I went out for a skate yesterday morning, followed by some classic. Same boots (Salomon Active 8 Skate/Classic Combi).
Because they felt “loose” and “sloppy” on Wednesday night’s skate, I tightened the lacing system as tight as I could as well as the ankle strap. That really made my arches hurt, and I ended up loosening the lacing system a bit (but kept the ankle strap tight). It was then that I noticed that the lacing system only covers the top of my foot - so tightening it puts pressure on my arch, as it squeezes the midfoot. The ankle strap sits up pretty high, maybe 2.5" above the actual ankle itself. In between the lacing system and the strap, there’s pretty much nothing. A zipper and a little velcro flap - but nothing that would provide any support.
I have wide, flat forefeet with a nasty bunion (hallux valgus), and a bunionette on the other side (both feet) - so a fairly wide boot is necessary. My feet taper down to a relatively small ankle, and luckily, XC boots are cut low enough that my calves don’t get in the way (fitting DH boots is hell). Back in the early 90’s I tried on a pair of Blundstones, but couldn’t wear them as my heel kept coming out of the boot and the uppers were really loose. My feet are a bitch to fit.
Do high end skate boots provide more actual ankle support than this? *Support *may be the wrong word here… I have a solid connexion to the boot at the midfoot (laces), and at the top of the boot (cuff) - but in between, my ankle kind of feels like it’s “floating”. Looking at online pictures of the top of the line Salomon skate boot (S-Lab Carbon) it looks pretty much the same as mine - well, it has carbon on it. But the actual structures on the outside of the boot appear to be more or less the same. They don’t have pictures of the inside. It seems to me that a skate boot ought to have something structural around the actual ankle joint to “lock” it in to the boot - or am I wrong here? Where does the support come from a good skate boot - the external cuff, or are there different structures inside the boot that provide support as well (ie, a lacing system that goes up higher over the ankle joint)? Would something like that interfere with one’s ability to flex the ankle forward and drive the knee?
I can’t really tell if the “play” I think I’m feeling comes from the boot fit or the “toe only rubber bumper” binding - likely a combination, I guess… It seems that just tightening the laces won’t fix anything though. Is it just a lack of technique that will improve as I get better, or would proper, dedicated skate boots make a real difference here? As referenced in my “clap ski” post, I have a feeling that a more solid interface with the boot/ski would be really beneficial, as I don’t feel that I have as much control over the ski as I would like.
Oops, one more thing. It seems that some companies are coming out with high-end skate boots that seem to have less ankle support. I’m surprised at how low some of the cuffs are. I’ve never used them so I’m not sure how they work. I like the Salomons because they do have a high cuff…I like a stiff, tall cuff on my boots.
There are those who will say that you can do both classic and skate in the same boot. Perhaps these same people think you can run and ride in the same shoes!
My belief is that you need two separate boots - skate boots and classic boots. The different demands on the boots are too great in my view to put it all in one boot.
khai i have been skate skiing since the days before there WAS any specific skate equipment. i think you are probably barking up the wrong tree.
cramping in the foot is super common, in people with high fitness, but less than stellar technique. it has been so for decades. it has been so thru every trend in equipment. it will always be so. you have more motor than your technique allows for, and something has to give. in many people, it is the foot - you are inadvertantly trying to make up for your lack of balance by " hanging on" tighter with your foot. this doesn’t work, as you can feel. just as a good hockey player can skate around and do amazing things with his hockey skates unlaced, eventually you will be able to motor on your skiis without your dang feet trying to do what they cannot.
with that said, yeah, yer boots should fit. but, if i were you i would really work on technique, and not fitness in skiing. you need to raise your ceiling. skiing is a lot like swimming, in that regard. stop fighting the water, learn how to swim. good luck - enjoy !!
I’m very much a novice/poor technique skater but my obs:
Most agree with the need for 2 boots - esp. salesman…
My arches hurt - I agree that it seems to be lack of technique/sport specific fitness. Trying to land/skate on a flat ski requires some inversion of the foot which requires the medial arch which leads to overuse relative to fitness/other sports = pain (my diagnosis).
Those of us with poor technique love to blame our equip…I suck - my sister really sucks - she kept complaining about how poorly waxed her skis were the other day…and I’m sure they were fine…I have the best equipment (at least thats what the salesman said…but everyone on 2nd hand gear beat me in the race…).
I think you’ll get relief by just skating more but it does sound like you have “challenging” feet…
My Soloman Lab race skate boots with the super cool carbon have a pull tab that can squish my foot from just before the arch down. The ankle strap doesn’t seem that supportive. Nothing in between but its the only boot I’ve used…
From your prior post - my skate skis occasionally feel very floppy but it seems like its when my boot isn’t seated properly in the binding…
There are a lot of good skaters here that have better opinions than me…
As t~n~T~ said: “you are inadvertantly trying to make up for your lack of balance by " hanging on” tighter with your foot. this doesn’t work, as you can feel.
This will get better with time. You probably has shin splints from sitting back on your skies too. I do agree that specific boots are a good idea. After 3 years of skate skiing, I had some lingering problems with sore arches, which I took care of with a set of orthodics. My boots haven’t felt so good!
Thanks everyone. To be clear, I’m not blaming my gear for the fact that I suck - I was just wondering if my gear was making it more painful than it needs to be **as **I suck…
Obviously improving my technique will do far more good than the best of the best gear ever could, but if it hurts less with better gear it will make improving my technique more fun, and hopefully the gains will come faster.
My orthotics should be done by the end of the month, so we’ll see what kind of an improvement those bring. Then maybe I’ll look into some skate-specific boots at season’s end… Those Alpina’s seem to have a couple of features that might help to hold my ankle in place.
*These *laces appear to go higher than just over the top of the foot…
Not sure if this works or if it’s a gimmick, but it looks interesting…
