Ski Boot Sizing - Pretty urgent question...

Guys and Gals,

Can you pls help me out with something because i think i am confusing myself now.

At £30 a week i have been hiring boots for little Snapzzz but i have decided that i am going to buy her some for next season. I don't really want to debate the reasoning of buying boots for a 12 year old so i will just lay down my thinking and leave it there.

New boots are cheaper than 2 trips hiring.
Hire boots for kids are crap, they are beat up and smelly
Little snapzzz would love it as she is the only one that has to hire.

And as for fitting, well she doesn't get a real fitting on hire boots so i guess there won't be much difference.

I am going to buy her these:

http://www.climateski.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=1994

But here is my question:

I wish to buy a uk shoe size 3 to 3.5, what is this in MP ?
You think this would be easy but many stores have charts that give different answers.
EG:

Ellis brigham have MP 23.0 as a uk 3.5

http://www.ellis-brigham.com/cgi-bin/psSizeChart.cgi/Salomon:Ski%20Boots:ski_boots.txt:cat

Where as this chart has MP 22.0 as a 3.5

http://www.roamshop.com/gear-info_comments.php?id=51_0_8_0_C

And this one has MP 22.5 as a 3.5 uk

http://www.coyoti.com/page/109/Atomic_Ski_Boots_Size_Chart


What is the true answer? i am lost as to which to purchase.

What gorgeous boots for a young girl!

I am sure she will love them (don't forget the ipod-white).

But ....

Boot fit is so important why not visit the shop and try them out?

Agreed. Surely you need to visit a shop and spend some time trying on more than one set of boots??

OldAndy wrote:What gorgeous boots for a young girl!

I am sure she will love them (don't forget the ipod-white).

But ....

Boot fit is so important why not visit the shop and try them out?

The store is in NI so i don't think a visit is going to make it cost effective.
The iPod is already on top of wardrobe awaiting June 17th.

I agree that boot fitting is important to a point. I definatley needed it as my feet are odd sizes and i broke my ankle that distorts one a little. But little Meg has 'normal feet' and she has never had any issues with hire boots, no pain, no discomfort and that was after a 30 second 'ski set fitting'. I am pretty confident that with a a decent starting point we can give her a comfy set of boots with a little tweaking with insoles and the like.
My thinking is that they simply cannot be any less 'fitted' than hire boots but will be a much better experience for her as they are hers.....and of course it will save me a little (not much tho) too.

bedrock barney wrote:Agreed. Surely you need to visit a shop and spend some time trying on more than one set of boots??

And that will happen when she is older and buying expensive boots that will be a long term purchase.
Right now the idea is to keep costs down but give an equal or better experience than hiring......if this makes sense.

Don't use shoe size period for ski boots.

Measure her feet in CM. To do this, have her stand on a piece of paper/cardboard with her heels against a wall. Draw a line around her her toes. You can then measure her foot easily on the paper.

This is the best guide, but it is only a guide. Ski boots mondo sizes are pretty nominal, and can vary by several MM from model to model/year to year, even from the same manufacturer.

To complicate matters further, ski boots mondo sizing normally runs large by at least one CM.

But there is some good news, As you only ski a few weeks a year, the boots will take a long time to pack in and this will allow for some growth.

I know from my wife and daughter, US W7.5 is a comfortable fit in Salomon 23 shells.

The only way to know for sure is to do a shell test and have her stand in the boots with the liner removed and toes touching the front of the boot. If she still has some growth left in her feet, I'd look for a strong 25mm behind the heel.

Trencher wrote:Don't use shoe size period for ski boots.

Measure her feet in CM. To do this, have her stand on a piece of paper/cardboard with her heels against a wall. Draw a line around her her toes. You can then measure her foot easily on the paper.

This is the best guide, but it is only a guide. Ski boots mondo sizes are pretty nominal, and can vary by several MM from model to model/year to year, even from the same manufacturer.

To complicate matters further, ski boots mondo sizing normally runs large by at least one CM.

But there is some good news, As you only ski a few weeks a year, the boots will take a long time to pack in and this will allow for some growth.

I know from my wife and daughter, US W7.5 is a comfortable fit in Salomon 23 shells.

The only way to know for sure is to do a shell test and have her stand in the boots with the liner removed and toes touching the front of the boot. If she still has some growth left in her feet, I'd look for a strong 25mm behind the heel.

Thanks for that Trencher. I was already aware that buying boots based on shoe size was not the best idea but i was trying to get an explanation as to why different sites gave different measurements.

I have already measured her feet and she is bang on 22cm so i plan to buy 23.0 as she is still very much growing.
She is small in stature compared to her peers and i exact her to stay that way so i think i will get two years from the boots. And at £54 I'm sure i am doing the right thing.

Thanks guys

Jon

You shoudn't be buying ski boots that are one size (at least) too big. If her feet measure 22 cm the odds are that even size 22 might be too big. Important measument is the boot's sole length, which should be indicated on a side of a boot. Unfortunately this measurement is rarely provided by online retailers but sometimes you may find it on manufacturers' websites. If you think your daughters feet are likely to grow I think it will be better to continue renting - it will be definitely better than skiing in boots that are too big. And if you want to keep this boots for her to use later there is also a possibility that by the time her feet grow a size she will need a proper adult boots.

It is a very soft flexing boot, but if she is of slight build, that's not a bad thing. I do agree with Verbier, the 23s might be a bit too big, and if you keep them to "grow into", the flex might be too soft for her at that time. At the same time, the new easy turn skis need considerably less stiffness from ski boots, so that works in her favour.

As You say though Jon, anything might be better than a rental boot.