There’s a reason it feels so good to take off your boots at the end of a long day on the mountain. It’s torture in there for your feet. Squished into an unnatural positon while you slog through snow, ice, and water; it’s a wonder they don’t fall right off (something that’s been known to happen in more extreme conditions). Stave off cramps and frostbite with these helpful tips:

• Uprade Your Insole
• Crank the Heat
• Less Is More

Winter Foot Care: Upgrade Your Insole

Great gear will only get you so far. You have to be kind to what goes in it too. Here are some tips for taking care of your feet on the slopes.

The quickest way to improve the fit鈥攁nd warmth鈥攐f your boot is to get an insole that molds to your foot. An off-the-rack model like ($40) or Sole鈥檚 ($50) will help significantly. But we strongly recommend tailor-made insoles from . Custom work costs $215, and you have to get your foot measured at one of Surefoot鈥檚 39 outlets, but it鈥檚 time and money well spent.

Winter Foot Care: Crank the Heat

Great gear will only get you so far. You have to be kind to what goes in it too. Here are some tips for taking care of your feet on the slopes.

Boot heaters that work while you ski are exactly what they sound like: absolutely amazing. Hotronic鈥檚 ($219) fits between the liner and shell of your boot and takes up to 60 minutes to install. Four settings allow you to adjust the temperature: hot on the chairlift ride up, cool on the powder line down.

Winter Foot Care: Less Is More

Great gear will only get you so far. You have to be kind to what goes in it too. Here are some tips for taking care of your feet on the slopes.

One pair of thin-to-midweight ski-specific socks is all you need. We鈥檙e fans of Wigwam鈥檚 ($22) and SmartWool鈥檚 ($24). But our absolute favorite is Fits鈥檚 ($24), a merino-wool blend that stays in place all day, never bunches up, and left us totally blister-free.

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One pair of thin-to-midweight ski-specific socks is all you need. We鈥檙e fans of Wigwam鈥檚 .

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Fischer Ranger 12 Alpine Boots

BEST FOR: SIDECOUNTRY

This has a Vibram sole for better traction on hikes, and it can be set to any of three different modes: lock (for aggressive skiing), ride (for softer snow), and hike (for heading up).

Tecnica Inferno 130 Ski Boots

BEST FOR: EX-RACERS

The only to score a perfect 10 for snow feel. 鈥淭his fiery beast will give most people more edge control than they know what to do with,鈥� noted one tester. Translation: too much boot for easy-skiing cruisers.

Rossignol Pursuit Sensor3 110 Ski Boots

BEST FOR: EVERYONE

If we had a Gear of the Year award for boots, the would take it. Nearly every tester raved about how well this hard-charging boot fit right out of the box. 鈥淢akes skiing easier鈥� was a common refrain. A one-piece tongue and toe box help nix shin bang and alleviate instep pressure.

Lange RX 130 Ski Boots

BEST FOR: EXPERTS

The is every bit as powerful and precise as the company鈥檚 race boots, but with a slightly wider fit, it鈥檚 more tuned to all-mountain charging. An improved liner allows for better circulation and warmth.

Nordica Fire Arrow F1 Ski Boots

BEST FOR: BIG MOUNTAIN

Speed demons, this is your boot. Thanks in part to a carbon-fiber-reinforced boot board, the was one of the most torsionally rigid boots in the test. 鈥淕oing 70 feels like 30,鈥� remarked one tester. Bonus: a three-piece shell makes for easy on and off.

Atomic Hawx 120 Ski Boots

BEST FOR: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED SKIERS

Softer plastic in the forefoot allows the to react naturally by flexing under the ball of the foot. It鈥檚 a smart design, and it gives this all-mountain boot a light and springy feel鈥斺€渓ike a pair of dance shoes,鈥� according to one tester.

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Boots are the linchpin of your skiing setup for one simple reason: if they don鈥檛 fit properly, your technique will suffer. If you can鈥檛 find a boot on the shelf that conforms to the peculiarities of your foot, you need to take action鈥斅璭ither by consulting a knowledgeable fitter or by going all-in with a pair of 颅custom boots. Your skiing will improve, your boots won鈥檛 feel like torture devices, and you鈥檒l have more fun.

Liner Sore feet? Heel spur or squeezed styloid process (that bony bump along the outside middle of your foot)? Bespoke boots come equipped with custom liners that are either heat-moldable (which opens up the fit around tight spots) or manually injected with foam, a process that eliminates gaps between foot and shell. The latter type must be done by a boot technician and creates a more individualized fit. Once the foam solidifies (about 45 minutes), the results are firm yet forgiving.

Footbed Stock boots can feel sloppy or cause ankle rub. Because they align and support your feet, orthotics are the most important part of the customization process. Cad-cam orthotics, which require a foot scan and are precisely cut from foam blanks, are more accurate and adjustable than heat-moldable ones. Both require a skilled professional.

Shell Do you often experience shin bang, a painful bruise caused by uneven pressure? A custom boot fitter will measure the length, width, and height of your foot to pick the stock shell that matches your shape best. The shell will then be modified鈥攂y either stretching, grinding, or punching out鈥攖o produce a boot that fits you correctly.

