Medial Maleolus Pain with New Intuition Liners

[tazdevl]

But of course this would result in a less than optimal performance fitting. Padding out areas of pain makes a lot of sense UNTIL you get to critical control surfaces on the foot. Your ankles are one of those control surfaces and looseness on/around your ankles should not be the goal, but if you are prioritizing comfort over performance, I get it.

i didn’t notice a difference in comfort vs performance. Forgot to mention custom insoles were part of the original fit.

 

[troponin2021]

I thought my ankle area was ready to go, but shortly after I noticed in snow boots it was still tender. After around 3 weeks, the tenderness does not seem to be present. I did a test today wearing my boots with the Intuition Power Wrap liners vs the orignal liners for a while. I noticed that the Power Wraps are extremely tight around my ankles, while the stock liners felt very supportive without any of the pressure points in the Power Wraps.

I am actually not surprised of these results as the Power Wraps visually seem too big for my shells and really push them out. I plan on stopping by my bootfitter tomorrow and discussing the situation with him.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Dakine]

Been there.
A shell punch fixed it.
Padding can't help if two objects are trying to occupy the same place.
Bodies are not symmetrical, my right is fine my left is a pain.

 

[troponin2021]

Been there.
A shell punch fixed it.
Padding can't help if two objects are trying to occupy the same place.
Bodies are not symmetrical, my right is fine my left is a pain.

I hope so. I'm very hesitant to ski with these liners again. Boot issues (which I've never had) completely destroyed my season this year.

 

[Dakine]

The problem I had is I got my maleolus punched and all was well for a while.
Then the pain came back and I found the punch had relaxed so I had to get it punched again.
A heated boot bag set on high will cause punches to relax with high quality boots.
Those polymers really like to hold their as molded shape.
Intuition liners proved no better than factory Atomic ones until I got the shell shape right again.
If you ski with a hot spot, it becomes sensitized and may not calm down until you stop skiing for a while.

 

[Noodler]

I hope so. I'm very hesitant to ski with these liners again. Boot issues (which I've never had) completely destroyed my season this year.

Note that with each subsequent heating of an Intuition liner it will shrink more as the foam becomes more dense. Of course this will slightly reduce the warmth of the liner, but the liner will be more responsive and potentially fit better into the shell. So do discuss with your fitter, but if he doesn't suggest a reheat/re-fit of the liner (with the sore area padded out), then you should suggest and see what the response is.

 

[cantunamunch]

Note that with each subsequent heating of an Intuition liner it will shrink more as the foam becomes more dense. Of course this will slightly reduce the warmth of the liner, but the liner will be more responsive and potentially fit better into the shell. So do discuss with your fitter, but if he doesn't suggest a reheat/re-fit of the liner (with the sore area padded out), then you should suggest and see what the response is.

Weren't you the one who had a multi-cooked 27 liner in a 25 shell?

 

[Noodler]

Weren't you the one who had a multi-cooked 27 liner in a 25 shell?

Yes. I'm just crazy like that.

 

[Henry]

Telephone Intuition headquarters, 604-879-9231. Tell them about your shells, your liner size & model, and your foot problem. Ask if you have the correct liner for your shells & feet. Intuition makes so many liner models, and few shop employees know exactly which to sell for which shell & foot combination.
https://intuitionliners.com/contact-us/

 

[troponin2021]

I went back to my boot guy on Tuesday. He did a quick shell fit with my footbeds and noticed the area that bothers me is pretty tight. I told him the two scenarios are when I most notice it:

(1) When I engage the boots and they bend forward, it feels like the shell is bending into my shin and medial malleolus.
(2) I notice it more turning left than right

After getting all this information he marked the spot where it bothers and punched the boot a little more forward than where it was last punched and got me around a half inch (~1.3 cm) of space. They felt good in the shop but everything does at 70 degrees.

I got them out today, and still the same issue. I felt optimistic but that feeling was quickly thwarted after a few runs.

The problem I had is I got my maleolus punched and all was well for a while.
Then the pain came back and I found the punch had relaxed so I had to get it punched again.
A heated boot bag set on high will cause punches to relax with high quality boots.
Those polymers really like to hold their as molded shape.
Intuition liners proved no better than factory Atomic ones until I got the shell shape right again.
If you ski with a hot spot, it becomes sensitized and may not calm down until you stop skiing for a while.

I do use a heated boot bag, but I usually don't set it to high. I generally use the lowest setting.

FWIW, I use a hot gear bag, but I don't think they are in business anymore.

When I first got the liners, my boot fitter asked if I had a heated boot bag. After I told him I did, he mentioned that I would love these after they're warm as they were essentially designed to be used in heated boot bags.

