What could be causing these pressure points?

Hey, if REI has such a generous return policy why not just ski in a boot for awhile and if it doesn't work take it back and grab another and repeat until you are happy? Now if you can find a good fitter to properly size and select a model that is right for you and does the necessary work, you will be spending more time skiing and less time shopping.

just a thought...

What are you doing when you feel the Achilles pressure? are you just sitting down for an hour straight?

Are you standing and leaning forward against the boot tongue as you would (should...) while skiing? Ski boots have 'forward lean', if you try to stand upright it will put a lot of pressure on this area... that isn't necessarily a 'red flag', it just means DON'T DO THAT. You shouldn't ever be standing straight upright (or leaning back) in a ski boot. If the pressure is there while leaning forward then it might be a problem, do you occasionally unbuckle the boots during the hour in them? With new boots you will need to 'break them in' which takes a couple days of skiing, it's a good idea to unbuckle them for lift rides to allow good circulation and let your feet relax. I understand that you are trying them out at home and not skiing in them, I'm just saying keeping them buckled for an hour without standing and flexing them (simulate a ski run) then unbuckling them (simulate a lift ride) isn't really giving them a chance.

Do a shell fit.

Wear them in the living room, flex as if skiing, unbuckle and watch TV for a few minutes, re-buckle and flex again...

hope this helps.

please read this and answer:

basic question: shell fit em, and see how they fit

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?t=74836



So your boots hurt and you don’t know what to do?

First thing, find a good boot fitter in YOUR area. Trying to fit boots, problem solving over the phone, or online is VERY hard to do. This is not like making a cake by a following a recipe (and I can’t do that either) but more like being told how to paint (as told by Stevie Wonder)

So a few questions that you can answer that will help this out.

1) What is the shell fit like for length? Remove the liner, put your foot in the shell only, have your toes lightly touching the front of the boot and see how much room is behind your heel and the boots shell. Use a pen as a spacer and measure this for thickness. You want 5-15mm (3/16 to 5/8 inch) of room. If you have more then 25mm (1") stop here

2) What is the shell fit like for width? Now center your foot front to back, (same amount of room behind the toe and heel) and is the width of your foot touching the sides of the boots shell? You want anything from lightly brushing to 2mm per side. If you have 3mm per side stop here.

3) Do you have any footbeds? Most people find an off the rack, or full custom footbed more comfortable, and helps to hold the foot in place better, Get one.

So if your boot is within all of the above parameters we can go on. If your boot is just too big it is not worth working on. Your foot will still move around; you have to over tighten the buckles, and cramp to foot and cut off circulation (cold toes). Your boots are too big, and nothing will make that much better. Don’t waste your time, and money fixing a broken leg with bandaids. You need boots that are 1-2 sizes smaller. If you really want work on what you have, a boot fitter can do some-things, but it will not get much better, and will be $50 - $150 for not much progress.

So now that your boot is within a workable size range in length, width and with a supportive footbed we can go on to getting more info.

A few basic things to check first:

1) You just have one, thin, clean ski sock in the boots
2) You just have a sock in the boot? (no thermals, jewelry, etc)
3) Your toe nails are trimmed short?
4) They are YOUR boots and not borrowed?
5) You are just skiing in your ski boots? (not walking, driving etc)?
6) You dry your liners out at night either with a dryer or remove liners?
7) The left liner, the left footbed are in the left boot and this is on the left foot?
8) You are loosening the buckles if you are not skiing (while standing, on lifts, etc)
9) You are not skiing all day in new boots? They need time to break in
10) Buckles are pointing to the outside?


So your boots are the right size, AND you are doing everything else right, but still the boots are not 100% right. These questions will help a boot fitter will have a better understanding of the problem and can start to help you:

Better Or Worse = (BOW)

1) BOW with the buckles tighter or looser?

2) BOW with thinner or thicker socks?

3) BOW with any footbeds (custom, stock, none, etc)?

4) BOW skiing, standing, or feet un-weighted (hanging off a chair lift)?

5) BOW throughout the day (and when does the pain start?)

6) BOW on the first vs the third day?

7) BOW on harder or easier terrain?

8) BOW with the power straps (Velcro straps) tighter or looser?

9) BOW if you do any particular movements, or actions?

10) Any medical, health, or weight changes since you used them last?