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Stretch Boot Liner

Wilhelmson

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My daughter needs to use these boots through the end of the season. The shells are getting small but should be ok. The liners are tight and causing some discomfort. Is there a way I can try to stretch the liners out at home or do I need to go to a pro? Thank you.
 

ScottB

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I went to a pro and bought new liners for my Lange ski boots. He had a little home made rig that basically was a hair dryer blowing into the liner. There was some space (4") between them so things didn't get too hot. After 15 minutes on the rig, I put on the liners and into the boot, walked around for 5 minutes and done.

You could try it and see how it works.
 

skipress

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My daughter needs to use these boots through the end of the season. The shells are getting small but should be ok. The liners are tight and causing some discomfort. Is there a way I can try to stretch the liners out at home or do I need to go to a pro? Thank you.
It's almost impossible to answer, in no particular order:
  • Are you sure it's the liner and not the shell - have you tried shell sizing her ?
  • What is the boot model
  • If it is the liner is the, is the issue the liner itself [ie is the liner shorter than the shell or unusually thick] or is it perhaps stitching in an odd place rubbing or an insole too thick, thin or rucked up.
  • Where is the discomfort
  • How old is your daughter, has she had/will she have a growth spurt
  • When you say 'needs' is that a cost issue, is it that she's a ski racer and doesn't want to change and so on..
  • and so on......
Some cheaper boots have a kind of toe dam, a pad on the front of the liner [or occasionally a kind of cup attached to the footbed] - they allow one shell to fit more sole lengths. Removing that [if there] might be a fix. There are some circumstances where you can knock the liner about a little but they are often semi surgical and you'd not want to get into them unless the boot is essentially a lost cause or you know what you re doing.

You may not need Sven Coomer but you probably want someone who knows a bit. However I have a feeling that the cost of a pro might be way more than a set of good hand me downs.
 

Doug Briggs

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Caveat emptor: I'm not a boot fitter, but I have heard of the following as a solution.

If you need space around the ball of the foot, try cutting the outside material of the liner horizontally; just a single cut to create a slot. This will allow the inside of the liner to 'expand' through the cut slot. It might give enough relief.

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Similarly, if you needed more length, cut a horizontal slot along the front of the toe.

If you need more volume in general, see if there is a removable layer between the boot board and the liner.

All my suggestions presume you are just looking for a quick cheap fix to get through the season. They would likely make the boot undesirable for others.

A shop could punch the liner and the boot for more space.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Wilhelmson

Wilhelmson

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I appreciate the detailed responses however will not address each specifically. The hair dryer hack did not produce meaningful results because these are kids boots with minimal expandable material. The next size up boots we have in the house are lange rsj 60 which are in tolerable size range but not ideal though the better build with larger socks could equalize the performance (dont forget to calc the din and check afd height on the bindings). I will pack these as a backup plan.
 

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