It was 2 days before Thanksgiving, and Aspen was getting absolutely nuked by an early winter snowstorm. I could almost smell the electric stoke in the air as the ski town buzzed with powder day energy.
My timing couldn’t have been better. I’d come to Aspen to test out the Surefoot custom liner fitting process. The brand claims its custom process helps “bridge the gap between comfort and performance,” which is a good PR line. It made me wonder: Could more comfortable, better-fitting liners actually make me a better skier?
It was an intriguing concept. I’ve skied all my life, and I’ve gotten away with 29 years of using factory liners. I never felt like they were holding me back. But maybe they were — maybe I had untapped skiing potential, and I just needed the right fit to unleash it. I also had my reservations. Claims like that are a dime a dozen in the outdoor gear world.
So I was excited, if skeptical, to see how Surefoot’s boot-fitting process worked. Admittedly, I was also a little nervous it would ruin me forever.
In short: Surefoot custom liners ($485) and orthotics ($270) are designed and molded around your feet using high-tech lasers and proprietary foam. They make skiing much more comfortable and may offer some skiers a greater level of performance. They can also be used interchangeably in any boot shell they’re sized for. These liners and orthotics are an expensive addition to any boot. But for avid skiers or those who really value comfort, they’re a worthy investment.
If you’re shopping for ski boots, check out GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Ski Boots.
I found the Surefoot store near the base of Ajax Mountain, where I met my boot fitter, Connor. He sat me down and had me strip my shoes and socks. Then he studied my mangled skier’s feet, politely reassuring me that they weren’t the worst he’d ever seen — though I wasn’t sure how much I believed him.
Connor pointed out that my left foot collapsed slightly on the arch, pronating. He continued, examining my metatarsal line, heel width, and bunionette (aka my sixth toe).
We talked about my skiing, any typical issues I have with boots (i.e., hot spots or pinches), and things I like to avoid. He was narrowing down the exoskeletons (boot shells) that would probably fit me the best. But he said he couldn’t give me any direct recommendations until he took a volumetric Amfit scan of my feet. That scan would also map out the custom orthotic that would be the foundation of my liners.
Customization Part I: Volumetric Scan, Orthotic Sole
The scanning process was straightforward. I stood at a station with Connor seated on a stool on the computer screen before me. I placed my foot on the scanning device, and he adjusted the position slightly, lining up my calcaneus with my malleolus and everything above it. Then he told me to hold still, with even pressure on both feet, and scanned them one at a time.
A series of small plastic pins rose up from holes beneath my feet, like one of those old 3D pin art toys from the ’90s. That is essentially what these Amfit scans do — just on a much more technical level. They create 3D casting molds of a person’s feet and digitally save it into Surefoot’s database.
Connor explained that if I ever wanted a second set of custom orthotics, Surefoot could just pull my profile up and print them without taking a second scan of my feet.
When Connor was satisfied with my scans, he rattled off a few boot shells that could work. However, the one he specifically recommended was a downhill-specific Lange LX 130 high-volume boot with Surefoot’s X-102 Liner.
He went into the back to retrieve the boots and mill the custom orthotics to the map of my Amfit foot scan. When he returned, he was holding two custom orthotics and a pair of boots with long Frankenstein tubes sticking out of them.
Customization Part II: Foam Injection
The second part of the liner customization process was foam injection, and it felt like a science experiment. With the custom insoles in the liners, I stepped into the LX 130 boots Connor had brought out. I stood in them, wrapped in protective plastic, and assumed a typical athletic stance, positioning my foot inside the boot as it would be when I was skiing.
Surefoot uses a proprietary two-part polyether foam that fitters connect to the tubes sticking out of the liners. Connor combined the two chemical elements and shook them vigorously. Then he connected the bottles to the tubes, and I watched as the polyether foam ran up them and into the liners.
Instantly, I felt a bubbling sensation as the bladders surrounding my feet filled up and formed to my shin, ankle, Achilles, and heel.
It took about 10 to 15 minutes. The bubbling slowed and eventually stopped. Then, when Connor was sure the foaming was finished, he removed the tubes from the liner. The boot suddenly looked normal, but it felt unlike any other boot liner I’d ever had my foot inside of. I couldn’t wait to get them on snow.
I walked out of the Surefoot store in my new boots and straight to the gondola. The snow was still falling. We rode up, and I got to make my first five or six runs with the custom Surefoot X-102 liners in the Lange LX 130.
I’ve tested plenty of ski boots. Often, when I ride a brand-new boot that I’ve never tried on before, the experience is less than great. Factory liners that haven’t been broken in can make for an uncomfortable ski day (or three).
But that was not the case at all with the Surefoot custom liners and boots. From the first run, they felt like they were made for me — because they were. My feet were gloriously comfortable. They were also warm, thanks to the integrated heating element Surefoot includes on all its custom liners.
