Skiing: How to Custom Mold Ski Boot Liners

Some ski boot liners can be heat molded for a custom fit. If your ski boot liners are heat moldable and you want to do it at home, we’ll show you how with rice, a microwave, a short two-by-four, and several pairs of socks. Shop REI’s selection of ski boots at www.rei.com/c/d....
Transcript:
The most basic boot liners mold to your feet as you ski, while others can be heat molded for an immediate custom fit. If your liners are custom moldable and you want to do it at home, here's what you'll need: three to four pounds of uncooked rice, a microwave, a short 2x4, a couple old socks you can cut up, a pair of long, thin tube socks, and your thin wool or synthetic snowboard socks.
Start by filling the long, thin tube socks with rice and tying a knot in the ends. Put a bit more rice in one sock than the other. Make sure the rice fills the socks uniformly so they don't get hot spots, and microwave them. Use this chart to determine how long to leave them in the microwave. Remove the foot bed from your liner and replace your liner in your boot. Keep your boots loose to make it easy to insert the rice sock. When the socks are ready, pick up the more full sock by the knot and place it in the liner. Make sure the boot is very loose and tap it on the heel and the toe until the rice has fully filled the foot section of the liner. Then close the cup and place the other sock in the top. Lightly tighten the boot to keep the liner even. Leave the rice in the liner for ten minutes.
While you're waiting, you can cut the toe off the two old socks. Wearing these as extra padding will help expand the toe area of your boot for some extra wiggle room. Put the toe cap socks over your toes and pull your ski socks on. Make sure they are smooth and wrinkle-free. To keep your legs in a natural position, you'll want to wear both boots during this process, even if you're only molding one boot at a time.
After ten minutes, remove the rice and put the foot bed back in the liner. Then place the liner into the shell, step into the boot, and loosely tighten it. Make sure to keep it far looser than when you actually ski to avoid overcompressing the foam. Step onto the board with your knees bent and your feet shoulder width apart, and lean forward gently. The board will help you naturally flex the boot. After ten minutes of molding, the liner will have cooled enough that you can take it off and repeat the process on the other side. To recap, microwave the uncooked rice inside a tube sock. Add the rice and let it heat your liner for ten minutes. Prepare your socks and put on your other boot. Step in and flex the boot for ten minutes.

[@MrG3ST]

the type of rice depends on the ski boot flex. for 130 biryani rice is highly recommended.

[@JamesZeroSix]

I only have Jasmine, will that work for 100 flex? Keep in mind, its cilantro lime.

[@chrisevans6293]

Nice trick, the rice was a little mushy and overcooked though. Simply heating for 6 minutes was enough to keep myself and my family happy and full.

[@JustinBaker2567]

No idea why they are recommending this weird technique. It's super easy to do in your oven. Set your oven to 350, turn the oven off, throw the liners in on a baking sheet or wood cutting board for 10 minutes. I've done it several times and it works great.

[@drsuperhero]

350?! That seems really hot

[@skiziskin]

@@drsuperhero that's why you turn it off before you put the liners in. And my first step is to remove the rack before preheating so when you put the liners in, they go in on a cold rack and will not scorch.

[@ericfraser728]

Just tried the oven technique. It works perfect but I would make sure you have your windows open and fan going as the liners off gases lol. Also, this technique evenly heats the entire liner tip to toe. I would not go any higher than a 350 preheat.

[@BrianHeffron1]

Those are some sick boots

[@jonathanrys6921]

Anyone have any good sock rice recipes? I used the only tube sock I had and it was a bit stretched out, so I had to spread the rice thin and work it in with the liner upside down so the rice wouldn't clump at the bottom. I'm also molding liners for my mountaineering boots, not ski boots, but that shouldn't matter. I recommend a cold run to get your technique down before trying to work the hot rice in on your first attempt.

[@munsanghwang]

and if you finished, Bon appetito!

[@JM_2019]

Would be great to also explain what the reason for the individual steps is.

[@nosondre]

My bunions feel better Now all I need is some soy sauce!

