2 feet, 2 sizes....WTF?

Okay, so here's the issue:

Right foot is apparently slightly smaller than the left.  Doesn't really matter until I'm ice climbing and I experience heel lift in the right foot enough to be annoying.  For the record, the boots are AKU Mantagnard GTX...love the boot, basically the same thing as Scarpa Mont Blanc GTX.   I've tried a bigger sock, not going to work.

So here's the question:

Anyone have experience custom heat forming an Ice Climbing boot, the actual boot, not an inner liner like you might find on google.  Just not sure this is a good idea, but I need to reshape the heal area just slightly so I don't get the heel lift when engaging crampons in the ice.  Any better ideas?

Suggestions? (and we're off).  

Ice climbing boots don't work in the same way a heat-moldable ski boot liner works. You can likely contact a skiing boot doctor nonetheless, but what they'll likely do is recommend spacers and inserts and whatnot, and it's extremely unlikely they're going to heat it up to mold it.

As a final point, even if you heat molded the boot, it wouldn't DECREASE the size. Heat molding is for properly shaping an already snug-fitting boot to the shape of your foot, not making it smaller. 

Eose 2000 wrote: Okay, so here's the issue:

Right foot is apparently slightly smaller than the left.  Doesn't really matter until I'm ice climbing and I experience heel lift in the right foot enough to be annoying.  For the record, the boots are AKU Mantagnard GTX...love the boot, basically the same thing as Scarpa Mont Blanc GTX.   I've tried a bigger sock, not going to work.

So here's the question:

Anyone have experience custom heat forming an Ice Climbing boot, the actual boot, not an inner liner like you might find on google.  Just not sure this is a good idea, but I need to reshape the heal area just slightly so I don't get the heel lift when engaging crampons in the ice.  Any better ideas?

Suggestions? (and we're off).  

Have you try different insole?

Pat Light wrote: Ice climbing boots don't work in the same way a heat-moldable ski boot liner works. You can likely contact a skiing boot doctor nonetheless, but what they'll likely do is recommend spacers and inserts and whatnot, and it's extremely unlikely they're going to heat it up to mold it.

As a final point, even if you heat molded the boot, it wouldn't DECREASE the size. Heat molding is for properly shaping an already snug-fitting boot to the shape of your foot, not making it smaller. 

yeah,  I kind of suspected that, so I wasn't willing to try it myself.   So, I called MEC (Moutain Eastern Co-op) (Like REI) in Toronto CA (2 hrs from me).  Apparently some mfg put a type of expanding foam inside the construction that may cause it to swell just a little when heated....but...it may not...LOL.  If I can get the top portion of the heel to compress just a little I'm good, so I'll take it to them and find out.  But in the mean time, I purchase a few heel liners to see if that works.  Thanks

divnamite wrote:

Have you try different insole?

trying that tonight....not a full insole, basically a heel lift...I'll see if it works

Something I did to snug up my Nepals when they were new, I'd lace them back up pretty tight after climbing and let them dry that way vs open and loose. Either it worked or they just broke in, but can't get my heel to budge now.

Aaron T wrote: Something I did to snug up my Nepals when they were new, I'd lace them back up pretty tight after climbing and let them dry that way vs open and loose. Either it worked or they just broke in, but can't get my heel to budge now.

Interesting... might try that. Thanks