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Atomic boot / liner fit issue for an 11 year old

Wade

Out on the slopes
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Nov 19, 2015
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929
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New York
My hard skiing 11 year old / 5 feet tall / 85 lb son got his first pair of "real" boots for this season. Atomic Redster CS 70s. We purchased them from a very well respected boot fitter, and they've so far mostly proven to be an excellent choice. They fit well right out of the box, and they haven't been modified. My son is really happy with the way they ski and they seem like a very well built boot.

This year has been a bit of a transition for him in getting into a freestyle / freeski program and significantly ratcheting up his days on snow (he has about 25 days so far this season). Along with that, I've spent time with him in making sure his gear works right, which for his boots, has meant putting them on in a consistent way each time, getting his heels seated right, buckling the boots in the correct order, learning how to use the micro adjustors etc. He's done great with it, but has had one nagging issue with the boots that the fitter had a go at fixing, but where the fix didn't really make a difference.

When my son puts his left boot on, he gets what he describes as something digging into his foot in the area I've circled here - right where his foot transitions to his ankle. He describes it as sharp and painful.
IMG_2404.jpeg


As best as I can with the boot on his foot, I've felt around to make sure the liner is seated correctly, and felt for any sharp edges, but I can't find anything. I've had him take the boot off, played around with the liner trying to make sure that area is smooth and not going to fold over, and had him put the boot back on, and usually the issue persists. Maybe 30% of the time after multiple iterations of taking off the boot, fiddling with the liner and putting everything back together, the issue magically disappears after one or more liner pulls. About 70% of the time he just lives with it (and complains).

I've included some pics the liner below. The pain seems like it's right below the red cutout section in the tongue in the first pic. The only thing remotely sharp I can feel down there is the edge of the plastic I've circled in the second pic, but I've been pretty careful to make sure the padding next to that isn't folded over and exposing his foot to the hard edge.

IMG_2412.jpeg
IMG_2414.jpeg
IMG_2410.jpeg


It's entirely possible he or I are just doing this wrong and missing something obvious that is happening when he puts on the boot. Failing that though, we unfortunately won't get back to his boot fitter before he's had a few more ski days on these, and I don't want him to be skiing in pain. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Anything I can try to resolve this either permanently or at least until he has an opportunity to go back to the fitter?
 

skiki

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2019
Posts
653
Location
Massachusetts
That sounds like the issue I had at first with my Head Nexo Lyt at the start of the season. It felt like a sharp edge on the side of the tongue. Only on the left foot, not the right. But I've discovered that if I really pry the front apart with both hands to slide my foot it, it doesn't happen. It only happens if I try to slide my foot in by pulling the tongue forward like I've always done with previous boots.
 

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