Heat Moldable Liners

One of the most important criteria when choosing the right set of snowboard boots is fit. Your boots must be snug and comfortable while you are riding. Too loose and you'll experience the dreaded heel lift where you heel lifts up from inside your boots instead of your board as you try to lean towards your toe edge.

So how do you make sure your boots are as snug as they can be? Many experienced riders have their boots cranked down really tight to get a better feel for the board and then re-tighten their laces a couple of times during the day. You could also try experimenting with different combinations of socks by either wearing a thicker pair or layering them.

Or you could get a pair of boots which come with heat-moldable inner liners which is, of course, what this article is about.

What They Are

Heat-moldable liners sit on the inside of your boot so that they will fit perfectly according to the shape of your foot. They are made from a foam material which will be pliable when they are heated.

The process of heating up the liner and fitting them for you is usually done at the retailer's shop after you purchase your boots.

Do It Yourself

There may be several reasons why you may want or have to heat your moldable liners yourself. This could be because your retailer does not have the necessary equipment, if you purchased your boots via mail-order or if you just need to re-mold them to make them more comfortable. Here's how you can go about doing it yourself.

Preheat a convection over to about 180F. Or a clothes dryer might also do the trick. Take the footbet out of the liners and the liners out of the boot and place them into the oven about five minutes apart so that you can fit one while heating the other.

Wear a thin pair of socks tightly over your feet and toe-cap (if you have one, see section below). Take the first liner out and put it into its boot. Slide your foot into the boot and stomp down on it before strapping up nice and tight.

Repeat with the other liner. Stand in your snowboard stance and then walk around in them for about fifteen minutes while they cool down.

Toe Caps

You may like to have a little bit of space for your toes to wiggle around in inside your boot to prevent them from feeling overly tight. For this reason, many riders prefer to wear toe-caps before molding their liners.

You can use pretty make a toe-cap out of anything which will give you some space inside your boot e.g. by using a thin sock or some cloth to wrap around your toes while you step into the warm liners to mold them.

Keep in mind that there is a limit to the number of times you should re-mold them as the amount of expansion with each attempt decreases to the point where they may become too thin. You should probably be able to get about four to six decent moldings depending on the quality of the material.