Comfort or nasty tight racing fit??
I would go for a tight fit, but not so tight that it hurts. You should be able to wear your boots for quite a while without having suicide thoughts, but if you don´t take your ski boots off during lunch at the mountain, they are probably to big! Remember: Its important to not be in pain while skiing, that can take away your focus for the day!!
Liners: Foam or No Foam?
If you have a “normal” foot, without any abnormal knuckles , that fits pretty good into the boot , I would go without foam to have as less material in-between your foot & the snow. I think the more material you have in between foot & snow = Less feeling!
Flex: ??
Well, flex is not a word that is used in ski racing. We always talk about how hard the plastic is. I´m using hard plastic, its for sure the faster choice ( due to its better rebound ) as long as the snow is grippy & smooth. But when the conditions are tough & bumpy, it is good to go with a little bit softer plastic to have the boot absorb the bumps better!
Basic Setting.
OK, this is up to you know! There are no human beings that are build the exact same way. We all have different foot angles & sizes , knees angles, calves sizes & lengths. Not to forget the important factor of the snow type!! I know there are lasers & different “high tech” equipment to mesure your knee angles & different movements.
I prefer to just put on the boot & stand on a flat hard floor , closing my eyes, flexing & moving around in the boots. If the boot feels like a part of you, that it makes you strong & your knees go hand i hand with how the boot wants to flex, then you are on a good way!
Then go out on slope & go free skiing on a flat hill. Don´t go to slow, its easier if you go a bit faster! Try to focus on how the boot react when you do a turn. Does it turn when you want it to turn or does it feel “dead”… Thats a good way of testing how you want you setting!
Advanced Setting.
Ok lets say that you find you boot to aggressive ( the skis starts to wobble & its difficult to keep you position ) Trouble shooting = Change the “canting” screw to less degrees! If that is not enough… put a few strips of duct tape on the outside of your bindings. By now you should experience a big difference! Still having problem with setting, try to lower or raise your heel , put duct tape the boot board so that you heel gets higher or grind them down a bit! Remember: Don´t go to crazy & always only test one thing at the time!Its easy to go to wild and loose the control of the testing.
“Spoilers” yes or no??
It kind of depends on you calves size, do you have thick or thin calves! Since I´m a lion with pretty thick calves I only use a very thin black spoiler on my liner (incuding the red one mounted in the plastic). With the spoiler I experince that its way easier to have solid position in steep parts!
Foot bed??
Also totally up to you, if you have a flat foot that needs some support. I would go for the custom fitted foot bed, but if you have a “strong” foot, it can some times turn out to be to aggressive with to much material under your foot! Once again… I can´t give to much info about how I work & do it… but thats a little bit of it…
