In our other Bootfitting 101 articles, we’ve gone over some of the basic steps and processes involved in selecting and fine-tuning a boot with your bootfitter in order to arrive at a combination of comfort and performance that’s ideal for you and your preferences.
That said, adjusting and tweaking the stock materials and components on a given boot aren’t the only things you can do — there is a range of add-ons and upgrades that have the potential to make further improvements to your setup. So here we’ll go over a few of the common aftermarket upgrades and outline why they may or may not make sense for you.
Which Upgrade & Why?
There are several aftermarket products you can buy and adjustments you can make to your ski boots. The most common “upgrades” that people will invest in and/or that will be recommended by a bootfitter (after essential custom insoles, which you can read more about in Bootfitting 101: Selection, Fine Tuning, & Customization) are liners and power straps.
(The fit of your ski boots can also be taken to the next level via a Stance Balancing Assessment, which we will discuss in a future article. If the topic of stance balancing intrigues you, we recommended listening to Ep. 217 of our GEAR:30 podcast, which is Part 3 of our Very Deep Dive on Bootfitting series. Sometimes upgrades such as new liners and a Stance Balance Assessment will coincide, since an aftermarket liner could be a necessary step in achieving a more balanced stance in a ski boot. )
The products here are by no means necessary for everyone, but in certain cases, they can be a great way to improve the fit and/or performance of a pair of ski boots.
Aftermarket Liners
There has been quite a bit of discussion on the benefits of aftermarket liners here at Blister. Several of our reviewers have discussed their appreciation for or even love of alternative liners from ZipFit, Atomic’s Mimic Professional series, and Intuition.
Aftermarket liners can provide solutions for several fit problems, and/or offer performance improvements in certain cases. People choose aftermarket liners for a variety of reasons, some of which include:
- You have a well-loved ski boot shell that has worked well for you but its current liner is very packed out, and you would like to keep using the shell.
- You are going for the best fit of your life in a new ski boot and are willing to take it all the way to “perfect,” regardless of the investment.
- You have a very finicky foot, an extremely low-volume foot, or other circumstances that require maximum customization to achieve an ideal fit.
- You are looking for the highest level of performance from your ski boots, whether that’s a stiffer flex pattern, better uphill mobility, or a range of other aspects.
While these are some of the most common general reasons that people look to aftermarket liners, there are several types, brands, and models of liners that could potentially address certain needs. While we can’t tell you what will work best for your foot or your foot / boot shell combo (that’s what your bootfitter is for), we can run through some of the options so that you can think about what is available out there.
Full Foam-Injected Liner (e.g. Surefoot, Sidas foam-injected Liners, Pulse Boot Lab Custom Liners)
Foam-injected liners have been around for quite some time and can work miracles for some people.
Depending on the model, the liner usually comes very thin out-of-the-box and is often built with leather on the outside and very thin neoprene in the toe box, with most of the structure of the liner created during the injection process.
Foam-injected liners feature injection ports in several places, most commonly around the heel / ankle pocket, forefoot / midfoot, and tongue. You will work with a bootfitter through the fit process to have the liner injected via the ports (or holes) built into the liner. The liners are injected with different proprietary blends (depending on the liner brand), often polyurethane compounds, while your foot is inside the liner and shell. These compounds are injected in a liquid state, fill empty spaces throughout the boot, and then harden after a certain point. Common brands / shops that work with foam-injected liners include Sidas and Surefoot.
Obviously, this injection process is only performed if your foot is properly stabilized with a custom insole, and there is confidence from you and your bootfitter about the boot shell you are in (i.e., an injection liner isn’t going to cure being in a shell that’s totally wrong for you). During the injection process, the foam moves throughout the different parts of the liner to fill any voids between your foot and the boot shell. This is a one-time process with very limited options for changing or adding foam once it has been injected.
The end result tends to be a very snug, secure fit. The materials used in the injection process are generally quite stiff and rigid, so once in place, they are not only providing an exceptionally snug fit, but also tend to generate a lot of power transmission and help to stiffen up the overall boot setup as a whole.
