Cross-Country Ski Boots | Salomon (2023)

FAQs

Should I size up for cross country ski boots? ›

Visiting a bootfitter is the best way to ensure a proper fit, and a proper fit is paramount in cross country skiing. It's always better to size down than size up — a boot with too much room can cause blisters.

It should be snug, but not constricting or uncomfortable. You should have enough room at the front to wiggle your toes without touching the end of the boot.

Once laced up, stand up and the boot should be snug, but still comfortable around the widest part of your foot. You should be able to wiggle your toes which means you'll be able to access and activate your foot muscles for skiing.

Using a skate ski boot for diagonal striding absolutely sucks. They just aren't soft enough to allow your ankles, feet, and toes to flex naturally like with a classic boot. Skate ski boots are compatible with light-duty xc ski bindings. So, they're designed for use on groomed terrain.

Ski boots should be as tight fitting as possible. You need minimal foot movement inside the boot. If your boot moves with your foot, your ski will move with your boot and in turn your foot. Allowing you to exert maximum control over your skis.

Classic cross country ski boots

These boots are therefore generally a bit wider and more comfortable than some other types of ski boot. These boots are best if you plan to do classic skiing on a groomed track.

Generally, there are three types of bindings used in cross country skiing. Three pin, SNS, and NNN. The most widely used are NNN and SNS.

Alpine equipment is meant for downhill skiing and there is no way you can make this stuff work for you on a cross country trail. If you don't know the difference between alpine and nordic equipment, ask someone who does to help you purchase your gear. Boots need to match the binding system.

Nordic backcountry boots are designed for cross-country skiing outside of the groomed tracks. Because of this, Nordic boots often feature an insulating layer that provides extra warmth and a gaiter that extends over the cuff to keep snow out.

It can feel like someone's taken a hammer to your ankle after a day of sliding. The same can happen with sore toes – the foot sliding back and forth can cause bruised toes and lost nails all because the foot is hitting the end. But one of the most painful signs of a boot that's too big is pain at the top of the shins.

How do I know if my ski boots are too small? ›

Your toes should touch the front of the liner, but only just touch it – like a feather dusting your nose. If it's got any pressure pushing back against the toe, then the fit is too tight.

The anterior shin pain that occurs in skiers and boarders is called boot or shin bang. Boot bang is a condition where the shin pushes or rubs against the boot every time you flex forward causing a bruise or contusion. This then hurts as pressure is applied to the area.

Boots for cross-country touring often emphasize comfort and have a bit more insulation in them than boots for race and performance skiing. Boots for race and performance classic skiing: These boots are typically lighter weight than touring boots, and sometimes have lower cuffs for a greater range of motion.

Is Cross-Country Skiing Hard? Compared to snowshoeing, cross-country skiing is generally more difficult to learn and is more athletic and rigorous. Cross-country skiing can be more taxing on your back and shoulders if you do not let your strong leg muscles dominate the slide-and-glide motion.

They'll take a snowshoe binding fine. But they won't attach to skis. You need a proper XC ski boot for that.

There are five common causes of ski boot pain and discomfort: wrong size, bad fit, wrong flex, bad buckle habits, and issues with your socks. We know that some of these may not sound like they can cause your feet such pain, but trust us on this.

A common cause of boot compression is when the boot is actually too big and people do up the instep buckle too hard to secure the foot. All this does is to apply pressure to the top of the foot where the nerves and blood vessels run, causing numbness and a lack of circulation.

Pro Tip: Size up or down based on your true shoe size depending on your ability level. If you're a beginner, size up for even more of a comfort fit. The more experience you have, the tighter you'll likely want to keep your boot, so you can always size down as you get more comfortable skiing.

When It comes to keeping warm, the Thinsulate insulation does an excellent job. Therefore, you will be able to ski even on the coldest days on the mountain. The Alpina T30 cross country boots are compatible with NNN bindings.

For example, women generally have narrower feet, so companies have built boots to accommodate this difference. A woman's whole center of gravity may be shifted compared to a man, which means that application of force from the legs to the skis is shifted, so different flexes in a ski are appropriate.

How long should XC skis be? ›

What size cross-country skis to choose? To calculate the length of your classic cross-country skis you should add 15 to 20cm to your height. Your weight and skiing ability should also be taken into account.

What size cross-country skis to choose? To calculate the length of your classic cross-country skis you should add 15 to 20cm to your height. Your weight and skiing ability should also be taken into account.

From a technical point of view, the difference between the two types of skiing is that in cross country skiing only the toe of your boot is attached to your ski. In downhill skiing, the entire boot is attached to the ski by your binding.

As a very general rule, take: Your Height (inches) X 2.6 +15 = length of ski (cm). Or if you're not into formulas, figure your height out in cm and add 5-10cm.

For example, women generally have narrower feet, so companies have built boots to accommodate this difference. A woman's whole center of gravity may be shifted compared to a man, which means that application of force from the legs to the skis is shifted, so different flexes in a ski are appropriate.

Wide skis, on the other hand, have more surface area and therefore provide more flotation (think snowshoes as an example). This means that they perform great in powder, but take more effort to turn and are harder to control and sloppier on groomers.

The skis should always be 10-15 cm taller than you, never shorter.

Is Cross-Country Skiing Hard? Compared to snowshoeing, cross-country skiing is generally more difficult to learn and is more athletic and rigorous. Cross-country skiing can be more taxing on your back and shoulders if you do not let your strong leg muscles dominate the slide-and-glide motion.

They'll take a snowshoe binding fine. But they won't attach to skis. You need a proper XC ski boot for that.

Is cross country skiing cheaper than downhill? ›

Cross country skiing does not require lift passes, and the equipment, although not cheap, is less expensive than downhill equipment. Therefore, cross country skiing is a much more affordable option than downhill skiing.

Adjusting ski length based on skill level: Longer skis tend to be faster than shorter ones. So if you find yourself between sizes, think about your skiing ability. If you've never skied before, then choose the shorter ski size to give you better control and keep your speed down a bit.

Shorter skis are more versatile, and easier to handle, whereas longer skis are suitable for more experienced skiers as they tend to give longer glide.

Great question and here's the answer. The average skier replaces their skis every 8 years but your skis peak performance diminishes after 100-125 full days of use – that's five years if you ski 20 days a year.

A boot that is too stiff will result in the skier leaning back. But there is a catch; often the softest boots are very poorly designed and are very wide. Find a soft flexing boot that is not too wide, and not made out of poor quality plastic.

There is no such thing as Ladies or mens ski boots, only cilour changes and liner changes. Eitherway the boot must fit your foot. Skis are Male/Female/Unisex.

The Skis Flex

Women's skis are less stiff than men's skis. They are designed to have more flex in them so that the ski can edge or flex into the snow with less weight put on them. That means the skier can turn quickly as the skis react faster to weight transfers from one foot to the other.