So here is a How to Custom Fit Your Snowboard Boots page. Custom fitting your boots is easier than you think.  I’m sure you have heard me say in many snowboard boot reviews “All Feet Are Different” and what I mean by that is it’s really hard to get our feet to fit these mass produced snowboard boots right out of the box. So as long as the boot isn’t too tight here are some ways that could get you to stop cranking down your boots in a painful attempt to get them to fix issues you have. 

 

How to Fix Heel Lift

Heal lift is the biggest complaint I hear from readers when they are asking for new boots.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say I just crank down the boots as tight as I can to compensate for it which is probably the worst thing you can do.  Over tightening can lead to really bad long term foot injuries or at the very least make for a shitty day on the hill.  Often times if you play around with a few of the after market boot accessories you might be able to fix your problems.

All of these attach to either your boot liner or to the boot wall itself.

J-Bars– This is probably the most common solution. They can really help snug up the area around your heal and ankle that lifts. Sometimes the company often includes j-bars with their boots. If not it’s pretty easy to get an after market product.   For example Shred Sole’s makes a pair that works pretty well. So does Tognar.

C-Pads– These are like j-bars but have a C shape instead. Tognar has this option.

Ankle Wrap Pads– These cover more surface area and help squish in more area of your heel/ankle.  Tognar has these too.

Custom Solution-.  You can cut out a rectangle of boot fitting foam to make the whole heel cup tighter.  Instead of dealing with j-bars, c-pads ect you can just put in a foam pad that covers the whole ankle/heel area.  That will tighten up everything.  This could work by itself or help increase the grip of the j-bars or other pads you already have in there.

 

How to Decrease the Volume in Your Boot

This isn’t as common a problem but some people find too much room around the roof of your foot and want a more snug ride  There are a couple of things you might want to do here instead of over tighten your boots.

Get an aftermarket Insole with more volume–  There are so many insoles out there that are better for you but also have more volume than the insoles that come with the boots. A good insole usually does a lot more than just decrease the volume inside your boot. Most of the time it helps increase shock, decrease fatigue and sometimes helps joints like the knees perform better all day.

Get a foam narrowing pad– Tognar (again) has a good foam pad that can further decrease the volume if the aftermarket insoles didn’t help all the way.

 

Customize for Different Size Feet

There are a few ways to help fix your boots to work with different length and width feet. For example my left foot is just a little bit smaller than my right.  It’s not small enough to buy a smaller size but it’s just enough to notice a little bit of difference in the fit compared to the right.  So what I do is cut our a little rectangle strip of boot fitting foam and put it into the left toe or heel of the boot. The adhesive keeps it stuck in there and it’s just enough to even it out so I feel the same fit in each boot.  For me it only takes one pad but for others it might take 2 or 3.  For example you can put 2 in the toe and one in the heel or one in the toe and one in the heel.  I personally like putting it in the toe so my heel is lined up better with the more shock absorbent foam but to each their own.

 

These are some common suggestions to fix your boots but with the boot fitting foam sheets the options are limitless.  So before you abandon your boots and spend your hard earned money on new boots try these solutions. It might save you some cash but even more importantly make your ride better and a lot less painful.