Foam-injected liners are really the most “custom” liners out there, since their liquid material can fill and surround the unique shape of your foot within a boot shell in a way that simply heat-molding cannot. They also offer a long-lasting method of holding your foot securely without changing shape or packing out quickly over time.
Not all bootfitters are equipped or trained to inject foam liners, so it is important to work with someone who is, or seek out a shop that specializes in this practice, such as our Blister Recommended Shop: Pulse Boot Lab.
While foam-injected liners are great for some people, as is the case with most things bootfitting-related, there’s no guarantee that this type of liner will work for you. But in particular, people who prefer a very stiff boot environment and who are seeking a very snug, customized fit might really enjoy the end result of a foam-injected liner.
Those who require or prefer materials that are more cushiony and provide more shock absorption, or those who prefer a softer boot setup, will often want to look elsewhere. However, if you’re looking to optimize fit, performance, stiffness, and responsiveness, it might be worth talking about a foam-injected liner with your bootfitter.
Partial Foam-Injected Liner (e.g., Atomic Mimic Professional)
Some of what was said above about full-injection liners can be transferred over to liners that offer varying degrees of foam injection, the most notable option being the Atomic Mimic Professional series. However, the Mimic Professional Liner is different in a couple of ways, so let’s look at what Atomic is doing to create a unique aftermarket liner.
The Mimic Professional Liner combines foam injection with heat-moldable materials, to help bring a softer, more moldable material closer to the foot and a stiffer, harder material closer to the shell for power transmission.
The Mimic Professional liner has two injection ports, situated above the heel. These injection ports feed material through the medial and lateral sides of the foot and around the heel. In addition to the foam injection parts of the liner, the Mimic Professional Liner utilizes a mixture of heat-moldable materials, including a heat-moldable cuff and ankle pocket through a combo of Atomic’s “Mimic” material and “Redster” foam. The Redster foam is closest to the foot and is intended to provide a very precise fit surrounding the foot, while the Mimic material is utilized next to the shell, intended to provide more precise power transfer.
Similar to fully foam-injected liners, the material utilized in the foam-injected portion of Professional Liners is a polyurethane compound (though Atomic has created its own blend), and when cooled, is a fairly rigid material (and not adjustable after the injection process). The process for fitting the Mimic Professional Liners is a combination of heat molding the “Mimic” and “Redster” materials, in conjunction with injecting the polyurethane compound. You will work with a bootiftter to get the liners injected as a one-time process. This tends to be a quicker and simpler process than fitting a fully foam-injected liner.
Atomic’s Mimic Professional liner is currently offered stock in the Atomic Hawx Ultra Professional 130, Hawk Prime Professional 130, and Atomic Redster CS Professional boots, but it can also be ordered as an aftermarket liner through select Atomic retailers, and can work with shells outside of the Atomic lineup (e.g., I got mine fit for a Nordica Promachine 115 W, and reviewer Luke Koppa skis his with the Tecnica Mach1 MV shell).
In addition to customization via injection and heat-molding, the Mimic Professional liners feature Atomic’s adjustable “V3 Tongue System” to accommodate different shells and volume needs. This is a replaceable tongue system, offering tongues in three different volumes (LV, MV, HV). The naming scheme might be counterintuitive to some folks; the Low Volume tongue is the thickest, offering an extra ~3 mm on top of the instep, for that low-volume foot and/or for someone who needs to take up space above their instep. Meanwhile, the High Volume tongue is ~3 mm thinner than the Medium Volume tongue. The Medium Volume Tongue comes stock in the Hawx Professional boots, whereas the High Volume Tongue comes stock in the Redster Professional. So while you can’t inject the tongue itself (as you can with some foam-injected liners), you are able to order tongues with differing volumes to optimize the fit over the heel / instep. Any version of the V3 Tongue is available for aftermarket purchase through select Atomic retailers.
Overall, the Mimic Professional liners offer an extremely high level of customization around the ankle pocket via the injected material, but don’t end up feeling quite as rigid as a full-injection liner. One of the main limitations of the Mimic Professional liners is that there are currently only two models available (the Hawx Ultra Pro & Hawx Prime Pro use the same base liner; Redster has its own specific model), so they might not work for all foot / shell combos.
