Focus on ski boot liners.
With the boot manufacturers decentralizing production and outsourcing the manufacture of their stock liners to far flung corners of the globe there has never been a better time to consider improving the comfort and performance of your ski boots with an aftermarket liner….
What are aftermarket liners? Simply these are sold as a separate liner to the boot to replace the stock liner and give better comfort or performance. They fall into three categories
1) thermo form liners…. many companies make them the most well known being Intuition, Palau and Conformable, these liners are for warmth and comfort, made from various densities of heat mouldable EVA foam, they are heated in an oven and then wrapped around the foot inside the shell of the boot and allowed to cool, the result is a pretty good impression of the foot shape inside the shell. This is a liner well worth considering for recreational skiers who just want better comfort or who get cold feet.
2) Zip Fit liners…. Zero Injection Pressure Fitting System, a cork & ceramic clay putty forms around the foot with initial heating and then the heat and motions of the foot during skiing, the Zip Fit liner gives a very solid fit around the foot, various models allow for differing foot /boot volumes. The one thing with Zip Fit over any other liner is it can be easily transferred from boot to boot (including different models/brands) if the shells need to be changed for any reason. Zip Fit is the liner which wears in not out, it gets better and better the more you ski, should they feel a little loose after a few weeks then the liner can be topped up with the cork/clay putty which can be injected into the tongue or the ankle pockets, the liner remains fluid and adapts with the dynamic forces of skiing.
3) PU Foam injection…. years ago these were one of the only types of custom liner available, 2 part chemical foam is mixed and injected under pressure into an empty liner, the effect is a very precise and firm fit taking up every space between the foot and the shell, for some this was perfection, but for others the pain of the injection process and the feeling of constriction on the foot was all too much…. thankfully times have changed, the chemical foams have become much more user friendly in terms of both comfort for the skier and usability for the technician. Sidas have recently added a new range of foam liners which are a lower density foam which is aimed more for comfort and performance for people with problem feet than the aggressive fit of the high pressure foams.
At Solutions 4 Feet we understand that every foot is different, each individual needs a different solution, for this reason we offer custom liners from three brands and covering several different models
Palau thermo liners
Zip Fit liners
Sidas foam & thermo liners
This gives us a custom liner solution to accommodate almost every foot we have come across, of course for the recreational skier who skis only 1 week per season and has no need for a liner of this type, all the boots we stock are available with their own stock liners included in the price of the boot.
