Managing Heel Lift

[JohnSKepler]

This has been an intermittent problem with me. Not sure why it is intermittent, seems like stuff should fit the same every time you put it on, but I do seem to get variable heel lift in the same boots. And in some boots, all the time.

One mitigation strategy is to put a small heel riser under the insole. I've tried this and it helps with some fittings.

Last year I made some felt inserts that went inside my sock and that helped some times. Some times it didn't help.

There's this new bootie that can be slipped over a liner then inserted back into a plastic boot that is supposed to help. Haven't tried that one.

Last year I saw a reference to a neoprene half-bootie that goes either over or under the sock, I can't remember which. This one was for non-liner boots. Can anyone reference that one? I want to say that it was posted by @lilcliffy but I'm not positive of that. Anyway, it's something I wanted to try this year to help prevent the inevitable blisters, or even just to cover them once they've appeared - because, like last year, I'm just going to keep skiing.

[Montana St Alum]

If your technique is to slide the back foot rearward to drop into the turn, that will increase the likelihood of the heel on the BACK foot sliding up. If you concentrate more on pressing the shin of the front foot against the tongue, that will tend to keep the heel of the REAR foot down inside the boot. So if it's technique oriented, or mostly noticeable on the rear heel, you might find that helps.
Edited for typo

[Sidney Dunkin]

I agree that things should fit the same way every time. Is it possible that you get intermittent swollen ankles?

Otherwise MSU had a good point. Do you notice the heel lift on the up, down, or both.

I know of a neoprene product similar to what you described called eZfit. It is great for taking up space in the heel of your boots correcting heel lift.

[tkarhu]

I think @Jurassien posted the neoprene ankle support idea

[JohnSKepler]

If your technique is to slide the back foot rearward to drop into the turn, that will increase the likelihood of the heel on the BACK foot sliding up. If you concentrate more on pressing the shin of the front foot against the tongue, that will tend to keep the heel of the REAR foot down inside the boot. So if it's technique oriented, or mostly noticeable on the rear heel, you might find that helps.
Edited for typo

I 'figured' out last year that I need to plunge forward into the turn. I actually 'discovered' this when learning how to come out of a turn. Instead of pushing forward out of the turn I was sliding the front foot back. Of course when you do this you unweight the front of the front ski and the roots of the differential equation that describe the dynamics go positive. I.e., the skis go into an increasing sinusoid with the usual results. From there I started plunging, as much as I could, in and out of turns. I didn't become a good skier but I became a better skier. I didn't know this would affect my heel lift but as it turns out, that problem became a bit less pronounced as the winter wore on. I probably attributed this to callouses but the improved technique may have been less prone to heel lift.

Either way, the right heel on those Alfa Free's likes to lift a little. I took some measurements of the heel itself last year and it's about 5% 'thinner' than the left heel.

I agree that things should fit the same way every time. Is it possible that you get intermittent swollen ankles?

Otherwise MSU had a good point. Do you notice the heel lift on the up, down, or both.

I know of a neoprene product similar to what you described called eZfit. It is great for taking up space in the heel of your boots correcting heel lift.

I'm over fifty. Closer to sixty. I don't know what the hell's going on with my body! The most important function still works well but everything else is going to crap.

I can't say I remember the heel lift on the down, which tells me, as much as anything else, I'm probably not properly weighting or bending that rear foot. Really working on that but learning these techniques requires better snow than I had in April or so far this year! But we're supposed to get feet in the mountains and, indeed, it's snowing outside my office window right now.

I think @Jurassien posted the neoprene ankle support idea

I won't start bugging him quite yet. Hopefully he'll weigh in!

[Jurassien]

I think @Jurassien posted the neoprene ankle support idea

I’m not sure if he did, but if he didn’t then here it is now:

Blister Killing Procedure:
1) Tape heels with a textile-backed adhesive tape. Surgical tape is thinner, duct tape and similar is thicker – they both work.
2) Use a neoprene ankle sock between your taped heels and your socks. I have the Ezeefit product and have found it to work very well on long multi-day mountain tours. These “sawn-off” socks are available in 3 thicknesses, the standard being 2mm, but you can also have 3mm or “Ultrathin” (ca. 0.5mm) They are not expensive, especially in view of the amount of grief they can prevent, so I would recommend taking the 2mm as well as the Ultrathin. If the standard 2mm turns out to be not thick enough you can pull the thinner Ultralight over it on one or other foot – that gives you more flexibility than simply taking the thicker 3mm version.

I have no connection to the manufacturer of this product – I just find that it works well and am happy to recommend it to others. Link to manufacturer’s website:

https://www.ezeefitsports.com/

[Chisana]

+1 on the ezfits. Wish I had them decades ago. Used to get horrible heel blisters before.

[JB TELE]

If you're talking about leather boots, try taking a ski strap and cranking it around the cuff of the boot.

[lilcliffy]

My tips-
- experiment with different insoles- especially thicker ones if the boot feels volumous
- heel shim (under the insole)
- ezeefit ankle booties*

*be careful with these thingies for extended touring- your skin will stay wet with sweat under the bootie and this can lead to heat rash and other skin damage...One needs to be able to dry these out completely before use. And they need to be at least rinsed with freah water to rinse out salt from sweat. I only use the ankle bootie out of necessity with certain boots- not out of preference.

Ultimate answer may unfortunately be abandoning the boot-
For example, I have abandoned my volumous Alfa Guard boot- for me, personally- it is just not worth all the heel trouble.