[@maxd6110]

Thank you it worked great bit it was a little hard to get the rice sock all the way to the bottom of the boot.

[@sinopulence]

but, my foot doesn't fit in the boot with the rice...

[@getreal3336]

Make sure that you always use Sweat-saki sauce in the rice before putting it in the boot. You can also do this with popcorn kernels. That way, after you get done molding your boot, you can enjoy a nice hot snack. 🤣 I am just joking, of course. Just want to clarify that in case some novice tries that. 😊

[@ab935]

I got some xc skate ski boots that are heat moldable. Wondering what to do to make them bunion friendly. 1000s of miles of pushing off with the right foot has taken its toll.

[@talosian]

For Atomic's you need to heat the shells to 117 F and do not flex them, stand flat.

[@isaamin7130]

I still havent forgoten what you did to Derek

[@Elijah-fc3ex]

Would this work naturally just skiing in the boots?

[@CostantinoLenzi]

very interesting!! can i use phon instead hot rice?

[@KingInky13]

+Costantino Lenzi What's phon? A google search says it's a unit of loudness for pure audio tones...

[@CostantinoLenzi]

KingInky13 sorry i mean hairdryer..

[@KingInky13]

Costantino Lenzi Ah okay. Well, using a hair dryer _would_ heat them up, but the issue is that it won't heat the liners evenly. The rice sock is definitely the preferred method as it evenly distributes the heat throughout the liner. Personally, I'd either do the rice sock or take them to a bootfitter that can professionally heat mold them, but they're your liners and you can do what you want with them. Some people say a hair dryer will ruin the liners, others say they haven't had problems doing it. If you decide to try a hair dryer, keep it on the medium heat setting. Cheers and good luck!

[@CostantinoLenzi]

KingInky13 thanks

[@dustervideo]

your kidding. ever hear of stacks .........and what kind of gravy goes with rice and liners ?

[@sadowski_music]

I don’t have microwave, what temperature and for how long should I heat rice in regular oven?

[@juanesteban8938]

I don't have a microwave. Can I use a normal oven?

[@theosloan6880]

Go for it!

[@lukedunn7853]

DO NOT TRY!!! After my first boot I put my sock in the microwave timed per instructions and when I took it out and a hole had melted in the bottom of the sock and the rice started spewing out as a thick black super hot paste. Luckily I am unhurt as I was wearing oven gloves but I would not recommend trying this at all.

[@zjames1324]

Dude you just used a synthetic sock.. cotton only

[@StavroginNikolai]

Why would you want to do this at home and not just let the natural process happen when you wear them?

[@furgusuned15650]

So you can be comfortable and not have aching feet when skiing. Simple as that

[@IIDASHII]

Because, just as stated in the video some more premium liners are MADE to be molded (read, they are over-sized), and would be VERY uncomfortable to wear without heat molding them.

[@dckill]

So this would just mold the liners right? And not the boots? My problem is my feet are slightly too wide for my boots and i was wondering if tgere is anyhting i can do about it at home? Unfortunately are no custom bootfitters where I live.

[@alan4sure]

It molds the liners, just like it says. It does nothing to the shells. If the boots are too narrow to start with, it probably won't help much. Only a bootfitter is able to stretch out some parts of the shell, like across the toes for example.

[@bobhoskins9595]

You can (very carefully) try a heat gun, set at the lowest setting, monitoring it all the time. You'll need something to push the shell out. You can just cut a piece of wood or you could use 2 pieces of threaded rod with something holding them together that you would turn to make it longer. Can't remember the terminology. I used a heat gun on some old Rollerblades and it did work but as I had no experience it was a clumsy job. At a shop they can dial it in really well, especially with heat directionality. Remember that once its stretched out its hard to bring it back so do it a little at a time.

[@chrisenstad]

@@bobhoskins9595 it's a toe box stretcher and you can buy them for 70 bucks

[@panchymagogue]

Bob, I have had success with a large spoon, massaging the area slowly with heat.