Need help choosing a new boot

S

Syyn

New member
I've already asked here for help once, it was about a new ski. The answers were very great, so I thought I'd ask about another problem.

I noticed that my boots (Salomon SPK Kreation 2009, the yellow/black ones) are too small, so I need new boots. I went to my local shop, and they recommended me four boots:

- Full Tilt Tom Wallisch

- Full Tilt Drop Kick

- Salomon SPK 100

- Salomon SPK 85

They all felt pretty comfortable in the shop. But with my last salomon boots, I had the problem, that my heel hurt, so I'm tending to the Full Tilts. I ride about 60% park, 30% all-mountain, 10% pow.

What do you think about these boots?

 
Full Tilts and SPKs are two very different boots, I don't know how both were recommended. (99mm vs. 104?mm) I bought Hot Doggers because I have a low volume, narrow foot. You will have to buy a new footbed in the Full Tilts, because they don't have one. The three buckles on FTs can cause problems for people because the middle buckle puts a lot of pressure on a high arch.

How long did you wear the boots for? Just wondering if you tried the same size in all four boots. I think that SPKs have a longer shell length l, it doesn't have too much of an effect. Did you get shell tested?
 
I got the X-max 120 from Salomon this year, maybe something to looking into. It's marketed as a performance/race boot but its really not. It's doesn't have a lot of forward lean, and the lower shell is heat moldable.
 
Thank you all for your answers!

I know that the shop might not be the best, but I dont know any other shop near me who sells freestyle boots like Full Tillt and Salomon SPKs.

I live in Switzerland, and I dont know any of these bootfitters as they exist for example in America. All shops I went to just showed me some boots, gave me the right size of the boot and said I should try them and say how they feel. Nothing more like personal boot fitting with foot analysing and stuff like that. They just asked for my boot size.
 
Go in and ask them if they know anything about actually fitting boots. If they do, ask for a fitting. If they don't, just walk out and publish a negative shop review.
 
there's a pretty easy way to find a good shop with boots.

ASK RACERS!!!

fitting race boots is extremely difficult and takes a really experianced bootfitter to get a super percise tight fit without hurting the skier. the guys that can do this are the best in the game.

do not worry about "freestyle boots". the best boot out there will be the best boot that fits your foot. a lot of pro skiers don't use a "freestyle" specific boot. a lot of guys are choosing to go with a race boot or high performance all mountain boot.

get the boot that fits you properly and you'll be fine. don't worry about which brand you're skiing in
 
I went to another shop today, and they told me, that I should better buy kind of an all-mountain boot. They said, park boots wouldn't be good if I skied also on the slopes. When I asked them about Full Tilts, they said they wouldnt recommend them, because they have a very old shell style and they wouldnt be good on the slopes.

They recommended me a Salomon Quest Max 100. The boot could be fitted with heat. But I saw that the Quest Max 100 is rated as a freeride boot, so I'm not sure if they are the right thing for me. But this heat fitting sounds really nice.
 
Your shop clearly has no dea what they are talking about and they need a history lesson. That they want to give you a boot with a walk mode when that isn't in your need set is a further clue.
 
I likewise just went to get new boots, and in reply to some previous comments the best boots are ones that fit.

Another thing to note is that freestyle boots, especially the SPK will feel sloppy in all-mountain skiing, so I ended up going for dalbello krypton core 2's, they are fantastic and have adjustable stiffness as well as being built like a full tilt with a 3 piece shell.

I think all-mountain boots may be the way forward.
 
Thank you all for your answers! I changed my shop and went today, once again, to a new one. The shop assistant was very nice and really took the time helping me to choose the right boot. I tried several boots, but in the end, the Nordica Ace of Spades made it. I put a special shoe sole in the boot, so the boots felt even comfortabler.
 
HOLY THIS! also do not be biased if the boot you are told works best for your foot isnt the brand of boot you like. I have a fairly intense race boot I also use for park and for once, my feet have had no pain what so ever because of a top notch fitting. Ask where the best racers you see at the hill got their boots fitted (especially look for guys in stiffer boots (130+ flex) as from my experience stiffer boots are much less forgiving with the slightest of fit problems).
 
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