How Should Snowboard Boots Fit

If you’re seeing this, you’ve likely bought new boots, or you’re on the hunt for new boots. Either way, you’ve come to the right place! We’re the snowboard boot fitting experts here at Melbourne Snowboard Centre and we want to help make sure you get the right fit the first time around. The absolute best way to do this is to come in store, this way we can measure the length and width of your feet, learn more about your riding style and skill level, and suggest some boots that will tick all of your boxes. After this, we’ll help you try on some boots and compare them until we’ve found the right one for you. 

We understand that not everyone can come into the store for our renowned boot-fitting experience, so for those shopping online, here is some detailed information (and a condensed version at the bottom) to help you choose the right size/the right boot, and how to tell if they fit right once they’re delivered to you.

Finding your size

Size is arguably the most important piece of the puzzle. Boots that are too big can leave you with bruised toes and diminished response, while boots that are too small can cramp your feet and affect your control over your board.

Your shoe size is a good place to start, but your shoe size isn’t always your snowboard boot size, and snowboard boots are not meant to fit or feel like your everyday shoes. Snowboard boots are performance footwear, and yes they need to be comfortable, but they also need to respond quickly to your movements and transfer your energy efficiently into your bindings and snowboard.

For this reason, we prefer to get your foot measurement in millimetres (heel to tip of longest toe) and then find your size based on this. This measurement is called Mondo Point, and is consistent across boots while US, EU, or UK sizing can vary brand to brand. 

 

Men's US	6	6.5	7	7.5	8	9	9.5	10	10.5	11	11.5	12	13	14	15
Women's US	7	7.5	8	8.5	9	10	10.5	11	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
EURO	38	39	40	40.5	41	42	42.5	43	43.5	44	44.5	45	46	47	48
UK	5	5.5	6	6.5	7	8	8.5	9	9.5	10	10.5	11	12	13	14
Mondo	24	24.5	25	25.5	26	27	27.5	28	28.5	29	29.5	30	31	32	33

If your boots are too big:

• Your feet can slide within the boot, leaving you with bruised toes and heels

• You can get heel lift, which causes abrasion and slows down the response of your board

• Discomfort can cut your day short

If your boots are too small:

• Your toes can feel squashed into the boot

• Your arches can cramp

• You can experience reduced control due to uneven weight distribution/pressure

• Discomfort can cut your day short
  

How should my snowboard boots feel?

Before gauging a snowboard boots fit and size, make sure you do it up completely. Don’t tighten it as much as humanly possible, just tighten to the point where it’s snug, comfortable, and secure. This should be a test of how your boots will feel on snow, so we want to replicate that experience as much as possible. Doing up your snowboard boots correctly will pull your foot back into the boot and allow your foot to settle, it might sound counterintuitive but doing up a snowboard boot can make your foot sit properly inside the boot, giving you more space and making the fit more comfortable.

Once your boots are done up (including internal liner, plus the external lace, speedlace, BOAs, power straps etc.), you will want to sit down, kick your heel into the ground to pull your foot into the back of the boot, and then gauge the fit when standing up straight. Ideally, you want your toes touching the end of the boot lightly. This is normal! You only spend a small amount of time standing up straight on a snowboard, so this isn’t when you should be most comfortable. Now you should bend your knees, flex your ankles, and get into your natural ‘snowboard stance’, just like how you would stand when on a snowboard. This should pull your toes back from the end of the boot, and should closely resemble how you’ll spend the majority of your time standing on your board.

If your toes are jammed up against the end of the boot when in your ‘snowboard stance’, it’s likely you’ll need a half size bigger, and if your toes can’t touch the front of the boot at all, you’ll likely need a half size smaller. Keep in mind that the first time you try the boots on iis the tightest the boots will ever be, and they will expand and mould to your foot over time. 

You should spend 5-10 minutes in your boots to get a good idea of the fit and feel. Walk around, get in your snowboard stance, jump if you want to. The idea is to mimic snowboarding as best as possible, and test for any problem areas, unwanted movement, heel lift, pressure points etc. Spending time in your boots starts the moulding process and will allow your feet to become accustomed to the boots. 

What socks should I wear?

You should wear the socks you will be wearing when you go snowboarding, and ideally the thinner the better. Snowboard socks are your absolute best bet, and are a severely underrated piece of your snowboarding kit. Often we’ll see people wearing regular crew socks or everyday socks, and this can be the cause of some problems and pain or discomfort. Regular socks are only made to go in shoes; they usually don’t have the material composition to help your feet breathe, and will often have ribs or differing textures above the ankle that cause pressure points, affecting your circulation and causing the pain or discomfort that can ruin your day. Not to mention the sweaty stinky feet at the end of the day.

Snowboard socks will help reduce all of this by using a high-tech blend of fabrics to wick away moisture, promote air circulation, and will have a flat surface which won’t cause any pressure points. Snowboard socks will come in varying thicknesses and with varying amounts of padding as well, so you can go light for maximum board feel and a slim profile, mid or thick for extra warmth, and padded or non-padded depending on the level of cushion you want. 

If you have bought your boots online from us and think they are too tight, send us an email or give us a call first and we will help assess the fit, it's very likely that a call to us will prevent you from returning the correct size, and will save you money and help your boots to last longer. Any boots that are being returned must be unused, in their original condition with all original packaging. 

In Short:

• Snowboard boots will NOT feel like your everyday shoes, and might not be the same size
• Measure your feet in mm's before choosing a size
• Your foot probably isn't as big as you think it is
• When trying on, do the boots up completely and flex at the ankle
• If your toes are brushing the end of the boot, perfect!
• Snowboard socks are a game changer