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SnowCountry

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Went to look at new ski boots today. Found a nice pair at a local ski shop that fit real nice. Salesman wanted me to buy a pair of Sidas 3Feet insoles (he called them footbeds). Cost is $50 plus tax.

I don't know anything about these. Wondering if they are necessary, or if this is an upsale that I should ignore? My feet are high insole.
 

Winks

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Went to look at new ski boots today. Found a nice pair at a local ski shop that fit real nice. Salesman wanted me to buy a pair of Sidas 3Feet insoles (he called them footbeds). Cost is $50 plus tax.

I don't know anything about these. Wondering if they are necessary, or if this is an upsale that I should ignore? My feet are high insole.

Insoles are almost as important if not more important than the boots in my opinion. Your foot goes through a lot of abuse during a day of skiing. Now add up many days or over the course of a lifetime that is a lot of damage to do. Do yourself a huge favor and get a foot support.

That is also a drop in option, which is cheaper but not an exact match to your foot. Having something is better than nothing though. Ski boot manufacturers know those will be replaced, that is why they do not put a lot of money into them. My custom insoles run $220 from Sidas
 

AmyPJ

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Aftermarket insoles/footbeds are lightyears better than what comes in the boots. $50 is very inexpensive in the world of custom insoles. That being said, many people do fine with non-custom (like Superfeet) insoles.
I have a friend who just got custom Instaprints (I believe that's the brand he got) and couldn't ski with them. They caused him horrible foot cramps. So, for some people, they're not the best. Or, his were molded wrong. Hard to say.

I can't ski without my custom molded Superfeet.
 

CalG

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If your foot is very "regular", (no special knobs, twists or issues) those $50 insoles may be all you ever require at a price only a few dollars more than similar items from any sporting goods store.

If you have "special feet", custom insoles can allow your boots to fit better and feel better all through a long day skiing. That leads to enjoyment.

Not that much different than a lift ticket. ;-)
 

BC.

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Footbeds were a game changer for me and my Fred Flintstone feet....I have had great success with mine.
 

Funkendrenchman

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Totally depends on your feet. I was fit by our local boot guru and he actually said I did not need custom footbeds. The few times I’ve tried them, they have done nothing to improve my skiing and they actually make my feet more sore.
 

Analisa

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The insoles that come with boots are by and large garbage - cardboard with a layer of felt on top. Tecnica didn't even bother to put them in their ZeroG line this year.

A basic insole is a gamechanger. $50 is a pretty competitive price for major name brands (Superfeet, Sidas, Sole), but a few friends have gotten away with a $20-30 gamble on Amazon. Some people move theirs from shoe to shoe if you already have one you like for running shoes or hiking boots if they push the budget.

Custom footbeds are a different story. I preferred my usual orange superfeet over a pair of customs made by a newer bootfitter, but I recently got them re-done by my usual guy and I see a small increase in performance compared to off the shelf options. YMMV depending on how closely your arch matches up to stock footbeds.
 

cantunamunch

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Found a nice pair at a local ski shop that fit real nice. Salesman wanted me to buy a pair of Sidas 3Feet insoles (he called them footbeds).

Just so you know, this sentence will be a danger flag to a lot of the respondents to this thread.

'Real nice' fit right away, without custom moulding and without defined footbeds, is a typical sign of 'Boots are actually too big'.

If you're wondering how that relates to your original question, if your boots were in the fit range preferred by most here, you wouldn't need to ask about the footbeds - you'd feel the difference between factory and over-the-shelf right away.
 
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razie

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I had a few footbeds done and I still prefer the ones that came with the Head RS boots. They just work for me, with minimal posting.

Having said that, some feet benefit more than others from custom footbeds. You can try some off the shelf sports footbeds like superfeet, for 30$ or make some custom - finding a good shop is critical. If they wanted to sell you a 50$ non-custom insole, likely not good. Get the 80$ and up heat-molded ones instead, much better bang for the buck.
 
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SnowCountry

SnowCountry

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Just so you know, this sentence will be a danger flag to a lot of the respondents to this thread.

'Real nice' fit right away, without custom moulding and without defined footbeds, is a typical sign of 'Boots are actually too big'.

If you're wondering how that relates to your original question, if your boots were in the fit range preferred by most here, you wouldn't need to ask about the footbeds - you'd feel the difference between factory and over-the-shelf right away.

Yes, I am concerned about the size. My foot is a 26.5 with high instep. The sales guy tried to convince me that, due to my high instep, I would need a 27.5 boot. But that is too long for me. I don't need a 27.5.

Tomorrow, I am going to a different shop and trying out the same boot and see what that sales person has to say.
 

