How long does it take to break in ski boots

Your board, skis, and bindings are what allow you to have fun and your helmet protects the most important part of your body, but if you ask the ASO Mammoth team, the piece of skiing and snowboarding gear that has the biggest say in the type of day you have on the mountain is your boots.

You’ll use your entire body while on the snow, but the part of your body where all that movement translates into skiing and snowboarding is your feet, which means you that you need to take care of them if you want to ride for more than a few hours. One way to do so is to break in new boots as well as possible before use, so the ASO Mammoth team has listed our best tips to breaking in new ski and snowboard boots below. Do your feet a favor and check them out!

Ask Your Ski Shop About Heat Molding

If you’re breaking in ski or snowboard boots, you’re probably buying them new as rental boots typically don’t have inner liners that mold to a person’s foot. If you bought your new boots from a ski shop, ask if they include heat molding with their boots. Most shops will include heat molding with a boot package so that you get the best fit possible, but if you buy your boots online or your shop doesn’t heat mold boots you can also do it at home.

For more information on heat molding your boots at home, check out these videos on heat molding ski and snowboard boots.

Wear Your Boots, but Don’t Walk Around in Them

One of the most common ways to break in ski and snowboard boots is to walk around in them at home, but don’t think that just because you walked a mile around your house in your boots they will be perfectly broken in by their first day on the hill.

The truth is that they best way to break in ski and snowboard boots is to simply ski and snowboard. Wearing your new boots while watching tv or working on the computer will help the liner mold to your foot, but real breaking in needs to be done by loosening the materials that make up the outer layer of your boot until they flex comfortably.

The best way to get rid of that stiffness is by using your boots, so don’t spend too much time walking around your house in your boots unless you want everyone you live with to know that you’re coming from a mile away.

Wear Thin Socks

Since most of the breaking in needs to be done on the mountain, it’s incredibly important that you have the right socks on when you’re actually skiing or snowboarding.

We recommend wearing one pair of thin socks made out of a material that keeps your feet warm, but, most importantly, dry. Friction is the enemy of feet when it comes to skiing and snowboarding, and when you’re breaking in a new pair of boots there is going to be more friction than ever. The best way to reduce the impact of friction is to reduce the amount of material in your boot and to keep moisture out. More material, such as an extra pair of socks for warmth, will just rub your feet raw and even cut off circulation. Plus, moisture will weaken
your skin and increase the chance of blisters, so wear one pair of thin socks that will keep your feet warm and dry.

If you have problems breaking in your boots, visit your local ski shop to get a diagnosis from the professionals!

Skiing on New Boots for the First Time

Good for you, your new ski boots felt great in the ski shop, and now you are ready for comfortable and warm feet all day. Well, perhaps not. This article is actually the second in a series of articles. You may want to check out “Homework for New Boots” first.

Realize what you felt in the ski shop, or wearing your new boots at home, is not the same as skiing in them all day. The forces your feet go through while edging, or trying to maintain balance over undulating terrain, is just not the same as standing and walking on level ground.

Also, the liner in all ski boots needs time to mold to the shape of your feet. This is true even if you have had your boots heat molded. Even after heat molding, the liner will still stretch and compress for the first 4 to 5 days of use. So, it is important to be kind to your feet for the first few days of skiing in your new boots. Here is what you need to do.

First, plan what to wear. You want thin ski socks, and they must be socks actually designed for skiing. A good ski sock will be smooth and raise above the height of the ski boot to eliminate any seams that may cause irritation. They will also be made of wicking material to keep feet dry and abrasive free. In addition to ski socks, try to keep all other clothing such as ski pants and thermals out of the ski boots. The thicker you make your feet or legs the more pressure you will get from the boots.

On a quick study we found ski socks can vary by as much as 3.5 millimeters in thickness, and skiers can feel the difference in pressure with socks that vary by as little as .5 millimeters. A thicker sock will increase pressures around the feet, and could even cut off blood circulation making your feet colder. After a few days of skiing, when the liners have had a chance to compress and stretch, you may be able to wear thicker socks depending upon the overall room you have in the ski boots.

Second, buckle your boots at the easiest settings you feel you can, and still ski with control. Too many people come out of old ski boots that were so packed out that they had to max out the buckles to get a snug fit. Then, out of habit, they go and buckle their new boots the same way. This will almost guarantee to cause pain after a few hours. So, buckle the boots looser than you think you would like. If they are too loose to maintain control over your skis, you can gradually buckle them tighter until you feel secure. Ultimately, after a few days of skiing you will learn where you like the boots buckled, and be more certain of a molded fit.

Next, before you even put your new boots on, make sure they are at room temperature, and that you are putting warm dry feet and socks into warm dry boots. Ski boots are great insulators. If the boots are cold when you put them on, they will stay cold. The only heat source will be the blood pumping through your feet, and your body will be depriving your feet of extra heat as it works to keep your core at 98.6 degrees. You want the boots to keep your feet warm and not the other way around.
As a side note, we dislike when anyone uses their new boots for the first time on an extended ski vacation. The only thing worse than skiing in new boots without first taking the time to mold them (see Homework for New Boots), is skiing on them a second or third day. You may be able to ski in the boots for one day without too much difficulty. But, by the second or third day, your feet can be so traumatized that even the slightest pressure may be too painful to ski.

Finally, please know that even if you followed all the recommendations for breaking in new ski boots, and your feet still hurt, it does not mean you have made a poor choice. It is not uncommon to need some “tweaking” to gain that pleasantly snug yet comfortable fit you yearn to have. A good bootfitter can do some amazing corrections.
Happy feet will not guarantee a happy day of skiing, but unhappy feet will guarantee an unhappy day of skiing. Take the time to keep your feet happy.

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