If you want to start a sure fire heated debate, walk into any ski shop and yell, "Women's Equipment," then step back and watch the opinions fly. What is a woman to do, when even the experts don't agree on fit and performance for women's boots?

The answer is really quite simple, take matters into your own hands, literally, by getting to know your own foot and leg structure. It is much easier than you think, after all which came first the female human foot or the modern ski boot? While boot construction and consequently the best boot fit is constantly evolving, your feet tend to remain constant.

It is surprising just how uniformed people are about their feet compared to other parts of their bodies. Most women can pick out that best fitting bra, a great deal faster than great fitting shoes. In addition, unless they have a dramatic foot abnormality, most women consider their feet to be average. But the problem is, that boot manufacturers also have their own idea of what is the average female foot. So how do you bridge the gap between the average female foot, the average women's boot and the reality of your own personal foot structure? First, get to know your own feet as compared to the "average" female foot. Secondly, find a good boot fitter. You should select your boot fitter before your boots. Finally, take time to understand how a good fitting boot should feel.

Sizing up your feet, look and ask yourself the following:
1.Your Calf muscle is it wide or thin? Is the widest part of your calf low and closer to your heel, or high and closer to your knee. You may consider your calf muscle to be wide if can’t pull a regular boot cut jean over your calf, when the boot fitter ask you to pull up your pant leg. Your calf muscle is thin if you can wrap both hands around the widest part of you calf and your fingertips over lap. If your calf muscle is low and wide those women's lasted liners and shells are just for you. If you calf muscle is low and thin or even high and thin then the more traditional unisex last is a better bet.

2. Are your ankles and heels thin or wide? Many women have narrow heels with a proportionally wider forefoot, but certainly not all women. To determine your ankle/heel width look at your Achilles Tendon, and ankles nodes (those bones on the side of you ankle that never seem to fit in your ski boot heel pockets.) A thin ankle has an Achilles Tendon that protrudes from the ankle, while a wide Achilles Tendon is hard to see, it blends into the ankle as a whole. A thin ankle has protruding ankle nodes, while a wide ankle tends to hide those bones. Ankles and heels tend to be proportional, so if you have a wide ankle ,you most likely will have a wide heel. The structure of your ankles and heels will dictate the type of heel pocket you want in your liner. For example if you have a wide ankle, than the ladies lasted liner or low volume line with a narrow heel pocket is not for you. If the heel pocket in your liner is too narrow, it will push you forward into the boot toe box.

3. Do you have a wide, or narrow forefoot? The average shoe width for women is B, and D for men. To determine for yourself: put on and lace up a pair of your running or low cut cross trainer shoes. If the eyelets are less than one inch apart when laced up, you may consider your forefoot to be narrow. If the eyelets almost touch, you have a very narrow forefoot. If the eyelets are wider than an inch and the upper eyelets are much farther apart then the lower ones consider yourself to be wide in the forefoot.

4. Are your feet hard or soft. Now this may seem like a silly question, but it will help you determine how a boot should feel. Are your feet plump and soft to squeeze or hard and bony with very little give? The softer your feet the more likely your are to feel pressure points when trying on new boots. Too many people, both men and women tend to rule out a boot too quickly because of a single pressure point. This is where the experienced boot fitter really comes into play. We'll discuss picking the right boot fitter a little later.

5. Do you have flexible or stiff ankle joints? Try this, in barefeet with your feet hip width apart, flex your ankles until your heel just lifts off the floor. If your heel lifts up quickly you have a stiffer ankle joint than someone who can keep their heels on the floor longer before the heel lifts. So what does this mean? The more flexible your ankle the stiffer the boot, so you don't over power the boots fore/aft flex pattern. The stiffer your ankle the softer and more give you will want. Remember this has always been important, but even more so with the onset of shaped skis, which require a softer fore/aft flex but stiffer laterally.

Now that you know all these little tidbits about your feet that you never knew before - so what. With this knowledge you will be happier in three areas of that mystery world of boots. First, you will be able to communicate with the boot fitter on a more knowledgeable basis, you will really know the structure of your foot and leg instead of guessing you have an average foot. Secondly, you will be able to focus in on the fit and the fit zones of the boot. This will allow you to really dial in when the boot fitter ask, "How does that feel?" Third, you will also understand what features to look for when buying boots.

What to look for when buying boots?
First, lets begin with the boot fitter. Run as fast as you can from any boot fitter that insist that all women need heel lifts. This is the same as saying all men are built the same and therefore all ski alike. Heel lifts are a very personal adjustment and as with bras, we all know one size most certainly does not fit all, regardless of what the manufacturer may say. Many men as well as women can benefit from heel lifts, for example, people with a short or damaged Achilles Tendon. The heel lift rises up to meet the shortened tendon. Some people require a heel lift in one boot but not the other. The only way for a boot fitter to know if you need a heel lift is to look the big picture, of alignment and balance. While many women may have experienced their hips dropping down and back when they ski, this maybe the result of a boot that is too stiff or boot cuff that is too high, putting in a heel lift to solve a too stiff boot situation is a matter of treating the symptom not the problem.

According to Tim Hutchisen, owner of Footworks Pedorthic Service in South Paris, Maine, a small company that specializes in making sport orthotics, "It is now an old myth, that there are only one or two good women's boots, all the companies are now making good boots for women and can be expected to continue to do a good job. It is really a matter of an experienced boot fitter knowing the fit features in both the shell and liner. While the customer needs to be more in tune with how it should feel. Then the fun begins."

The basic shopping list for women friendly boot features is the best it has ever been. Raichle has produces boots with lighter shells and liners with extra lining for warmth; both Lange and Tencia make women lasted liners and boot shells with lower uppercuffs; Salamon, Nordica, and Rossignol make women specific shells that allow a large fit range to accommodate all those different female calves. This is only a small sample of what if available.

In general women should look for boots with flex adjustments that give the boot an even flex pattern - no more hitting the flex wall that then drives those hips down and back; and more variety in cuff height. It has been a common complaint from expert female skiers that most boots do not have enough variety in cuff height between boot sizes. While this is being addressed with shorter cuff heights, boots overall still fail to vary enough in cuff height between sizes for both men and women's boots. Finally, many smaller, lighter, advanced and expert women should consider skiing in a junior boot. Almost every company now makes a very sophisticated junior boots with adjustment features that rival the adult versions.

Orthotics, Customized Footbeds, Molded Insole who needs them and why?
Tim Hutchisen puts it this way, "Everyone can benefit from all three, it is the skier that really determines which one. It is a matter of feasibility, if someone only skis six days a year a custom molded insole is fine, however the serious 40 day plus skier can really benefit from the high quality custom footbed or orthotic." How do you tell the difference between the three, other than cost. Lets start at the top and work our way down.

An orthotic, corrects the foot and is made by a board certified pedorthist (C-Ped.) or orthosist from a prescription written by a doctor or chiropractor. This however may vary from state to state depending on regulations, while Florida is highly regulated Maine has none. A customized footbed accommodates the foot and can be made either in the ski shop or by a C-Ped. The custom footbeds maybe make of similar material as an orthotic, the biggest difference is a custom footbed does not require a prescription. A custom insole is a blank that is heated and molded to the skiers foot and tend not to be as durable as the other two footbeds. Your choice really depends on your needs, while one person may benefit from orthotics, the next person maybe just as well off skiing in a custom insole. The point is you have choices and there are qualified people to help you make the choice.

What does all this mean to the female skier?
Now that is a really easy question. It means you have choices if you know what questions to ask and where to ask them. While the idea of women's lasted boots and liners is great and long overdue you should really, look for the fit features that measure up to your individual needs.

- LB

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