part 1 | part 2

A Great Fit: Alignment and Final Touches

The payoff

This wraps up our mini-series on boot fitting. With assistance from a "virtual panel" of acknowledged top-tier boot experts around the country, we've been examining whether there exists among technicians a de-facto fit protocol similar in nature to the universally-accepted binding selection and adjustment procedure.

On key points of the process-establishing rapport, developing communication, examining physiology, identifying technical style level and goals, determining shell size-our panel is in near complete agreement. On the thorny subject of alignment, configuring well-fit boots so that the relationship between stance, skis and snow surface is optimal, however, opinion diverges.

One school of thought, championed by New York's U.S. Orthotic Center proprietor Jeff Rich, holds that alignment can be completed satisfactorily in-shop through careful examination of the relationship between major mechanical systems of the body. "We examine leg length, hip configuration, shoulders and stance. What do you look like? Knock-kneed? Bow legged? Bent at waist with butt pushed back? Leaning too far forward?" Rich believes that all necessary adjustments can be diagnosed and corrected during initial fitting.

An different view, espoused by Green Mountain Orthotics Lab's Gregg Hoffman, is that alignment must be diagnosed on-hill, skier in motion under the eagle eye of an instructor trained to spot balance problems. "We urge clients to visit the Stratton performance center." Hoffman explains. "We work with instructors who put skiers through slow motion skiing exercises and who may even use shims, duct tape or canting strips to do the final dial in. We finalize changes in the shop based on what we learn on the hill."

Jeff Bergeron, who operates Boot Fixation in Frisco, Colorado, says that "99% of the time we do it all in-store. We have a 30-step process involving what I see and what the skier tells me. We'll go on-hill if necessary, but like the controlled shop environment best."

Not just where, but what and when

Opinion is mixed, too, on what constitutes effective alignment and on when procedures should be performed. Bergeron believes all adjustments can and should be made during initial fit, in a single seamless process. Tim Hutchison of Footworks in South Paris, Maine, prefers to "fix things as needed. The body can overcome discrepancies. " he asserts. "The new boot should already be better than what they're used to. We suggest they get some mileage, get some history with the boot, break it in. Then we make final adjustments."

"Moreover," Hutchison continues, "fore/aft alignment is more important than lateral alignment, in my opinion, and symmetry-that both skis sit the same on the snow -is more important than that each ski be absolutely flat on the snow."

Steve Bagley, owner of Snowbird's Superior Ski, disagrees. "Don't break it in," says Bagley, "Do it all. Do it all at once. Do it on snow. Get 'em flat."

Why is alignment so important?

Alignment is the glue that holds everything together. Think of a sports car. If tires are like skis, wheels like boots and bindings like steering arms, then feet, ankles, knees and legs are the suspension system. Comprised of diverse elements-springs, shock absorbers, struts, sway bars-suspension controls everything between driver and the road and must transmit precise input, manage shocks, vibration and surface irregularity and must provide accurate feedback to the driver.

So it is with boots, only more so.

Skiing is about balance-not just the kind of balance that keeps you from actually falling over, though that is important, but also more subtle and powerful dynamic balance consequences. Small foot movements, planned or not, create large effects upon skis. If alignment is correct, foot movement controls skis more efficiently than inputs from legs, hips, arms or torso. But if something is out of whack, imprecise small movements require gross corrections by larger body parts. In real life, we call these effects wedging, skidding, sliding, railing, absteming, tip crossing, uncontrolled chattering and so on. The "corrections" go by names such as banking, sitting back, bending at the waist, arm waving and the like. Just as an out-of-balance wheel will cause tracking problems for an automobile, so even minor misalignment creates major balance and movement problems for skiers.

Neutral alignment provides a "home base"-and magnifies any ski's "sweet spot.". The skier can move as needed without losing balance or creating strain on knees, hips, back neck and shoulders. The body will handle G-force, shock and vibration as it was designed to, so long as the kinetic chain is properly arranged.

Put simply, the tech will build the boot around you, align it to the ski and binding and then adjust the entire system so that the ski sits flat upon the snow.

So who's right?

There's no clear boot fit protocol, we found. And maybe this is good; boots are so complex, important and personal that each situation must be approached uniquely.

Nevertheless, it's certain that an organized approach yields top results. Here's our suggestion for your personal fit protocol. Your technician may not work in exactly this way, but any competent specialist will consider all the elements of this approach. In the end, it's your boot being fit and your skiing that will be affected. This checklist should help you guide your own destiny and assure the best possible result.

