Boot Advice Sought

Curious... do folks modify their fit before they get on a mtn? Or... find they need to mod it after a trip?  How likely is a boot going to give an ideal fit at the store? Obvious ones get ruled out.... but others?

There is shell fit, and liner fit. For me, I had a fairly tight 1-1.5cm Shell fit in my AT boots, with a little touching of the shell on both sides of my foot.

I couldn't stand in the boots with liner un-molded for more than 15 minutes; no friggen way was I going to "ski them to break them in". I had the liners heat molded, then skied them a few times, then went and had them punched to give me more room across the forefoot.

Re: blisters. For me personally, I find every time I skin at a "blistering pace" I still get blisters since my feet sweat so much there is some rubbing that occurs, regardless of whether I'm wearing liner socks and a thin oversock, slapping duck tape on the ankles prior to starting, etc. If I slow it down a bit this doesn't happen. Paying close attention to skinning technique- and matching the track pitch to the the heal lifter helps too.

Light is generally right, but the bigger the transition from your regular alpine boots to touring boots the more awkward the touring boots will feel when it comes to the down (assuming using 2 diff boots for lift served vs AT). Transitioning from an alpine race boot to a soft flexing AT may have you eating your tips to begin as the boot collapses when pressuring the tongue.

-Awesome advice Cookiemonster and Mofro

one more item i would like to add for me is that; for blisters and hotsposts-i have always used duct tape before i put the boot on.

for items of pain or tightness-then i go to a higher echelon and see Mr. Sullivan.

and the suply shops normally have someone on staff that knows about shell fit and bones in the foot and such.

So-for me-ideally i find a boot that fits good in the store, go skiing, and (on this last pair) had adjustments made.

Hope I was helpfull.

This is great help folks... thank you! I was blown away with the lightness of some boots I handled. Amazing!

So... one store told me a flex of 120 is approaching the shell of an alpine boot. They said an alpine starts at about 130. Do you agree?

Thanks for your advice and insight... I like the idea of letting a tour reveal issues rather than modifying it before it's hits snow. Time and experience will surface the joys and frustration. I found that out in my alpine boots going uphill... yowzer!

...Stopped by Marmot today and Eric was great. 

...Any boot gods you recommend to see and buy from?

I bought boots from marmot and Eric spent extra time/sessions fitting them for me (no punching things out however).  Marmot was also good helping me get some boot parts I needed to replace..

Much more forward lean as well.

I agree with everything CM says but this.  Lean, ramp angle and ski radius always provide a lively discussion on Internet forums.    Lean varies from individual to individual.  I ski tall, like less lean, less ramp angle and a tighter radius ski cuz I have huge calves and am a ball of foot athlete.  I modified my TLT5s by machining a lean lock plate which results in 3 degrees upright from stock.  I also shim the toes on Dynafits to get less ramp angle.  (Fritschis are pretty flat.)   Guys with skinny calves who ski more "in the chair" like more ramp angle, more lean and a longer radius ski.  One size does not fit all.  There's lots of stuff out there about ramp angle and forward lean in this age of rocker tips and modern sidecuts.  Bootfitter Reverend Jim Mates makes a good case for going with less ramp angle and less lean.

ETA: Eric at MMW is a great resource and will do you right.  If you get into it you're likely to run into him on a tour.

one store told me a flex of 120 is approaching the shell of an alpine boot.  They said an alpine starts at about 130. Do you agree?

Flex index numbers have no testing standard and vary remarkably from company to company (when a number is even provided). All you can really assume is that a boot with a higher number will have a stiffer forward flex than another boot from the same company with a lower number; you really have to try the boot you think you want on and flex it (remember that some plastics will stiffen in the cold). As Big Steve mentions, most people who've toured a lot are willing to forgo some downhill control in favor of lighter weight and more tourabililty. How much is quite personal.

As far as getting a perfect shell fit out of the box, your chances are not especially good - but you could be lucky. I usually pick a boot based on flex and features and assume my bootfitter (Jim Mates for me as well) can make it conform to my foot. I strongly recommend getting it as comfortable as possible before setting foot on snow - you can always skin faster if you need more pain.

FWIW, most of the best bootfitters in this area specialize in just the FIT aspect and don't sell the actual boots. You need to buy the boots elsewhere and then go to them for footbeds, shell work, aftermarket liners, etc. It's an additional and not insignificant addition to the price of the boots, but experience has shown that it's the last place you want to scrimp.