Looking for a very narrow last, 92, 93, maybe 94 (yes, plugs probably).
Need very narrow ankle/low ceiling over the instep.
But the toe box needs to be wide.
Is there one? Head? Rossi/Lange?
Or does my bootfitter need to be able to widen the toebox without thinning the plastic too much this time?
Your feet sound a lot like mine. I realize people like to caution to not expect to much of heat moldable boots, and its a very good point. But let me tell you what I like about them. Both pairs I've owned (I've also tried on others that just weren't right), I stuck my feet in first time and they fit. But not comfortably. I ski two sizes smaller than my street shoes typically. I stuff my feet in. The toes are flat. Nothing is pinching. Nothing goes to sleep. The toenails are not being tweaked. But they're cramped. You know, just not what I would call comfortable or pleasant. Could I ski in them? Yes, I've skied in many boots that fit like this. Many of us have come to accept it as a compromise that is required for control and stability.
But, then what happens when they heat mold is amazing. Suddenly all that sensation of being cramped is gone. There is just comfort. The boot expanded and contracted minute amounts in all the right places. Pure comfort, day one, with no loss of control and stability.It really is all its cracked up to be.
IF.
If you start with a good fit, you can get a great fit. If you start with a great fit, you can get an amazing fit. I don't have experience with starting with a poor or mediocre fit, but I think the biggest hesitation people like us have is there is a lot of unjustified hype out there that these things are the end of boot fitting. You just ask their size, heat mold the boots and make everybody happy. Unh-uh. Nowhere close. I'm not preaching at you
@LiquidFeet . Just addressing the issue in general. Heat molding does absolutely nothing to replace the process of getting the right boots on your feet. It just takes you that last little bit to amazing fit. Its not a miracle worker.
I started with a pair of Salomon Quest 110. The initial fit was great. The resulting fit was amazing. Truly amazing. The boot however was too soft and the liner was sh*t. Replacing with a good liner would have helped.
Instead I moved to a Fischer Progressor 13. In some ways this was a mistake, but not a big one. The initial fit was good. The resulting fit was great. But the boot is a little too stiff, and I miss the fit of the Salomon.
The difference between the two for me has been the instep. The Fischer is a higher volume boot than the Salomon. I unreasonably expected that heat molding would be able to solve that too. After all, the touted difference for Fischer was the upper cuff is moldable too, whereas Salomon the lower boot was the only moldable. In hindsight, the upper moldability was useless to me because the Fischer is just a little too voluminous. And the Salomon was just right. That said, where I think the upper moldability would come in handy is for people with thick ankles and calves, and short lower legs where the calf muscle is IN the boot. Neither of these is me.
So, the Fischer is a really good boot and a really good fit, the second best fitting boot I've ever had. Being a perfectionist, I want to try the new Salomon X Max.
If you are used to race plugs, maybe there is nothing out there that is stiff enough for you. Although I will say the Progressor 13 is a damn stiff boot. But that is the point of heat molding to me. IF its the right boot for you, the heat molding will make you love it. If its not the right boot for you, heat molding won't do a damn thing to change that.
