Custom footbeds for junior racer?

[AlpsSkidad]

What's the collective wisdom? Are custom footbeds beneficial for a strong 8 year old skier/ski racer? Or are they counter productive due to rapid foot growth/waste of money? We haven't used them yet, as I didn't feel a need, but as my daughter moves into racing and as a stronger skier, I wanted to ask the collective opinion. She doesn't have foot issues or anything, just trying to make the experience better for her. I'm probably way overthinking this.

 

[Uncle-A]

What's the collective wisdom? Are custom footbeds beneficial for a strong 8 year old skier/ski racer? Or are they counter productive due to rapid foot growth/waste of money? We haven't used them yet, as I didn't feel a need, but as my daughter moves into racing and as a stronger skier, I wanted to ask the collective opinion. She doesn't have foot issues or anything, just trying to make the experience better for her. I'm probably way overthinking this.

You say she does not have any foot issues so I would not over think it. If she used orthotics every day that would be different but other wise it may be a none issue. Do her ski boots have a good foot bed? If not I would get her a good running shoe and make the insert from the running shoe do double duty by switching between the running shoe and the ski boot. I am a bit budget minded so those are my thoughts and some may disagree. Good luck and I hope she has great success racing.

 

[Philpug]

There are a couple of good trim to fit options, Superfeet, Sole, BootDoc, I would start there.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Go trim to fit unless you think there is something really wrong with her stance/alignment.

 

[hbear]

We tend not to worry much about this unless we see some sort of alignment issue in the boot/skiing.
Usually don't need to do much until 9 (for the strongest skiers) and often it's more shims and such rather than at the footbed.

 

[James]

Nothing or trim to fit. Do they make such things for kids? The adult world is bad enough, with kids it's cart blanche to do whatever and claim anything.

In general, the whole footbed issue is interesting. Prices for non orthopedic, ie what most people use, are from under $100 to $400 (Jeff Rich in nyc). The method of making them is highly unscientific and imprecise. Most common is pushing sand under your foot then vaccuuming out the air in the sand to make it rigid, then moulding.

There's a lot of variability in that process. Then freehanding on the sander. Surefoot came up with a process to cnc them. So the bottom is flat, the rest milled. But if you look into their process it's not very precise before milling. It's much more vague than just about any other process. The only way to adjust the final product is to mill out the whole thing again. After 3 tries I took advantage of their guarantee and returned it for a refund. Afaik, ski shops won't do that.

It really comes down to who's making it and if the planets are aligned that day.

Many claim footbeds will solve every issue imaginable. They swear their forming technique is best, other methods such as vacuum forming are a mess. Blah blah blah. I've got a collection of probably over a dozen footbeds. Probably one of the best was made by an unknown guy and was a vacuumed formed cork. The type many say is crap.

My one piece of advice is never get a rigid one. (Assuming you don't have some medical issue that might require it. Even then, be wary) I had someone make me one with fiberglass under the arch. Figuring more support must be better, right? Skied it one day, my knees hurt for two weeks.

We really don't understand the foot well is my take away. Despite all the surety you'll get from fitters. David MacPhail was a believer in using them like 35 yrs ago but hasn't been in many years.

That's way more than you wanted to know.

 

[BGreen]

Foot beds are good, but they need to be loose enough to allow articulation of the arch. If you are buying semi custom/off the shelf, Bootdoc is the only one I’d recommend. Run far away from Surefoot.

 

[JuneauTheHusky]

I wouldn't worry about it if there are no current issues. A simple trim to fit and maube a shim while her feet grow.

 

[L&AirC]

I'm in the "unless there is an issue (pain, performance, alignment)." don't mess with it. Unless there wasn't even a POS insole pad that comes with the boot, I might get an off the shelf one, but at this age, the kids still need a bit of room to stay warm and as soon as you get them something "just right", they grow and now they're in pain. I did get custom insoles for my daughter when she was 10, but that was because she couldn't stand being in her boots without them. She has hyper flexible ligaments and her feet collapse when weighted. This forced her to ski in a wide A frame to be comfortable.

More important than the insole, is the fit. When selecting boots for young skiers, keep in mind that they sometimes don't know what good is, they compare it to their comfy sneakers, and sometimes they fib (because they don't want to wear the ugly red ones). A good way to find out if boots really fit or not, is to take the insole out and have them stand on it. See pics below:

This is a very good fit but is probably pushing the envelope and would be the last season. She had no pain and her toes didn't get cold. She did get new boots before the season was out though.

This is the other side of the spectrum and it showed up in his skiing. He was inconsistent and tended to ski under his athletic abilities (very good hockey player that couldn't do a hockey stop on skis!?). They ended going back to his previous boots and this resolved many of his issues.

I coach U10s and the first thing we do each season is go through the boots. I take notes and pictures. I don't share any information with the athletes but that night I send everything to the parents with my recommendations.

Both pictures are of 8 y/os.

Have fun,
Ken

 

[AlpsSkidad]

Thanks L&airC- good feedback. I'm often having to wrestle with my daughters over the gear color...at the end of last season my 8 yr old was telling me that since her new race skis were red, she would need a new jacket, pants and boots all in red to match.

and just an update on my end...I picked up a pair of Superfeet trim to fit "black" (super thin) insoles for my 8 yr old. It was easier to find these things here in the states, and we are heading back to Europe for the school year next week. I figure we can try them out and trim them for new boots once we pick them up around November. I can always just revert back to whatever is inside the liners if we don't end up liking this trim to fit option.

 

[markojp]

The most frequent mistake we see with trim to fit are those bought for overall foot length, not arch length and shape. I'm amazed at what people use, and often in discomfort. People who sell what they stock rather than what's correct, don't get me going. First rule, do no harm. Superfeet can be fine, but it's the most commonly abused product I see because they're everywhere and unattended.

 

[AlpsSkidad]

Thanks Markojp- We will certainly be careful. Like I said, if it doesn't work or make sense, it comes out and doesn't get used. I'm more curious if it will offer any advantage whatsoever, and I'm pretty sure we will notice quickly. I'm fairly sure we are overthinking things overall, but want all of our options covered this year since we have a rather full ski season ahead. Also finding a knowledgeable boot fitter in Europe that is also accessible is a huge challenge. The more options we have available at home, the more likelihood for success we will have.

 

[markojp]

Jules Mills in Chamomix is one of the best anywhere.

 

[AlpsSkidad]

Jules Mills in Chamomix is one of the best anywhere.

Jules is, However Chamonix is a bit off the regular path even for France. We used to ski a lot in France- mostly the trois vallees, but Austria and Switzerland take most of our money now, for us, they are a much better experience, night and day difference.