Whatever is keeping you off the mountain – stop that and start warming up your ski boots.
We know it looks stupid but we all do it: walk around in our homes with our new ski boots on while we eat an emergency sandwich. Yes, you can be open about it and everyone will still laugh at you, but you know it is okay. You know that they secretly wish they had the courage to buy new ski boots. We know, we know… We also think they should try to get out of their comfort zone. But the struggle is nevertheless real. It is especially hard nowadays, as you not only have an abnormous amount of boots to choose from, but also the ability to choose different binding solutions and the ski/walk mode. I mean, don’t even mention the different stiffness of the different brands. Jeeesus.
We do not have a solution for you, sorry, you still have to do the work. But we can offer you some interesting facts and insights.
Let’s start with – You should never
- Listen blindly to a boot seller.
- Lie to a boot seller (or yourself, that’s a tricky one!) about your skiing ability.
- Buy boots without trying them on.
First of all, boot sellers are often right, but they do not know all of the million different foot types there are. That is simply not possible. So the first thing you have to establish is how your foot/feet are built. Examine your feet and get specialized on them. Is the arch of the foot high or low? Are your feet wide or narrow? Knowledge is power. With this information, you can inform the boot “specialist” about your feet and you will save precious time. Different brands make their boots widely different, pun intended, and often some brands are better for different types of feet.
When we are at it with the boot seller – don’t lie.
Don’t be embarrassed about your weird feet or your ability to ski. The boots can and should make you a better skier and if you choose wisely you will get there. There is just no point in driving a racecar on a gocart field. It will be no fun and you will make no progress in your skiing whatsoever. You will just be inside sipping coffee because your feet hurt too much. So! Be humble, don’t pick the boots that look badass and are the stiffest on the market – they will shoot you down (yes, we have been there and done that).
Once a colleague here at the Ski Lodge bought a pair of boots. They had a skull on them and looked cool. She also didn’t correct the seller who said: “You are a good skier right?”. The seller gave her a smaller size boot variety (because the race team “always wears small sizes”). Then in mid-January she couldn’t ski for two weeks because her feet said no, no more. The seller was correct, racing teams often wear boots in smaller sizes. But what the seller did not think about, and many plead guilty of this in the skiing community, is that racing teams often use their boots maximum three hours at a time. Which our colleague did not. She even had them on during après-ski…
Last of all, try the boots on.
Either try them in a shop or buy them online and try them at home. The size really matters, so be on point when you measure your feet to choose a size. And as we said earlier – different brands have different lengths and widths. They also have different tongues that work in various ways. What you can check is the “narrow” specs you can see in millimeter measurements: they will inform you about the width of your inner boot. Ground rule: If they are a hassle to put on, they are not worth your time. If you, however, feel that they are very comfortable to wear – don’t buy them. In this case they are often too big in size. This is not a walk in the park, THIS IS SPARTA. No, just kidding, just don’t buy them too comfortable and certainly not the ones that make you want to cry while wearing them. The middle way is good. They should feel great, be firm but forgiving and you should want to wear them for 5 hours when the powder hits the fan.
Second last of all.
Think about what you want to do in your boots. If you like ski touring you should buy boots with tech boots. If you do not want to ski tour at all but might find yourself wanting to ski tour once every year after all – buy tech boots. They are stable and will hold even after landing a 4-meter cliff off-piste.
Tech boots will match their corresponding tech binding. For example Kingpin, Dynafit, Salomon. Bindings can be found HERE.
Third last of all.
Really good boot fitters can warm up your boots so they fit better on your feet and also cut the inside boot to fit your specific foot better. This can be a good alternative if your feet have different sizes or other flaws. We highly recommend cutting, as it is a very good method if done right. The warming up and molding is a personal preference, you have to choose that one for yourself.
Here are some nice Internet sites for further reading and tech specs.
www.powderheadz.com/best-ski-boots/
https://www.skis.com/ski-boots/
Dates to keep in your calendar:
- November 8 – Stand 2200m to Trübsee 1800m open for skiing. (If there is enough snow, we will keep you posted)
- November 6-17 – Glacier closed for maintenance.
- November 13 – December 7 – Brunni open on weekends for skiing.
- Between December between 3 to 8 – Jochpass 2222m open for skiing.
Weather and Conditions:
- http://www.bergfex.com/engelberg/schneebericht/
- https://www.meteoblue.com/de/wetter/vorhersage/woche/engelberg_schweiz_2660902
- http://www.slf.ch/schneeinfo/index_EN
- http://www.titlis.ch/de/titlis-gebiet/wetter