Shin Bangers

Zennan

Member
Recently I have been getting bad shin bangers more near the bottom of my shins on the front. I have tried a few things along with shin pads to fill extra space. I read a few different things on here such as shaving your legs can help because the hair can rub and fall off leaving bruises on the shins. I don't think it helped really that much, but it did change a bit. I tried tightening my boots down a bit more to again try and get my boots fit as well as possible, but I only felt more pain. I have already heat molded my liners as well. My thinking is that my boots are probably just a bit on the big side and I need a new pair :( but am not to sure. I own a pair of Dalbello Panterra 120 with a 3 buckle system if that helps out at all as well.
 
I got boots too big and got the worst shin bang ever. Couldn't ride and barely could ski down the hill. Got fitted and the boot is comfortable, but after the first day my toe nail is black and blue and is about to fall off.

Ski boot fit seems to be finicky and you are probably right, maybe a little big for ya
 
13771688:Frozinballz said:
I got boots too big and got the worst shin bang ever. Couldn't ride and barely could ski down the hill. Got fitted and the boot is comfortable, but after the first day my toe nail is black and blue and is about to fall off.

Ski boot fit seems to be finicky and you are probably right, maybe a little big for ya

The thing that confuses me is that I don't get any black toe nails. Even because of that does it mean it could still be to big for me?
 
Last year I got shin bang on my legs a bit on the first few days of skiing as my upper buckle/strap were not tight enough allowing for too much movement even with properly fitting boots. After tightening the upper buckles, there was still pain as the damage had been done but it eventually heeled and was fine later in the season.

This year there was slight soreness the first time out but more of a "getting used to the boots again" and was fine the next ski day by having the upper buckles and straps tighter.

Would get your feet properly measured and boots fitted to see if that's the issue and if they are okay, it might be a matter of upper buckles not tight enough allowing too much movement. Boots may be too large and your heel/feet will move too much regardless of how tight your buckles are.

Might still be painful to ski for awhile as it's been bruised though.
 
Stop skiing/landing backseat and get some boots that fit. You should not be able to fit shin pads in your boots, nor should you do that. There are a handful of smaller reasons that can cause shinbang but those are the main two.
 
13771752:El_Moe said:
How big are you? That's a pretty stiff boot, is your heel coming out of the pocket?

I soften it to a 110 stiffness... I actually have no idea why I said 120? Also ya my heel does come out of the pocket a bit now but didn't use to... I crank down that middle buckle to keep it in, truth is I have lost like 10lbs (frickin college and work) so my calves probably are a bit smaller as well?
 
13771766:Greg_K said:
Last year I got shin bang on my legs a bit on the first few days of skiing as my upper buckle/strap were not tight enough allowing for too much movement even with properly fitting boots. After tightening the upper buckles, there was still pain as the damage had been done but it eventually heeled and was fine later in the season.

This year there was slight soreness the first time out but more of a "getting used to the boots again" and was fine the next ski day by having the upper buckles and straps tighter.

Would get your feet properly measured and boots fitted to see if that's the issue and if they are okay, it might be a matter of upper buckles not tight enough allowing too much movement. Boots may be too large and your heel/feet will move too much regardless of how tight your buckles are.

Might still be painful to ski for awhile as it's been bruised though.

Ya you know I do buckle my feet a bit differently, since your feet are not exactly the same so they will require different tension sometimes, and only my left shin is getting banged, not my right at all.. I may have not buckled it tight enough as you are saying? But also not gonna be able to go skiing for a few more weeks/ maybe even in the months... (again... college) but I am planning on gaining a lot of muscle weight here soon, so maybe that might beef up my calf once again to where it fits properly since I did weigh more when I bought them... But i'm thinking if that may be enough or not? I guess only way to find out is just finish the season off on em and try to get bigger calves to fill it in more and crank down the upper buckles a bit more.
 
13771895:CheddarJack said:
Stop skiing/landing backseat and get some boots that fit. You should not be able to fit shin pads in your boots, nor should you do that. There are a handful of smaller reasons that can cause shinbang but those are the main two.

I admit I was sending a few cliffs and did land in the back seat on some... It was a sick drop tho :p worth it? probably not since I have a few huge powder days coming with some shin bangs that could have been lessened from not sending those baddies
 
Booster straps and/or new boots. I know the "get full tilts!" thing was like 5 years ago, the last time I was involved in this forum, but I don't get shin bang with my full tilts, and I used to get it really bad and need to have booster straps.

For those saying don't land backseat, at least he's trying shit. Everyone lands backseat from time to time if they are pushing it.

You said you had the 3 buckle dalbellos... I would imagine the 3 piece construction (like the full tilts) would help with shin bang on these, I've heard they do. Hmm. Sounds like your boots are probably just way too big. You can try booster straps, they'll probably still help with shin bang, but having boots that are that large has to be affecting your skiing in a lot of other ways.
 
13772018:Zennan said:
I admit I was sending a few cliffs and did land in the back seat on some... It was a sick drop tho :p worth it? probably not since I have a few huge powder days coming with some shin bangs that could have been lessened from not sending those baddies

Learn to let your body give for when you inevitably do land backseat too. Even the best skiers land in the shitter every so often. I remember I struggled with getting over my instinct to try my hardest to stay forward and not let my knees bend for years. That just puts so much pressure on your shins and gives you shin bang in a heart beat. Don't be afraid to backslap or land on your butt if it means preventing ending your day due to shin bang.

Also, like the previous guy said, booster straps can make a huge difference and are 100% worth the $40 or so.
 
When their sore it's hard to ride tight but getting rid of the extra space can help

Some people say booster straps help a lot
 
Assuming your boots are too big.

Take the liner out, put foot in shell, see how many fingers you can fit behind your heel with your toes touching the front of the boot and report back.
 
Doing what Doitbig said is a good start to seeing if your boot is to big. I bought my boots when I had no clue what I was doing and I got them slightly big. I got some unimaginable shinbang that season, I then just went with it thinking I just had terrible form. I tried them this year and now that my feet are bigger it's the most amazing boot I have ever used. Not saying the size of the boot is your issue here, but it very well is a possibility.
 
13772260:doitbig said:
Assuming your boots are too big.

Take the liner out, put foot in shell, see how many fingers you can fit behind your heel with your toes touching the front of the boot and report back.

I could barely sneak my hand past the cuff of the boot but it seemed honestly more than 1 but less than 3 for sure, i don't think quite 2, but maybe... Ya the more I think about it the more I'm 95% sure they are too big... When I bought those suckers a few seasons back I for sure knew a LOT less about ski boots and everything skiing in general then now :( but I mean I guess that is what happens
 
13772259:brett_fisher said:
When their sore it's hard to ride tight but getting rid of the extra space can help

Some people say booster straps help a lot

I do have a booster strap and I crank the thing down for sure, never would buy a boot without it/would add one on in a heartbeat. I don't know at all why people say booster straps just help prevent snow from getting in your boot... for sure helps get the boot closer and better fitted -- especially with straps like the Technica Cochise where you actually have a buckle on your booster strap! Those boots are always unreal
 
By the way the powder storm I had for me today was pretty unreal -- some massive face shots and freshies all day long :) was skiing in a blizzard all day with crazy winds up top but ended in an epic day! Shins also hurt less today (probably from the softer snow)
 
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