Ski Boot Review- 2021 Alpina Alaska BC

[GrimSurfer]

That’s interesting.

For reasons which aren’t clear to me, there are various disconnects in shoe/boot sizes.

For example, I’m a 9.5 US in a running shoe. Not all, mind you, as my big toe can touch in some brands. While this translates to a 43 (my actual size in an Alaska), they’re about 1/8 size larger. That’s no biggie for me, even with a low volume foot.

(These observations based on a running sock in the running shoe and not much thicker merino ski sock in my boots).

My foot length (aka Mondo) is 26.0 cm long. This suggests that I’d require a 41 in an Alpina, based on their conversion tables.

https://www.nextadventure.net/alpina-xc-boot-size-chart

But this isn’t right either. So I suspect that the Alpina table, and maybe even the Mondo conversion, isn’t quite right.

If this is the case, I cannot imagine the issues people have with online purchases. I don’t have sensitive feet and can count on my hand the number of times I have found THE perfect fit in my life.

I’d never buy a shoe or boot online unless I was replacing worn out ones on a one-for-one basis… until the shoe/boot industry either achieves a higher degree of standardization or provides some kind of explanation (like accounting for toe cap taper etc.) that makes sense.

[Stephen]

...until the shoe/boot industry either achieves a higher degree of standardization or provides some kind of explanation (like accounting for toe cap taper etc.) that makes sense.

Would be nice, but hard to imagine standardization, given the huge variation in the human foot?
Heck, at 6'3" / 175# I have to buy 6 long sleeve shirts to find 1 or 2 that fit me.
I'm ecstatic if I find a Tall / Medium (rare).

There is work being done on footwear size determination technology.
I've seen other apps, but this, for example.
I would bet this technology is the future of online footwear purchasing.

[GrimSurfer]

Easy for dress shirts… they often list sleeve lengths. If not, it’s a 33”… which doesn’t fit me either. I have a longer arm.

The foot scan thing is cool. Very manufacturer oriented.

Any system that includes no BS Mondo length, width dimensions at the widest point, and heel width would be much better than the current morass of marginally aligned US, UK, EU and Mondo-esque. Heck, the Mondo sizes don’t even line up and they’re in international units (how do you screw that up?).

It all traces back to the fashion industry. Too much vanity in clothes sizes. Some size 14 gal wants to say she’s an 8 in a dress and 6 in a shoe. Same, but less extreme for guys (waist sizes, for instance).

Clothes are one thing, foot wear is more critical when it comes to fit.

The shoe/boot industry needs to crack their particular problem instead of working with retailers to have free returns built into their cost models. We’re burning a lot of carbon and wasting a lot of time so the UPS driver can become more familiar with our addresses than they should be.

<rant off>. Ha ha

[lilcliffy]

For example, I’m a 9.5 US in a running shoe. Not all, mind you, as my big toe can touch in some brands. While this translates to a 43 (my actual size in an Alaska), they’re about 1/8 size larger. That’s no biggie for me, even with a low volume foot.

(These observations based on a running sock in the running shoe and not much thicker merino ski sock in my boots).

My foot length (aka Mondo) is 26.0 cm long. This suggests that I’d require a 41 in an Alpina, based on their conversion tables.

My slightly longer left foot is 26.5cm long.
"42EU" is generally a performance fit for me in a ski boot (or leather futball cleat, or timber felling boot) but I cannot wear a 42 in a hiking/backpacking/hunting/fieldboot because of toe-bang when descending.
I need at least a 42.5 in terms of lenght in any shoe/boot that I am using for intensive walking/hiking that invloves steep descents.
I can make a 43EU work in a narrower last- sometimes requiring thick insoles. For example I can make my 43 Alaska BC work with a thick insole.
I could not wear my 42 Alaska BC as a hiking boot- toe bang.

Generally speaking, I have found European-made EU sizes to be quite consistent in terms of footbed length- last shape, width and shoe/boot volume vary widely!

My experience is that persons project the personal results of trying on a shoe/boot and make grandiose claims about irregualrities in sizing- such as "size-up", or "size-down"- purely based on the geometry of their own foot.

And let me tell you- I have spent my whole adult life frsutated by the notion of "size down"- what am I supposed to do- amputate my toes?

Back to this boot-
the Alpina Alaska BC is medium-narrow in its last-
persons that have to size-up have wide and/or large-voume feet.
This does not mean that this boot somehow has inaccurate sizing- such that a "42" is really a "43 " or whatever.
If your foot is a 42 in length, you might need to size-up if your foot is wide and/or large-volume.

As far as the EU to US size conversions-
Many of the Euro charts are totally screwed up.

[GrimSurfer]

Yeah, I’m sure a manufacturer would be fine with foot surgery… as long as you buy the boots and don’t complain. LOL

I have a skinny foot, low arch. (My foot prefers to be called sleek, btw. Ha ha). So it’s pretty flexible and can bang around in most boots happily as long as my foot isn’t sliding back and forth. Pretty easy customer… heck, I’ve bought many a boot, tossed the liner to get around arch issues. A lot of people wouldn’t do that.

When I bought my son-in-law Alaskas, I used my fit experience as a frame of reference. If a 26 cm foot fits a 43 with an 1/8 size to spare, then will a 27.3 foot fit snugly in a 44? Sounds like a math problem… and there’s still a change I got it wrong after cheating by having a pretty solid crib sheet (buying the same boots in the same year, so likely same production run).

I’d hate to think what people are going through with less comparative data.

The foot scan thing give me hope for the future though… by the time it’s perfected, the mortician should be able to find me my last pair of shoes that are guaranteed not to cause me any blisters on the mad dash thru the pearly gates.

[Petedog]

Evening all. Just a comment on the alpina xp alaska boots. Not sure if I am in the right discussion but. I bought a pair of these last March but only got a few runs before season end. So far this season been on them over thirty days and really enjoyed the boots and binding system until yesterday. Up to the local mountains with lots of good dry powder and a sunny day to boot. Started off and left ski did not feel right, had a look and realized that the front half of the sole separated. The boot looks like a hungry dog now. Back home took a closer look at the right boot and see that it is ready to come unglued also. A sad day.