Ski Boot Liners: Zipfit & Atomic Mimic Professional (Ep.140)

14 comments on “Ski Boot Liners: Zipfit & Atomic Mimic Professional (Ep.140)”

1. sorry, i was a little distracted. but, did i hear “bacon liner “??? i am SOOO in…

2. I replaced the liners in my last year’s model Hawk Ultra XTD, with the Mimics, and while I like them a lot better than the old liners, my boots are totally maxed out in buckle adjustment. I can’t make them any tighter and they are too loose (both the boot and liner were heat molded.) Already have custom footbeds, so I’m going to have to get additional padding.

   • Hi John – normally buckles shouldn’t be fully maxed out (on the last catch of the toothplate), so it almost sounds like you either have an extremely low volume/narrow foot or you are potentially in the wrong size boot for your foot. It’s incredibly difficult to say without seeing your foot in the boot, but just something you should check with your boot-fitter.

     In the realm of “stock” liners, our regular Mimic liners do a great job of reshaping their stock materials to your heel, ankle, instep, shin, and calf muscle. They are by far one of the most custom stock options at the moment, but they aren’t able to reduce the volume of the fit- they can only reshape to you, not fill in excess space.

     This is where Mimic Professional will come in- you get all of the material reshaping of the heel, ankle, instep, shin, and calf areas but also foam injection technology to fully create your ideal next-to-skin fit, perfectly crafted for your left foot and right foot. Mimic Professional liners are also compatible with our V3 Tongue System which allow for equipping your liner with one of three different tongue volumes to further perfect the fit.

3. Def pumped to try the atomic pro series – and will probably put the dual strap on any boot I ride as a replacement for booster straps. For me, zipfits have been a game changer – have the free ride series and love them for resort skiing – they’re a game changer

4. So Jonathan you’re going to test the mimic liner in the Hawks ultra boot. So You are actually demoing the boot and the liner. Seems it would’ve been better to try the liner in your raptor to just get an opinion on just the liner.
   Then demo the Hawks ultra and liner

5. Finishing up my 3rd season in the WorldCup ZipFits (as seen in photo above). Absolutely love them! Not only do they provide a nice snug fit which noticeable increases your feel on snow from day one the neoprene adds some insulation. They’re inside my Rosi WC 130 shells and I plan on taking them to my next shell in a year or so. I also use Sole foot beds that you mold at home. Little longer to boot up since you need to put the liners on first then into the shell but the little extra effort is well worth it.

6. Hi from Sweden,
   Does the Atomic Mimic Professional liner only fit Atomic boots, or can it be used as an aftermarket customizable liner for other boot brands?
   I have the Salomon Shift Pro 120 boots, and I’m looking for a custom liner. Would they work together?

   • Hi Stefan – yes you can use a Mimic Professional liner in the Shift Pro boot, but the current range of Mimic Pro liners do not have an articulating cuff. So while you will get the fit you want, the touring ability of your boot will be affected. It would make for a great “resort day” liner, but not a great touring liner.

     • Got it, thanks for the quick reply. I use the Salomon boots mainly for resort offpiste skiing anyway, and other boots for long hauls.

7. Hi Matt @OneNerdykid………..I am size 26.5 with very narrow feet (91mm last width). I am an expert skier who mainly likes to arc high speed GS turns on steep groomed runs. Weight is 150 lbs and using Dynastar Master Speed GS (180 cm) skis. What Atomic boot is best for me? Will the new Club Sport with 96 mm last be to wide for me or does the new Mimic professional liner have the ability to take up all of the extra space and provide just as tight a performance fit as the atomic WC boot with a 92 mm last. Or am I better off getting the STI 130 with a 93mm last? Are the new Mimic professional liners warmer and just as connected performance wise as the world cup STI liners or is it better to get a boot and shell with my true last width and a thinner liner? Does the Mimic professional liner with foam injection in a 96 mm last Club Sport boot take up all the extra volume for a 91 mm last foot just as well or am I better off getting your narrower 92 or 93 mm WC or STI Redster boots? Thanks so much for any guidance you can provide.

