# TONS of heellift...in fact my entire foot moves in my boots



## Booo! (Feb 14, 2014)

Depends on how you ride. If you do large turns on a well-groomed slope you're fine. If you're getting into rough terrain where you need to turn on a dime and make lots of tiny adjustments to your line you might have a problem.

You're basically getting a split-second delay between what you want your board to do and what it's actually doing. If you find your edges bite more than they should that might be why. 

Have you tried adding a second pair of socks?


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

If you're having that much heel lift, your boots don't fit you worth a damn and a new, better fitting pair would help your riding like nothing else you could possibly do right now.


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## njfastlfie (Dec 24, 2013)

linvillegorge said:


> If you're having that much heel lift, your boots don't fit you worth a damn and a new, better fitting pair would help your riding like nothing else you could possibly do right now.


dang. now im curious as to how much different a feel it will be. i can literally feel my foot sliding about 1/2" each time i do a turn either frontside or backside. 

will probably help with the confidence as well.


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## Booo! (Feb 14, 2014)

njfastlfie said:


> i can literally feel my foot sliding about 1/2" each time i do a turn either frontside or backside.


Err, yeah. Ignore my comment, get new boots. :laugh: Imagine riding with your bindings loose enough that your boot can move by that much.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

you want your every subtle movement and pressure to be translated directly to the board, proper boot fit is just frikkn critical, i don't know how else to put it

as an analogy...ever drive an old truck where there is like 3" of play when you turn the wheel before any turning actually occurs? it's like that
.
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.
.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Boots MUST fit. 

If they are so bad... worst case, rent some. With renting, at least you can choose which fit best, and who knows you may find a decent fitting boot (or at least better than yours). Worth a try?

All that heel lift will end up hurting both your riding and your feet! if you ride a lot you can get blisters, plus all the extra effort to get response in a sliding boot will make you strain either the muscles or other parts of your foot. That sucks. On top of that... you will have to develop some funky techniques to compensate........ not good either.

You could also reduce lift without having to change boots completely (assuming the boot shell reasonably fits). Maybe go to a boot fitter, or try out thicker socks, aftermarket insole, jbars/cbars etc. Or even a new liner altogether. Sometimes even having the ankle straps on the bindings or the laces a bit tighter helps a bit..... it's a lot of different elements. Try all you can to see if you can get your boots to at least fit ok. Maybe like 1/4" lift is not the end of the world.

A quick "assessment": if after 4hrs+ or riding the first thing you want to take off are your boots.... something is wrong. 

Good luck!


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## Varza (Jan 6, 2013)

F1EA said:


> Boots MUST fit.
> 
> If they are so bad... worst case, rent some. With renting, at least you can choose which fit best, and who knows you may find a decent fitting boot (or at least better than yours). Worth a try?
> 
> ...


First point - very yes! I was also going to suggest you try to rent a pair of boots that fits better and see the difference for yourself. 

End point - what should be the first thing you'd want to take off? For me, it's the helmet and goggles :laugh:


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## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

I don't know if they sell them after-market, but my Thirty-Two Focus boots came with a set of adhesive pads that you stick to the inner boot to tighten up the fit...they work great. I mean, really big difference. As others have said, heel lift not only changes your ability to make quick turns, it also can really, really hurt the front of your foot as you're constantly trying to compensate. Your heel/calf should be doing the work. If you're having to constantly put pressure on the balls of your feet to compensate for heel lift, I guarantee you'll be a candidate for surgery! Been there, done that. Ripped the shit out of my metatarsal tendon. When I went to the doc I just said "snowboarding" and he knew exactly what was going on.

On this same subject, going slow is a BIG problem! My skiing friends don't get it..."Let's do a green, it will be mellow." Fuck that...greens are THE WORST. Trying to hold an edge or maintain any kind of speed on a flat green is the worst thing for your feet. You're putting lots and lots of pressure on the front of your feet just to maintain...it not only hurts, it rips the tendons in your feet. Trust me...after thousands of dollars of surgery and an entire season out, you don't want to go through it.

