sore aching feet. I even tried the blue ones in shoes that I was happily wearing the green ones in but my feet ached.

I now only buy footwear that the green ones fit. I appreciate that neither the green or blue are custom made but I couldn't get used to a footbed that hurt from the start.

I hope you do get used to your footbeds or perhaps they can be altered... it's no fun having sore feet. Good luck

Helen

Fluff

Ive got comformables in my tele boots
a few years old and still going strong despite the constant flexing of the toe

i really rate them, much better than superfeet ( ive had them too )

id prolly suggest taking them back as they shouldnt leave you in pain

Thanks both for your replies.

Eurotele, were you able to wear your insoles all day from when you got them?

As the arches are so high, due to my knock knees, I feel that my arch is pressing down constant. Normally when I start skiing in the morning the soles of my feet will feel a bit achy for the first hour but the soles of my feet had a very intense dull pain yesterday which was unbearable when the boots were tightened up.

Worst bit was I was even worse at skiing than normal.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts I will go back to the shop and see what they think.

Fluff

Basically whats happening is your feet are getting squashed into a shape their not meant to which I can only assume is due to a mis-fitting footbed, but I'm not an expert so take my words with a pinch of salt.

What foot bed did you get? (manufacterer)

In my experience, Superfeet are not for everyone and really they either work for you or they don't. And its not worth sticking to them if they dont as their construction is largely solid plastic so wont "break in" much at all.

Plenty of footbeds on the market, I'd advise you to try some more if you havnt done so already. A good outdoor shop, like Tiso, will let you try before you buy. Can also vouch for Comformable though they seem to be more about the comfort and less about the support (only worth noting if your a racer).

I happen work with a Superfeet rep so will see what I can find out from him.

Hi cammy

Conformables are made by Sidas.

The guy in the shop said that they could grind them down to make them more comfortable but I don't know how as they are solid plastic. I did wonder same as you if they were squashing my feet. When I was wearing them in the boots in the house, when I took them off, the whole sole of my foot was very red (I have pale skin) but the redness went away quite quickly. I will go back to the shop at the weekend and speak to them.

I am thinking that I may be better with the green superfeet. I think they have a highish arch so should give me a bit of support but not as constricting as the customs.

Thanks for your help.
Fluff

I've had mine for years. They work great for me - they are a more comfortable fit than standard/flat footbeds and honestly I don't even realise they're there any more.

It sounds to me like you have been mis fitted in some way - if they're causing pain that's not right. Did the technician make sure you were standing in a correct, non exaggerated position the whole time?

I'd suggest it might be worth seeing a physio who can spot what is going wrong- I know Edinburgh uni does pretty alright priced private consultation (FASIC) so others probably have facilities too.

Another thing- When I got them I had low/overpronated arches but this was because of bad posture at the time and not some sort of physical deficiency. Had I actually had no arches I'm not sure what good trying to force them up would have been.

So- and again the physio should help here- if your high arches are just as a result of standing 'wrong' you don't want them pushed in to that position while skiing.

There's no reason to take £40 superfeet over a £60 custom mould when it's well done- stick in til they're right

Hello, Custom footbeds, when done right are amazing, they do however sometimes take a little while to get used to. However it sounds like you are experiencing above what i would expect in terms of discomfort. Which would suggest that something, with either the boot or the footbed isn't quite right.

I haven't worked with Conformables for quite sometime now, but the Ski ones used to be red, with a pale pink base? These can be ground flatter if needed, they should also in most cases have had a black heal plate fitted, which should be ground level.

But, from what you are describing it sounds like there isn't sufficient volume in your boot for the footbed. I take it the original footbed has been removed? Are there any other volume reducers in the boot?

When the boots were fitted and molded this should have been done with the footbeds in place?

I would be inclined to pop them back to the shop and ask for a refit... Let us know how you get on through!

If anyone's not seen a pair before here's one of mine: [imgur.com]

The red surface starts off flat and you stand on a gel pad for about 5 minutes to mould it to shape

The grey stuff is then added by the technician to fill in the gaps, left to set and ground flat.

Fluff

yes they worked from the word go - absolutley no discomfort at all
id second the re mould of the boot liner since the volume internally will change a bit, certanly round the heel counter and instep.

if your boot fitter is worth his/her salt then this should be a fairly easy process

Hi guys
Thanks for all the great advice.

Mine are red on top like andy's

Hi Fluff I changed my boots this season and kept the footbeds I had shaped from my old boots. Initially it was absolute agony, I was on the verge of getting rid of the boots, tried the footbeds supplied with the boots and it was just as bad (I used to ski Technica so was a little dubious about going into Salomon). Now about 20 days in and the boots are fine and quite comfy. A lot depends on how you do up your boots and the fit of the boot. E.g Wide feet and high instep = technica if you have a wide foot or high instep in a narrow shell you will have sore feet.