Intuition Liners (Heat-Moldable Foam)
Intuition has become a well-known brand in the world of aftermarket liners, and a few boot brands even sell their boots with Intuition-branded stock liners.
Intuition liners are primarily made of dense, closed-cell foam(s) and are fully heat moldable. When heated to 120° C / 250° F, the foam in Intuition liners expands and opens up and then will re-conform as it cools. As they re-conform, the pressure of your foot and the boot shell will create an end product that is pretty precisely molded. This is a process that most bootfitters are very familiar with, though Intuition does offer advice on how to mold your liners at home, too.
The process for molding Intuition liners can vary based on the situation. For example, you may or may not want to add toe caps to create more volume in that area; you’ll definitely want to ensure that everything lines up and that there aren’t any creases or wrinkles; and before doing any of that, you’ll want to figure out which liner you pick based on your boot shell and what you want the liner to do.
Intuition offers a pretty expansive selection of liner styles and volumes. Much like ski boots, Intuition liners are built in LV, MV, and HV offerings (i.e., low volume, medium volume, high volume). You will likely be selecting which type of liner based on how much volume you are looking to fill within your ski boot shell, and then within that volume category, which model best suits the performance needs of the boot with which it’ll be paired.
Intuition liners last longer than most stock boot liners, but won’t last as long as foam-injected liners or ZipFits. However, Intuition liners offer some unique benefits that make them particularly well-suited for certain scenarios. In particular, the nature of the foam in Intuition’s liners makes them warmer and more insulative than several other aftermarket liners. This is the main reason our reviewer in Alaska, Paul Forward, tends to prefer Intuition liners over ZipFits, since he frequently deals with truly frigid temperatures. And because they aren’t filling volume with totally rigid materials, but rather a pretty cush and dense foam, Intuition liners can feel more forgiving than foam-injected alternatives.
Intuition liners also tend to be significantly lighter than most foam-injection liners and ZipFits, and combined with their numerous touring-specific models, that makes Intuition’s lineup a common choice for backcountry touring boots.
Wrap vs. Tongue Liners
Intuition’s model lineup is expansive, so we won’t go into every model here. But one of the broad-level distinctions in it is the choice between wrap-style and tongue-style models.
Most ski boots come with liners that feature a hinged tongue that sits over the shin, but Intuition makes many liners that instead use a full wrap enclosure, with the two pieces of the cuff overlapping starting low at the instep, and wrapping the leg at the top of the cuff. The overlap design provides the ability to draw the circumference of the liner wrap narrower or wider as needed.
Wrap-style liners can also create more cushion over the shin. Certain boots work better with wrap-style liners, particularly 3-piece shells (e.g. Dalbello Krypton, Roxa R3, K2 FL3X, Full Tilt). Additionally, for people who have struggled to get a snug enough fit around the cuff of their boot, wrap liners can work really well. The biggest limitation to a wrap-style liner will often be volume, since they are quite voluminous, particularly through the instep and cuff, and won’t always work well with certain low-volume or even medium-volume boot shells. Aside from that, it is really a matter of preference. For those who know that tongue liners have worked well for them without any obvious issues at the cuff or shin, there might not be a need to try out a wrap liner.
While they’re arguably most famous for their wrap-style liners (their Power Wrap model has many loyal fans), Intuition also offers lots of liners with traditional tongue designs.
Cork Liners / ZipFit
Along with Intuition, ZipFit is one of the most popular aftermarket liner manufacturers, though the two brands differ a lot in terms of how their liners are constructed. If you want to learn about the history of ZipFit, you can listen to Ep.35 of our Blister Podcast with ZipFit founder, Sven Coomer.
Zipfit liners feature a variety of materials, including leather, neoprene, merino wool, composite reinforcements, and more. That said, the main thing that makes them stand out is their cork compound, which is primarily used around the ankle, heel, cuff, and tongue. The unique trait of ZipFit liners is the ability to add, take away, and mold cork throughout the life of the liner, making it a liner that can not only work for a lot of different feet and within different boot shells, but can continuously be remolded and adjusted over time. Because the cork can’t really pack out in the way that some foams can, and because they’re built to be really rugged, ZipFit liners tend to be extremely durable; they are technically rated for 1,000 or so ski days. Several of our reviewers are nearing that timeline in their ZipFits.