_*Invest in good boots, have them fitted!*_


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

surfinsnow said:


> I don't know if they sell them after-market, but my Thirty-Two Focus boots came with a set of adhesive pads that you stick to the inner boot to tighten up the fit...they work great. I mean, really big difference.


J-bars aren't gonna work when the boots flat out don't fit. What he's describing are boots that are simply too big.


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## DiggerXJ (Apr 4, 2013)

I don't know how you've dealt with riding those boots for a season. My feet cringe at the thought of ill fitting boots.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

heel lift + 1/2" slopin around...I'm surprised you don't have black toe...bloody toes and nails falling off. Yur boots are too big and packed out and no way to fix that. Buy a 1/2 size smaller and get some good insoles...and j bars or butterfly wraps when they pack out. I have maybe 1/8-1/4" at the end of the toe box when my heel is locked in and if I can feel my toes touching the end of the box when carving heelside, I stop and snug everything up....have lost numerous toe nails. Performance = feet locked in... like carving heelside...should be able to flex your toes up and notice the heel edge lock in even more.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

CassMT said:


> you want your every subtle movement and pressure to be translated directly to the board, proper boot fit is just frikkn critical, i don't know how else to put it
> 
> *as an analogy...ever drive an old truck where there is like 3" of play when you turn the wheel before any turning actually occurs? it's like that. *



*Funnest* damned truck I ever drove!! :yahoo: In the service, my buddy's 50 something, three on the tree, Ford pickup. Fuckin' thing had at _least_ 3" play in the steering!! The Bracket for the generator broke, had it tied back with Rope to keep the belt tight and juice to the lights,.. Starter dropped out of it one day on the road,.. Spent the next six months parking it on slopes to help us give it push starts!!! We had a _BLAST_ crusing around SoCal and the coast mountains in that thing!! Such good memories and stories!! 

Great fun for a couple young guys with a truck!!! That analogy is _Not_ anywhere near so cool when considering your feet and snowboarding!!! 

One day, the rear end came loose on the freeway. My buddy said the back of the truck slammed to the ground and he watched his wheels, axles still attached pass him on either side!!!

...do I need to follow thru with the analogy??? 


Get good fitting, _comfortable_ boots!!! It makes ALL the difference in the world!!!


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Heel lift sucks. I have wide but very low volume feet. No boot fits me, period and I've tried them all, over the past 3-4 years. The best I've gotten is just serviceable. Feet don't slide around but I do get play up and down (due to my low volume and skinny heels).

I have to tighten all my boots as tight as possible, which of course leads to numbness and pressure points occasionally. It's an ongoing battle.


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## Booo! (Feb 14, 2014)

jdang307 said:


> Heel lift sucks. I have wide but very low volume feet. No boot fits me, period and I've tried them all, over the past 3-4 years. The best I've gotten is just serviceable. Feet don't slide around but I do get play up and down (due to my low volume and skinny heels).
> 
> I have to tighten all my boots as tight as possible, which of course leads to numbness and pressure points occasionally. It's an ongoing battle.


Just out of curiosity, have you tried something like Vans Infuse, or K2 Darkos? It seems like you could have those boots 2 sizes too big and still not get any heel lift.


Vans Snow - Infuse Snowboard Boots
Darko Boot | Snowboard Boots | K2 Snowboarding 2013-2014


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I wear 7.5 and haven't found any Vans that small.

Have tried K2 Maysis (similar to Darkos). Heel lift was eliminated, but they were too narrow for my left foot (which is wider). But they don't come in half sizes so it's 7 or 8. I was thinking of giving them another try this year, especially with their new inner boa condo system, which looks like it would be less painful with the wires more shielded.


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## Dago91 (Mar 13, 2013)

jdang307 said:


> I wear 7.5 and haven't found any Vans that small.
> 
> Have tried K2 Maysis (similar to Darkos). Heel lift was eliminated, but they were too narrow for my left foot (which is wider). But they don't come in half sizes so it's 7 or 8. I was thinking of giving them another try this year, especially with their new inner boa condo system, which looks like it would be less painful with the wires more shielded.


Fuck dude.. you have a small foot.


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