Cuff Alignment and Canting Both are crucial. To adjust cuff alignment, the technician will make sure the upper cuff follows the angle of your leg. For canting he鈥檒l measure the lateral distance from your knee to the center of the boot, then adjust the sole to realign the knee and stack the bones of your leg.

Get Some: America鈥檚 Best Boot Fitters (), an organization of independent ski shops that specialize in boot fitting. Or visit Strolz, ; Daleboot, ; Surefoot, ; or Conformable, conform-able.com.

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Tecnica Cochise Ski Boot

The Cochise blurs the line between high-end alpine boots and efficient touring models. It comes with Dynafit-compatible touring soles and has a walk mode and a grippy outsole, but it’s also beefy enough to drive heavy-duty powder skis. “It’s like a Swiss Army knife,” remarked one tester. “It has a tool for everything.” The range of motion when hiking was impressive, and at just over nine pounds a pair, they’re respectably light.

TAGS: DYNAFIT-COMPATIBLE, SIDECOUNTRY

Apex CF3 High Performance Ski Boot

Take a snowboard boot, wrap it with a carbon-fiber chassis, and you’ve got the Apex. While it doesn’t have enough oomph to drive big, stiff skis, testers were surprised by how well the boot skied in most conditions. The forward flex is soft, but its lateral stiffness makes it carve turns effortlessly. Great choice for lifties, intermediate skiers, or anyone looking for a supremely comfy boot.

TAGS: CARBON FIBER, SOFT BOOT

Atomic Burner 120 Ski Boot

Testers suspected this boot of having ESP: with an aggressive stance, more forward lean than most boots, and a slightly offset centerline, you just think the Burner has already started turning your skis. The fit is reminiscent of Atomic’s classic race boots, only without the pain.

TAGS: EX-RACER, AGGRESSIVE STANCE

Rossignol Experience Sensor2 Ski Boot

Because they deliver unbelievable snow sense and precise control but somehow manage to feel comfortable and easygoing, Rossignol’s Sensor boots have been tester favorites. And they keep getting better. The new flat-stitched (no sore spots) liners in this year’s Sensor2 received rave reviews all around.

TAGS: ALL-MOUNTAIN, GENEROUS FIT

Lange RS 130 Wide Ski Boot

A breath of fresh air in the expert-boot category, the RS 130 Wide is essentially a race-inspired design for wider feet. Or, as one tester put it, “This boot is a Ferrari for big guys on snow.” Besides the added girth, it’s classic Lange: very clean and simple, finished to extraordinary standards, and outfitted with the best stock liners around.

TAGS: Experts, wide feet

Nordica Firearrow F1 Ski Boot

The Firearrow is the first big-mountain boot designed from the ground up for fat skis鈥攁nd our testers approved. “Made my 193-centimeter fat skis seem small and way more controllable,” said one. An innovative three-buckle design holds the foot securely with no pressure points, while a roomy toe box keeps the blood flowing.

TAGS: BIG-MOUNTAIN, ROOMY TOE BOX

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The Test: This past February, in conjunction with Mountain Sports + Living magazine, we held our annual ski test at Utah's Snowbird resort. For four days, 12 testers of varying abilities and styles, from laid-back advanced skiers to former World Cup racers, worked their way through an initial field of 80-plus skis.

Alpine Skiing

Ski tester Kevin Brower

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The Venue: All of our testing was done off the Gadzoom chairlift. Covering 1,800 vertical feet in just six minutes, it gets you access to steep glades, wide-open groomers, short sections of bumps, and chopped-up faces鈥攁ll in the same run. Each tester averaged 18鈥�20 laps a day.

The Categories: Manufacturers were allowed to submit one ski in each of the following categories. Frontside skis were ranked on a scale of one to five in these four areas: responsiveness, stability, edge hold, and carving pleasure. All Mountain and Women's were judged on responsiveness, stability, float, and carving. Big Mountain and Powder were scored on responsiveness, stability, float, and hard-snow pleasure.

Go Deeper: Watch quick one-minute Web videos about some of our favorite skis this year at outsideonline/video. Or tune in to 国产吃瓜黑料 Television's 国产吃瓜黑料 Today to learn even more, meet the testers, and see the actual test in action. Visit for showtimes. Special thanks to our test sponsors: Dakine, Flylow, Hestra, SmartWool, Smith, Snowbird and Sole.

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The Zenith’s redesigned liner feels more secure. And thanks to a tweak in the shell design and a polycarbonate insert under the ball of your foot, it provides excellent snow feel. A
confidence-inspiring choice for intermediates.

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Based on the classic Raichle design from the eighties—with some cool updates—the First Chair has impressive quickness edge to edge and, of course, the trademark progressive flex. But it’s also got new metal buckles (lighter, more durable) and an updated cable system that’s easier to adjust.
TAGS: old school, updated

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One of the best all-mountain boots this year, the expert-level Blower “feels like an F1 car with monster-truck suspension,” said one tester. And while we don’t normally condone manfur, it’s what makes this twitchy, race-inspired boot so comfy.

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Testers loved how this intermediate/advanced boot combined a great out-of-the-box fit with a smooth and predictable flex in all conditions. “Great feel without sacrificing ankle flex,” said one tester. Also available in a much stiffer 130 flex with a steel frame for more torsional rigidity.
TAGS: intermediate, all mountain

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