I've been holding off on this fusion for over a year and pushed thru the pain this season but it was time to get it done. I'm an advanced skier 6', 190 lbs and have been skiing Lange RS 130 wide boots (size 27.5) which took a lot of work to get them "all day comfortable" on my bad foot but these boots were incredible the last half of this season. I'm dreading having to start over with new boots but it appears I need much stiffer boots as these 130s skied soft before the fusion and now with very limited dorsi-flexion, I'll have a huge dysymmetry of flex between my two ankles. Is there any chance of stiffening up these boots with additional rivets or other means? I tried on every LV intuition liner with these boots at the fitter and the boots were bulging so bad we couldn't get the buckles closed so I don't know if a stiffer liner is even an option in these boots.
The challenge is I likely need the stiffness of a plug with ease of entry of a 3 piece or similar. So what are some boots to consider that fit similar to my Lange's with that really narrow heal pocket but have easier entry and the ability to stiffen them to maybe a 150ish flex? I love how locked in my heals were in the Langes but I have a moderate instep on my good ankle (the Lange was fine) but a rather high instep on my bad ankle due to all the calcification around injury (even with lots of work to the shell and liner, the Lange was rather tight so I loosened every buckle for the lift ride). However, after he scraped out all of the cartiladge on my Talus and Tibia, it's possible that the instep will be lower now as he said taking out that joint would likely shorten that right leg a noticeable amount. The only other thing I'd change about the Langes is finding a toe box shape that is more squared then rounded as I did lose my right (bad ankle) toe nail this season and my left one barely stayed on. I don't understand why Lange (and many others) makes a round toe box when the big toe is often the longest point on the foot. Why make that inside corner 1cm shorter than the center of the toe box. I tried on a Salomon (maybe Xmax or Speedmachine) and it was squared off on the inside and I thought, "genius" but those didn't hold a candle to the the Lange when it came to locking in my heal.
A few suggestions so far have been the Dalbello Panterra 130 and KR 2 which can evidently be stiffened up with tongues and plugs to become a good bit stiffer than 130. Other suggestions are the Full Tillt First Chair or Decendant. I've only skied traditional 4 buckle race boots so I don't know anything about these other styles but I like the sound of the customizeable flex.
About my feet: Healthy Left foot is 103mm wide, 276mm long, medium instep, skinny heal and ankle and medium calves. Fused Right foot is 105mm wide, 281mm long, medium instep, skinny heal and medium cankle and medium calves.
Thanks for your help!
The challenge is I likely need the stiffness of a plug with ease of entry of a 3 piece or similar. So what are some boots to consider that fit similar to my Lange's with that really narrow heal pocket but have easier entry and the ability to stiffen them to maybe a 150ish flex? I love how locked in my heals were in the Langes but I have a moderate instep on my good ankle (the Lange was fine) but a rather high instep on my bad ankle due to all the calcification around injury (even with lots of work to the shell and liner, the Lange was rather tight so I loosened every buckle for the lift ride). However, after he scraped out all of the cartiladge on my Talus and Tibia, it's possible that the instep will be lower now as he said taking out that joint would likely shorten that right leg a noticeable amount. The only other thing I'd change about the Langes is finding a toe box shape that is more squared then rounded as I did lose my right (bad ankle) toe nail this season and my left one barely stayed on. I don't understand why Lange (and many others) makes a round toe box when the big toe is often the longest point on the foot. Why make that inside corner 1cm shorter than the center of the toe box. I tried on a Salomon (maybe Xmax or Speedmachine) and it was squared off on the inside and I thought, "genius" but those didn't hold a candle to the the Lange when it came to locking in my heal.
A few suggestions so far have been the Dalbello Panterra 130 and KR 2 which can evidently be stiffened up with tongues and plugs to become a good bit stiffer than 130. Other suggestions are the Full Tillt First Chair or Decendant. I've only skied traditional 4 buckle race boots so I don't know anything about these other styles but I like the sound of the customizeable flex.
About my feet: Healthy Left foot is 103mm wide, 276mm long, medium instep, skinny heal and ankle and medium calves. Fused Right foot is 105mm wide, 281mm long, medium instep, skinny heal and medium cankle and medium calves.
Thanks for your help!
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