The Never-Ending Zipfit Discussion

[Doublegreen]

Or they cut the plastic from an old tongue and used velcro to secure it

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

ZipFit sells replacement straps. This will certainly solve the liner/leg contact issue. The shell will then fit tight to the liner with no slop.

Power Straps | ZipFit

Durable nylon webbing straps with velcro keep your ski boot liner secure for optimal control and performance.

www.zipfit.com

 

[EricG]

I fasten it against the liner, above the shell. I think I got rid of those straps. Too much to fiddle with but maybe that was a bad idea.

Yes.

I’ve added two tubes of cork to each tongue. I’m in the WC I believe. I wish it had a removable tongue. I’d swap the Atomic tongue in there.

if you want to try the straps again let me know. I’ve git a bunch sitting here. I can drop some in the mail to you.

 

[Evan's Dad]

Anyone experience difficulties using Gara LVs with Atomic Hawx Ultra shell? New owner of Gara LVs. With foot in liner first, I feel like I am really deforming the lower shell overlap and cuff when putting on my boots. I’ve done an initial home fitting and plan on doing a complete mold with a local bootfitter in the next week.

Kind of. But I had similar issues with the stock liner; it's worse with the Zipfit, but I can avoid it most of the time by spreading the clog open with my thumbs, inserting foot then lowering the inner lap first. It will still be splayed but I use the instep buckle to pull the top lap over. I have a high instep so YMMV. Love the Zipfit though. Huge improvement over the stock liner.

 

[AmyPJ]

if you want to try the straps again let me know. I’ve git a bunch sitting here. I can drop some in the mail to you.

Thank you! I’ll let you know if I can’t find mine. I think they’re buried in a bag somewhere.

 

[Swiss Toni]

I had some dense foam padding added to the outside of the tongue this week, but it still doesn't contact me high enough. Does anyone have a workaround for this issue?

You could get someone to replace the tongue on your Zipfits or make the existing tongue movable, but it might not be worth going to the trouble and expense if you are going to replace your current boots.

 

[AmyPJ]

You could get someone to replace the tongue on your Zipfits or make the existing tongue movable, but it might not be worth going to the trouble and expense if you are going to replace your current boots.

View attachment 199787 View attachment 199786

That’s my thought. I just cannot make the tongues work for me. The foot and ankle hold is amazing. The tongues and my anatomy just don’t mix.

 

[deewoo]

Just got some freeride zipfits for my Salomon S/Pro HV, and I'm running into the liner getting caught on the horizontal ridges along the back of the cuff. I have large calves, and it feels like I'm getting pushed too far forward with the new liners (knees are past my toes when standing relaxed, causes my quads to burn quicker). Would it be a good idea to use a dremel to grind off the ridges to make the rear cuff smooth and take away some forward lean? Or would that compromise the shell durability? I'll also be replacing the stock power strap (that currently attaches inside the shell) with a booster strap (will be installed outside the shell).

 

[Floyd47]

You could get someone to replace the tongue on your Zipfits or make the existing tongue movable, but it might not be worth going to the trouble and expense if you are going to replace your current boots.

View attachment 199787 View attachment 199786

Looks like you had the tongue on your Zips removed / replaced? Who did the work?

 

[Swiss Toni]

They aren’t my boots. The one on the left has had its tongue replaced and the one on the right has had a tab added to the original tongue and some velcro attached to the liner so that the tongue can be moved. The idea was just to show @AmyPJ what could be done. The work was done by a boot fitter in France.

 

[maxwerks]

Just had a look at this year's Corsa vs. my Corsa i picked up last year. Basically, it's a different liner and much more similar to a thin plug liner. The entire construction is more flexible and much thinner, in addition to having way less cork in the ankle pockets to start with. Breakin should be much quicker. This year's Corsa is too thin to be used in my Atomic CS 130, and maybe even too thin for me to want to try to use in my plug Fischer RC4 Podium (i'll probably do a Gara LV in the plug).

The shop also had the Gara LV in stock. More similar to my old Gara from approx. 8 years ago. If you've had the old liners, the new model isn't quite as plush or high-quality as the old liners (but still very good). Seems like the leather is stiffer and/or the neoprene and padding is thinner or stiffer.

If you do have a new model with stiff leather and want to speed up the break-in process, i highly encourage you to use a good leather conditioner/oil (e.g. Saphir Mink Oil) - a couple of think applications of oil and leaving overnight in the heated boot bag seems to have finally turned the leather supple. Now that my "2021-22" Corsa is broken in, it actually fits well in the Fischer plug (before it was unskiable for me in the plug).

I just got a pair of the leather cork Fischer 92mm stock liners from their rc4 podium. Compared to my ZipFit Gara's they are way thinner but also much softer leather and cork material, which I really like. How would you rate these Fischer liners compared to new Corsa? Have you skied both?

 

[abdul]

I just got a pair of the leather cork Fischer 92mm stock liners from their rc4 podium. Compared to my ZipFit Gara's they are way thinner but also much softer leather and cork material, which I really like. How would you rate these Fischer liners compared to new Corsa? Have you skied both?

