Snug fit gives skiers an edge

Some skiers long gripe about the torture devices on their feet: You either struggle to buckle your boots tight enough or cut off circulation by overdoing it.

Boot fitter Claude Swonger promises blissful schussing if your boots fit like a politician’s handshake: “firm, supportive, all over you, even a little bit ‘smothery.’ ” Sound like election-year blather? Not if you’re wearing orthotics on the slopes.

Pros like Swonger say custom-made insoles, or foot beds, translate into warmer feet as well as more comfort and balance on the slopes -- all of which can help make you a better skier or snowboarder.

The plastic or cork insoles hug the contours of a foot more closely than those that come inside a store-bought boot. They keep feet warm by improving circulation, and they help prevent your foot from slipping around. Some skiers who use custom insoles say they have more control when edging a ski during a turn.

Wearing custom-made orthotics goes beyond simply eliminating sore dogs, says Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg, editor of the Wilderness Medical Society magazine Gear for Work and Play.

“It improves your performance because your foot doesn’t slip,” he says. “It eliminates hot spots where foot rubs against boot, and makes the foot more responsive [to the ski].”

So how can a thin layer of plastic underfoot make such a difference?

The human foot has 26 bones, 19 muscles, 33 joints and 122 ligaments, and -- like fingerprints and snowflakes -- no two feet are alike. Over time and with wear and tear, misalignment can occur. Most people’s feet tend to pronate (rotate inward, in part due to weight on the inside part of the sole) or supinate (collapse outward. You might have high, low or collapsed arches (flat feet), bunions, healed-up broken bones or heel spurs.

Wonky feet create a less sturdy foundation for the rest of the body. Along with misalignment, a foot can change shape, spreading out or narrowing when you put weight on it or flex it.

The problems compound when you cram a misaligned appendage into the average ski boot. Contact between the foot and the boot gets lost, and the skier overcompensates by cranking boot dials tighter or looser. The result can be blisters, sore feet and a long, painful day of play.

Custom orthotics makers try to restore a skier or snowboarder’s foot to “subtalar neutral” position, that is, one in which the foot’s bones are in perfect, natural alignment, says Swonger, who makes foot beds and boot liners at Ski Net Sports in Studio City.

In proper position, bone structure rather than ligaments supports the weight of the body, says Barry Woods, vice president of Surefoot, a chain of stores, including one in Santa Monica, that make ski boot orthotics.

Misalignment makes a skier or snowboarder work harder to reposition his or her feet to obtain proper balance, says Dr. Doug Richie, a podiatrist in Seal Beach and president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine.

Skiers are more likely than snowboarders to need and invest in orthotics, Richie says. Boarders use their feet differently than skiers, rocking back and forth from the heel to the ball of the foot.

They also move their ankles more naturally than skiers, who make precise inside-to-outside-edge moves. Moreover, boarders skew young and don’t have the foot problems of older skiers.

The pros usually start by advising skiers to get rid of those flat insoles in standard ski boots. Just pull ‘em out and toss ‘em. Then decide how much time and money to invest.

Be prepared for the vast array of aftermarket insoles -- you’ll have nearly as many choices as there are runs on a Mammoth Mountain trail map.

Bottom-of-the-line options include off-the-shelf insoles, such as those by SuperFeet, that are trimmed to fit inside boots. They cost about $30 and may offer a bit of comfort.

Want to spoil your feet and part with a lot more dough? Go for custom-molded foot beds, such as those Swonger and Surefoot make. They will run about $100 to $200, and the fitting takes several hours. Go to any high-end ski shop and you’ll see a variety of custom brands, such as Fastech, Conform’ables and Instaprint, which a technician can heat and mold to your feet while you wait.

If you’ve got even more money to spend, spring for stance alignment analysis and replace your boots’ liners with custom-made ones. “A person perfectly aligned will instantly ski better,” promises Swonger.

To e-mail Julie Sheer or read her previous Outdoors Institute columns, go to latimes.com/juliesheer.