Blog

Hopefully you've been able to log some days on snow this year. I've been lucky enough to get quite a few days under my belt already and many of my chairlift discussions with strangers have been about helping to reduce their foot pain in their snowboard boots.

The following topics keep coming up as they are easy and free ways to help increase foot comfort - equaling more time on snow!

1) Drink Water. Seriously, drinking water helps to reduce inflammation - everywhere in the body. The old rule is drink 8 glasses a day . Also, you might want to leave the adult beverages until after you're done riding.

On another note, Drink Water just released an amazing new snowboard video. You can view it here: Drink Water ENERGY .

2) Clip your toenails. This one is so basic, but so easily missed - If you have a performance snowboard boot fit (toes firmly touching the end of the boot) that little extra bit of toenail can be the difference between a great day on the snow or a day in major pain.

3) Wear the same model socks. This is one of the biggest things that many people miss. The thickness of your socks directly impacts the way your boots fit. Ideally, you'll wear the same model sock the day that you try on and buy your boots as the days that you'll be snowboarding in them.

I believe that the need for snowboarding socks to be thick is totally overrated. I've been riding the same thin compression style sock for many years - often times in sub zero weather without cold feet. In fact, the extra warmth of a thick sock may actually work against you by causing your feet to sweat more.

Whatever type of socks work for you - stick to that one model because changing sock models changes the volume imprint in your boot and directly affects fit.

Bonus) Wear your boots around your house. Especially if you've recently acquired new boots - spending time in them while on your feet off the snow will help break them in and hopefully any fit issues that may arise will become evident (and you can fix them) before you're on the snow)

Use these tips this winter to score more time on snow - let me know your favorite boot fitting tips in the facebook comments.

Quick story about my neighbor that I sometimes take on snowboard roadtrips with me… I was going to swap out his name to protect him from embarrassment, but heck – his boots really stunk, I had to deal with it – so I’m naming names:

Last season, after a couple of road trips with Peyton – I noticed a distinct smell… the smell was noticeably worse on the way back from the hill after riding all day. At the tail end of our second trip of the year, I was helping unpack the truck and I handed Peyton his boots… That’s when I caught a big whiff…. some kind of a rotten chicken and fish combination – pungent – horrible – just touching his boots got the funk on my hands. I ran inside and immediately doused my hands in sanitizer…

Next weekend Peyton wanted to go to Seven Springs with me – I was like, “ok, but your boots stay in the back of the pick-up.” When we got to Springs, his boots were frozen solid and it took him a half hour to get them on – SORRY, but atleast I didn’t have to smell em.

After that trip I began to look into other options for curing the putrid smells that were seeping from his boots.

I suggested:

1) Showering and regular personal hygiene – since he’s a teenage skate rat, this was unlikely.

2) Burning them – solves the problem, but then he could not ride.

3) Cleaning them somehow – this seemed like the only viable option, but what would be the best way to proceed?

I tried multiple solutions on the market – including bowling shoe spray – rental climbing shoe spray febreeze (might have made it worse) – Lysol (definitely made it worse) – several other home and industrial pet and odor cleaners….. The only thing that cured the funk was a hospital grade disinfectant called Vital Oxide .

Vital Oxide is a broad-spectrum, antimicrobial solution proven to perform against molds, mildews, fungi, spores, yeasts, and viruses. Use Vital Oxide in shower stalls, under sinks, on kitchen counters, in diaper pails, at schools, in daycares, on sports equipment (Like Snowboard Boots), in basements – anywhere mold or bacteria can be found. Vital Oxide Antibacterial Spray has been independently tested under GLP (good laboratory practice) conditions and shown to kill bacteria and viruses, such as MRSA, H1N1 (Swine Flu), Norovirus, Legionella pneumophila, and E. coli.

Basically Vital Oxide gets the job done and is not hazardous to your health (unlike many of the other solutions we tried).

If your boots are stinking like Peyton’s then I would highly recommend spraying em down with some Vital Oxide – now available at Shred Soles Dot Com: https://www.shredsoles.com/collections/catalog/products/vital-oxide-snowboard-boot-disinfectant-3-oz-spray?variant=14582352966

Use discount code “Vital” for 10% off and Free Shipping sitewide until Midnight on Monday the 17th of November.

Vital Oxide

3 free & easy tips keep your feet comfortable this snowboard season

The Snowboard Boot Stink Solution