   • Hi Pablo, It’s really hard to do this on the internet without seeing your feet but I would guess the Redster STI is a better starting point for you. This is our tightest fitting / lowest volume option and it is designed with lighter racers in mind (the plastic is slightly thinner which makes it easier for lighter skiers to flex). We don’t offer a complete “Professional” STI boot, but we do make a Mimic Professional liner for it. You can start with the standard STI 130 and go from there.

8. Thank You Matt @OneNerdykid…………I really appreciate the advice………….you’re spot on that it’s hard to get the right fit over the internet. But I live in Los Angeles (the largest city in America) and amazingly, no one in the entire city has any of your high end Atomic race boots in stock. They just don’t carry them, ever. And surprisingly neither do any of the ski shops at Bear Mountain or Mammoth Mountain. So I found it virtually impossible to go in and try different boot models and sizes on before buying them to get the best fit between the World Cup model and the Club Sport model. I ended up buying the Club Sport 130’s a few months ago in a 26.5, which is what multiple Atomic certified shops here measured my feet as on the Mondo scale. But when I received the boots and was up training with the U.S. ski team this may at Mammoth, my feet were swimming in them and it turns out I need a size 25.5 boot. I got this information from the experts at Sure Foot in Mammoth who spent days trying to make these boots fit for me (they have fitted Bode Miller and many other top racers and really know their stuff) and they finally said it can’t be done and I need 25.5’s. The 26.5 Atomic boots I have are brand new and I’ve only skied in them 7 days. Now I’m stuck with boots that don’t fit and are painful and I find it very difficult and uncomfortable to arc GS turns at 45 mph on water injected and salted slopes, which is what I’ve been doing. It also took months for the bone bruises on my feet to heal from trying to gut it out, since there were no other options available at that point after having driven a thousand miles to try and test them out. Now that I know after finally wearing these that I need 25.5 boots, my question is will the new mimic professional foam injected liner also reduce volume in a 25.5 boot? My narrow last is 91 and the narrow last of the 25.5 Atomic Club Sport is 94 (2 mm less than the 26.5’s I bought), so If I get a 25.5 boot, I still need to reduce 3 mm inside the boot to get a tight fit. Will the foam injection do that? And how much of the liner gets foam injected………does the foam cover the tuberosity of the metatarsal bone and also extend over and around the entire length of the Metatarsal bones to the Head, or is it just around the ankles and heel? I love Atomic equipment but I have been extremely frustrated and very disappointed by this experience with your boots. Will Atomic exchange these for me to a size 25.5 professional series given what’s transpired? Any suggestions or guidance would be greatly appreciated Matt. As Always, thank you for your help and thoughts!!!

9. Super interested to hear Jonathan’s experience with the Mimic Professional liner in the Head Raptor 140 RS.

   @onenerdykid – Which Mimic Professional liners would you recommend for the 18/19 Raptors (96mm last at 26.5)? I’m currently skiing them with the stock Head liner and they’re about right volume-wise, but I would love to get the secure, custom fit around the heel and ankles that the Mimic Professional seems to provide. Do I use the Hawx version or the Redster version? Thanks!

10. Had my local shop order me a mimic Professional liner for my Doberman GPs. Unfortunately, my shop either accidentally ordered or was sent the Mimic Professional Ti/STi liner. I was expecting the Hawx ultra version or maybe even the Redster CS. I was leaving for a ski trip in less than a week, so we decided to foam it. Having worked with various Surefoot foam liners, I was familiar with the process and what to expect. The liners seem well made and well thought out. Heel hold is great and I noticed the boots felt stiffer. Foam is definitely more firm than the Surefoot memory foam but it feels good for a performance fit boot. Unfortunately, the forefoot feels a little too loose and naked for my liking. I think this is because I got the Ti/STI liner versus the hawx ultra or the CS. There is no padding in the liner in the forefoot, mostly just thin fabric. I assume this is because this is a plug boot liner versus a 98mm last. I’m wondering if the hawx or CS liner has more padding in the forefoot similar to a stock liner? Side note, I like the fact that the tongues are not foam injected. My experience with foamed tongues is that the foam can add pressure points where they aren’t desired. Unfortunately, I might go back to the stock liner Nordica liner as I prefer the feel a little better. I’d be curious to try the CS or Hawx version though to see if it’s better in the forefoot. Something to note, the liner was about a have a size shorter than my stock liner. Not the end of the world but if you’re already stretching the toes on you’re stock liner, these might be tighter.