It's seemingly every skiers nightmare - the anguish of breaking in or adjusting to new boots. On one hand, were told how much better we'll ski, but on the other hand, the honest boot salesperson admits that our new boot will hurt like hell for a while. These factors - along with the cost of new boots - tend to keep many of us in our comfort zone, which of course can mean that we are skiing in a boot that has been over-skied and over-flexed. Translation: We aren't optimizing the connection between the foot and the ski. And while many of us put this purchase off for any number of reasons, I can attest that while the pain can be intense, the upswing is amazing. Minimize the days of pain after the purchase by hitting the hill as hard as you would on your old boots. If you can get through this, it will be all downhill after day one. And while your front two buckles won't need to be tightened if the boot is properly fitted, you want to tighten your top buckles so that they're super-tight, but not pinching. While some people choose to go tighter and tighter each day, I did it within a few runs. And for an added bonus, you'll get some back stretching in at the bottom and top of each lift as you'll want to be sure to unbuckle before getting on the lift.
Remember to also be prepared for some residual effects on other parts of your body, mainly your knees. Why? Older boots - those with over 150 skier days, will lose much of their stiffness and thus your legs/knees aren't thrust forward like they are with a properly fit boot; so when you get into new boots with a stiffness of say, 90, you'll notice that when you put the boots on, you'll be forced forward. Your body will naturally want to sit back a little to varying degrees depending on how old and soft your old boots are. What this means is that you'll need to adjust your stance and get forward. This is how your stance should be anyway, and you get optimal performance with the proper stance.
Obviously, results will vary from skier to skier. There's a good chance that if you're a more aggressive skier, the time to adjust to new boots will be less, but again, the real x-factor in this is the boot you're leaving behind.
And before I forget, do yourself a huge favor and do two things to make sure you have the best new boot experience possible. First, read up on ski boots. There are a multitude of early season magazines that review the best boots for all abilities. Second and hugely important is that you get fitted by an expert. I chose Greg at Sunday River Sports. Greg's expertise is second to none. My last piece of advice to you is that you get the new boot blues over with and make the most out of your season!
2 comments:
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Jeff,
Sorry, but I have to disagree with a couple of your comments regarding new boots. A new boot does not have to be an agonizing experience for the skier on day 1. This is a myth that too many skiers perpetuate. A well fit boot may have some small amount of tweaking that is necessary to ensure ultimate comfort, but once a skiers balance and stance are corrected inside the boot, the boot should be pain free. I would also challenge your assertion that the proper stance in a boot is forward - that is not true. If you are standing in your boot with knees sligthly bent (just a small amount of pressure on the cuff), back straight and arms at your side, the weight under your foot should be evenly distributed between your heel and the ball of your foot. If you have more than 50% of your weight on the ball of your foot, your body (seeking equilibrium) will naturally cause you into the backseat to try to put some weight on your heel. If you have most of your weight on the heel area you will constantly struggle to get forward and may even "claw" with your toes trying to pull yourself forward. Any bootfitter worth his weight will ask about your balance and make corrections that will improve the overall fit.
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