Hey, they’re race boots and they fit. What more is there to talk about?
Are you SURE they fit, because most people are wearing the wrong size boot and if you/your kid is a racer, that will cost you. Boots have their own complications that mostly come down to two factors: fit and flex.
Fit
You would think this is the easy one, but it’s the most likely to get wrong. The biggest mistake people make here is buying boots that are too big. Naturally as a parent you don’t want to buy new boots every year, right? Why not get a size up to save a little money? Well, skiing is expensive enough – why pay all the money and all the time to put your kid in equipment that makes it harder? What’s doubly difficult is your little one is very likely to tell you that their boots are too small even when they fit just right. You can’t feel what they feel, so it’s hard to argue. TIGHT is good. PAINFUL is not. NUMB is even worse (often follows pain). There are some that believe if the boot doesn’t hurt, it’s too big.
Ever see some racers, older teens or adults, on the hill free skiing? Or maybe they’re race training and you happen to ride the lift with them? Watch what they do to their boots when they complete their run – they UNBUCKLE them. Every time. But boots that fit that tight is not a good approach to getting your kid to like the sport of ski racing. Maybe as they get older – and if that’s what they want, they’re probably doing pretty well.
Oh, and “size” isn’t always about the length of the boot, there is also the “last” which is another way of saying “width,” measured in millimeters. You won’t be surprised to learn that race boots are thinner, aka tighter, than recreational boots. The good news here is most junior boots are pretty consistent until they start to get to the teen and up sizes.
If you’re going to spend money at a ski equipment store, you probably want to spend it on boot fitting. That goes for you, mom and dad, as well. The good news is, theoretically at least, once you establish a starting size, you can probably go one to two sizes up for their next boot depending on how much they grew.
Flex
Flex is what it sounds like, how flexible the boot is, mostly front to back. If you put on any ski boot and stand on a flat floor, keeping the sole of the boot in contact with the floor, flex is the resistance you feel if you lean your shins forward. A softer flex will allow you to push your shins forward with less resistance.
Flex generally ranges from about 40 to 150+. Anything above a 130 is typically for a very demanding skier and or high level racer. Kids’ racing boots typically start around 40 to 50 with a the first full featured boots (buckles and power strap) at 60. A recreational kid’s boot might start even softer, although these kids boots may have no visible flex number at all.
On skis, this flex is your ability to transfer power to your skis and it is fundamental to good skiing and certainly good ski racing. If you can’t flex (too stiff), you can’t apply pressure to the front and edges of your ski and you can’t turn well.
Size, strength and technique determine what flex you need. For purposes of kids starting out, we can just worry about size. In fact, even a very skilled racer who is smaller in size can’t overcome a boot that is too stiff. I can think of multiple instances where a very competitive skier suddenly struggled to crack the top 10 after they got new boots. Once they changed to boots with a softer flex, they were back on the podium. Some coaches even advise avoiding race boots entirely for very small kids and proceeding with a very soft flex recreational boot. When in doubt, go softer and ask a coach when to move up.
Sometimes flex is adjustable by removing or adding rivets to the rear of the boot. This is nice since you can err on the softer side but add stiffness without having to buy new boots.
Forward Lean or Canting
There is one more factor, but this is more a differentiator between race boots and recreational boots, forward lean. At this level, it’s enough to say that race boots lean, or are “canted” further forward than rec boots. This is again about applying that aggressive pressure to the front of the ski. Ever hear of “being in the back seat” as a criticism of skiing form? Well, when your boots lean further forward, its one way of keeping your weight forward. By the way, even World Cup racers get in to the back seat on occasion. Some boots allow for adjustable canting.
Boot Fitters
Finally, another thing that boot fitters provide that you can’t get from just buying used or site-unseen online is a custom boot fitting, as mentioned above.
Boots shells are made of plastic, and that plastic can be heated/molded, ground and punched out to better fit your kid’s (and your) unique foot. Most kids may not need such custom fitting since their feet are literally constantly growing and changing. The good news is kids’ feet also more flexible than adults. More competitive and older kids may benefit from the precision of a boot fitter. Older kids can also communicate fit better than just “it’s too tight” and when you know the mondo size is correct, but they still don’t feel right/hurt/make your feet go numb, see a boot fitter! Be prepared to pay them fairly for their time and expertise if you didn’t buy your boots there.
Oh, that is one big advantage of buying your boots new from a shop – they often offer long-term, or sometimes lifetime re-fitting of the boot. Believe it or not, a boot that feels comfortable may start to hurt years later. Go back to the shop you bought the boot from and there’s a good chance they’ll make them right without charging you. Pretty sweet.
An aside: DO NOT TRUST SKI BOOT SIZING CHARTS. THEY ARE WRONG WRONG WRONG.
They are designed for casual skiers who value comfort over all else. My first pair of ski boots were a soft flex (80) mondo size 29.5 (more on that below), which would be equivalent to an 11.5 shoe based on a ski boot sizing chart. They were comfortable and probably fine for me as a beginner. But when I went to get a new pair of boots a few years and maybe 150 days of skiing later, I was fitted for a 27.5, two sizes smaller!
I wear 27.5 to this day and I’m a legit 11.5 shoe. A 27.5 on a ski chart would be a size 9.5 shoe, which would be impossible to wear in street shoes. Good Lord, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen kids on the hill, 3/4 of my size, wearing boots bigger than mine, rental boots with packed out lining, buckles loose are partially unbuckled and the “power” strap not connected. It’s not possible to ski in poorly fitted boots. You will not do well and maybe decide never to return. Tight is good. Painful is not.