Please help! I need ski boots not torture devices!

[millimat]

Going skiing this Winter for the first time in many years so got out my ski boots. they were def not cheap years ago. But oh the pain
Is there such things as comfy ski boots? I have wide feet and fat large chunky calves!

Take your boots to a good ski shop on your first day and ask for a consultation. There is lots that can be done.
When you bought your bots were they moulded to your feet? If not, a moulded inner boot might help. You can also get customised foot beds which help with high arches or flat feet.
On most boots the clips can be moved to make them wider around the calf. Some boots also have the option to loosen or take bits out to reduce the flex (make them a bit softer.)

If your current boots are completely unsuitable then it may be new boot time :(

They were moulded to my shape but think y shape had changed! I'm thinking new boots may be the way as they have never been really comfy anyway.
The question is, which ones are comfy?

Where are you going skiing? If it's somewhere like the French Alps there is a huge ex-pat community so ask on the the local FB page before you go for boot-fitter recommendations. Beware though - going to a boot fitter is not a cheap option - they don't have 'sales' and they don't discount and if they recommend custom liners that's another couple of hundred on top of the custom footbeds.

I had some Salomon X-pro 90s years ago, they were very comfy - but are a standard boot profile. I think Head are known for being a bigger fit.

You should be able to get them heated up again - take them to a ski shop and see what they can do...

The ones I tried were head and they did seem very comfortable in comparison to mine.

I would visit a decent boot fitter before you go or whilst in resort. As PP said, it’s not cheap but given how much you spend on a ski holiday it’s worth it.

Link below to the best boot fitters in the country. I would recommend an independent rather than Snow and Rock or similar who have much less training in specialist fitting.

www.skibootpro.co.uk/Findabootfitter.html

That's a great list thank you. However the nearest is 65 miles away

Where specifically do they hurt? Is it just your calves?

Depending on when you’re going, can you get to the ski show (I think it’s around October/November time). You get decent discounts and the moulded fitting - I got mine done there and honestly I feel like I’m wearing Ugg boots

I changed my racing style ones from the 90's ( then fit and fast) to a more relaxed less cranked fit ( now unfit, old and aware of mortality!) and it has transformed my ability to ski all day without pain. I am rather chunky of calf and found a good boot fitter on the outskirts of London ( Uxbridge I think) that fit out the Paralympic team so they were great with adjustments.

We go skiing every year and usually rent all the equipment including shoes. Some resort rentals sell their used equipment second hand as well so they have a good turnover. Also you are like to rent fairly new stuff and as it’s technology each year new products are more confortable and improved.

It's worth going to a really good boot fitter to get it just right. There are few things more miserable than wearing an uncomfortable pair of boots for 6 or 7 hours and trying to exercise in them. Can you make a day of it by going to the one 65 miles away? I went to Snow + Rock in Covent Garden years ago and got my pair of Salomon boots and had moulded insoles made to exactly fit my feet, as I always got cramp and pains in my feet before I had them. Those boots have lasted me 20 years so far and were worth every penny that I couldn't afford to spend at the time. If your old boots are uncomfortable, please go and get fitted properly for a new pair.

If they are more than a few years old, they can't be re-moulded as the plastic becomes too brittle. It is worth asking but prepare to need to get a new pair

I can't be any help as I have my boots years now, but they are like a glove once I have the straps in the right places. But one of the guys in our group bought boots last year half way through the holiday, the ski shop knocked the price he had paid for hire off them and molded them. As he had been wearing a hired pair of the same brand and style for a few days he knew they were comfy.

Might be worth doing for you? If you are going early in the season they tend to be in decent shape. We go the second weekend in Jan and my sis got a new pair of boots this year when we went to the hire shop!