Bulgaria Ski discussion board

I've been wearing my new boots for a bit every day to get used to them and every time I've had them on so far my calves hurt, I do have pretty big calves so have my boots on the biggest clip setting at the top, they don't feel too tight though and when I press forward on my shins I can see a gap at the back. We spent a good couple of hours in the shop and they were properly fitted and heat moulded etc, I thought it was because I'd been working out too hard at the gym and that it would get better the more I wore them but it hasn't, so today I put them on without my ski socks and hey presto no calf pain and a comfortable boot! I've therefore come to the conclusion that my socks are too tight and that's my problem!

I've got these boots;

http://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/253546/products/head_dream_80_2013_womens_ski_boots.aspx

And these socks;

http://www.sportsdirect.com/no-fear-2-pack-pro-socks-ladies-401068

Does anyone have any recommendations for some (reasonably priced) thin ski socks or does anyone wear their boots without socks?

I've read that most ski racers don't wear socks!

Thanks

Stacey

Stacey, remember that when wearing your boots not attatched to your skis your legs are in a different position, when you are in the ski position you will be leaning forwards putting pressure on the front of the boot to control your ski, when walking we generally walk upright and this may be why you are getting calf pain. The only way you will know is when you are skiing, if you can get to an indoor snow slope you can then get a better idea, if your unhappy you can go back to the boot fitter for adjustments if neccesary. Hope this helps.

Don.

Don is correct. There are however loads of different types of ski socks and I think that people should give more consideration to socks than they do. A Bulgarian ski instructor friend of mine just used to wear normal everyday socks. Since having my boots fully fitted, I have changed all my ski socks and now only wear thin socks. Thicker pairs are no longer comfortable. If you look at the Falke website for instance you will see that they do several versions of the same sock and the sock can also be made of differing materials. Some socks for racing and so on. Don't underestimate how a good pair of socks can help your skiing.

I too suffer from larger than average calves Stacey and was regularly getting pains but in my feet. I was told by a specialist to fit some heel raisers in the boots as my calve muscles are quite tight. I also did regular exercises to lengthen my calves. Have a look on
www.warren-smithskiacademy.com
There are some explanations and exercises. My feet are now 80% better. There is a good drop test. stand against the wall, back straight and measure how far you can drop vertically whilst keeping your heels flat on the floor against the wall,your bum and shoulders against the wall too. 30cm good, i started a 6cm and got to 13cm.
Steve

Steve gee,really interested in what you said about your calf s and foot pain.i also have large calf s and suffer with foot pain under the arches of my feet which can be very painfully.
Went to see a specialist last week that said my boots my be to tight round my calf s causing never trouble.
I am back out to borovets in 3 weeks and hope to have a play with my boot settings to see if this helps.
If you have any advice or contacts that could help it would be appreciated as its putting a downer on my ski trips as it is.

Steve

Hi Steve,
My story as follows:
Years of foot pain
Splash out and go to Pro feet in Fulham Road, London for a proper fitting (not just footbed from the local shop)
Improved my comfort by 75%.
Went back to my local shop in Canterbury and explained my continuing pains in soles of the feet. He immediately said 'it's probably your calf muscles being too tight'. Spot on ! My calves and hammies are wound really tight. To help the problem as a quick fix he said I should raise the heel position. I cut up some old inner soles, glued them together and hey presto, heels were raised in the boot. This was fantastic. The general advice was to stretch the calves for 6 months, both upper and lower. Bugger me if I didn't find my boot fitting spec in October and they had given me a list of exercises which focused on 'CALVE STRETCHING' ! I have wanted to get off the intermediate plateau for some time so end of last season I started looking into ski performance courses. I found the Warren Smith website and it all started to make sense. One of their main focus points is bio-mechanics and turned out that ankle flex (which relates to calves) is essential for good skiing. Upshot is I put a lot of work in over the summer/autumn and did a course with WS in December. The comfort in my boots went to 95% ! I have some minor adjustments to make in one boot with a little widening but all in all the cure for me was calve stretching. Bansko on Sunday so expecting a very comfortable ski !
Ask in resort who the best boot specialist is and visit them for tweaks to your boots. You can then test the adjustments over the week and hopefully end up with the right fit. I think buying boots in uk is unwise.
Hope this helps Steve