Battling cold feet for a few years - finally fixed

[bmurray]

Hello fellow skiers and hope ya'll enjoying this ski season.

I just wanted to post this as may help someone else in future. I had replaced my ski boots a few years ago and swapped over my custom beds. I was having a heck of a time keeping my feet warm and could only tolerate an hour or two before having to hit the warming hut for an hour. After trying many things (new socks, looser settings on buckles, etc.) I finally this year pulled the beds, and viola...warm feet. I do not have any bed in there at all. I may experiment with a thin bed in future but at least I can now ski all day without having to go in at all.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner. I guess I had just been so used to having the custom beds in I kept discounting them as the issue.

Thanks for reading and enjoy this wonderful ski season Bill

 

[Philpug]

I am glad that worked ... for you.

 

[Andy Mink]

I'm guessing your new boots were just a bit more snug than the old ones and the foot bed was lifting your foot into the ceiling impinging on nerves and/or blood flow. Glad you have warm feet again.

 

[Uncle-A]

Just a quick question, when you put your custom footbeds in did you remove the thin manufacturers footbeds? That could have caused the problem if you didn't, I have seen people do stuff like that.

 

[bmurray]

Just a quick question, when you put your custom footbeds in did you remove the thin manufacturers footbeds? That could have caused the problem if you didn't, I have seen people do stuff like that.

yes, I did remove the oem footbed before installing my custom footbed. Now running no footbed and skied in teens all day yesterday with warm feet. It was wonderful. Just feel a little silly for not having solved sooner as I've been skiing over 30 yrs. Better late than never

 

[Philpug]

My first thought really is that is if this is what you have to be warm in the boot by not using any support under the foot is that the boot was not the correct model or size to start off with.

 

[ThomasD]

My first thought really is that is if this is what you have to be warm in the boot by not using any support under the foot is that the boot was not the correct model or size to start off with.

Or he has really flat feet. Like plantar fasciitis flat

 

[ski otter 2]

Hello fellow skiers and hope ya'll enjoying this ski season.

I just wanted to post this as may help someone else in future. I had replaced my ski boots a few years ago and swapped over my custom beds. I was having a heck of a time keeping my feet warm and could only tolerate an hour or two before having to hit the warming hut for an hour. After trying many things (new socks, looser settings on buckles, etc.) I finally this year pulled the beds, and viola...warm feet. I do not have any bed in there at all. I may experiment with a thin bed in future but at least I can now ski all day without having to go in at all.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner. I guess I had just been so used to having the custom beds in I kept discounting them as the issue.

Thanks for reading and enjoy this wonderful ski season Bill

I had something very similar happen. The problem in my case was definitely the custom footbeds, not the boots or proper fit. I switched bootfitters (to good race boot fitter in Breckenridge) and told him what I'd experienced, and that I'd ditched the expensive custom footbed for the thin originals (rather than none at all, as in your case). (My boots: Lange RS 130 "consumer" race boots, fit very snugly and correctly, but needing custom fitting.)

His response was he'd seen the same thing repeatedly. He told me it was common for custom footbeds to be made more snugly supposedly for either comfort, or for more connection to the boots/bindings/skis, and just fill up the whole space too much, mostly being too thick. He added that he allowed for that very problem when he did a custom footbed, even for racers with race or plug boots - but their choice. He showed me one of his: it was noticeably thinner and a bit less contoured, so that the foot could breathe and circulate a bit, if possible. I had him make his footbed, which was not expensive. It worked just as well as the thin original, in terms of warmth and circulation. It worked noticeably better in terms of connection to the skis and snow. And with it the too tight boots I already had were just the right size already, with a bit of expert grinding from him. Both my cold feet problem and my boot fit/slight pain problems were solved at the same time, with the help of that much thinner custom footbed - and a bootfitter who was at the top of his game.

Sometimes his customers, especially racers, wanted an even snugger fit, at the expense of warmth and comfort - mostly young racers or freeride pros. In that case, as long as they knew what they were getting into, he'd go along with that. But these folk were young, no foot health problems that go with aging, no problem with cold feet.