Telephone Intuition headquarters, 604-879-9231. Tell them about your shells, your liner size & model, and your foot problem. Ask if you have the correct liner for your shells & feet. Intuition makes so many liner models, and few shop employees know exactly which to sell for which shell & foot combination.
https://intuitionliners.com/contact-us/

That is a great idea! I never thought about that.

 

[Noodler]

@troponin2021 - have you considered trying something like the Sidas Ankle Protector? This might at least let you ski without pain until it fully heals.

 

[Tom K.]

I am actually not surprised of these results as the Power Wraps visually seem too big for my shells and really push them out.

My experience is not as vast as some others, but I have never heard of a standard tongue-style liner being replaced with an Intuition Powerwrap liner. Just too much volume in the cuff area.

Calling or emailing Intuition is the best bet, as noted above. They will immediately know which liner is appropriate for whatever boot you have.

 

[Noodler]

My experience is not as vast as some others, but I have never heard of a standard tongue-style liner being replaced with an Intuition Powerwrap liner. Just too much volume in the cuff area.

Calling or emailing Intuition is the best bet, as noted above. They will immediately know which liner is appropriate for whatever boot you have.

You're right and wrong. There are multiple volume options available from Intuition, so from a volume perspective you can get an Intuition liner to match the needs of a particular foot and shell combination. However, you are right about wrap liners not being well-matched to standard 2-piece overlap shells. Those boots are designed to have a tongue-type liner for their operation. They generally won't have sufficient support or surface area of the cuff to work well with a wrap liner. The wrap liner better be one of the models with signficant added support (plastic layer) in the front part of the cuff. Even then, I find wrap liners to be a PITA because the overlap of the liner will fight with the overlap of the boot shell and it takes some futzing around to get everything seated properly. Just not a great match in my opinion.

 

[Tom K.]

You're right and wrong. There are multiple volume options available from Intuition, so from a volume perspective you can get an Intuition liner to match the needs of a particular foot and shell combination. However, you are right about wrap liners not being well-matched to standard 2-piece overlap shells. Those boots are designed to have a tongue-type liner for their operation. They generally won't have sufficient support or surface area of the cuff to work well with a wrap liner. The wrap liner better be one of the models with signficant added support (plastic layer) in the front part of the cuff. Even then, I find wrap liners to be a PITA because the overlap of the liner will fight with the overlap of the boot shell and it takes some futzing around to get everything seated properly. Just not a great match in my opinion.

Not sure where the wrong part was, but whatever.

 

[Noodler]

Not sure where the wrong part was, but whatever.

You were wrong about the Intuition liner volume. Not all Powerwrap cuffs are higher volume.

 

[Tom K.]

You were wrong about the Intuition liner volume. Not all Powerwrap cuffs are higher volume.

Got it. I missed the Plug Wrap model. Was not aware of it.

The other six skiing wrap liners call for fits of 1.5 to 2+ fingers, which are high volume by any performance skier's definition.

 

[Noodler]

Got it. I missed the Plug Wrap model. Was not aware of it.

The other six skiing wrap liners call for fits of 1.5 to 2+ fingers, which are high volume by any performance skier's definition.

For many years, Intuition offered multiple models of the wrap style liners in different volumes. You could order them as LV, MV, or HV. They have since moved away from that approach and now have more models, but the various volume versions are still out there.

 

[Tom K.]

For many years, Intuition offered multiple models of the wrap style liners in different volumes. You could order them as LV, MV, or HV. They have since moved away from that approach and now have more models, but the various volume versions are still out there.

Yup, they show 7 wraps on their website. Maybe too many, since only one even approaches an LV fit.

 

[troponin2021]

@troponin2021 - have you considered trying something like the Sidas Ankle Protector? This might at least let you ski without pain until it fully heals.

I have not. First I heard of these. I might then a try. It can’t hurt

 

[troponin2021]

My boot fitter was able to do a larger punch the other day when I left the boot with him (wish we tried this from the start). Was able to get out and test it today. The boots didn't feel too bad, but it seems I was the unlucky recipient of a bad ski tune (different shop from my boot fitter).

As soon as I got off the lift, I knew something was wrong when I tried to turn right and the ski did not engage at all. I tried a few runs and quick buff wax (found out the shop forgot to wax my skis), but could not engage a right turn. I knew skiing today would be risking injury so I cut it short.

The area was pretty sore once I got the boots off but I didn't actually hurt while in the boots today. I guess this is kind of a positive? However, I'm more or less leaning towards new boots next year.