Similar to foam-injected liners, ZipFits have ports where the material is injected, but in the case of ZipFits, the material that is being utilized to fill the voids is a cork compound. Cork is an impressive material in many ways, but especially because of how well it resists packing out and compressing over time, particularly relative to foam alternatives. ZipFit liners’ cork flow ports are located around the heel through the midfoot, in addition to the tongue. Zipfits are built stock with a certain amount of cork based on the model or model volume (e.g. the Gara HV has more stock cork than the Gara LV). Regardless of the model, cork can be added at any time.
Cork as a liner material also offers some shock-absorbing properties that injected foams do not, while also not offering quite as efficient of power transfer. However, for people looking for a very secure fit while also maintaining some level of shock absorption, ZipFits provide this unique combo. ZipFits are significantly stiffer than the majority of stock liners, so they still have quite a bit of potential to stiffen up your overall liner / boot setup, but not as much as most foam-injected liners.
Perhaps one of the most notable differences that ZipFits have been known to make is to hold your ankle so securely that it makes more room for the toes. This is in part because of how thin the neoprene is at the toe box of a ZipFit liner, in conjunction with the more secure fit through heel and ankle, which reduces forward migration of your foot in the shell, and locks your ankle securely back into the heel pocket. I have fit many pairs of ZipFits where people were not only floored by the supremely snug fit of their heel and ankle, but were also thrilled that they could have a little wiggle room in the toes without compromising any performance or foot security.
ZipFit offers several different liners based on your needs and which shell they will be going into. Most recently, ZipFit released their GFT liner, built for touring. Our managing editor, Luke Koppa, spent time in this liner last season and will be saying more about it this winter.
It’s worth noting that most people utilize the “World Cup Entry” technique with their ZipFits, so as to not misshape the cork over time, and to provide an easier way of getting in and out of the boots. This means putting the liner on your foot, and then foot + liner into the shell. While this isn’t too difficult, there are scenarios when it’s not ideal, such as when boots are cold, or for people who limited flexibility or injuries. ZipFit includes a slippery plastic shoehorn to make it a bit easier.
Power Straps
Power straps may seem like a minor aspect of a ski boot, especially considering all that goes into the selection, customizing, and fine tuning the fit of your ski boot, but power straps can make a significant difference in the support, flex pattern, and responsiveness of your ski boot.
Keeping in mind that your connection to the cuff of a boot is where a lot of power transfer occurs, I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of your power strap, and upgrading your power straps is one of the more affordable and simple methods for upgrading your boot system as a whole.
Thankfully, stock power straps, particularly on higher-end models of boots, have come a long way in the past ten years or so, with the advent of cam-style buckles, utilizing different materials, just making them wider, and finding unique ways to leverage the tightening mechanism.
Power straps can be static or elastic, and some manufacturers have found ways to achieve both. This is one of the biggest broad-level differentiators between various straps, and getting an elastic strap is the most common reason people purchase an aftermarket model, since very few boots come stock with an elastic power strap.
Booster is the most popular maker of aftermarket power straps, primarily because they’ve had a patent on elastic power straps for ski boots. Recently, that patent expired, so we’re starting to see others come up with their own takes on elastic power straps.
There are upsides and downsides to elastic and static straps, and much of the decision comes down to personal preference. Elastic power straps are dynamic, with the ability to stretch and retract as you flex the boot, whereas a fully static strap provides a more direct connection. In particular, elastic power straps can provide a more comfortable ride in scenarios where your boots are taking a lot of repeated impacts, such as in moguls or when landing airs, drops, and jumps (you could kind of think of them like a bit of added suspension for your boots). Some people love that, whereas others prefer the more direct power transfer of a static strap.
Elastic straps are also commonly praised for reducing “shin bang,” a pain near the cuff of your boot that’s typically caused by there being too much space or movement between your boot and shin in that area. While shin bang can be the result of a variety of fit-related issues, an elastic strap has the potential to reduce it since it can create a cuff-shin connection that’s not only more secure and consistent connection as your boot flexes.
