UKC

Hi,
Seeking some advice from the wisdom of UKCers,
I'm going to be working for a year out in the austrian alps, and during the winter will be snowboard instructing,
However I will also relearn to ski (did a school trip years ago), and am hoping to do some ski touring/mountaineering.
What boots are suitable? Probably with the emphasis on piste/close to piste, with tours towards the end of the season? And then being able to tour when I'm back in the uk: lake district/scotland.

I'm currently weighing up between the Scarpa Freedom RS (with the additional sole unit for standard ski bindings-Which scarpa currently don't have available), Or the standard freedom, and the Maestrale RS which I think is stronger touring than downhill.

Also any advice with regards to sizing? I'm a 43 barefoot and take a 44 in my Sportiva trango's. I've got 28 snowboard boots, should I be around this?

Cheers in advance.
Tim

In reply to tkchips:

Go to a boot fitter for ski boots.

In reply to tkchips:
Get the pair that fit. Nothing else will matter after a few days! And a ski boot fitter will help you choose, size, thermofit the liner and stretch the rigid plastic shell of the boots

In reply to tkchips:

Go to proper bootfitter! Tell him what you're looking for. Let him do the work and accept what he's telling you!

In reply to tkchips:

One more vote for the boot fitter. Since I bit that bullet and coughed up the money for the service I've never looked back. Feet assessed. Stance assessed. Two boot types offered, chose one, custom insole made, outer shell modified taking into account pressure points, foam liner inserted and filled. These boots are still going strong 20 ski weeks later. (apart from new toe and heel plates).

In reply to tkchips: boot fitter and custom foot beds. where are you based in the UK?

In reply to Frank4short:


I went to a well known bootfitter, one you see recommended on here from time to time, followed your advice above and came away with a pair of boots which were too big in width and volume but which had been carefully made to fit my feet - for a while. Once they'd packed out a bit they were no good. I measured my feet myself, did a bit of internet research on last sizes in ski touring boots and the like and bought a pair off the internet from Germany saving myself a small fortune in the process. Skiing performance and comfort from day 1 out of the box. Unless you've got really wierd shaped feet you don't need bootfitters - and even if you do need to modify boots yourself its not that difficult - with the possible exception of heat modifying the shells.

In reply to Dave:
Something else to remember is that boots actually step up by one full shell size only so the tolerance is 1cm, which is a fair bit. Anything more precise than that is just a matter of liners, footbeds and packing.

In reply to Dave:

Similar experience here, the custom footbeds i got from a "specialist" were so poorly moulded they caused more issues than they were ever going to solve, i just use Superfeet in all mine now.

Unless you have webbed feet, 6 toes or ankles that bend the wrong way then paying for boot fitting is pretty much pointless, contentious i know but there you go.......

In reply to tkchips:

I went to a shop and tried half a dozen boots, one fitted and the rest did not. Much as I like shopping on the web, in this case I don't think there's a substitute for trying a few different boots.

In reply to Dogwatch:

Yep, I think forefoot width is more critical than shell length to fit. Measure across as well as along your foot outline.

In reply to tkchips:

The shape of the Scarpa ski freeride/touring boots is quite specific, eg less suited to high instep or wide feet than some other makes. All ski boot shells come in 1 cm length increments but Scarpa is 0.5 cm out of step with most other manufacturers so depending on your foot length some makers may be a better fit than others.

As noted above some boot fitters are not so good. Anything Technical sold me crap foot-beds and oversized boots (a few years ago bow so they may have improved). Backcountry UK and Rivington Alpine by contrast have been excellent. Depending on where you live there may be other recommendations. Snowheads forum can also be a useful source of information and advice.

In reply to Dave:

You can also borrow your mate's 15 year old outer boots, optimistically stuff in your own ancient inners from a totally different type of boots (telemark in this case), stick your skis on and get out skinning up Arctic mountains and have a wildly good time!

To the OP - I'm sure the 'go to a good shop' advice is by far the most sensible, if you've got the money and a shop in reach, go for it. But don't think you can't ski up and down some pretty amazing places without super wizzy brand new gear. I'd always take a day ski touring in not-completely perfect gear, over a day not ski touring!

In reply to Dave:

Some people are lucky enough to have perfect feet and ankles and get away with it. Good luck to them but it's also very easy to end up in extreme pain due to some relatively minor oddity with the shape of your feet that doesn't suit the boot.

I suspect based on what little i know about the topic is that "proper"ski boot fitting is as much an art as a skill that takes years of practice to know which manufacturers and models suit different shapes of feet. You'll probably find that 90% places recommended have probably trained their staff reasonably well but ultimately they are outdoor shop employees who tend to be transient in nature of employment and don't have the 5-10-15+ years of working with many different brands and knowing what works and doesn't.

Personally i'd say there are maybe 3 bootfitters in france who i'd trust implicitly. Maybe another half a dozen who i've heard good things about so might go if I was in a push. That i know of there is only one world class bootfitter in the UK. So recommendations on bootfitters is very much a fallible process.

In reply to tkchips:

Thanks for all of the advice, I recognise that for sizing it is a good idea to go to a boot fitter however as i am someone who works in an outdoor store and is a bit 'transient' I am somewhat aware that may not produce the best result for my money and I also have the tools to measure my feet accurately however don't have ski boots in store to try.
And as I'm based in keswick, and there's no one hugely close, I may take a punt and head to sickandthewrong for heat moulding

In reply to tkchips:
I would wait until you get to Austria, much better chance of good service and back up without having to travel

In reply to tkchips:
Various things to consider.

1. Boots almost certainly will be cheaper in Bavaria/ Austria than UK. Leaving aside the issues of warehouse dealers eg SportConrad, Bergzeit, Blue Tomato etc and their impacts on UK retailers - the fact is that there is a larger market and greater demand out there for this stuff, so you get a better choice and lower prices.

2. If you get them from a decent place in Austria near where you're working, then you can easily have repeat visits as required to get them fitted well. May be worth asking on snowheads for recommendations about local boot fitters, as there are a few Austrian residents on there.

3. Beyond the obvious sole difference, there is (IMHO) only a little flex/stiffness difference between Maestrale RS and Freedom RS; clearly others may disagree (FWIW, I'm 188cm/ 98kg and ski 30-40 days/ season). I ski M-RS as my only boot, for resort skiing and touring; I have tried but do not own F-RS. Think about where you want to use these boots, and for what kinds of skiing. I went for the M-RS because I reckoned it was more comfortable walking in Scotland with the rockered sole (where you are more likely to walk some distance to/from snow), but still substantial enough for on-piste and lift-served freeride fun. I do regret, though, that the rockered sole precludes easy hiring of skis with normal alpine bindings. If I was using them mainly for Alpine touring then I'd be very tempted by the F-RS, not least for that reason. As it is I have dynafits on the touring skis and Salomon Warden MNC bindings on the resort skis.

4. As everyone else has said, get the boots that fit you - which may not necessarily be Scarpa.

Finally - enjoy your year in Austria! where are you going to be based?

In reply to tkchips:

Buy them in Decathlon, you can take them back up to a year later. I took 2 pairs back last season after a few weeks use with no problems.
The best boot fitter for your feet is you.