Boot Selection / Fitting

Your boots can drastically effect your comfort, technique, and enjoyment when skiing. A proper fitting boot is the best investment you can make. Your boots transfer your weight and strength to the edges of you skis and allow you to ski with control and confidence, no matter the terain. Dinardos’ staff have the expertise to fit you into a boot that will match your ability, strength, and budget. Our line of boots offer a number of fit options and boot styles to ensure you get the proper fit.

Ski Boot Selection

The best boots are the ones that fit your foot properly and match your skiing ability. The fit of your boot will affect your performance, comfort and safety so it is important to consult with fitting experts like Dinardo’s staff to make sure that you are getting the right ones.

When purchasing a boot, the way a boot fits is much more important than who manufactured it. Each manufacturer has at least one or more unique last and therefore each brand has a different fit. This is why Dinardo’s has a huge variety of different lasts in stock to ensure that we have a boot to fit every foot and skier skill level.

How Should My Ski Boots Fit?

Generally, your boot should fit firmly, but should still be comfortable. Your toes should be at the end of your boot when knees are straight. When flexing forward, your toes should come off the front of your boot and your heel should be snug in the heel pocket. When you take the lining out of the boot, you should be able to place your foot in the shell and have no more than one inch behind your heel with an optimum of 5/8′s of an inch.If the boot fitter hasn’t removed the lining from the shell of the boot to see how it matches your foot, find another shop. You can generally choose between three sizes, Novice skiers and those who lean on the back of their boots require the biggest size so that thier toes do not hit the front of the boots one inch shell size. This will result however in some heel lift in hopping situations.

 Aspiring intermediates and developing carvers require a firmer fit that matches the width and length of the foot more accurately 3/4″ shell size 

Advanced and expert skiers use 5/8′s shell size to provide performance on the most demanding terain, especially critical on ski vacations on big vertical!

 Don’t tell your bootfitter you are an advanced skier unless you are always pushing your shin against the tongue of the boots to give sufficient toe room!

The shell of your boot provides support and transfers energy from your legs to the ski. Your skill level is a very important factor when selecting your boots. Beginner and intermediate ski boots are forgiving because they are manufactured with more flexible material, whereas high performance boots are stiffer to provide advanced skiers with more sensitivity.

Ski Boot Liners

The lining provides comfort and warmth, it will compress over time so make sure that you aren’t purchasing a boot that is too big. Boots that are too big will become uncomfortable and they are dangerous as the bindings won’t be able to measure the force on your bones and ligaments. Your new boot should feel snug the first few times you wear them. Better quality boots use greater density foam pads in the liner with more anatomic foot shape to keep a great fit for longer, this is the major factor in boot pricing as better quality liners come in the more expensive models.

Custom Foam injected liners make a exact mold of the foot, giving better energy transfer to the skis as well as complete comfort ….

The Holy Grail of Skiing!

Big box stores usually have a 30 minute time limit and then tell the kids to “cut them loose” if they haven’t made a purchase…at Dinardo’s we welcome clients to spend as much time as they can in the shop, thereby making certain that when they get to the ski hill thier boots work to the maximum, in both comfort and performance. 

Cold Feet = Thick Socks? NO!

When fitting new boots, it is also important to wear thin socks  like these Lorpen or Point 6 ski socks to make sure the boots fit properly. Properly selected boots do not rely on the thickness of the sock for warmth or comfort.

Custom Footbeds Can Make the Difference

The starting point is always a custom footbed. Start with a solid foundation and work up. Vacum molding a custom footbed aligns the foot, to support the body. This is a critical factor in reducing or avoiding wear and tear on your joints, like knees and hips. The Dinardo’s team has both Superfeet Kork insoles and Conform’able Vacuum Molded insoles  in every size and width in stock at all times. Remember it usually takes an hour for the footbeds to be manufactured on site, but that you can leave with them in your boots to test the next time out skiing. It never hurts to call ahead and make an appointment with Frank and his team.