Power straps can also make a huge difference for people with very low-volume lower legs and for those who find themselves constantly over-buckling their upper cuff buckles. There are also cases where people who need more support from the top of their boot can gain quite a bit from exchanging a stock velcro strap for something like a Booster Strap. On that note:
Booster Straps
Booster builds a full lineup of aftermarket straps, which are known as “Dynamic Power Straps” because they are built with elastic materials. The amount of elastic in their different straps is what distinguishes their models; for example, the stiffest World Cup Booster Strap has the most layers of materials in front of the shin, and if you were to remove one, you effectively have the Expert / Racer Strap. Booster’s lineup starts with straps for Juniors and ranges all the way to their World Cup Strap.
Booster has a chart on their site that correlates your weight and skier ability to determine which strap might work best for you, however, there is still a degree to which personal preference or what type of experience you are looking for plays into which strap might work the best for you. In general, if you are in between straps, Booster generally recommends that you go with the stiffer one, and we typically agree with that recommendation.
Booster straps’ elasticity, combined with their cam-style buckle, lets you easily cinch and tighten a lot more than most static straps, without creating as much of a pressure point or cutting off circulation. As with any power strap, though, there is a bit of finesse required in not making your Booster strap too tight (or too loose). Most people who are used to a really static strap will be surprised by how much they can really wrench on an elastic strap to get it super tight. However, going too tight will diminish the Booster strap’s ability to stretch and provide suspension (and going too loose will diminish the benefits of an elastic strap), so finding a snug but not overly tight position is what will make a Booster strap achieve the sensation it is built to provide.
(Booster recommends routing their straps between the shell and liner at the front of the boot; some skiers follow their instructions while others place the strap over the outside of the shell cuff, whether due to personal preference or because they can’t fit the strap between the liner and shell.)
While it doesn’t seem like an overly complicated process, installing a Booster strap does require some care; not only to determine the exact correct position but also to install it in a clean way, which sometimes requires some not-so-easy things like drilling out the rivets of your old power strap. For this reason, we recommend having your bootfitter do the installation if you have any hesitations, though Booster provides instructions on how to do it yourself.
Atomic Professional Dual Strap
As we mentioned above, we’ve recently started seeing more companies offering their own aftermarket power straps. Pulse Boot Labs designs their own elastic strap, and most recently, Atomic released their Professional Dual Strap.
The Professional Dual Strap offers a combination of both worlds; an elastic portion that helps provide suspension and shock absorption, in addition to an adjustable static velcro strap that influences power transmission and control. The Professional Dual Strap comes stock on the Atomic Hawx Ultra Professional 130, Hawx Prime Professional 130, and Redster CS Professional, but it can also be purchased as an aftermarket upgrade. Similar to Atomic’s Mimic Professional Liners and V3 Tongue System, the Professional Dual Strap can be purchased / ordered through select Atomic retailers.
We have spent quite a bit of time using the Professional Dual Strap, which you can read more about in our Flash Review, where we compare it to a Booster Strap, and also share several thoughts on the Mimic Professional Liner. Atomic has built this strap so that it can be applied in three different settings, a Race Setup (firmest), the 50/50 setup (medium firm), and the Off-Piste setup (softest). These differences are created by how the strap is threaded and tightened, leaving a lot to be explored and experimented with, in order for you to find the setting that works best for your needs and preferences.
Ultimately, the selection of an aftermarket power strap mostly comes down to how much elasticity and shock absorption you want, vs. a more direct, powerful connection to the cuff of the boot. In our experience, you can achieve a very similar level of elasticity with a Booster strap or Atomic Professional Dual Strap, though the Dual Strap provides the option to crank down its static strap for a more direct connection.
That’s all we have for now, as far as cracking open the world of aftermarket liners and power straps. Leave some of your questions or thoughts in the comment section, keeping in mind what works best for each person can be totally subjective.
I am in this conundrum this year on replacing boots or only custom liners reusing older shells.
Nordica SpeedMachine 12 shells from 13-14 years ago. Liners finally packed out where ankle foam inserts are no longer enough to take up the space.