I personally start each day with a loose boot (clips hooked but not closed) and tightenen them up as the morning or terrain dictates. If my boots are tight from the outset I get sore feet even my old boots which I would say felt like slippers could give me pain if they were tight at 9am in the morning.

Hi guys
Thanks for the replies. Where do I start?

My insoles look like andy's but there is another reinforced section on top of the black section in red.

LDMC, the boots have not been heat molded. The shop were reluctant to do this as I was getting no sore spots on my feet.

What do you mean by ground down? Do you mean the sole/heel section ground flat? my soles were heated, put on the machine with me standing on them and the edges were filed to make them smoother. The section under my heel is like a cup in the shape of my sole therefore curved.

When I stood on the heated soles, the guy got me to twist my right knee outwards to try and align it better (I am quite badly knock kneed)and got me to home this unnatural position as the soles cooled. I did say that I would never be able to hold my knee in that position while walking, far less skiing.

I wore the insoles all day in a pair of timberlands. They were not sore and felt like the 1/2 length orthotics I originally got from the podiatrist. I could feel my arch pushing against the footbed but not really uncomfortable. The boots are not as tight as my ski boots and I think there is too much tightness in the boot compressing my foot down onto the footbed.

I will be back at the shop at the weekend and will report back.

Fluff

Hi Fluff,

I used to work as a ski boot fitter for about 3 years whilst at University - hopefully some of this will help:

Firstly your above post appears to suggest that the underside of the heel of your footbed is curved - this is wrong. The footbed should be fitted with a heel stabiliser which is then ground (using a sort of belt sander) so that it is flat.

I.e. the finished article should NOT look like this:

[www.tallingtonlakesproshop.com]

But should look something like this (note the grey foam which sits under the arch and around the heel):

[stk.tetongravity.com]

If the footbed is not stabilized then it will be doing absolutely nothing to help you and may actually be encouraging more movement in your foot.

Secondly if they are in fact stabilized then make sure they are trimmed to the correct shape and size - you can do this by comparing them to the standard footbeds that came with your boot - if they are longer / wider than the standard footbed then they will not fit properly and will reduce the boot volume.

Thirdly, and I do not mean to be patronising, but make sure you are putting your boots on properly. When you put your boot on you ideally should be sitting down, open up the shell by pulling the tongue to one side (not directly forward), put your foot in and tap the boot several times on the ground on the back of your heel. This makes sure your heel of your foot is sat properly within the heel pocket of the boot. Do up the boot starting with the lowest buckle on the cuff (the vertical part of the boot). Tighten up the cuff as tight as you are comfortable with and tighten the powerstrap. The buckles on the forefoot are pretty much purely there to make the boot watertight, they do not need to be tight - overtightening these can alter the shape of the entire boot. It should take around the pressure applicable by your little finger to close them. Much more and you are likely overtightening these.

Fourthly - heat moulding the liner is not really anything special or as technical as it sounds. The foam in liners simply becomes slightly more suggestive when warm and thus the bedding in process can be accelerated. It will not radically change the fit of your boots. If you do get your liners heat moulded MAKE SURE that the footbeds are taken out of the liners whilst they are warmed up (as prolonged exposure to heat will cause them to soften and change shape). You can put them back in as soon as the liners are taken off the heater. Put your boots on as normal and then spend around 10-15 minutes gently flexing the boot. This generally will achieve the same results with respect to bedding in as 2-3 hard days skiing.

Fifthly if you have to wear footbeds in your other footwear (trainers, golf shoes, walking boots) and have to see a podiatrist for them it would be worth getting an opinion from them. Very few boot fitters are medically qualified (although there are a number of notable exceptions who are industry leaders), so if your problems are serious it's worth getting a second medically qualified opinion.

Finally some people do experience pain even with a really well moulded footbed whilst their foot gets used to it. Personally my left ankle is really unstable, and even though I have an absolutely textbook footbeds from one of the best fitters in the country I do occasionally still get some grief from the arch in my left foot. For recreational skiers discomfort should be minimal, but for someone who pushes their skiing hard and has a tighter fit and aggressive footbed then a little bit of pain can often be invariable - sometimes there is a sacrifice to be made in terms of comfort in order to get the best performance out of your ski boots. All that said it sounds to me like there could be another cause for this, so take them back and get them re-done or take them to another shop / podiatrist for a second opinion.

One more thing - once all fitted up and sorted out if you find they are still giving you a little bit of grief ask your bootfitter about the possibility of using heel raises / heel lifts. I've always found them to be a bit of a cure all in terms of getting the foot-footbed love affair off the rocks and back onto the road.

Anyway hope all this helps.

G