u-tan 2 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I guess this should be in the Gear forum but I couldn't start a new topic there. I am in the market for some new ski boots. My feet are on the large size (31cm) and I live out in the inaka so my options are very limited. The only boots at the local shop that fit my fat, hairy hobbit hoofs are Head Cubes. Anyone ever used them? Recently, I have started to get into park skiiing a little bit and I am interested in the Salomon SPK 85s. According to the Salomon catalogue they only go up to 28.5 in Japan. A search around rakuten etc. confirmed this. Does anyone know of anywhere selling them in bigger sizes? Finally, does anyone know any shops (prefferably net shops) that stock boots in bigger sizes? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Don't know specifics for skiing but I use the big US sites for snowboard gear and they always have proper sizes....tend to be a bit cheaper than local shops n sites as well in my experience Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I am a size 30/31 and just the other week bought some new Atomic heat molded ski boots from Victoria in Ochinomizu, Tokyo. I also live in very very Inaka, but took the trip to Tokyo to get them as there is no where in Yamanashi that has my size. I would not recommend ordering boots through the net without being able to first try them for size and fit. Ski boots are the most important part of your kit, if they are ill fitting and not comfortable you are going to have a bad time on the snow. It may be mendokusai, but worth taking a trip to your nearest city, I see from your profile you are in Niigata, so I guess there must be a few decent sports shops in Niigata city there that will stock your size, at least one of the shops anyway. My recommendation is take a trip to your nearest big city and get a decent boot that fits you properly, it may not be the make you want, but any boot in the 3-4 man range or above is going to be a good boot and should offer you what you need, unless for some reason you absolutely must have a certain boot only. The Atomics I got which cost 4 man they heat molded them at the shop to fit my feet perfect. I guess other makes do the same nowadays too. Link to post Share on other sites
BakCntrySkier 1 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 If you want to try online shops from the U.S. I would go with Backcountry dot com. I found that many brands can't be shipped to Japan from the states. I know that Dalbello and Tecnica can be shipped here. I just bought a new pair of Dalbello Scorpion SF 130's and they arrived very fast. Just be prepared to pay import taxes at the time of delivery. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 You just have to use a freight forwarding service.....that can add an extra 3-9000￥ onto your bill. I have ever had to pay import fees when I've ordered stuff......I've bought 3 snowboards, a jacket and a pair of snowboard trousers all from the US, all thru freight forwarders Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Man...I'm with Snowdude on this one... Ya Gotta Try Them On!!.... Even if you go top shelf on a boot there's no guarantee they will fit you well. You may even have to make a trip down to Tokyo..... Also, if your feet are a 31 in a shoe you should be fitting for a boot at least 1 size smaller..maybe more. They will pack out fairly quickly. But man...you have to try them on! Link to post Share on other sites
u-tan 2 Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Thank you for all of the replies so far. I guess yeah, it is a bit risky to buy over the internet. Man...I'm with Snowdude on this one... Ya Gotta Try Them On!!.... Even if you go top shelf on a boot there's no guarantee they will fit you well. You may even have to make a trip down to Tokyo..... Also, if your feet are a 31 in a shoe you should be fitting for a boot at least 1 size smaller..maybe more. They will pack out fairly quickly. But man...you have to try them on! Chriselle, what do you mean by pack out? Stretch? I tried on a 30 and a 30.5 in the shop and they both felt too narrow for me. My boots now are cheap ones I bought a couple of years ago when I started skiiing and one of the reasons that I want to replace them is that they are a bit tight... also they have no padding to speak of so I really feel it when I land a jump or something. Damn, ski boots are complicated. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Some ski boots can be punched. Well, they can usually be kicked and thrown against the wall as well, but punching them in a ski boot shop will make them bigger in the area causing a problem. If you look at typical skibum sites like Epicski and TGR, there are instructions on doing it yourself. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Thank you for all of the replies so far. I guess yeah, it is a bit risky to buy over the internet. Man...I'm with Snowdude on this one... Ya Gotta Try Them On!!.... Even if you go top shelf on a boot there's no guarantee they will fit you well. You may even have to make a trip down to Tokyo..... Also, if your feet are a 31 in a shoe you should be fitting for a boot at least 1 size smaller..maybe more. They will pack out fairly quickly. But man...you have to try them on! Chriselle, what do you mean by pack out? Stretch? I tried on a 30 and a 30.5 in the shop and they both felt too narrow for me. My boots now are cheap ones I bought a couple of years ago when I started skiiing and one of the reasons that I want to replace them is that they are a bit tight... also they have no padding to speak of so I really feel it when I land a jump or something. Damn, ski boots are complicated. No, not stretch .... but the liner will compress. Well, be careful when you start trying on better quality boots because you want tight....zero slop. Do some more boot fitting research online and you'll get an idea of the kind of tight I'm talking about. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 You could go for the type like I have where the shop heats the boots and you put your feet in them and they form the shape of your foot so you are guaranteed a perfect fitting boot. Not all of them can be done like that, but the ones like I got the shell is actually partly see through and flexible and has a special foam inner liner that basically shrink fits to fit your foot once heated, ensuring a perfect fit. Of course you need to first find a boot that fits correctly to start with. The solid boots, i.e (you can not see through the outer shell) can not be heated it will ruin them. Shops like Victoria will adjust the boots for free when you buy a pair there (the hard case type), if for example you foot is a little out of shape, or you have a tight spot, etc and they will re-do them also for free until you are happy with them. Like Chriselle said you want zero slop, you should be able to move your toes just slightly, and there should be no nipping, but boots that move even sightly on your feet are not right. Link to post Share on other sites
u-tan 2 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Lots of great advice here. I really appreciate it. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 The other one is that you don't have to use the original liner or footbed that comes with your boots. Some liners are way better than others, even among heat molded ones. If you read some ski boot reviews, you'll see people giving a boot four stars out of five but adding "stock liner is crap, used an Intuition" as if changing the liner isn't a big deal. For a difficult fitting, note that some companies sell the same shell for two sizes and only add a different sized liner. You might get a better fit where the shell changes with each size. I didn't notice when I bought them, but my snowboard boots came with an Intuition liner as stock. Mine are K2 but I think ThirtyTwo uses them too. I use non-stock liners in my ski boots. With punching and/or a different liner, your current boots may fit better or provide the padding you want. Link to post Share on other sites
u-tan 2 Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Since I started this forum I thought I should let people know how it ended. Against some of the very sage advice above I decided to take a risk and order from the internet. Did a lot of reading, foot measuring etc. Finally had an online chat with someone from the salmon website and decided on a boot that I could buy within Japan in my size. In the end I chose the Salomon Focus. Not an expensive or super deluxe boot but it is wide and has soft bits at the side you can stretch out as described by Snowdude above. They are apparently park boots, and might not be stiff enough for some of you big mountain nuts but they suit me fine. I wore them for the first time today, 5 hours at Maiko and not a single complaint from the feet. Not related to boots, but it was a good day indeed. Link to post Share on other sites
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