• Establish communication
  In the absence of accurate understanding between you and your technician about skiing style, level, and goals, you risk not only getting the wrong boot, but the wrong kind of fit-race? recreational? Help the technician learn as much about you and your skiing as possible.

• Physical examination
  The technician must thoroughly examine not just feet and ankles, but the whole body; your natural stance and the nature of your movement. Are there anomalies, such as knock knees, bow leggedness or other physical characteristics to be accommodated?

• Select the boot
  Emphasis is on the shell; inner boots can be modified easily or even replaced if necessary. What kind of boot for your style, level, goals and anatomy? How stiff? How high? An unusually large foot may require a softer boot; extremely long legs probably demand a stiffer shell, as does high speed hard-snow skiing involving significant G-forces.

• Shell fit
  The indispensable step of examining the relationship between foot and "naked" shell. Fit and alignment start here. Consider ramp angle, cuff height, relationship between your anatomy and boot design. Tall skiers need more ramp angle and stiffer boots than do than short legged skiers. Knock kneed skiers require rock-like lateral support; bow legged skiers can get away with softer boots that track slightly inward. Remember two basic rules: Shells can always be stretched, but no shell can be shrunk, and, if you can't bend it in shop, you can't bend it on the hill.

• Foot bed
  Must conform to the shape of your foot and place the foot in neutral. Some controversy surrounds the question of flexible vs. rigid foot beds. One school believes the foot bed must lock the foot into the most powerful weight-bearing position achievable. We believe the orhthotic should provide support, but also allow some degree of foot mobility so the foot can perform its full range of balancing activity, as it has been doing since you learned to walk and run as a child. Let's not throw years of balancing experience out the window by making the foot into a block of wood.

• About socks
  The wrong sock can wreck an otherwise good fit. The should not be too thick, nor should you wear too many (meaning more than one pair). Thin wool/silk blends are best. Ironically, too many or too-thick socks, beyond reducing control over the shell, also squash veins, inhibiting circulation and creating cold feet.

• Inner boot
  Stock inner boots can be fine, provided they are neither too thickly padded nor overly cushy. They must provide firm contact between shell, ankle and lower leg. The crème-de-la-crème solution is a custom formed silicone or foam liner. Some companies offer these in high end boots; excellent inners are available as aftermarket products from Zip Fit and Conformable.

• Shaft alignment
  Not to be confused with canting, even though some suppliers insist on calling adjustable shafts "cantable." An adjustable shaft can be moved relative to boot sole to accommodate lower leg angle and calf shape. These devices align boot to leg, but not the whole system to snow.

• Canting
  The process of arranging correctly aligned boots to allow the ski to rest flat on the snow. This is the least understood, most neglected, potentially beneficial step in performance alignment and is accomplished through use of canting shims or sole grinding.

• On-snow final check
  Many techs use balance machines, pressure-sensitive computers, plumb bobs, carpenter squares or a seasoned critical eye to determine final alignment. We believe no matter what else is done, final adjustment must be checked on snow. In a perfect world, the pro would shepherd you through the entire process, ending with an on-snow check, but this is not always possible, especially if you are fit far from the mountains. Still, the chances of getting everything perfect initially, as opposed to, say, 90% right, are slim to none. As Warren Witherell put it in The Athletic Skier, the last 10% delivers benefits equal to those of the first 90%. See the box for a simple procedure you and a friend can follow to ferret out problems you may not even feel but which can rob you of the full potential of both your new high performance boots and your own skill.

Alignment Diagnosis

• Although ideal, it's not always possible to check results of alignment procedures immediately on snow. Here's a simple exercise you can do with an observer to determine both alignment problems and their severity.

• Ask your helper to wait 75 or 100 yards down a gentle slope from your start position. Lift one ski and try to run perfectly straight toward the observer. He or she will notice whether your ski tends to track to the inside (which indicates too much pressure on the inside edge), to the outside (heavy on the outside edge) or to run perfectly straight. If the ski runs straight, great; that means it's flat on the snow and that's what you want.

• If it tracks either to the inside or out, this is an indication that you are "heavy" on one edge or the other. Since you are attempting to run straight, some correction will be necessary. Ask your observers to notice where you make the correction. Do you just tweak the ankle a bit to force the ski to run straight? Do you make the correction with knees? Hips? Torso? Do you have to wave your arms about? Must you suddenly plant the lifted ski back on snow to avoid falling? The higher up the body or the more dramatic the correction, the more severe the problem.

• Try the exercise a couple of time on each ski. The information you gather will help you and your technician make small final adjustments to allow you to ski in optimum balance and at your best.

Click here for expert specialty shop recommendations.

first installment | second installment