However, skiing powder on early-season hardpack made it tough to tell if they were making any significant difference in my skiing performance. I certainly felt like I had solid control and good power. Was it better than what I had with my 7-year-old, totally broken-in, non-custom Salomon Shift boots? It would take more than one ski day to make that determination.
Three Months In
By February, I’d put a lot of days on my Surefoot custom ski boot liners. Any time I rode to the resort, I wore the Lang LX 130s. My Salomon Shifts, which had been my primary boot for years, were only used for backcountry tours. I was becoming pretty partial to the custom liner setup.
I won’t say that these liners exponentially improved my skiing abilities. However, they did noticeably extend my stamina and comfort — which, at the end of a long day, made a big difference.
When my feet get tired and totally uncomfortable, my skiing can get sloppy (read: dangerous). I don’t experience that with these custom liners/orthotics. Even after a full day, I don’t feel myself getting as squirrely as I might in my non-custom setup.
There were also improvements in what I’ll call “foot sense.” Skiing requires extremely minute muscle movements and weight shifts within one’s boot. Having an orthotic and liner that are laser-mapped and cast-molded helped improve my foot sense and control over my skis. It’s subtle but not insignificant. I think any high-performance skier would be able to tell the difference.
Swapping Shells
One of the biggest benefits of owning a pair of Surefoot’s custom liners is that they can fit into any boot shell of the exact same mondo point size and last. If you have a boot shell you love, you can even just get the custom liner and orthotic and use it in your existing shell. If you have multiple pairs of boots, you can interchangeably use the liner in any of them.
However, be warned: You should make sure the fit is perfect, even if the boots have the same exact dimensions/sizes. I made a bold decision and swapped the custom liners into my Salomon Shifts right before I went on a ski trip to Japan because I needed a hybrid boot and wanted my Surefoot liners. I didn’t try them on before I jumped on the plane.
They worked. But the fit wasn’t perfect, even though both boots are size 27.5 with a 316 mm last. Right at the top of my toes, I could feel the liners were folded slightly across the top of my toe knuckles. That crease didn’t exist when I wore the Lang LX shells. It took a day to get used to, but I adapted and forgot about it by the end of 9 days of backcountry and front-country skiing.
If you’re swapping shells, just be sure to try your boots on with the liners before hitting the ski slopes (or boarding a plane). If I had, I probably wouldn’t have brought them for that trip.
Justifying the Price
Ski boots are already expensive. Surefoot partners with Lang, Nordica, Technica, Head, Salomon, Dalbello, and Atomic. Its ski boots cost between $600 and $800. Then, you add Surefoot’s custom liners ($485) and the custom orthotics ($270), and you’re looking at a very expensive setup. Altogether, mine would cost $1,405 — double the cost of most boots. That price tag is simply out of reach for many.
But there are ways to justify that price if you can afford it. As mentioned, you can use the Surefoot custom liner in any boot of the same size and dimension. You could buy only the liner and orthotic ($755 together) and use it in any existing ski boot shell. You can use them for backcountry, sidecountry, or front-country skiing.
It’s all about your budget and what you’re willing to pay for greater comfort and some performance improvements.
One Small Gripe
Integrated into every Surefoot custom liner is a warming system and Surefoot Winterheat batteries. It’s an added luxury that takes the comfort standard to another level. People who get cold feet will love this feature.
However, I didn’t use it much. And there is no way to really tuck away or remove the battery cord sticking out of the liner. More often than not, when I tightened my boot buckles at the top of a mountain, I’d be fumbling around with that wire, tucking it into my gaiters or behind the boot buckle straps.
By no means was this a deal breaker. But I sure wish there was a way to either opt out of having the heating system or tuck that cord away.
You might not imagine that a $755 pair of custom ski boot liners and orthotics (or a $1,405 boot/liner/orthotics setup) would appeal to many people. But surprisingly, it does. According to Conner, the Aspen store alone sold around 1,200 setups in the last year.
On one end of the spectrum, you have luxury buyers — people who ski just a handful of times a year, value comfort, and have an expendable budget. Surefoot’s stores in Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole, Deer Valley, Tahoe, and elsewhere see many of these customers.
On the other end of the spectrum are pro athletes, guides, and other high-performance skiers. These boots make it possible to ski longer and harder, and, in my experience, they seemed to improve my skiing because I could buckle them tighter without creating pain points or hot spots. My foot and ankle stamina also felt improved. If you ski a lot and value performance, the price could be worth a splurge.
I have grown to love my Surefoot setup. Last weekend, I was skiing at Snowmass and getting ready in the parking lot. As I slipped my foot into the liner, I realized that it was more comfortable than the hiking boots I’d just taken off and wear every day. That moment sealed the deal for me. I have no problem calling this setup the most comfortable ski boot/liner combo I’ve ever worn.
Read the full article here