(My own problem with cold and those too large footbeds was also a problem of having "old guy" feet, fairly suddenly. It wasn't until I was almost 70 that the problem developed, from deteriorating circulation, in my case, more than likely. My feet bottoms felt slightly numb at times anyway. )

 

[Uncle-A]

I have to agree with @Philpug the sizing of the boot might be off, and I don't mean just length. The volume of the boot is also a consideration, you get cold due to low circulation to the foot. If you are reducing the circulation by being in a low volume boot and you have to remove all foot support to increase the volume it is just sized wrong. The lower you are in a shell the wider shell is and the more room over the instep, the higher up in the shell the narrower the boot is and less room over the instep. When you put the custom footbeds in you are lifting the foot into a smaller volume of boot and that is the source of your cold feet.

 

[dovski]

So to start with, it clearly sounds like your boots with the custom footbed were cutting off circulation. My wife had the same problem, but the way we solved it with our bootfitter was by making mods to and ultimately replacing the boots and a creating a new lower profile footbed. While you may not have the circulation issues that caused the cold feet, without a proper footbed you may also not be getting the right foot support and that can impact your skiing and your feet. Curious if you tried working with a bootfitter to solve this problem before just removing the footbeds. If not, it might be worth investing some time with one. As @Philpug said this may not be the right boot for you, but depending on the boot there may also be a very simple fix to add more volume in the right place that would allow you to put your footbeds back in. Always pays to consult an expert on matters like this

 

[Roundturns]

This thread made me remember probably 20 years ago on a ski trip to Mammoth , I has Superfeet Cork footbeds made at Foot Loose Sports.
Talk about a thick high volume foot bed. I only used them for a short time.
I wonder if the Superfeet Cork footbeds are even made anymore.

I know I’m happier in a less rigid lower volume footbed.

 

[Tom K.]

This thread made me remember probably 20 years ago on a ski trip to Mammoth , I has Superfeet Cork footbeds made at Foot Loose Sports.
Talk about a thick high volume foot bed. I only used them for a short time.
I wonder if the Superfeet Cork footbeds are even made anymore.

I know I’m happier in a less rigid lower volume footbed.

Boy, that's for sure. Putting in my old Superfeet Cork footbeds -- that still fit perfectly -- is my last step in addressing liners packing out. I just put them into my current boots, so I know it's time for new liners or boots next season.

One of the downsides of moving to a place where I'm now skiing around 60 days a year!

 

[Tricia]

This thread made me remember probably 20 years ago on a ski trip to Mammoth , I has Superfeet Cork footbeds made at Foot Loose Sports.
Talk about a thick high volume foot bed. I only used them for a short time.
I wonder if the Superfeet Cork footbeds are even made anymore.

I know I’m happier in a less rigid lower volume footbed.

This made me think of a boot customer that I had been using drop in footbeds for his fitting. He loved the boots but decided to order them on line. He then proceeded to put his old superfeet Corks in his new (on line) boots which were miserable.
He came to me, wanting me to fix the problem but he refused to believe that his footbeds needed to be either replaced or modified in a big way.
His footbeds were so volumeous that they were almost deformed from the low volume boot.
After I told him, "let me make you footbeds and if that doesn't fix the problem, you don't have to pay me for them. If it does, you pay me."
I made him a new Instaprint footbed and voila! His issues were gone. Well....his boot issues were gone. I can't speak to his other issues.

 

[Tom K.]

@Tricia, you've kind of buried the lead.

Did he pay you for the footbeds?!

 

[Tricia]

@Tricia, you've kind of buried the lead.

Did he pay you for the footbeds?!

He did! And now he recommends me to all of his clients.

 

[In2h2o]

This thread made me remember probably 20 years ago on a ski trip to Mammoth , I has Superfeet Cork footbeds made at Foot Loose Sports.
Talk about a thick high volume foot bed. I only used them for a short time.
I wonder if the Superfeet Cork footbeds are even made anymore.

I know I’m happier in a less rigid lower volume footbed.

Boy, that's for sure. Putting in my old Superfeet Cork footbeds -- that still fit perfectly -- is my last step in addressing liners packing out. I just put them into my current boots, so I know it's time for new liners or boots next season.