LOVE my existing boots and thinking of the new SpeedMachine or ProMachine 12s as replacements which have moldable liners already. I have some lower leg issues so custom is always in my future. Do I bite the bullet on new boots for the extra $400-500 or go for custom liners?
Great write up, and of particular interest to me as a brand new owner of some Redster CS130 boots with the Pro liners. I’ve been an Intuition guy for a long time — love the warmth — so this will be an interesting journey!
Hi Kara,
Great article! Do you know if Booster/Atomic power straps can be used on the Full Tilt Classic/Drop-Kick (K2 Revolver [?]) shapes, and whether they’d go under the tongue?
Dave Dubuque
Spokane, WA
Dave, I have a pair of 2022 TW Pro Full Tilts. My second day up on them this season in Utah, the stock aluminum buckle (on the factory power strap) cracked. The occurrence of which I knew was inevitable by design. Took a trip down to Park City and picked up a set of Booster Straps. They integrate immaculately onto the boots and provide great aftermarket support in terms of a power strap. So the answer is YES. All models of Booster Straps should fit those models you asked about with a simple removal of old strap and single screw (if applicable) in the rear upper center of the shell. They work awesome. I went with the gold “professional” model since they go by skier weight.
My advice is to install them temporarily and tighten them as tight as you will desire on the hill, mark the mounting location, then install the screw. You’ll find that you want to mount the buckle way further forward than typical center. That way once the strap is tight, the “Booster” logo is centered on your shell in the front.
Hopefully this helps and wasn’t too much text!! Good luck
Thanks, Ben! Not too much text at all, and I’ll be adding straps to my Full Tilt’s before the season starts.
Hi Ben,
if I may ask, what’s your weight (maybe also size) and what do you ski with it?
I‘m ~183cm (6 feet) and weigh around 65kg (145 lbs) often ski off-piste and looking into doing some park and tricks. Should I go with the Standard or Expert/Professional Booster Strap model?
Thanks
Approaching 250 days on my zip fits. When I first got them I was lukewarm and had some buyer’s remorse. The cork moves around during the day, and it seems like the cork flows a little even after I’ve taken off my boots at the end of the day when there’s still some residual body heat in the liners. So for me there’s always a 30min to 1hr process at the beginning of each day to really get the cork flowing to all the right places and really dial in the fit. But now that I’m used to the process and the feel, and also have injected some more OMFit material over time, I’m a big fan. Can’t complain at all at how direct a connection to my boots through the ankle and instep they give me. These zip fits have even outlasted a pair of shells, as I’ve cracked the plastic in the overlap area of my boots. So with my new shells this season I’ve put in the same zip fits, and let the cork do its thing and mold to the new shell.
Do you remove the ZipFit liners from your shells to get them on/off? Do you think that may have caused the plastic failure? I’m leaning to zipfit but I’m a little put off that I may have to remove the liners frequently as my shells are quite a low volume fit and pretty tough to get on/off as it is with the stock liners, and I have already experienced a plastic failure once (luckily within warranty period) due to removing my liners after an especially cold day while the shells had not yet come to room temp.
Jake,
If you use the zip fits with the leather and not the foam you cannot slide your foot into the boot with the liner already in the shell. The leather has a crazy amount of grip and you will be more locked in than ever. FYI the stealth version definitely adds stiffness to the boot
Shawn, I found this too with my zip fits, ultimately I found sticking them on some boot dryers to warm them up at the start of the day skipped the 30min/1hr warm up period you referenced (although the need to do this reduced over the lifetime of the liners).
I am in this decision making process at the moment of inserting custom liners into 13 year old boot shells or whether to buy new boots altogether. Excellent commentary and would love to know your opinion on how shells have changed over time?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for reading. Which shells are you in? I would be a little cautious investing money into a 13-year-old shell, just because plastic does get brittle over time (old boots can actually crack and break quite easily). How much shells have changed depends on the boot, but there have been some changes in regard to weight, moldability, features, and fit.