I have the previous season's Corsa which was much thicker in the ankle/heel compared to your version of the Corsa. I think your version of the Corsa will be much nicer to ski in and have less break-in time.

The Fischer plug liner is pretty nice but my podium is from 3 seasons ago so i'm not sure if it has cork - i think it's regular foam. I've skied in it about 10 days and had to add a small amount of padding to the ankle/heel area once it packed out. The tongue is better than my Corsa tongue. I'm using my Corsa in the Fischer Podiums now that the stock liner ha packed out a little.

Now that i have some new Gara LV liners for my CS130, i tried putting them in the Fischers and there's no way they'll fit.

I think the new Corsa liners you have will be great long-term for you once you dial them in.

 

[Doublegreen]

PSA: Make sure your custom footbeds are fitted correctly for your Zips. Mine were fitted for stock liners. My left footbed was a fraction too long and was causing me not get proper heel hold and didn’t allow my heel to get all the way back in the boot. Such a huge relief to get that figured out.

 

[Floyd47]

@Doublegreen How did you figure that out about your left footbed being a fraction too long?

Just curious as I had custom footbeds made a week before I bought Zips. I only skiied a few days on the Zips before my season ended, so still was breaking them in and getting used to them.

 

[Doublegreen]

I went to another boot fitter/shop and got a second opinion and got a different footbed made. The lady looked at my old one after I told her my issues and what I was feeling in my heel and figured it out pretty quickly. My original footbed had the black sharpie trace line up around my toes. She ground it shorter on the toe end to move my footbed further up in my liner and it’s great now. Unfortunately, the new footbed she made me doesn’t feel as good as my Masterfit one. I think the quality is better and possibly a bit sturdier, but my Masterfit has the best heel pocket and I need that.

So it cost me some bucks to have a new footbeds made but in the process I figured out my zips and my Masterfit footbeds. I probably won’t ever use the new the footbeds I just had made, which is a shame because they might be better for my skiing, they’re just not as comfortable as my Masterfits.

 

[maxwerks]

I have the previous season's Corsa which was much thicker in the ankle/heel compared to your version of the Corsa. I think your version of the Corsa will be much nicer to ski in and have less break-in time.

The Fischer plug liner is pretty nice but my podium is from 3 seasons ago so i'm not sure if it has cork - i think it's regular foam. I've skied in it about 10 days and had to add a small amount of padding to the ankle/heel area once it packed out. The tongue is better than my Corsa tongue. I'm using my Corsa in the Fischer Podiums now that the stock liner ha packed out a little.

Now that i have some new Gara LV liners for my CS130, i tried putting them in the Fischers and there's no way they'll fit.

I think the new Corsa liners you have will be great long-term for you once you dial them in.

Actually I got the current Fischer "AFZ" plug liner made out of neoprene, leather and cork paste (sound familiar...?). I'm evaluating it as a MUCH cheaper alternative for my 92mm shells than a new Corsa.

 

[Landez]

Gara HV 28,5 in a Shift Pro 130 28,5

When fitting these they were very tight on top of my feet, even so I had to fiddle with the liners to make the shell close properly. I re heated the right liner to "massage" some cork away from the bottom of the tongue to get rid of a pressure point.

After some walking around at home and one day skiing hard the fit is crazy good. I keep on breaking them in and only really thinking of adding a little more cork to the right tongue, that's it.

But the last weekend skiing these (now a total of about 20 days) they started to feel quite sloppy in the foot part, shin part still feeling great. It's this unstable feeling like the liner is sliding back and forth in the shell.

I come home and compare them to the stock liners only to discover that the Zipfits are way shorter, like one full size almost!!

Disappointing to say the least, is there anything I can do to make it work or should I just give up on this combination?

 

[slidingmike]

@Landez I think the ideal is to size the Zipfits to fit your foot. I'm surprised that the cork moved around that much, but is it possible that your shells are a size too large, and even a Gara HV can't take up all that volume (without more cork)?

What insoles are you using? The image above doesn't look like there are any in there.

 

[Landez]

@Landez I think the ideal is to size the Zipfits to fit your foot. I'm surprised that the cork moved around that much, but is it possible that your shells are a size too large, and even a Gara HV can't take up all that volume (without more cork)?

What insoles are you using? The image above doesn't look like there are any in there.

Sidas custom so there is no movement inside the liner.
Yes for the Zipfits the shells probably are too big due to the thin material of the Gara's foot part. But this was the liner and size I was recommended.

 

[slidingmike]

Yes, Zipfits rely on the rear of the foot for fitting the width of the boot. They leave room for the forefoot and toes to flex and wiggle (or swim), depending on the fit of the shell. I'd suggest checking back with the seller (hopefully a boot fitting shop) and see what they recommend next to improve the fit.

I have tons of random thoughts... If the liners are really moving fore/aft, that sounds like your liner is not locked into the heel of the boot shell at all. Are your cuff good and tight snug? Do you have a really low instep? Do your ankles & heel feel locked in?

It's also possible that you're locked in there just fine, and will need to get used to not having your forefoot so tight. Or perhaps selling a performance-oriented (and NOT optimized for the Shift's touring abilities) Zipfit to take up extra space in a too-large shell wasn't the best solution.