# Getting boots in the next 15 hours.. (maybe)



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Dude...lepardo...do it...let the cougar out. 

But to manage your expectations...you will be very fortunate to get a great fit on the first round. So buy whatever you think will work the best...then plan on tweaking...see above boot faq sticky. It often takes 2-4 pairs of boots to get the fitment, brand and model narrowed down...and then you still have the tweaking, insole selection and etc....my preference after several attempts...women's 32 focus boas in size 7.5 and 8's...with tweaks and Ed Vissur Sole insoles...but also got a pair of k2 contours that seemingly work but only have 1 day.

So pick wisely....go ride...and it won't be the last pair of boots.


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## TooNice (Feb 7, 2014)

Keeping that in mind, I wonder if it might not be a bad idea to pick whatever is cheapest now, then a second pair when it is on sale later on to contrast. Heel lift was my biggest nightmare with rental boots and it *seems* like any of those boots are good enough to prevent it.. so as long as none of those boots turn my feet blue/black after a full day, it should hopefully be worth the expense..
How would you rate the stiffness of the K2 for all-purpose learning?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

I would advise against cheaping out...get the best fitting boots irregardless of price. As for stiffer or more high end...it can be somewhat mitigated by just having your boot a bit loose...the k2 contours are on the stiffer side of the middle but not the stiffest out there. BUT you still need to have your heel LOCKED down...perhaps with the tweaks and footbed.


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## TooNice (Feb 7, 2014)

Ordered the Salomon. The Burton ended up with more lift than I would have liked. The Ride left no space to wiggle mu toes at all. Oh yeah, I also found a Thirty Two but I couldn't even get my foot into the boots after great effort. It might ve possible but I wouldn't want to do that every day.

So it came down to the Salomon and the K2. Being a lot more critical this time, neither were 100% perfect but both stood above the rest but neither felt better than the other today. Despite looking quite different on the outside, the inside did not feel all that different. I could wiggle the toes a little, and my heels were about 97% locked down (I have to push harder than I ever have on a board so hopefully in practice it will be fine). The K2 is definitely the easiest to put on but by now I was sufficiently used to the Salomon that it qas a non issue. But what really swayed me was the leopard...I mean the adjustability on the Salomon. Being ablw to tighten the top and bottom separately seem like I am more likely to get it exactly how I need it. The $50 saving is quite nice too. And lastly, I figured that starting on the softer side of medium flex would be best fo my current skill and setup. I suspect that the K2 is still viable and I will probably pick them up if I can find a good deal. I will eventually move on a stiffer board / binding so it would make sense then to go for a stiffer boots then (amongst the fual boa available for women, the K2 seem like one of the stiffest).


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## TooNice (Feb 7, 2014)

First impression after about 10 hours of snowboarding.

1. No noticeable heel lift once I tighten them to the max :jumping1:

2. Tightening them to the max does restrict the circulation of my feet. This can be alleviated by untightening during lift and such, though this can quickly become a hassle.

3. Despite being one of, if not the softest boot of the lot I tried, I think at they might be stiffer than every rental boots I tried so far. Maybe this is because they are new.

4. They are a bit of a pain to take off if you don't have a good place to sit on.

5. After 10 hours, I have no pain in the main parts of my boots, no blisters, no cracked nail or any bruised.

6. However, the part were my feet and legs meet has a very thin injury. It is the thickness of a wire though I don't think it.is caused by the boa. I think it is probably becaused by the very top of the boots being too tight when I tighten them all the way and it rubs against my leg. All in all, it is the less bad than other pain my feet have suffered in the past forv various reasons so I am not too bothered. That said, ai wonder if I can get away by not tightening the boa as much (while keeping the heels locked down).

Overall, I am not in a position to say if the boots is the best fitting for me out of everything outside, but they aren't ba for a first pair and so far I have no regret. Will see if this minor injury can be healed super fast (i.e. tomorrow), or if it is going to change my view of the board for the worse..


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Get some good insoles that fit your feet. The insoles will help lock down your foot and thus not have to tighten as much.


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## TooNice (Feb 7, 2014)

Spent another 10 hours the following day snowboarding. The pain I felt on the first day didn't go away completely in the morning, but it was quickly forgotten.

It does seem that I do not need to tighten it to the max to avoid heel lifts. That said it is still a very delicate balance between getting it tight enough and still get blood flowing through my feet. At the moment, it is still not completely comfortable, sometime I feel a bit of pain here and there, but they are not the sort that lasts until the next day, so I am not too bothered by it. That said, I take back the part I said that they are stiffer than rental boots. Once I no longer tighten the boots to the max, they bend a lot easier, perhaps more than I would ideally like. But while my feet does get very tired at the end of the day, those boots are definitely a good step up from every boots I have rented so far, and I have rented many.

I am kind of wondering if I need some insole. I have used Superfeet on my hiking shoes before. Are they just as good on snowboard boots, or could I do better?


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## TooNice (Feb 7, 2014)

I have about one week with those boots now, and I found myself with a problem I didn't have when I first those boots: the toe nail on my left foot is being crushed. I thought it was my imagination at first but feels more and more bruised to the point where today it hurt enough when I turn that I had to throw in the towel after two hours. Fortunately we were planning of going back after 4 hours of morning boarding and I have two days of rests coming up. But this is worrying, I thought that that boots would be less tight as it breaks in but it seems like it is getting tighter  

I haven't bought any insole but would they even help here?

On the plus side the dreaded heel lift has been a non-issue. I found out that I did not need to cramp down so hard that I need to loosen everytime I get on a lift to prevent heel lifts.


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