Head Raptor boot choice

[newskier]

My heels move around inside the boots too much. I think that is the reason that I lost my toe nails every year.

I went to a local store that I frequent to get a liner to try to solve the problem. The boot fitter said I have wide forefoot and narrow heel, the liner probably would not solve my problem and I would come back unhappy after a few days. He suggested that I get a new moldable boot to solve my issue and it is a good deal compare to the price of liner with the discount they are having. I agree except that I am not sure about the boot choice and that is why I post the question here. He also looked at my HH food bed and mentioned that he would do it differently. I am intermediate level, my current boots have 100 mm last and 100 flex (I also feel it is too soft for me now). Now I am looking at Raptor RS 115/130 (98 last), and B3 RD (95 last). I like the store and the fitter so I am going back to have the boot fitter help me with my choice. In my mind, Raptor RS is only 2 mm narrower, I don't know if that is enough. I also don't know if I should go as tight as I can like B3 RD which is stiff. I appreciate any suggestions that you give me

[Max_501]

Who made your footbeds?

[newskier]

Maria did, and Jay helped me with boot alignment. Jay sent my boots to Harold for the final canting. I really don't want to replace the boots but now I feel a better fitting boot will help me. To be more specific, when I practice one-leg skiing, I do not feel stable because my foot can move inside the boot when changing between edges. Does this make sense?

My boots are the correct size lengthwise.

[HighAngles]

You didn't mention what your current boots are - so what are they? What size are you in? What size does your foot measure? Note that last width size is just a measure used to provide an "idea" of the relative differences in shell volume across a manufacturers model line. They use a reference size (usually 26 or 27) to provide that "98mm" reference. What matters more is the volume of the shell in the particular size that's correct for your foot. Note there's a large difference between the 130 RS and the B3 RD in the same shell size.

The HSS shop will work with you on boots according to your desires. They won't force feed you on making a change unless you're apt to go along with it. I speak from personal experience on this. So it's quite possible that the boot you're in is not correct for your foot. You will get much better results if you go in with a "wide open" mind and tell them that all options are available.

[Mac]

A friend of mine was having similar issues. He went to every boot fitter he could find in New England trying to find an answer without any success. I finally convinced him to come with me to Harald's shop in Dumont to get fitted. Harald and Chris put him in a different boot and set him up properly. Problem solved. That was about 6 years ago, and I haven't heard him complain about anything since, not even a peep. Moral of the story is no amount of adjustment is going to make a boot work for you if it's not the right boot for you to begin with. Life is way to short and ski time is way too precious to be struggling with a pair of boots.

[newskier]

HA, My boots aren't with me so I googled it and it looks like I have Salomon Impact 10. I did try to compare the volume but Salomon does not list the volume.

Mac, you are right. You can see that I only seek out PMTS boot fitters to work on my boots. I am actually very happy with the boots after the works that have been done to it because I see the improvement on the things that I can do afterward. I don't know if I will make a trip to Dumont alone but I have thought about it the last few days.

[Erik]

newskier-

Depending on how you had your original fitting, some of your loose fit could be due to being in a boot that is too big, before you even get to the other differences in boot shape and construction. Whatever you end up with could end up being a smaller size than you have now. If HSS did your footbeds in a camp, and the canting, they could have been doing what they could with boots that they would not have recommended you for if they were the original bootfitters.

Depending on the shape/volume of your foot, you could find that the Raptor B3 RD fits your heel much better, but the forefoot could be tight. If that is the case, you could probably have some work done to relieve the pressure points of the B3. That is what happened for me when I upgraded from the Raptor 120 RS to the Raptor B3 RD 130. If you find yourself in that situation, there could be some pressure points immediately apparent that could be fixed on the spot in the shop. In a tight-fitting boot, other hot spots might not become apparent until you had skied on them a few hours, and it might take a few interactions with your bootfitter to dial in the fit. Fortunately, I got my new boots at the start of a camp, so there was plent of time to work out those issues.

When you get a new boot, you could find out that your needs for canting need to be re-evaluated.

Erik

[jbotti]

Here is a simple rule of thumb with boots: Go smaller than you think you need or can handle!

Most people have parts of their feet that protrude that is/are out of proportion with the rest of their foot. If you fit for that protrusion, you pretty much have no shot of having the boot fit you well because the rest of your foot is much smaller than that protrusion. The correct approach to get a good/tight fitting boot is to fit the boot for the rest of your foot and then grind and or punch to make room for the protrusion/s.

My foot is a B width (around 95 or mm wide). In the one wide spot (my fifth metatarsal) I am around 98 or 99mm. I fit very comfortably in a 95mm last Raptor boot which requires some grinding in that spot and a few others. The result is a glove like fit and no pain.

Boots that fit usually don't feel good when you first put them on. They feel very tight and usually there are some hot spots noticeable right away. (exception: for people that are A and B widths with no protrusions even thin lasted race boots won't be too tight for them).

Lastly, as has been said previously in this thread, a shell that doesn't fit is never going to work well. Find the right shell following what I have outlined.

[newskier]

Erik, John, Thank you for the information. I have a better understanding of what to do now.