BootDoc Foam Liners – My quick review:
At the end of the summer I decided it was time to get new liners in my Atomic Waymakers. I found the stock Atomic liners warm, but lacked the heel hold I really wanted. In addition I always had a bit too much instep pressure once heel lifts were installed.
I looked at Zipfit, Intuition & BootDoc. Each liner has certain aspects that were attractive, so I had to decide what was most important to me.
1. Warmth (yes, I’m getting older)
2. Eliminate all pressure points & use existing foot beds
3. Ease of entry & exit
4. Prefer to work with a boot fitter I knew.
I played with a set of Intuition liners, but the overlapping tongue didn’t feel right (personal preference). So I narrowed it down to ZipFit & BootDoc.
Zipfit was a tad more expensive (not important to me), but the option to potentially use in a future boot was attractive. But in reality my shells were almost new and it’s going to be a few years before I replace them. So that huge benefit was not as important to me. It could be a big selling factor for others. Zipfit also allows you inject or remove material. I called the closest Zipfit dealer, I asked how many liners they did last season.. Answer was 3 sets of liners and that guy was no longer with the shop. That didn’t make me feel confident at a ~$600 price tag.
BootDoc is one shot. If the boot fitter screws up a foam injection liner there is no fixing it. If they don’t clip your bails enough/or too much your out of luck. You need enough space in the shell, but not too much. So if you are doing a set of BootDoc’s make sure your fitter has plenty of experience and ask them what they want you to communicate. They need to know when & how much pressure you feel during the foam expansion process. Make sure you bring the right socks too, I brought a sock that was a tad too thick, they wanted to use a super thin sock to get the best shape of my foot/ankle.
I made the appointment with a shop in Waterbury VT to get the BootDoc Quick Foam. I was in and out pretty quick. Utilized my existing footbeds.
https://www.boot-doc.com/en_us/products/foam-liners/winter/bd-quick-foam-1845x38.html
I have 6 days in the the liners now. All but 1 day have been in the 10-20 degree range. We had 1 day at -12 degrees. Warmth has not been an issue, I’m currently wearing the Smartwool PhD light ski socks which have been my favorite. I haven’t felt the need for a heavier sock yet, that could change in mid-January.
Tongue & each side of the liner have nice straps to ease getting the boot on. There are also laces which can be used if you desire. I chose not to use laces. The rear has a slight wedge to adjust calf pressure. Laces are used during the injection process.
Ski feel is awesome. Edge-to-edge is much improved. I can get on edge much easier and hold the edge much stronger. I feel like my transition edge-to-edge is also smoother & controlled.
I have Zero pressure points, my heel and ankle feel awesome! There is no heel lift anymore. There is no instep pressure anymore. The foam feel is firm but not too firm, still has some give. Your foot slips into the ankle pocket and into any weird pockets that were created during the foaming process. You know when your roots in the right spot. In reality your fit can only fit in one spot since they are formed to your feet.
Moisture.. This is the area where I think this kind of foam falls short. I tend to run warm so my feet were a little sweaty. When I pulled the boots off the liner is wetter then when I was using regular stock liners. But a few hours on the boot dryer and they were good to go. I think a boot dryer is mandatory to get the moisture out of foam liners if your skiing consecutive days and to prevent odor.
Overall very much worth the $$. I think we will get a set made for my wife in the new year.
Here is a couple pics:
At the end of the summer I decided it was time to get new liners in my Atomic Waymakers. I found the stock Atomic liners warm, but lacked the heel hold I really wanted. In addition I always had a bit too much instep pressure once heel lifts were installed.
I looked at Zipfit, Intuition & BootDoc. Each liner has certain aspects that were attractive, so I had to decide what was most important to me.
1. Warmth (yes, I’m getting older)
2. Eliminate all pressure points & use existing foot beds
3. Ease of entry & exit
4. Prefer to work with a boot fitter I knew.
I played with a set of Intuition liners, but the overlapping tongue didn’t feel right (personal preference). So I narrowed it down to ZipFit & BootDoc.
Zipfit was a tad more expensive (not important to me), but the option to potentially use in a future boot was attractive. But in reality my shells were almost new and it’s going to be a few years before I replace them. So that huge benefit was not as important to me. It could be a big selling factor for others. Zipfit also allows you inject or remove material. I called the closest Zipfit dealer, I asked how many liners they did last season.. Answer was 3 sets of liners and that guy was no longer with the shop. That didn’t make me feel confident at a ~$600 price tag.
BootDoc is one shot. If the boot fitter screws up a foam injection liner there is no fixing it. If they don’t clip your bails enough/or too much your out of luck. You need enough space in the shell, but not too much. So if you are doing a set of BootDoc’s make sure your fitter has plenty of experience and ask them what they want you to communicate. They need to know when & how much pressure you feel during the foam expansion process. Make sure you bring the right socks too, I brought a sock that was a tad too thick, they wanted to use a super thin sock to get the best shape of my foot/ankle.
I made the appointment with a shop in Waterbury VT to get the BootDoc Quick Foam. I was in and out pretty quick. Utilized my existing footbeds.
https://www.boot-doc.com/en_us/products/foam-liners/winter/bd-quick-foam-1845x38.html
I have 6 days in the the liners now. All but 1 day have been in the 10-20 degree range. We had 1 day at -12 degrees. Warmth has not been an issue, I’m currently wearing the Smartwool PhD light ski socks which have been my favorite. I haven’t felt the need for a heavier sock yet, that could change in mid-January.
Tongue & each side of the liner have nice straps to ease getting the boot on. There are also laces which can be used if you desire. I chose not to use laces. The rear has a slight wedge to adjust calf pressure. Laces are used during the injection process.
Ski feel is awesome. Edge-to-edge is much improved. I can get on edge much easier and hold the edge much stronger. I feel like my transition edge-to-edge is also smoother & controlled.
I have Zero pressure points, my heel and ankle feel awesome! There is no heel lift anymore. There is no instep pressure anymore. The foam feel is firm but not too firm, still has some give. Your foot slips into the ankle pocket and into any weird pockets that were created during the foaming process. You know when your roots in the right spot. In reality your fit can only fit in one spot since they are formed to your feet.
Moisture.. This is the area where I think this kind of foam falls short. I tend to run warm so my feet were a little sweaty. When I pulled the boots off the liner is wetter then when I was using regular stock liners. But a few hours on the boot dryer and they were good to go. I think a boot dryer is mandatory to get the moisture out of foam liners if your skiing consecutive days and to prevent odor.
Overall very much worth the $$. I think we will get a set made for my wife in the new year.
Here is a couple pics:
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