The Never-Ending Zipfit Discussion

[chris_the_wrench]

Just ordered some, thanks.

 

[Shawn C.]

New Culpa. I've yet to heat up my Zip Fit liners. Just tried them out last year on last day of season and now have nine days total. My outside ankle pockets (both boots) left me with sore ankles for the first several days. Now that is no longer a factor; no problems there as the OM Fit has adapted nicely. My last ski day was, as I said above, an acceptable level of pain before I tightened my top two buckles. Why did I do that when my heel hold was still good? Decades of skiing told me "Your boots are too loose! This can't be right!"
I just read @Noodler post #905 and I think that is more than likely a major contributing factor. I don't want to give up on these things as I've seen glimpses of the potential.

 

[David]

Trust me, Zipfits are worth it. Not all fitting experiences are the same. I heated mine 2-3 times in the oven at home and they've been good to go ever since. Others have more difficulty but like I said, it's worth the effort. The fit and hold is amazing. I used to crank my buckles down to get the tight, non-moving heel hold I crave but now 3 of 4 buckles are barely under tension. The one over the instep is merely snug and my heel is locked in.

My feet are a problem for every bootfitter I've met in 40 years. So if I do go with ZipFit I'll have them fit by Daleboot to make sure the bootboard hight is correct, the cork is added appropriately, etc.

 

[TheArchitect]

My feet are a problem for every bootfitter I've met in 40 years. So if I do go with ZipFit I'll have them fit by Daleboot to make sure the bootboard hight is correct, the cork is added appropriately, etc.

Sounds like the right approach.

 

[locknload]

Trust me, Zipfits are worth it. Not all fitting experiences are the same. I heated mine 2-3 times in the oven at home and they've been good to go ever since. Others have more difficulty but like I said, it's worth the effort. The fit and hold is amazing. I used to crank my buckles down to get the tight, non-moving heel hold I crave but now 3 of 4 buckles are barely under tension. The one over the instep is merely snug and my heel is locked in.

I agree. I had Intutions for years and plenty of stock liners. Once I got the correct ZipFit model there is simply no comparison to skiing without them. For me, the heel-hold the non-exist shin bang and the entire fit is simply a game changer. I will never NOT ski without them ever again. Incredible!

 

[Tony Storaro]

Trust me, Zipfits are worth it. Not all fitting experiences are the same. I heated mine 2-3 times in the oven at home and they've been good to go ever since. Others have more difficulty but like I said, it's worth the effort. The fit and hold is amazing. I used to crank my buckles down to get the tight, non-moving heel hold I crave but now 3 of 4 buckles are barely under tension. The one over the instep is merely snug and my heel is locked in.

I have heated mine only ONCE! All smooth sailing from there. Absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Although perhaps I will add half a tube in each tongue-just to tighten the things up a bit.

 

[Tony Storaro]

I will never NOT ski without them ever again. Incredible!

Ermmm, that's triple negative...

 

[BMC]

Just as an update I tried the racer style entry again this morning. I didn’t try for long, but the effort i made was unsuccessful. I reverted to the non-Sven endorsed non-racer entry style.

Ok second attempt racer/ Sven endorsed style @Noodler - all worked.

 

[Brad J]

I have a pair of 6 year old Grand Prix leather stealth liners in Tecnica Mach 1. 130's , I skied for the first time this year on natural terrain at MRG in Vt and had blister issue on the side of my heal. I did have the boots fairly loose so I buckled them tighter than normal and finished out the day. upon inspection I find the tongue had no cork material in the mid section of the tongue , only leather and hard plastic. I put a tube of OM fit in each tongue and refit. So my real question where did the OM fit go , my thought is that the last couple of days I skied last spring it was very warm, one day was 60 F plus, and I pumped the cork out of the affected area in the tongue. Anyone had a similar experience ?

 

[givethepigeye]

Odd. Where would it have gone though? Unless it looked like you had an “accident” in your ski pant cuff.

 

[locknload]

Ermmm, that's triple negative...

I got really excited! lol

 

[Scrundy]

For my feet I have found that every boot I own (5 in my active quiver) requires that the bootboard be ground down to make it thin enough so that it doesn't block my foot+liner from best aligning with the contours of the shell. If I don't drop my foot deeper into the shell, the ZipFit ankle bladders will not be aligned with the ankle pockets of the shell. A bootboard that's too thick can also create problems for the instep fit when using the ZipFit.

Makes sense especially when you take in account of the footbed. How did you remove the material from boot board?

 

[BMC]

Sooo, now that I‘m getting in and out of my boots racer style, provided the boots are room temperature I don’t have much of a purpose for my boot dryer bag do I? My liners are air drying overnight.

Whats the expert view on this?

 

[Noodler]

Makes sense especially when you take in account of the footbed. How did you remove the material from boot board?

Benchtop sander. You have to be careful depending on the type of material the bootboard uses. Some of the lighter foam bootboards will have their material sanded away very easily. So you go slow and carefully until you understand what you're dealing with. You should also mark the bootboard very clearly with marker lines so that you know exactly where your targets are.

 

[Noodler]

Sooo, now that I‘m getting in and out of my boots racer style, provided the boots are room temperature I don’t have much of a purpose for my boot dryer bag do I? My liners are air drying overnight.

Whats the expert view on this?

I use my hot boot bag every time. Warming the boots and liners makes getting in much easier and ensures that the ZipFit liner will adapt to your feet/legs for the ski day. Our feet (and sometimes legs) are not exactly the same every time we ski. Depends on what you've eaten (water retention), current physical fitness level, elevation, etc.

 

[BMC]

I use my hot boot bag every time. Warming the boots and liners makes getting in much easier and ensures that the ZipFit liner will adapt to your feet/legs for the ski day. Our feet (and sometimes legs) are not exactly the same every time we ski. Depends on what you've eaten (water retention), current physical fitness level, elevation, etc.

So after exiting the boot with liner on your foot, You then reinsert the liner in the boot to put it in the heated boot bag, and then take out again to put on your foot?

Sorry for looking for the “step by step” guide but its helpful!

 

[givethepigeye]

So after exiting the boot with liner on your foot, You then reinsert the liner in the boot to put it in the heated boot bag, and then take out again to put on your foot?

Sorry for looking for the “step by step” guide but its helpful!

I do. The heat from the shell transfers to the liner and you get a little chimney thing going - there are vents in the top of my bag. Dries liner pretty well. Getting the liners in/out w/o a foot is super easy. Heated bag is a must for me, even bought a back-up.

 

[the_eleven]

I use my hot boot bag every time. Warming the boots and liners makes getting in much easier and ensures that the ZipFit liner will adapt to your feet/legs for the ski day. Our feet (and sometimes legs) are not exactly the same every time we ski. Depends on what you've eaten (water retention), current physical fitness level, elevation, etc.

Are there preferred models of said boot bags that you have had success with?

 

[Noodler]

So after exiting the boot with liner on your foot, You then reinsert the liner in the boot to put it in the heated boot bag, and then take out again to put on your foot?

Sorry for looking for the “step by step” guide but its helpful!

Liners are only in my boots when my feet are in them too. I don't generally reinsert the liners into the shells empty (although it's not hard with a Zip). Heated boot bag holds both the shells and the liners even when they're separated.

I have two heated boot bags, but they're basically the same. I have the original ZipFit branded bag and the Snow Eagle bag

 

[Aquila]

Ah frig, now I want new leather zipfits *and* a heated boot bag...