Foot cramp problem

[JohnMoore]

At the end of the season last year I got myself some Head S8 boots, but ended up not doing any skiing in them until this season. I've just come back from a week's ski trip and am impressed with the boots - but I found I have a bit of a problem. At the beginning of the day, if I tighten the buckles enough so the boots are really snug (allowing me to get the ski from edge to edge quickly), I often get an agonising cramp or spasm in the arches of my feet. If I do a few runs with the boots loose, and then gradually tighten them up over the course of the day, I manage to avoid this, but it's a bit of a nuisance (particularly if there is some nice powder first thing which is likely to get tracked out soon).

Has anyone got a good idea about what causes this kind of cramp and how it can be avoided?

I have rather narrow feet but the boots have Head's Full Custom System, meaning that a plastic insert narrows the 103mm width down somewhat. I did the full shell test, etc., in the shop and they were (as far as I could tell) the correct size. I am still using custom footbeds made some years ago - I haven't yet had a chance to get some made by a Harb-qualified person, although I'd love to. Do you think better footbeds might alleviate the problem? (I get the problem with the stock inserts, though, so it doesn't seem to be specific to my current footbeds).

[Max_501]

I had a similar problem and my new Harb footbeds fixed it. Don't know if that will apply to your situation or not, depends on how well your current footbeds fit the shape of you foot.

[jclayton]

Sounds a little bit like a problem I had ( which Harald solved of course )

I have a long fairly narrow foot with a wide fore foot . This meant that to avoid black toenails ( they ended up falling out ) I was put into boots a little too big . IN turn this meant that I had to buckle down to get edging ability but produced pressure points which caused a lot of pain .

This went on for 15 years or so . I could never have boots buckled up all day, or even while going up the lifts , until I had some fitted properly at the " Dumont Skunk Works "

I love my Head FR10.5's

[JohnMoore]

I wonder can I send my feet over?

[jclayton]

They'd have to put a "Smelly Luggage " tag on it first .

[JohnMoore]

If you think my feet are smelly, you should smell my boot liners...

[Ourayite]

I had the same problem and in my case I had a too much pressure on the top of my foot and it seemed to be a blood flow issue. I had some material removed from the liner in that area and the problem was resolved. I also have narrow feet and was overtightening to try to lock my heels down.