T4s for women

[lowangle al]

My wife wants to upgrade to T4s. They don't have a womens version and my wife has a very narrow foot. Will the moldable liners expand enough to give her a good fit? Does anyone know any women skiing them?

[Woodserson]

What is she in now? What are those blue boots she's in on your AK pictures?

I do know women who ski or I have seen skiing the T4 but I don't know them well enough to describe their feet, sorry.

[bgregoire]

When it comes to sport shoes, the men(blue)/woman(pink) model duality is mostly a big marketing fluff. I think it would be much more useful for us all if boots came in narrow, normal and wide. That is all.

If your wife is interested in a 2 buckle boot, definitely go with the Scarpa T4. The apparently extinct Scott/Garmont Excursion has a wider last. I don't know of any other alternatives.

If the boots feel too wide regardless, there are bootfitter tricks to overcome that. Like the use of stick on foam inserts in the shell, but I will let the experts give you thee details. My main focus is stretching out leather boots to the max in order to accomodate my 6th and 7th toes.

[bgregoire]

When it comes to sport shoes, the men(blue)/woman(pink) model duality is mostly a big marketing fluff. I think it would be much more useful for us all if boots came in narrow, normal and wide. That is all.

If your wife is interested in a 2 buckle boot, definitely go with the Scarpa T4. The apparently extinct Scott/Garmont Excursion has a wider last. I don't know of any other alternatives.

If the boots feel too wide after thermomolding, there are bootfitter tricks to overcome that I'm sure. Like the use of stick on foam inserts in the shell (?), but I will let the experts give you the details. My main focus is stretching out leather boots to the max in order to accommodate my 6th and 7th toes.

[lowangle al]

Woods, those blue boots are a T2 X in a 26. Her foot measures out to a 27, poor thing, no wonder she's lost some toe nails. She also has a twenty some year old Excursions in a 27.5, they seemed to be working fine until she fell 3 times one day last week. Besides those two pairs of boots the only other boot she's ever had are a pair of Merril Ultras and that's got her through almost 35 years of telemark turns.

Ben, I agree with everything you said and I think she deserves new boots.

As far as all those extra toes it must have made that Big Toe - Little Toe drill very confusing.

[phoenix]

Low angle, I have the same size foot as your wife, and also very narrow. I've worn both men's and women's models of the T2, T2x, and T1's over the years (27 shells), and I know that the men's and women's boots are the same shell, different color only. The fit difference is simply the liners coming slightly pre-baked to take up some volume (this is from Scarpa reps and Intuition support). That breaks down quickly enough when skied.
The Excursions I'm in now are a 27, and way, way roomy. I'll need to pad them some to take up room. For this boot, the Scarpa T3 or 4, forget which, just hit my shins the wrong way, and I didn't care for the flex of the boot for it's intended use, so I'm trying the Excursions, whereas I've shied away from Garmonts in the past due to the wide last.

Back to your wife's boots:
-One option would be to find a skilled boot fitter who could stretch a 26, where needed, to fit her foot. Most bootfitters suggest making more room in a smaller shell, rather than taking up room in a larger one.
-I found the older 2 or 3 buckle T2's preferable for the kind of skiing you guys do than the T2X... smoother flex pattern. Those older ones are widely available used.
-If she does stay with a 27 shell ( I have), consider investing in a thicker, High Volume, Intuition liner rather than baking a standard liner to thicken it, which will just break down soon enough, as stated above. And, as you probably know, a good, thicker insole will help the extra volume issue in a 27. It is also sometimes possible to get a slightly oversized liner, bake it just a bit, and fit it into the (slightly) smaller shell.The folks at Intuition are both extremely helpful and extremely knowledgeable.

Just my experience, hope something there helps.

[Rodbelan]

I have a pair of Silver T3 and they feel more snug than my T4 (same shell size)... I'll have to check more closely.

You could also use a higher volume thermo liner like the Morrow we always see in eBay, etc in a T4. I have a pair of 8 (Woman size) and they are really snug, for slim feet only.

[lowangle al]

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I would have to buy an additional liner if I want a thicker one. If that's the case I may as well wait to see If the original ones work for her. Is it possible to order the boots with the thicker liner?

[bgregoire]

I don't think so but this is what CleverRod is talking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Morrow-Liners- ... :rk:2:pf:0

[lowangle al]

I don't think so but this is what CleverRod is talking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Morrow-Liners- ... :rk:2:pf:0

Thanks, that looks like an affordable option.