More boot questions

[Firecracker]

I have a pair of women's LTD boots. Yes I know they are cheap; when I bought them, I was not sure how much riding I'd be doing. The problem is they suck. They fit just fine, until you strap into the board and get off the lift; then they press painfully against the outside of my foot, by my pinky toe. It is so bad that it goes numb or tingles in flashes. Unlacing and relacing the boot don't seem to help much. I even had bruises on the back of my calves. At the end of the day I can't get my boots off fast enough. My feet get too sore to ride long before my legs are too tired to ride. My right (front) foot is worse, but they both hurt.

So, what's the problem? Am I putting them on wrong? I only wear one pair of sport socks, so I don't think it's the socks. It's too late to return them. Is there something I can do to fix them? If I buy new ones, what shall I look for to prevent these troubles next time? Again, the boots fit fine and feel good when you're just walking around, so I don't know what to look for to avoid buying another problem.

[freecarve26]

Felt like my pinky toe was being crushed. It would hurt for a while after taking my boots off. One day I decided to suck it up, and ride with the pain anyway and couldn't put weight on the outside of my front foot for 30minutes after taking my boots off. I did two things that helped. First, I threw out the footbeds and put in superfeet. I don't know why they helped, but it put the pain off until the afternoon. Second, I cut some small pieces of wood(1" x 1" I think) and crammed them up front as far as I could and put the boots on my heater for a few days, then removed them and let them cool with the wood in. This seems to have stretched and widened out the front of the boots enough to make them rather comfy now.
If your having the same problems, it's probably that the boot is slightly too narrow. Mine felt fine in the store and I even left 'em on for about 20minutes to make sure.
good luck
James

[MARK]

Also, it is very possbile that it can be due to your binding. For example, some riders get pain/numbness around they're pinky toe area due to how the toe strap rests on their boot. Try this, hit the toe box of each boot from the outside so that the fronts of your boots are all the way against the insides of your bindings. This often helps. Adjusting the toe strap positioning(and even length of the strap/ratchet location) on your binding may also help. Remember to loosen the ratchets on your front foot after each run as well to keep constant pressure off.
As for calf pain, first thing to consider is if you're boot is a men's which is cut higher and could cause calf pain on a woman. If it's a woman's boot, then look at two things. FIrst make sure that you do not have overly excessive forward lean on your highbacks, Second, make sure that you are bending your knees enough. It is not uncommon for both skiers and boarders to get calf pain due to this.

[beez]

Also, it is very possbile that it can be due to your binding. For example, some riders get pain/numbness around they're pinky toe area due to how the toe strap rests on their boot. Try this, hit the toe box of each boot from the outside so that the fronts of your boots are all the way against the insides of your bindings. This often helps. Adjusting the toe strap positioning(and even length of the strap/ratchet location) on your binding may also help. Remember to loosen the ratchets on your front foot after each run as well to keep constant pressure off.
As for calf pain, first thing to consider is if you're boot is a men's which is cut higher and could cause calf pain on a woman. If it's a woman's boot, then look at two things. FIrst make sure that you do not have overly excessive forward lean on your highbacks, Second, make sure that you are bending your knees enough. It is not uncommon for both skiers and boarders to get calf pain due to this.
so that the ratchet is on the other side, and that helped with some foot pain.

[Firecracker]

I think I am bending my knees enough--not quite sure? You saw my pic in my post in the Passion forum.

Calf pain may be common, but actual visible bruising across the back of my calf? That is normal? I get enough injuries from falling down, I don't need it from my equipment too! I do have women's boots. I will try the stretching thing, and maybe mess with my bindings some too.

[MARK]

Yes, bruising on the back of the calf from constant over pressure can happen if knees are not bent enough coupled with too much forward highback lean or perhaps the calf comes down the leg(a woman's does more so than a guy's) too far for the fit of that particular boot. A "ghetto" way of attempting to remedy that issue could be to take a thick wristband(like a basketball player would wear) and put it on around the area in which the boot stops up on the leg to provide cushioning.