Insoles lifespan?

[chris_the_wrench]

Howdy

About a10-12 days ago I started getting a bit of weird heel pain that would come and go. More of an annoyance but gradually became more regular and really annoying. The way I can describe the pain is center of the back of my heel real low but still on the vertical part right before the heel starts to slant but not a pinpoint spot pain more like a thin line horizontal pressure. During this time I swapped liners and problem continued, swapped back to old liners problem continued. Pulled my liners and dropped my foot in the shell and it still all looked good with nothing that looked like it could cause the pain I was experiencing . I then swapped in some older footbeds(age wise but less ski days) and the problem went away. I still have a bit of ‘ghost pain’ from it being aggravated the past few days but it looks like my insoles may have been the issue??

The insoles in question were used last season plus this season and have about 140’ish days under my 200 lbs. Oh yeah they are ‘custom’. I cant tell if the heel cup has compressed down or if the ‘felt’ material on top is bunching up/rolling over, but the pain location directly relates to the top of the footbed. Im going to ski my old footbeds over the next couple of days and see how it goes.

What kind of lifespan should I expect out of footbeds? In the past Ive probably bought them every other season, just because....

Thanks
Chris

 

[Nobody]

mmmh, I have an insole from conform'able since the low mid-90 (1993 I think) , been transferring it from boot to boot.
Last year had a new one made , expressly for the racing boots (being at least half a size smaller than the everyday boots).
Plan to have another new one made for the freeride ones. But the original one is still performing to my satisfaction...
This said, I have really no idea what lifespan a (skiing) custom insole should have...

 

[raytseng]

The first picture has that black thing, which seems like those aren't just the sidas custom insoles, but it looks like a custom heel lift or heel support was also added onto the insole. I think that's a key factor, and potentially that is the issue? Perhaps you don't need a heel lift anymore in your skiing; or possibly it's the heel lift has died or compromised the insole.

It does not look like a smooth transition of the heel lift to the insole's bottom, so overtime, maybe that ended up producing a ledge or crease in the insole. Especially as you described a horizontal line of pressure, and that black thing exactly has a nice horizontal line...

 

[chris_the_wrench]

That could be.. I wasn't even looking at that.

The first picture has that black thing, which seems like those aren't just the sidas custom insoles, but it looks like a custom heel lift or heel support was also added onto the insole. I think that's a key factor, and potentially that is the issue? Perhaps you don't need a heel lift anymore in your skiing; or possibly it's the heel lift has died or compromised the insole.

It does not look like a smooth transition of the heel lift to the insole's bottom, so overtime, maybe that ended up producing a ledge or crease in the insole. Especially as you described a horizontal line of pressure, and that black thing exactly has a nice horizontal line...

 

[otto]

Not an added heel lift... This is posting material that helps tp stabilize the footbeds control over the subtler joint. More than likely you are feeling the back edge of top of the footbed because the trim and interfacing of the footbed into the liner was not properly done. In this case the bevel of thepostying material may be a bit to vertical which can make the footbed push forward in the liner. Also the most commonly mistake of inserting footbeds is trimming them too short and therefore it can slide too far toward the toe which in turn exposes the top of the heel counter to the bottom of your foot.

Footbeds last a long time in ski boots especially if they are properly cast, finished off and trimmed and adapted to the liner and shell shape. Unfortunately for you, if the trim is short the only option you have is a new custom footbed by a better boot fitter...

 

[chris_the_wrench]

In this case the bevel of thepostying material may be a bit to vertical which can make the footbed push forward in the liner. Also the most commonly mistake of inserting footbeds is trimming them too short and therefore it can slide too far toward the toe which in turn exposes the top of the heel counter to the bottom of your foot.

Heres a side pic. Possibly bevel the black material down at an angle and maybe some double sided tape to keep the insole from moving in the liner. It doesnt seem to shift but this is the 4-5 liner and second boot its lived in.

Also i just realized the layers are starting to delaminate abit, may need a drop or two of epoxy in there?
Thanks

 

[Noodler]

Heres a side pic. Possibly bevel the black material down at an angle and maybe some double sided tape to keep the insole from moving in the liner. It doesnt seem to shift but this is the 4-5 liner and second boot its lived in.

Also i just realized the layers are starting to delaminate abit, may need a drop or two of epoxy in there?
Thanks

The posts so far are being "nice" to the master craftsman that built these footbeds. That is not great work and I would be taking these back to the shop and discussing this work with the owner. I wouldn't recommend hacking on these before at least attempting to get the shop to make it right.

 

[Tom K.]

I gotta agree with @Noodler.

No way a quality footbed should look like that after 140 days -- my current beds have close to 1,000 days, and still feel exactly like "my feet".

Either back to the source, or move on without a rearward glance.

 

[otto]

The pictures are helpful, however a good boot fitter would have the advantage of seeing all of the pieces involved, like the boot, the boot board, the footbed, your foot and the ability to look closely at all the components and figure out what is the root cause of the problem. It is easy to look at a picture and come up with a WAG on what is causing the problem. To really get down to a solution you need to get into a boot fitter that can tell the difference through deductive reasoning between a well built footbed that matches the bottom shape of your foot, with the right material for the flexibility of your arch. Then the fitter has to use that same level of deductive reasoning to go through the shape of the boot board, the contours of the shell, and the trim and installation of the footbed into the boot. When all that is done to perfection you are on your way to comfort and success on the mountain...

 

[chris_the_wrench]

The boots(I don't use anymore) and the insole came from a shop 700 miles from where I am now. So Im moving on