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Jersey Skier

aka RatherPlayThanWork or Gary
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You almost never need to add cork to the ankle bladders unless you have really skinny ankles in a shell that provides a "comfort" fit. If you need more heel hold down power then usually you will add more cork to the tongue.

I attempted this. However it seems to make my overlap at the instep crisscross and prevent me from fully tightening buckle #3. Ankles still have some looseness to them. This is all in right boot. Left is perfect.

Sometime before next season I need to sit and play with some additional Omfit in the ankle pockets. Plenty of time for that these days.
 

Noodler

Sir Turn-a-lot
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I attempted this. However it seems to make my overlap at the instep crisscross and prevent me from fully tightening buckle #3. Ankles still have some looseness to them. This is all in right boot. Left is perfect.

Sometime before next season I need to sit and play with some additional Omfit in the ankle pockets. Plenty of time for that these days.

Are you familiar with the "secret" 3rd chambers in the heel/ankle bladder? These are the normally unfilled chambers that lie on the sides of the instep.
 

Jersey Skier

aka RatherPlayThanWork or Gary
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Are you familiar with the "secret" 3rd chambers in the heel/ankle bladder? These are the normally unfilled chambers that lie on the sides of the instep.

I saw all the places you can add Omfit when I dissected an ebay liner for Omfit. Still not sure what the downside is to adding some near my ankles.
 

givethepigeye

Really, just Rob will do
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Are you familiar with the "secret" 3rd chambers in the heel/ankle bladder? These are the normally unfilled chambers that lie on the sides of the instep.

Any pictures of this - rather than searching through 100's of posts? Don't think ill need it but never know.
 

jmills115

Making fresh tracks
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Any pictures of this - rather than searching through 100's of posts? Don't think ill need it but never know.
I think it would be #3

C3358962-2665-4B75-8E6E-49D8FE9F7D23.jpeg
 

givethepigeye

Really, just Rob will do
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in my recollection - there was one flap for 1 & 2 - so is there another flap for 3 - or do you just need to knead in there?
 

jmills115

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@Noodler or @Jersey Skier would be in the know how to add to the 3rd chamber.

The Zipfit site doesn’t mention adding to that chamber.
The ankle-heel sack shows the OMFit chambers inside a ZipFit inner boot with a curved U-shaped heel hugger (1) that tapers towards the front to give you a tight heel hold down. The ankle chamber (2) surrounds your ankle, providing support and dispersing pressure. The midfoot chamber (3) is packaged "empty" with the option to SpotFit inject OMFit if needed to fill space under the second buckle on the one side, and on the other side of your foot around the navicular.
If needed, more OMFit cork-composite can be injected into the tongue and/or ankle-heel sacks using Zipfit’s unique SpotFitsystem. This need is very rare because the liners are re-primed every day when you ski. It’s important that your shells are not over-sized.

 

Noodler

Sir Turn-a-lot
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I saw all the places you can add Omfit when I dissected an ebay liner for Omfit. Still not sure what the downside is to adding some near my ankles.

The downside is that any cork added to the heel huggers has the added effect of pushing your foot forward in the shell; the opposite of what you want if the alteration was to improve heel hold. The only time it is recommended to add cork to chambers #1 or #2 is when you have skinny ankles/heels. In this situation you have too much room on the sides of your ankles or heels and need the liner to take up some of that slop. IMHO, you're in the wrong boot if that's the case.
 

Noodler

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in my recollection - there was one flap for 1 & 2 - so is there another flap for 3 - or do you just need to knead in there?

You need to slip the OMFit tube into the mouth of the chamber in the bladder. You'll develop a feel for this if you poke around a bit (gently) with the tube. Without injecting any cork, you can repeatedly extract and reinsert the tube to identify the correct position (angle) of the tube when being reinserted in order to get the mouth of the tube inside of the desired chamber.

BTW - the bonding agent used to keep the cork particles together is both slippery and sticky. You'll want to keep some paper towels handy to get it off your hands and the outside of the tube so that you don't end up getting it on other parts of the liner or things in your house.
 

oldfashoned

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The downside is that any cork added to the heel huggers has the added effect of pushing your foot forward in the shell; the opposite of what you want if the alteration was to improve heel hold. The only time it is recommended to add cork to chambers #1 or #2 is when you have skinny ankles/heels. In this situation you have too much room on the sides of your ankles or heels and need the liner to take up some of that slop. IMHO, you're in the wrong boot if that's the case.
I actually had to remove cork from the sides. About 3” in 1/2 tube from each bladder.
 

