Used Zipfits? Terrible idea?

[CalvinM]

I am looking into new shells this season. I have done some bootfitting at the past at several places in Truckee(Starthaus,Olympic,Sports Hub) and feel somewhat confident in my shell size.

I was also thinking about custom liners along with new shells. These seem to be rather expensive for my price point. But I just came across some Zipfit Worldcups in my shell size. Now I know you can add OMfit to the shells also it seems that OMfit itself remains moldable. Does this make a used pair of Zipfits a reasonable purchase? I have heard about their legendary durability.

What do the wiser folks of pugski think?

 

[AmyPJ]

Absolutely. They will remold with each shell, particularly if you take them to a shop to have them heated WITH the shells (if the shell can be heated without changing it.) I have had my Zipfits in a total of 5 shells in the past 6 years.

I'll let others weigh in on the differences in the liners and which one is best for what kind of shell fit. I'm an anomaly in that way due to extremely low-volume feet.

 

[Living Proof]

Assuming that you can try them on in your actual boots, I would not hesitate about buying a good condition used pair. Matching a ZipFit liner to your feet and specific boot shell is the issue. Even if you try them in your boots, expect that they will not be comfortable at the outset, it is a bit of a "leap of faith" and you will need some additional bootfitting. You did state that you are considering buying them to use in a new boot, personally, I would use the liner that comes stock in a new boot, and, make the upgrade only if you are not happy with the resulting outcome. I would also try to use a ZipFit in an existing boot, it very well may improve your skiing. If the Zip Fit pair you are considering has a low price point, you should be able to resell if they do not work out.

If I found a pair of 28.5 used ZipFit race (low volume), I'd love to try them.

 

[Jerez]

You can remold Zipfits over and over, so as said above, yes.

Also, do-it-yourself molding to the shell is not difficult. It's been a while since I did mine, but there were very detailed and easy to follow instructions on their website. I used the steam the shells and blow-dry the liners method and it worked just fine. Now that I have a heated boot bag I would use it. You can improvise something similar by using a couple of heating pads in a padded bag or even encased in a bunch of blankets. leave the boots and liners in long enough to get both comfortably hot.

I put my zipfits into new boots and chucked the intuition liners that came with. My issue is having to take up volume in a boot and nothing fills in like a Zipfit, IMO.

 

[CalvinM]

Thanks for the opinions. Looks like the consensus is that I should be able to remold them and get some good use out of them if they are good fit for my foot. I'll give them a go and flip them if they don't work for me.

 

[AmyPJ]

Thanks for the opinions. Looks like the consensus is that I should be able to remold them and get some good use out of them if they are good fit for my foot. I'll give them a go and flip them if they don't work for me.

Keep us posted!

 

[CalvinM]

1/21/17 update: Amazing! I had the Zipfit Worldcup liners molded at Olympic Bootworks in Squaw yesterday to my Lange XT 120 boots. I have been dialing in the fit on my boots with 6th toe punches but with the stock liners my feet were colder and less comfortable than the intuitions in my touring boots.

That all changed with the used Zipfits. I skied them today and they were warm and comfortable. They definitely are thicker around the calf and tongue area which is good for my skinny legs. I didn't really get enough runs in to comment on performance. More to come later

The only downside is that the rubber sole is coming a little unglued at the heel on both liners. I will try a little bit of barge cement and maybe a strip of duct tape to prevent it catching when I take my feet with the liners on out of the boot.

Thanks for all the advice team!

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

You'll be fine. I'd give up my right nut before I'd give up my ZipFits.

 

[Living Proof]

Glad it worked out so well for you. I presume you are using them as traditional lace-up liners and putting them on first and then inserting you foot into the boot. If so, you will beat up the rear heel are of the liner where it rubs the shell when putting the boot on and off. I put some duct tape on the bottom rear of my liners, and, I also use some silicone spray placed on to the inside rear of the boot to reduce friction.

 

[JohnL2]

What LP said.....

Except that I put the duct tape on the inside back of the shell to cover up the heads of the Tee-nuts to reduce friction and use the 'food grade' silicon spray on the heel of the liners. (Also the tape sticks better to the shell than the liner).

I too had lucked out in being able to recently purchase an almost new (at less than half the retail price) set of World Cup liners in the right size for my shells and they've molded perfectly using my 'Hot Gear' heated boot bag. Something I learned (the hard way) while heating boot and liners on high (which is within the recommended temp range discussed in the various Zipfit videos) was that the custom orthotics should be removed when using the 'high' temp (normally I just use low and medium temp when warming my boots prior to use). The orthotics tried to weld themselves to the base of the liners. Took quite a bit of prying with the finger tips to get them back out. (Other threads mention to be sure and remove the foot bed from the shell prior to heating but I mistook this warning to mean the actual shell foot bed vs. the added custom foot bed used inside the liner.)

Thought I was going to have to wait till next season to try the new liners but 4th of July at Squaw solved that problem. Couldn't be happier with the comfort and the heel hold down. Though at 80+ degree temps I guess I'll have to wait to see if they really are warmer than my Lange SX-120 stock liners (packed out after about 80 days)

 

[CalvinM]

I just wanted to follow up on this thread after a season of the skiing the used ZipFits. I ended up taking the laces out and switching to keeping the zipfits in the boots. I was having too many problems with the heel of the liners pulling away even after gluing. So now I just keep the liners in the shells.

They work perfectly with my Head Raptor 120s that I had Bud Heishman fit for me. I cannot be happier with the decision. Thanks to all who helped.