Zipfits and heat moldable shells

[Sidewinder]

Could anyone advise me if (and how) to properly fit Zipfit liners into heat moldable shells? Boots are Atomic Hawx Ultra XTD 120. I previously posted a question about the use of duct tape inside the shells to take up space, however people were right and the tape does move around and makes a sticky mess, so I gave up on that. I have Zipfit Garas that I would like to use in the boots. Even with the stock liners, it is quite an effort to get my foot past the low instep and into the boot. This is what I love about these boots however, as my feet are held extremely well when skiing. I can get the Zipfits in the shells, but I (and half a football team) can’t get my foot into the boots with these liners. Nor can I put the liners on first and then into the shells. Do you heat the shells, just like any other boot, or would you just heat the liners, or maybe both? Definitely don’t want to over distort these boots. I have used the Zips (very successfully) in other boots, but I could always just put them in and ski. There is a shop I can get to with an oven (where I bought the boots), but when I asked them this question they asked what is a Zipfit......
I would like to be armed with a bit of knowledge going in, to ensure things are done correctly.
Thanks for any adviceyou may have.

 

[ScottB]

Noodler, I think has posts on this site on how to fit a new zipfit into a new shell. Do a search or look up his posts and you will find it.

I just heat molded a new Atomic Mimic liner to my Hawx Ultra XTD 130's. I went to the shop I bought them at and did the std Atomic memory fit process to both shell and liner. The boots feel great now and the mimic liner is more substantial than the thin orange liner that came with the boot. I wanted more toe width, which is why I heated the shell and not just the liner (used toe caps this time for the process).

I have put a pair of zipfits into a Atomic Redster Club Sport race boot, and I could not get my foot into the boot with the zipfits in there. Same issue as you. They seem to require heating (with a rice sock I think) to get them soft enough to conform to the shape of the boot. Once you get them shaped, you can get your foot in like normal. If you heat the XTD shell at the same time, the shell will conform to the zipfits more than the other way around , I think. Noodler talks about this in his posts. It might not be a bad thing, but it will probably stretch your shell and force you to stay with the zipfits forever.

One last thought is to remove as much "cork flow" as possible from the zip fits and then add back in as necessary. I am pretty sure your issue is common and heat forming the zip fits to conform to the shell is what most people have to do.

Good Luck

 

[Sidewinder]

Thanks for that Scott. Funny you mention the cork. I had removed as much as I could and was beginning to wonder if there was any left in there. I’ll try that with the rice sock first and see. Hopefully can avoid a full shell heating, but I’m willing if necessary

 

[Noodler]

Here's the thread (lots of reading to do): Which Model ZipFit?