Choosing Snowboard Boots

Hello All!

I want to find out how others choose their snowboard boots???

What type of size do you go for compared to your shoe/mondo size? Do your toes touch the end of the boots just or a bit or maybe not at all? Do you put up with discomfort or pain for a bit at all to begin with (if so how long do you reckon this lasts before it gets to a good fit for you?) or do you always make sure it is totally comfortable from the get go?

The reason I ask is because I always seem to have issues with snowboard boots and discomfort or pain (or maybe it’s just my feet?! :S :( ). My old boots were Womens US size 9 because everything else felt too small/squished to me yet my foot size should apparently be between Womens US 7.5 - 8. I ended up having to take them off halfway through the day whilst snowboarding anyway as I’d end up with foot pain. After a break, I’d put them back on and usually last the second half of the day. They now seem too big and my foot moves around in them quite a bit.

Seeing my foot size is meant to be between 7.5 - 8 apparently, I purchased Burton Supreme boots online that are size 8 to try out. Trying them on at home, they feel like they might be too small (my toes definitely touch the end of the inserts quite a bit, not sure if they are curling though :S and they start to get tingly pretty quickly whilst wearing them…like maybe 6 - 10mins). One of the guys at a snowboard shop tried to tell me that he thinks a snowboard boot can pack out half a cm within a week of use which means they could possibly end up fitting me well after a while but I will have to go through quite a bit of discomfort to get there :S I’m not sure what to do. Do I keep them and deal with discomfort hoping that they will be awesome fitting soon? Or do I return them and keep searching for new boots?

I’d love your thoughts/suggestions/ideas/tips

Thanks

Get them heat molded.  And its always better to buy boots in a good shop so they can get the right fit for your feet.

When I got my boots I didn’t even get to pick them, they measured my feet and just got the best fitting boots they had.

Please have a read of this boot fitting guide I wrote a while ago.

https://www.boardworld.com.au/snowboarding/guides/boot-fitting/

Have a read through and let me know if you have any questions.

To answer your question, boots should fit pretty tight when you buy them. The guy in the store is correct in saying they will pack out. If the boot is otherwise comfortable, and you’re getting good fit around your foot, no heel lift, and you like the flex pattern, then I would give them a go and break them in before you decide to try something else.

Thanks for the response guys

I’m heading to the store I bought the boots from today to try on the size 9 to compare and maybe a couple of other boots (hopefully they will have some 8.5’s there! I know they don’t in the boot I have though :( ). I’d rather keep the ones I have though so it would be awesome if heat moulding the liners will give my toes a bit of space. I’m not sure if they do that at the store I bought them from though :S (Trigger Bros Prahran)

Does anyone know of really good snowboard boot fitters in the Melbourne area?

I have also noticed that people really love adding footbeds to their boots to avoid discomfort/pain during the day. I’m guessing it would probably not be a good idea at the moment until my boots fit me better? Seeing they’d take up extra space and my toes are already a bit squished.

I hope I get all this sorted soon! I head up to the snow for the first time this season on Friday! Fingers crossed it keeps snowing this week up at Falls

They should be able to sort you out at Trigger Bros. There are always ways to create a bit of extra room around your toes if required. Any good boot fitter will be able to punch out the toe box for you. However, this isn’t something I would do unless you know for sure the boots aren’t packing out enough. Personally, I would take a bit of pain for a few days and try to pack it out the natural way. The more a boot fitter manipulates the size/shape of your boot, the more it breaks down the materials. In my opinion though, it’s better to get a smaller boot than a larger boot. You can always make them bigger, you can never make them smaller.

Footbeds are a great idea. They won’t really take up any extra room around your toes, as you will be pulling the stock footbeds out. Technically, they will take up extra volume because of the increased arch support, so if you feel it’s making it too tight, then it wouldn’t hurt to wait until the boot packs out a bit.

Footbeds with a solid arch support will not only cause your toes to be “pulled back” away from the toe box of the boot, they will also help to prevent the foot from flattening out and restricting blood flow, and therefore reduce the likelihood of pins and needles etc!!!!!

Get them straight off the bat, wear them in ya everyday shoes so ya can get used to them!!!!!

This may sound bad, however, I have boots fitted in Australia and then order them from the States for less than half the price as they generally clearance items by t/time they are released here.  Well, so long as they aren’t Burton’s which just complicates things.

^^ That’s the reason stores started charging the boot fitting fee. 

Shame on you Viczerez - that’s a really scummy thing to do.