One of the downsides of moving to a place where I'm now skiing around 60 days a year!

They don't make the "old" Superfeet Cork footbeds anymore but they do make a cork foot bed. Ironically, I just had cork foot beds made for me this week and they will help me get my current alpine boot thru the end of this season. I was shopping for new boots just before the pandemic and things haven't worked out for various reasons - LV 22.5 inventory and options are not that plentiful, its clear now that I need something narrower than my current LV 98.

I do have cork foot beds that were made for me when I purchased my touring boots 4 years ago. I have always wondered why I had such great lateral control in the softer AT boot compared to my alpine boot. I have no issues in my AT boot with fit or coldness.

This week I went in to get some work done as I had pain on the top of my instep, over buckling, cold feet. I'm on my second liner (which has clearly packed out) had tired zip fits (long story-too much room in the forefoot). So as we were discussing the the pressure on the top of the foot, instead of making space on the tongue, decided to try new footbeds as seems I have very 'mobile' feet. I previously had custom "red" Superfeet, and my boots 'seemed' to fit me like a glove -no heel lift ever, toes just touching, like a firm handshake, but this season I felt like I didn't have control and was over buckling. However, with the new cork footbed the difference is amazing - I now have the lateral control I feel in my AT boots and actually, the cork footbed gave me more room in my toes, and the instep pain is gone. I personally need that extra support to translate movement without my foot collapsing. Will I need it in my next boot? not sure. But I do know that it is making my skiing that boot for the remainder of this season that much better and buys some time until I can get new boots.

 

[Noodler]

Your foot must "mesh" with the rear contours of the shell correctly. The "height" that your foot sits in the shell is governed by the thickness of the bootboard, liner sole, and then the footbed. These 3 things must work together to ensure that your foot is not too high or too low when it's sitting in the shell.

That said, it's not necessarily the footbed's fault if your foot ends up too high and having the circulation cut off. The bootboard could simply be reduced in thickness and/or the footbed volume thinned a bit. It's important to recognize that this is a system and all the components must work together to complete the perfect fit. If the bootboard is not the type that can be adjusted and the footbed is already quite thin, then it's time to find a different boot.

 

[Uncle-A]

Your foot must "mesh" with the rear contours of the shell correctly. The "height" that your foot sits in the shell is governed by the thickness of the bootboard, liner sole, and then the footbed. These 3 things must work together to ensure that your foot is not too high or too low when it's sitting in the shell.

That said, it's not necessarily the footbed's fault if your foot ends up too high and having the circulation cut off. The bootboard could simply be reduced in thickness and/or the footbed volume thinned a bit. It's important to recognize that this is a system and all the components must work together to complete the perfect fit. If the bootboard is not the type that can be adjusted and the footbed is already quite thin, then it's time to find a different boot.

I like your description of the 3 component that make up the heel cup of a boot. Some boot manufacturers use to make different thickness of boot boards I don't know if they still do, the problem is that very few shops carry the different thickness. The boot board is not the highest priority for shops and many good boot fitters. I have had the thin boot boards break in the middle because it is the narrow part of the board so you need to be careful with the real thin ones.

 

[cantunamunch]

That said, it's not necessarily the footbed's fault if your foot ends up too high and having the circulation cut off. The bootboard could simply be reduced in thickness and/or the footbed volume thinned a bit.

Yep, when people started talking Superfeet Cork, I was like "wait, those were the easiest thing in the world to belt sand, given any 40 grit belt!"

Of course, the issues there are keeping the heel-to-to angle/lift consistent between left and right boots, without screwing up the lateral plane and without rounding off the bottom edges, so it still interfaces well with the liner without rocking.

 

[Uncle-A]

Yep, when people started talking Superfeet Cork, I was like "wait, those were the easiest thing in the world to belt sand, given any 40 grit belt!"

Of course, the issues there are keeping the heel-to-to angle/lift consistent between left and right boots, without screwing up the lateral plane and without rounding off the bottom edges, so it still interfaces well with the liner without rocking.

Easier said than done, when ever you start to grind the footbed you have to be careful.