UKC

Moutaing Boots Fitting - Spantiks

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stevetaylor20 01 Mar 2013
Hi guys,

Any help would be great, i'm getting to the end of my patience! To give you an overview i've done climbing and things but have signed up for Denali without ever having had a pair of high altitude boots before, so bare in mind my experience of these boots are limited to say the least. So I tried in a shop the boreal g1 lites, they felt very good but I thought near the toes they were too narrow, unfortunately. I then tried on spantiks, can't remember the size but they felt a bit tight. The shop then mailed me out another larger size of the spantiks. They arrived and the box says they are UK 12.5 /47. The labels on the boots actually say they are UK 12 / 47. So my first question is what size are they? Nobody seems to be able to tell me. My other question is that I went to scotland (nevis) with these and got back heel blisters on both. During the time I tried tightening the boots loads but then I found it restricted too much my movement uphill with crampons, and loosening them, nothing helped. I use a thin liner and a mid-weight sock. I've been told to get some superfeet and get them moulded. Now I don't want to mould them if i'm going to sell them, i'd guess. I also want to make sure I go to Denali without getting stupid blisters.

Does anyone have any advice? Shoudl I sell them an start from scratch, if so what size do I say they are when I sell them?!

If ANYBODY knows of someone in UK that knows everything about boots and can PROPERLY fit some for me please let me know oka. I'm in London but am open to elsewhere.

Any advice would be great
Steve
stevetaylor20 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

also..I do have some heel lift, but I think (guess!) it's both inner and outer boot
 Duncan 88 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:
I have always used breaking away in St. Albans (20 mins train from kings cross) as he does a in depth analysis of your needs and then the shape of your foot before he even gets any boots for you to try on.
each set of boot i have had from him have been great so i would really recommend him.
you will need to ring him and book a 2ish hour boot fitting appointment.
his details are on the link http://www.yell.com/b/Breaking+Away-Camping+and+Outdoor+Equipment-stalbans-...
stevetaylor20 01 Mar 2013
In reply to Duncan 88:

Thanks for your help, i'm going to give this guy a call now and make an appointment. It's just frustrating that every shop i've been in, about 6, don't really know what they're talking about.

Cheers
 ianstevens 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20: They're a size 47. Because they're European, they get made in European sizes, and that gets converted - this means that there is a bit of overlap so a 12 and 12.5 could both equate to a 47. So whenever you try on European made shoes, work in Euro sizes.
 hokkyokusei 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

> Does anyone have any advice? Shoudl I sell them an start from scratch, if so what size do I say they are when I sell them?!
>

I'd really recommend actually going to a shop and having them fitted.

> If ANYBODY knows of someone in UK that knows everything about boots and can PROPERLY fit some for me please let me know oka. I'm in London but am open to elsewhere.

I had my high-altitude boots fitted at Back Country in Ilkley:
http://shop.backcountryuk.com/contact-us-2-w.asp

Also Outside in Hathersage are good:
http://www.outside.co.uk/

I know neither of those are close to London, but they are in the UK!

Incidentaly, if you do decide to visit a shop I would book an appointment. That way they can order-in a range of sizes of the boots you're interested in, and also make sure an experienced boot fitter is available.

 nniff 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

Well, my first port of call if you are wearing thin liners and mid-weight socks an dgetting blisters is to buy some thicker socks. I habitually wear the thickest pair I can find as an inner and something a little less thick as an outer. After a two days, the thick inner is demoted to outer, and a clean pair of thick inners go on.

Works for me. The white Thorlo socks are my preference. Red smartwool come second by some margin.

If you don't like that, go to Peglers
stevetaylor20 01 Mar 2013
In reply to nniff:

Sorry I meant to say, i've tried thicker socks too, didn't help
 Kimberley 01 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

Get the red super feet with the foil on the sole.

Get the inners moulded

Don't worry if you decide to sell them, they can be remoulded several times.