Brad J

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I have added some to both the heel huggers and the tongue, I have a very narrow heel and a fairy wide (D) forefoot in a 98 shell 1/4” space in the back of the heel with theshell fit , I can’t see me in a 95 shell, I did the addition to both after about 200 long days in boots . I sometimes wonder if the. OM fit gets pushed out of the chambers over time , @Noodler did you see that when you took one apart????
 

Noodler

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I have added some to both the heel huggers and the tongue, I have a very narrow heel and a fairy wide (D) forefoot in a 98 shell 1/4” space in the back of the heel with theshell fit , I can’t see me in a 95 shell, I did the addition to both after about 200 long days in boots . I sometimes wonder if the. OM fit gets pushed out of the chambers over time , @Noodler did you see that when you took one apart????

Pushed out to where? There's really not many places it can go (other than filling the gaps where it's needed).

Note that the stated last width isn't the whole story for shell fitting. Head Raptors have had a very anatomical narrow heel/ankle pocket without being overly narrow up front. Some Fischers are quite tight up front, but less so through the ankle and heel pocket. My Nordicas have a fairly narrow ankle and heel pocket area (not quite as anatomical as the Heads), but with a relaxed toe box in a 98mm last.

The point of all this is that skiers shouldn't look to liners to work miracles if they're in the wrong shell (or at least not the best shell) for their feet.
 

Brad J

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Pushed out to where?
Up the tube?? Into the third chamber ?? I was just curios as you have taking one apart. I was surprised that after 200days the started to feel that they needed something and putting more in the tongue was the answer for me. I also feel my foot is changing shape a little as I get older.
 

RSTuthill

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Heading into the dog days of summer in three weeks time and thoughts turn to OMFit. The first year with ZipFit WC's and I am very satisfied. I did manage to lose the left big toe nail which I had not done in several years, but worse things have happened. It is growing back nice and healthy at the moment. The season ended for me very prematurely so I only got a dozen times on the hill after the switch in liners, but by that time I was getting just a hint of heel movement again. So ... a bit of OMFit in the tongue is the indication here is it? Or should I be thinking about chamber 3 too? And is Lockwoods in the UK the cheapest place to get that stuff? I would be interested in any thoughts that you gurus might have.
 

ski otter 2

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I still have fond memories of testing the lumpy things (two, in my case) by heating the shells, as I recall, in big black plastic city trash containers in the summer sun, then handling them with gloves as I stuffed the cooler zips into them, repeatedly.

Lockwoods in UK I have purchased OMfit from, very cheaply - in handy insert tubes. Shipped quickly. They are very responsive over the phone, and although they as a rule only stock one (or two?) models of the zipfits - the one they think will sell best for young European freeriders, mostly, - they are knowledgeable on that score too, within limits. It was fun to talk with them, since on smart phone it was free.
 

Aquila

Getting on the lift
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Canada
Hm, I recently had some OMfit added to that heel hugger chamber #1. Have only had a couple of days on them so far but the heel hold is noticeably improved. I'm a fan.

The downside is that any cork added to the heel huggers has the added effect of pushing your foot forward in the shell; the opposite of what you want if the alteration was to improve heel hold. The only time it is recommended to add cork to chambers #1 or #2 is when you have skinny ankles/heels. In this situation you have too much room on the sides of your ankles or heels and need the liner to take up some of that slop. IMHO, you're in the wrong boot if that's the case.

Can confirm I have skinny ankles/heels. Now that I see there's an ankle chamber, kinda want to add some extra OMfit to that one too! Am possibly also in a suboptimal boot, though I ran out of straightforward options pretty damn fast when I was in the market for my current ones. My fitter is threatening to put me in a junior race boot shell next, hah.

current boots hawx ultra in 22.5, leaving me no options to downsize to reduce volume, and don't want to get crazy stiff with the flex, hence the junior race boot suggestion!
 

savalon

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Oct 10, 2020
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Ukraine
Hi everyone. Looking for some advice about selecting correct size of the zipfit liners.
I have foot 29cm and boots sizes 27 and 28 (-2, -1).
When placing my foot inside 27 boots and measuring space I can hardly place 1 finger between shell and ankle.
What size and model of zipfit should I choose?
thanks
 

Brad J

Out on the slopes
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Nov 12, 2015
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Newbury, Ma.
I am in the same length situation with the shell fit , and I use the Grand Prix, but I have a rather skinny foot. I also like a real snug fit. Safest might be the World Cup, You can also add more very easily in the future if needed. I never have removed the material but others have if it too tight.
 

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