To downsize or not for a race fit

[maxwerks]

Dear forum, I am upgrading from my 2016 Redster FIS 150 and considering the STI 150 lifted. I am active in masters SL racing, 50yo, 170cm 68kg, my feet measure 238mm. My current boot size is MP24/.5 with Zipfit gara liners. My current setup has great heel and midfoot hold and with the memory fit heat molding I created enough room for my wide front foot and pronounced halus valgus without grinding the shells. To achieve an even better race fit I wonder if I should size down to a 23,5 shell and liners. Or would that be opening a can of bootfitting worms with little upside?

 

[Philpug]

If you feet are the length you say they are and you are in a 24.5, you are not down sizing, you are right sizing. Butl length is only one consideration in choosing a shell. Get a boot that is the right size for your foot, no matter what number is printed on the shell.

 

[Lauren]

Dear forum, I am upgrading from my 2016 Redster FIS 150 and considering the STI 150 lifted. I am active in masters SL racing, 50yo, 170cm 68kg, my feet measure 238mm. My current boot size is MP24/.5 with Zipfit gara liners. My current setup has great heel and midfoot hold and with the memory fit heat molding I created enough room for my wide front foot and pronounced halus valgus without grinding the shells. To achieve an even better race fit I wonder if I should size down to a 23,5 shell and liners. Or would that be opening a can of bootfitting worms with little upside?

Everything you describe here sounds like you have a good fit (putting numbers aside). You describe it as, "great heel and midfoot hold" and "enough room for my wide front foot and pronounced halus valgus". What are you trying to achieve with a smaller shell? Better performance by having a tighter hold on your foot? Does your foot move in you boot when skiing hard and getting up on edges? Do you feel your foot slide forward because there's extra length? Are you willing to do some punching and grinding to get the closer fit? If you're fitting a 24.5 comfortably snug with just heat molding, there's a good chance you'll need to do some work on the next size down.

 

[maxwerks]

Since I have asian (=wide) front feet plus the halus valgus issue I think width is the deciding factor, it sure is for my walking shoes. That's probably why the 24.5 has a good hold despite being a tad long by racing fit rule of thumb.

 

[CYJ]

I was in a similar position as you where my previous boots were my 'measured' size that felt snug with no slop or heel lift, just some wiggle room in the toes. When I downsized to my current boots, I was lucky all I needed was to heat mold the liners to make the fit 'work'.

I put 'work' in quotes because everything's great when I'm in the act of skiing; my feet feel locked in with practically zero wiggle room and feel like I can feel the shell around my feet better than before, not to mention there's a noticeable increase in response. The moment I stop skiing though, that feeling of 360 contact with the shell almost always turns in to pain within a minute or two. I've put about 50 days on the liners (intuition), so I don't expect the liners to pack out and relieve the pain anytime soon.

I've never raced, just ski off piste as much as I can and while I appreciate the increase in performance from downsizing, the pain has me considering going back to my measured size in the future. I never felt like my skiing actually suffered from the comfier fit of being in my measured size.

Just sharing my 0.02 as my experience could very well be a part of the can of worms from downsizing.

Oh and Phil made a great point about fit and downsizing not being just about the length, so keep that in mind too.

 

[ScotsSkier]

As another Masters racer in a 24.5 shell ( i actually have the new TI 150 as one of my boots) here is my take. As I was told by one top level and we’ll known boot fitter…” if you were racing WC we could probably grind a 23.5 shell enough to get you in….but…” and I use a 24 plug for coaching as well as racing, plug boots get cold enough on the toes without making it even tighter there. (I did use a dynafit 3F 23 shell a long time ago in an effort to improve heel hold - screwed up both big toe nails in 2 days when I was doing 2 weeks in the alps - had to buy a Salomon SX90E to ski the rest of the trip!)

another problem you might find with a 23 (normally ~271 BSL) is that you might struggle to get most race binding/ plate assemblies to go down small enough with sufficient forward pressure . Just something else to consider.

 

[Rod9301]

A lot of people go down in size for a race fit, but in my experience, unless you're racing at a high level, fis or world cup, all you're doing is creating pain and possible foot issues down the road

 

[cem]

the very fact that the foot measures 238mm would suggest that the 24.5 is too big BUT as Phil said above length is not the only consideration... the next point is that your current shell has not be punched or ground for a hallux valgus (other than the heat fit) would make me nervous..... race boots need work, if they don't the changes are they aren't the right size or there is something weird going on, key is finding a fitter who works with race boots on a regular basis and has the correct tools and skills to get you in the best boot.... as to what size that boot is, impossible to say as we only have some basic facts and a length

 

[ted]

So is the 238 measurement your overall length.
With hallux valgus this measure is often shorter than your foot actually is. I advise you measure your arch length on a Brannock and your heel instep perimeter and factor these into your decision.

 

[bud heishman]

Agree with Ted, what is your arch length? That will be a deciding factor. If your arch length is same size on bran nick as length I would go to smaller shell and stretch or grind.