Also, I would be interested what shape your heel and toe pieces are in. Most manufacturers will stop making replacement parts after a while, so there’s a chance your boot could become obsolescent if your heel and toes pieces wear down or break. That said, depending on the shell, there’s a chance you can get more life out of them by investing in a liner, I would just be a little cautious in this approach.
I have big bumps on my heals ( Haglunds Deformty). These can get very inflamed and oainful.Which liners would be best?
Hi Steve,
That sounds like a painful one. Have you found some boot shells that work well for your foot? I think a mixture of moldability for the prominence, and nice cushion surrounding the bump to disperse pressure evenly would lead to the best result. For this, I do think there’s a chance that any of these options could potentially work, depending on which boot shell you are in. Regardless, I think creating some space in the boot shell + having a well-molded, custom liner could create some nice relief over that area.
I have a similar problem with haglunds/heel bumps. My solution was a cabrio boot (dalbello lupo) which I think helps pull my heel to the back of the boot and a moulded intuition wrap liner (which came stock).
My liners are near the end of their life so I’m also interested to hear what has worked for someone with a similar problem.
How much will the Booster /Atomic dual power straps add to the of my stiffness boots?A gain in flex 110 – 120 with a dynamic bonus sounds what I’m trying to achieve.
Elastic straps don’t actually add stiffness to a boot, but they do add responsiveness and control. Since the straps are elastic (meaning they stretch) they actually make the boot feel a bit softer in terms of flex. But since they are elastic, they can be tightened in a way that allows you to get a really snug fit between your shin & the liner (and in the case of the Atomic Professional Dual Strap, the cuff as well) which increases responsiveness and they add a lot of shock absorption & damping, which give you more control. They will improve skiing performance, but not because they make the boot stiffer.
Hi Steve, I have haglunds deformity as well. I found a bootfitter who made a small punch, so that the bump could have some room. In addition, I ski with a pair of zipfits. I found that liners/boot combos that manage to securely hold my ankle in one spot prevent any back and forth bumping motion.
I definitely think the well placed punch was necessary. In addition, I think the zipfits allow the cork to move around and fill some of the space around my deformity… keeping a strong vertical heel hold.
Heated boot bag went from luxury to necessity for me with the zip fits. Liners in outside pockets, shells inside of my Kulkea. Fun fact – Sven Commers (zipfit) and Ray Fougere (Booster Strap inventor) used to share booth space at trade shows back in the day.
I used too replace my kids liners with Scarpa Branded Intution liners. You can often find those on close out for good prices, and compared to the crappy open cell foam and vinyl liners in kids boots? Way warmer, because they are closed cell foam so the stay warm all day. Way better fit, because heat moldable. Better performance form the snugger fit and much more supportive foam.
Don’t forget about Palau liners, made from heat moldable closed cell foam, like Intution. Especially for Touring boots, they offer a pretty comprehensive selection of flexibilities and thicknesses, where Intuition tends to be more on the thicker/stiffer side of things.
My ZipFits in my Lange boots give me direct connection to the snow. There is no slipping around at all and they are very warm even though it doesn’t seem like they should be.
It’s very hard to get in and out of the boots without having the liners on my foot when I insert or remove my foot from the boot. I don’t like that and I feel like it’s the price I pay for the performance I get. So, I deal with it.
I spoke with Sven before buying the liners and he’s just the nicest guy. Your success and satisfaction as skier and customer is definitely very important to him.
Thank you for the great article Kara.
I’m an intermediate skier and started my skiing journey in Minnesota (where it often gets brutally cold) when I bought my current boots) so I got an insole heating element. I also needed a custom insole. I was concerned about the stock liner packing out with my custom insole and the heating element and having to reinstall everything so I purchase a pair of Zipfits directly from Sven. While I don’t have any experience with the other liners listed, I am extremely happy with my Zipfits. They are snug, easy to customize (I got some extra cork compound to inject around my ankles), much more comfortable than my stock liner, especially around the toe area like the article mentioned. They are of very high build quality. I can easily see my liner lasting through multiple shells.
One remedy I have for people who have a hard time with putting the shell on after the liner is already on the foot is to spray the inside of the boot with some DuPont dry film lubricating spray. It’s less than $10 and makes a world of difference.
