# Heat molding- toe box shrinkage?



## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

slash_gordon said:


> Went to get my Thirty-Two TM3's heat molded the other day and the guy at my local shop told me I have to use toe caps. He said if I don't the toe box might shrink and ruin the liner...I told him I'd come back later. I haven't heat molded a pair of boots in ages so I have no clue. Does this sound like BS? Or is my shop guy right and I'll ruin my liners if I don't use caps?


DON’T. USE. TOE. CAPS. Why would you want extra space in there? His explanation doesn’t even makes sense. Good work on walking away to look into it more.


----------



## slash_gordon (Sep 1, 2018)

Hey thanks for the quick response! Definitely glad I walked away. From everything I've read liners only shrink if you overcook them, so idk what he was talking about. When I go back I'll just have to tell him no caps, haha


----------



## bazman (Jan 15, 2017)

Yeah it is weird, but 32 advise using toe caps when heat moulding. The instructions are printed on the inside of the box that the boots come in.

Intuition also give the same advice, and 32 use intuition liners

I agree though, why put a load of extra space there?


----------



## Wiredsport (Sep 16, 2009)

slash_gordon said:


> Went to get my Thirty-Two TM3's heat molded the other day and the guy at my local shop told me I have to use toe caps. He said if I don't the toe box might shrink and ruin the liner...I told him I'd come back later. I haven't heat molded a pair of boots in ages so I have no clue. Does this sound like BS? Or is my shop guy right and I'll ruin my liners if I don't use caps?


Hi Slash,

You did the right thing. Here are my suggestions for heat fit: https://www.snowboardingforum.com/boots/225057-heat-fit-faq-love-your-feet.html

The suggestion that anything about a heat fit will ruin liners is a sure sign that you should get your fit done elsewhere. The thing that (very commmonly) will ruin a liner during heat fit is incorrect temperature. This should never happen at a shop. At the correct temperature everything about a heat fit can be reversed, repeated or modified. A fitter that does not tell you this...you did the right thing to leave.

STOKED!


----------



## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Dudes a doof. The only heat moldable foam that expands under normal cooking it Salomon. Everyone else uses either branded Intuition or Ultralon or an unbranded variant. They get mushy when they reach a certain temperature and firm back up, maintaining their shape, when they sit back below that threshold. I use caps, cause I downsize a size and a half. Have to or I can't ride more than 2 runs before de-booting. Nothing wrong with caps, just depends on how much space you're trying to gain. And a cap won't over pack your boot. If you end up with too much space after a cap mold, then you're boots are too big anyhow, as you'll end up with the same amount of space after 40 days with or without a cap mold. 

Either way, go somewhere else.


----------

