Alpine Touring and Cross Country Boot Fitting

Alpsport have developed a level of bootfitting experience which is difficult to replicate. With well trained and experienced bootfitting staff, our objective is to find a pair of boots which fit the clients foot type and then to stabilise the foot inside the boot shell.

Simply speaking, when a foot spends upwards of 5 hours in a boot, it is important for the fit to be just right. One of the most important elements to the bootfitting process is communication from the customer. From your feedback, we are able to better identify the best boot for your foot.

We treat the foot like building a house, starting first with the foundations, the base of your foot. We will look at how your foot changes from standing neutral into ski neutral. In 99% of cases, a footbed will offer a better fit and performance.

Alpsport offer a range of Sidas footbeds, from the pre-moulded type (designed to offer a medium level of support for a generic foot type), through to the fully customised options. For those skiers requiring the maximum level of stability, we also offer further customisation for example, the option of adding a Sidas heel stabiliser or a Cristair DD block stabiliser.

Brendan explaining and then moulding a custom footbed

We, at Alpsport, strongly believe that custom footbeds are a worthwhile investment. The footbed is the underlying basis of how the foot sits inside the boot, and ultimately the level of comfort experienced.

Initially, we will take a look at your feet, and from that we will be able to exclude majority of the boots in our range. Taking the combination of heel structure, instep, forefoot width, and length, we are able to then find a boot shell which best fits the shape of the client’s foot.

Brendan checking length and width of some feet

The particular boot shell will also vary depending on the level of skier, type of skiing and desired performance and fit. When being precision fitted to ski boots, we recommend thin, unribbed socks to maximize the foot/boot contact, and to increase circulation. Naturally, we will use thin socks when you try on boots in-store.

Each boot brand and model is different, just as no two feet are the same. For this reason, we will remove the liner and check to see how the foot sits in the boot shell (as this is the ultimate limiting factor to the size of the liner). Once the shell is matched to the foot type, the liner is reinserted and attention can be paid to how the foot behaves inside the boot.

Alex and Carrick at work on the boot bench

Once the boot has been appropriately chosen, and a footbed fitted, there are further adjustment options available. These include shell manipulation and the possibility of a custom boot liner. We have the equipment available to heat and mould the custom boot liners by Intuition.

Once the boot fits, then we are happy to offer advice on areas such as boot maintenance and specific boot adjustments, such as flex, buckle adjustment and canting.

Simon checking the great view from Grouse Mountain in Vancouver

Boot Fitting Guarantee

We stand strongly behind our staff and their experience. For this reason, we offer a guarantee on the boot which you ultimately purchase. If for some reason after skiing in the boot, you are experiencing problems, then we are happy to work on the boot until the issue is resolved. Furthermore, if we feel that the boot is just not right, then we are happy to replace the boot for a different model.