I just watched the pod cast on “Big Picture Skiing” with ZIPFIT then linked here for the fantastic insight!! Unfortunately, I just returned From CAT skiing at RED Mtn. in BC, Can. (I’m a Level III CSIA east Canadian Skier) where I shattered my ankle (Distal Tibia) in a straight heal eject after hitting something buried in a cut block on the last run of the day. I’m skiing a new pair of HEAD Core 2 with custom beds. Obviously, the heal lift into the cuff pushed bones down and back as seen on CT . Part of my problem is I’m afflicted with a skin condition call EB simplex (for short) basically severe blistering of the skin with heat & friction. Like normal people but just a 1000 times easier. It’s almost exclusively limited to Shin/ Lower front cuff area. If you don’t prevent it day one then its days of managing wounds (Second skin, gauze, bandages, wraps, etc.) I’m wondering if anyone has thoughts or ideas on Blistering, boot fitting, Liners, etc. If it can help me then it would be of great use to fellow skiers! I’m leaning towards ZIPFIT Freeride or Workhorse. My son , with the same affliction is in a TW Full Tilt. I’m wondering if an Intuition wrap or Zipfit would be better? I obviously won’t be back in my boots this year but I’m determined to get this right for next year. My son is leaving for Fernie, BC, Can. on the 15th Feb. and want to help him dial something in fairly quickly. Thank you to everyone for any insight, esp. Blister, Big picture skiing, etc. for bringing such insight & product review/knowledge to the greater skiing community!! Rob Underdown – Grateful back in TO!
#Rob Underdown. I’ve been skiing with a pair of ZipFit Gara HVs for just a couple of weeks. My experience might help, but I wouldn’t call definitive. Going from the stock Tecnica liners to ZipFit seems to have completely removed any ability (not just tendency) for my foot to slide, once laced and buckle in. This is different from the stock liners, where the hinged tongue had some slide on my shin, and on my foot sliding forward and backward a couple of millimeters on the footbed. The way the Gara’s are laced up seems to shift the movement surface from shin/tongue to Gara/shell. There is certainly some sliding between the surfaces when the boot is heavily flexed, but again, it’s between the shell and the liner, and not my shin and the liner.
So sorry to hear about the fracture! The Gara’s might help with that, too. The way the cork is placed in the liners ,it runs around, but not over, the ankles, and seems to kind of cup the sides, but not back of the achilles tendon. For me, the result has been skiing with zero, no, none pressure on my ankles. You might need to adjust the amount of cork in the liner around the affected ankle for a better fit. I think if you did this in an authorized shop, you’d be able to try this out for an hour or so in the store, to make sure it would work for you, an advantage of cork over custom foam.
Get better soon.
Hey Rob – just came across your post while looking for a pair of Booster Straps. First of all, my sympathies. Secondly, a friend of mine shattered his ankles and the only boots he can now ski are Apex, which are a combination of snowboard boot and frame. We live at Powder Mountain and he is skiing and even doing AT in the boots.
I have no idea if they will work with your skin condition but figured I would throw it out there. I had a pair of zip fits and was miserable trying to get them on and off every day. Not to mention i felt they stiffened up my boots and changed the flex pattern.
good luck!
I recently bought a pair of head raptor 140 pros and was surprised that the ankle pocket did not fit as snugly as I had hoped after only a few days of skiing. This was particularly surprising as I am cramming my 11.5 US foot into a 26.5 boot. I got the liquid fit done and that helped a little bit but I still have a fair amount of play around my ankle. Does this sound like a problem that the mimic Professional could solve? Additionally, how warm is the mimic professional and how long should I expect it to last? Finally, As my freeride and park skiing progressed throughout the season I began to experience reoccurring shin bang as a result of some hard landings, any advice on how to remedy this issue?
Thanks,
Gunnar
They are nice liners, but there is one that no one knows yet is coming because it is in development that will have very interesting features made stronger with better and more density option. It is name Super ComfortSki. I am the designer been in the ski industry for 38 years as a ski pro and is base on my experimentation on snow, I don’t pretend to be smarter but it is base on all those years of knowledges. Story to follow.