by tommy » Tue Oct 26, 2004 1:39 am
Correctly made footbeds & alignment can make a huge difference in one's skiing, at least based on my own experience. Balance and overall techique can improve a lot with correct alignment, for me the difference was huge.
I got footbeds made for me at camp, and the one's Harald & co. make, are made based on a LARGE set of various measurements of your feet AND lower body. The measuring process takes at least 1h. The footbeds are then built based on these measurements. Then, the footbeds and any canting might be modified later during camp, based on actual observation of one's skiing.
However, at least in my home turf, even the well renowned ski shop's only use a standard molding process to make footbeds, and have not even heard of canting...
So, my point is that unless your local ski shop doesn't do anything else but let you stand on the molding pads for 30 min, then you might as well save your money and stick with the std. footbeds. Of course, the molded footbeds might be more comfortable, and you might want to use them because of that, but if you want new footbeds for improving your skiing technique, then look for a shop where they appear to have some knowledge of biomechanics, and are willing to spend at least an hour or so measuring your lower body.
Good luck,
Tommy