I have done mine and they are very comfy
ice.solo 02 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

i think with spantiks (having spent about 80 days in mine) that anything more than a medium thin sock is a mistake.
let the inner boot do the insulating - they do it far better than any sock will.

as the inners dont breath that well, extra sock mass traps moisture round the foot that compromises the socks wicking action, leading to nasty damp feet that get cold when in just your inners (or no inners ie in a sleeping bag etc).
wet socks can be a prime factor in blisters etc as well.

i now wear spantiks half a size smaller than baturas, with a thinnish sock, and have never had blisters or cold toes even on multiple days with a lot of walking at temps below -25c.
stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to Kimberley:

I was told to get the green superfeet so too late

Thanks for the advice..
stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to ice.solo:

Hi sorry i'm a bit confused, you mention to not wear anything more than a medium sock, which is what i've been doing essentially so that's cool.

But then you say you wear spantiks with a thickish sock?

ice.solo 02 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:
> (In reply to ice.solo)
>
>
> But then you say you wear spantiks with a thickish sock?

?
stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to ice.solo:

haha, okay duh!! Next time i'm read correctly!
stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to ice.solo:

Also quick question, the only way I can test the boots out before going to denali would be to either walk around say a hilly park or something. I guess i'm worried that I won't be able to test them in snow again before denali so is walking around, at all, a valid test?
 Dr.S at work 02 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:
yes just walking around is valid - try to get some steep ups and downs in as well.

personally I think you get more movement when you have crampons on, but thats hard to simulate without getting some funny looks down the park!
ice.solo 02 Mar 2013
In reply to Dr.S at work:

id agree with this, especially the hill bit, heavy pack up stairs even better.
crampons may get you arrested.

i find spantiks to walk in very good as they have a decent curve to the sole. when i go out i wear them from home and over winter walk maybe 20kms a week in them, sometimes much more.
the only pain i had early on was where the top edge f the inner rubbed against my shin (and ive heard this from others too).
patch of tape on the exact spot solved that (im such a pansy i even shaved the spot first, but what the hey).

the thing with spantiks - when you have them on, they actually do feel like $900 worth of boot.
stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

Furthermore to the help you've all been. I've spoken to three different companies and they refuse to fit boots, that I already have, due to 'legal' reasons. I don't know if i'm going to end up keeping these boots or getting rid of them but obviously, logic would suggest i'd try to keep them if they do fit and buy other if i have to. I'd previously been the many shops and all of them didn't know jack about the boots, so I ended up doing the best I could.

Bit of info for you. This whole thing is becoming a joke. I spoke with sportiva and they said despite the fact that my boots say 12UK and the box 12.5, they are 12. They said it can happen that the box sizes have mistakes on. I also spoke with two other companies, they checked their stock and it seems much of their stock show different sizes from the boot to the box!!!! - To their surprise!

Also, I have tried on a UK12 in two different shops around London, both of them feel a lot smaller than the 12 I have, leading me to actually believe they really are a 12.5 and not a 12. I know i'm supposed to go by 47, but still!

stevetaylor20 02 Mar 2013
In reply to ice.solo:
Thanks for the info. - I find spantiks to walk in horrific! I think they're too big, I don't know. I tried on a 12, the same size in another shop the other day and the ones in the shop felt more snug and a better fit. THese feel too clunky, they don't feel like 'part of my feet', if that makes any sense at all.
majortom 02 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20: Why don't you go back to the shop you bought them from, with the boots, and ask them to sort out moulding them etc? You said you tried on a couple of pairs in there, they didn't have to right size, and so they mailed you a different size. Surely they would be the best people to get in touch with first?
ice.solo 03 Mar 2013
In reply to stevetaylor20:

it sounds to me like youve been f*cked over.

id head back to the shop as suggested above, receipt in hand and sort it out. these are expensive boots for a sport with risks, that some unknowing staff member couldnt fit you properly is an issue. its not mcdonalds where you got the wrong sized fries...

it could be too that sportivas dont suit your feet. you may be battling the width vs length paradigm (theres a dirty joke in there somewhere), so maybe scarpa 6000s will work better (or whatever).
stevetaylor20 04 Mar 2013
In reply to ice.solo:

yea I think I have, I made an appointment at a shop someone pposted earlier ,they seem really professional and knowledgable which is good.

I can't take them back now as I have a slight crampon related mark on them! I'm just a bit unlucky, unfortunately I didn't know any better and neither did the store, looking back!

THanks for all advice from everyone' it's really helpful

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