Lifespan of custom foot beds

[lisamamot]

I had custom foot beds made in Big Sky about 7+ years ago and they have been moved from boot to boot.

I have been wearing the Nordica Promachine 95W 25.5 for the last 4 years. I went in to The Boot Pro In Ludlow, VT to have my boots worked on since I had too much movement and although he could have sucked up a bit of extra space, I was considerably over flexing the boot. Enter new boots - Nordica ProMachine again, but in a 24.5 and the 115 flex. Heat molded and my custom foot beds trimmed and reused.

This is my first venture into a performance fit. No hot spots, but I am battling numbness. Returned to the fitter after the 2nd day on them and he ground the Zeppo board a bit on both feet. The left foot is feeling pretty good now. The right is my larger foot and needs more attention as I have continued numbness when the top buckles are buckled as well as soreness on the ball of my right foot at the end of the day and my right big toe nail is tender. Toe feels like it may have a bit too much pressure on it, but it is slight.

I hope to stop at the boot fitter this afternoon on my way back home from VT. I expect I may need an additional grind on my right boot board, but is it possible my custom insoles may need to be redone? Do they ever wear out?

 

[jt10000]

I've had one some crack. It's possible they might wear out in terms of compressing down but I have not noticed it. I'm not sure. But it's certainly the case that our feet change over the years. If you're liking the way your footbeds work, you probably don't need new ones. But your feet may have changed, and also the bootfitter might have ideas.

Bring your footbeds to the fitting and see. And be prepared to talk abot how they are working for you and your feet in general.

 

[lisamamot]

Bring your footbeds to the fitting and see. And be prepared to talk abot how they are working for you and your feet in general.

He trimmed the footbeds and put them into my new boots so they definitely will be coming with me. We discussed what I was feeling after a day and a half on them and he mentioned it could be footbeds but wanted to grind the board first. Obviously trying to do small tweaks and not rush anything since I know that right now they are the tightest they will ever be and need to pack.

 

[locknload]

You should get a LOT of ski days out of them. As long as your foot hasn't changed substantially (which is possible), they should generally travel...as in...work fine in your new boots unless there is less volume in there or some other significant shell difference. What are yours made out of?

 

[lisamamot]

What are yours made out of?

Cork. Last few years I have skied 50-70 days/yr. Prior to that less.

 

[Bad Bob]

Have had flexible footbeds and solid ones. When getting boot work the fitters that I have worked with say the solid ones are in perfect condition and they are 10 years old. The flexible ones went through 2 pairs of boots, maybe 4 years.

 

[cantunamunch]

Cork. Last few years I have skied 50-70 days/yr. Prior to that less.

LOL, I put three boots' worth (read:700) of days on my first cork footbeds. I even redid the cloth covers with leather. Then my feet started telling me, loudly, that they had changed.

 

[James]

Can always try a new one, but don’t throw out the old yet. It’s not exactly a scientific, precise process. I suppose we could argue that if you go through the plaster mold process.

 

[Sibhusky]

My cork footbeds have 462 + 524 days on them.
(Two pairs of boots.)

 

[lisamamot]

As long as your foot hasn't changed substantially (which is possible), they should generally travel...as in...work fine in your new boots unless there is less volume in there or some other significant shell difference

Well, there is something substantially different about the boots in that although they are the same boot (Nordica ProMachine) they are a size smaller and two flexes higher - there is definitely less volume and an upgraded liner. When I went in for my first tweak the fitter felt it could be my insoles causing the numbness, but he ground the boot board a bit first.

I went back for a 2nd boot tweak before leaving VT and they punched out my for my right big toe and made a small adjustment to my right insole (cork, posted, made at Big Sky). He indicated if he made mine now they would be thinner since I am now in a performance fit. Perhaps I should have started with new insoles with the new boots, but it wasn't something they initially discussed and, as the thread here indicates, they do last a long time and can move from boot to boot.

We are getting there, but I still have some slight residual numbness on my right foot after the 2nd tweak. I will ski a few more days and then new insoles are next if this continues.

 

[Dave Marshak]

I have 19 seasons on mine, so maybe 800 days. They were also ground thinner after 6 or 7 seasons. They’re still working fine.

dm

 

[Truberski]

I should have started with new insoles with the new boots, but it wasn't something they initially discussed and, as the thread here indicates, they do last a long time and can move from boot to boot.