SSSdave

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As a frequent skier over decades, have used the same custom cork impregnated Superfeet insoles since the mid 80s that I move into each new boot. My boot size is also 26.5. A footbed is of more value to experienced frequent skiers than for the much larger numbers of skiers with low numbers of annual visits. Over time, one's feet can readily become damaged due to the tremendous pressures exerted. Thus for those with a long term commitment to the sport, it makes sense to use a footbed that one has consistently used successfully over years without any ailments. And then too, one might be one of we old folk still ripping lines.
 

lisamamot

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Yes, I am concerned about the size. My foot is a 26.5 with high instep. The sales guy tried to convince me that, due to my high instep, I would need a 27.5 boo
You don’t need a larger size, you need a different boot. Each manufacturer/models fits differently, you need one with a more generous instep. Not everyone chooses to downsize from what they measure, but locating the boot that most closely matches your foot shape is important. I spent time talking to reputable fitters that put me in the best fit they had, but one told me what boot he thought would be an excellent fit for my foot. He said he would love to sell me a boot, but suggested another shop he knew carried the boot. Bingo - I added my custom foot beds to the Nordica Promachine and brought them home.
 
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coskigirl

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Going larger to accommodate the instep is the wrong answer. Rather than going to a different shop to try the same boot I would suggest you go to the different shop and start fresh. See what they would recommend without pushing for the specific boot.
 

Josh Matta

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necessary and honestly only cork is worth it. I would love to see video of someone skiing with out them who think they are not necessary.
 

pliny the elder

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The primary reason to build a custom orthotic for a ski boot in our protocol is to improve the alignment of the foot and ankle. If an individual does not have poor mechanics, it is not necessary to spend the extra money.
A quality premolded insole like the Sidas or Superfeet is certainly an improvement over the OEM sockliner which is usually quite poor.
I always find it interesting that people are sure that only one type of product is the right one. I have seen equally good and bad results from every product out there. It is not what insole blank you start with, it's what you do with it that counts. What you do with it should be determined by the information you collected on the individual prior to heating up materials.
As always, your results will vary.

pliny the elder
 

Jilly

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I have custom insoles that cost me around $200 (sidas). As Analisa says, these sound like the over the counter superfeet equals. These are so much better than what comes with the boot. They at least have a head cup and arch support in them.

Pliny the elder has the reason for custom. It's about alignment.

As for the high instep, don't go up a size, find the right boot. Sounds like your local ski shop is like mine. Maybe someone can suggest another place to look at, near you.
 

Philpug

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There are cases when you have to go up a size because of instep. If the vamp (diagonal measurement around the ankle/instep) is greater than 2cm different than the length, you might consider going up a size.

Usually when a footbed is used the customer usually feels an immediate improvement, even just standing in the boot. The $50 "drop in" that the OP mentioned should be an improvement over the stock bed, better, but not as good as a full custom which will cost at least 2x that cost. Without seeing the foot and how rigid or flexable it is, it is hard to say what it needs to be properly aligned in the boot.
 

Uncle-A

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As a few have said it depends on your feet. I have odd shaped feet so I use a cork type self moldings foot bed. Several years ago I purchased a top of the line boot and it came stock with my cork self molding foot bed and I also have relocated them from boot to boot as the boots needed to be replaced. Now I am in a Technica boot that has three seasons of use, when it was new and overall tight I stayed with the OEM foot bed that looks like the foot bed from a good running shoe. Once it started to break in that is when I switched out the OEM foot bed for my cork based self molding foot bed. I still keep the OEM foot beds in my equipment bag for emergency service. Just a side note on the first day of the season I have used the OEM foot beds just to have a fraction more space in my boot even though I have had my boots on around the house for a few hours preseason. BTW I also have a very high instep so adding extra thickness under the foot is not a great choice for me, try to find foot beds that don't add a lot of thickness under the foot.
 

ted

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As a few have said it depends on your feet. I have odd shaped feet so I use a cork type self moldings foot bed. Several years ago I purchased a top of the line boot and it came stock with my cork self molding foot bed and I also have relocated them from boot to boot as the boots needed to be replaced. Now I am in a Technica boot that has three seasons of use, when it was new and overall tight I stayed with the OEM foot bed that looks like the foot bed from a good running shoe. Once it started to break in that is when I switched out the OEM foot bed for my cork based self molding foot bed. I still keep the OEM foot beds in my equipment bag for emergency service. Just a side note on the first day of the season I have used the OEM foot beds just to have a fraction more space in my boot even though I have had my boots on around the house for a few hours preseason. BTW I also have a very high instep so adding extra thickness under the foot is not a great choice for me, try to find foot beds that don't add a lot of thickness under the foot.
What model/Brand are these? I'm not familiar with any cork self molding foot beds.
 

markojp

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There are cases when you have to go up a size because of instep. If the vamp (diagonal measurement around the ankle/instep) is greater than 2cm different than the length, you might consider going up a size.

Usually when a footbed is used the customer usually feels an immediate improvement, even just standing in the boot. The $50 "drop in" that the OP mentioned should be an improvement over the stock bed, better, but not as good as a full custom which will cost at least 2x that cost. Without seeing the foot and how rigid or flexable it is, it is hard to say what it needs to be properly aligned in the boot.

Thank you! There's a good deal of opinion masquerading as fact in this thread.
 

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