When I first read your post my assumption was this was a situation of a retailer pushing add-on purchases. I’ve had an exceptional experience with Boot Pro and kudos that that they did not take this approach with you. I’ve lost count of how many times a “boot fitter” disparages the previous guy’s work and almost refuses to work with my still good footbeds. Little did they know they came from a guy that does tons of work with current and aspiring U.S. Ski Team Members and sponsored ski athletes out of Park City.

Be patient with the process and I like how you and the fitter are working down the order of solutions. Start small and keep the credit card in the wallet for as long as possible!

 

[Nobody]

I have two footbeds, one, from conform'able, was made in...1992...still work, AFAIK.
These are coming form my everyday boots and I have put these in my AT/freeride boots, due to the comparable size.
The newer one, made about three years ago, from, I think, SIDAS, I had it done for the "racing" boots, but I am using it into the "new" (smaller than previous, but same size as the "race" boots) everyday boots as well....I am now considering to have a thrid pair made, so that footbeds will sit permanently in each pair of boots without continously shuffling 'em from (currently in use) boot to (currently in use) boot...

 

[crosscountry]

My footbed didn't last quite as long as some of you. It started cracking in the mid-sole after maybe 3 or 5 seasons? Eventually, one of them broke (along the crack). At that point, I left it inside the liner as much as possible and stop taking the liner out for drying.

When I needed new boots, I couldn't avoid taking the footbed out multiple times just to test the new boots I was trying, and then all the tweaking that follows. That put the nail on the coffin on both of them. I ended up needing a new pair at the end of all that.

I now no longer take the liner out. Hopefully the new footbed may last longer?

 

[cantunamunch]

My footbed didn't last quite as long as some of you. It started cracking in the mid-sole after maybe 3 or 5 seasons? Eventually, one of them broke (along the crack). At that point, I left it inside the liner as much as possible and stop taking the liner out for drying.

^Not well interfaced to the boot. Suspect the bootboards weren't flattened.

 

[locknload]

Well, there is something substantially different about the boots in that although they are the same boot (Nordica ProMachine) they are a size smaller and two flexes higher - there is definitely less volume and an upgraded liner. When I went in for my first tweak the fitter felt it could be my insoles causing the numbness, but he ground the boot board a bit first.

I went back for a 2nd boot tweak before leaving VT and they punched out my for my right big toe and made a small adjustment to my right insole (cork, posted, made at Big Sky). He indicated if he made mine now they would be thinner since I am now in a performance fit. Perhaps I should have started with new insoles with the new boots, but it wasn't something they initially discussed and, as the thread here indicates, they do last a long time and can move from boot to boot.

We are getting there, but I still have some slight residual numbness on my right foot after the 2nd tweak. I will ski a few more days and then new insoles are next if this continues.

Interesting twist. So if the boot is a size smaller (more performance fit) that is a big deal. And the fact that a more "performance"-type foot bad tends to be thinner...that makes sense to me. Were you aware you were in a boot one size too big? This happened to me as well and finally got it corrected a few years ago. Made a big difference.

 

[Tom K.]

I put three boots' worth (read:700) of days on my first cork footbeds

My cork footbeds have 462 + 524 days on them

I have 19 seasons on mine, so maybe 800 days.

Same, at least 600 days, and probably closer to 1,000. They still feel great, though they are starting to "look their age".

@lisamamot perhaps my usual new boot "trick" might help. If a boot is going to fit me, there is typically no way in hades that I can start out with my footbed in place. I just use a thinner, crappy insole for the first 5 days and then all is good with the cork footbed inserted. Just have to get that initial liner packing done first.

 

[James]

I’ve had like a dozen and a half footbeds. Performance fit has nothing to do with longevity. Except for two things.
- You downsize, and don’t trim the footbed to the new boot. Doh.
-People tend to ski more and harder with performance boots.
Other than that, feet change. Sometimes the footbed isn’t the bees knees, so why not try again?

 

[lisamamot]

I popped into my local mountain shop and saw a fitter there - he suspected the footbed based on my description of symptoms.

He took my insole out and matched it to my foot and my foot overhangs the insole width. I know it was trimmed for the new boots, but I cannot say how the match was prior to that.

I plan to have new insoles made on Monday; best case it fixes things, worst case it doesn't, but it eliminates the question if the foot bed was the issue.

 

[Fuller]

I had 8 full seasons on my original posted footbeds and all the boot fitters I've encountered along the way said they were well made and in good shape. The footbeds were fine but my feet had changed quite a bit so this year I got new ones and they worked a lot better for me. I kept the old ones for a back up but I'll probably never use them again.