A Lange Junior RSJ 65 ski boot, one of the junior boots Surefoot fits in store

Ski boots

Junior Ski Boots

Junior boots from six brands, sized in mondopoint and fitted to a scan of your child's foot at 29 Surefoot stores, with a custom liner and orthotic when you want them.

A junior ski boot is not a small adult boot. The plastic is softer, so a light skier can actually bend it, and several of these boots close with three buckles rather than four. The cuff is cut lower for a shorter leg, by 15 millimeters on Atomic's junior shells. Lange builds its junior boots for lower leg lengths, smaller calves and smaller foot shapes, and Nordica builds its to put a young skier in a neutral stance. The boots here run from a mondopoint 17.5 to a 26.5.

Six brands, three steps. The learning boots are Lange's RSJ 50, 60 and 65 and the Starlet 60, Atomic's Hawx Kids 3 and 4, and Tecnica's JT 4, all soft shells. The middle step is Tecnica's Mach1 Jr, Atomic's Remedy TJ 65 and Head's Raptor 60. The race and freeride end is Lange's RS 70 and RS 90 short-cuff shells, Head's Raptor WCR 70 and 90, Nordica's Junior Promachine, Tecnica's Junior Cochise Team and K2's Mindbender Juvy BOA, alongside Atomic's Redster TX 110, an adult shell Atomic builds for lighter skiers. Most of those numbers are flex ratings. Three are not. The JT 4 is named for its four buckles, and the Hawx Kids 3 and 4 are steps in a ladder, with the boots themselves rated 45 and 55.

A child is fitted the way an adult is. Both feet are scanned in 3D, so your fitter reads length and width in millimeters instead of guessing at a size. A custom orthotic and a foam-injected Surefoot liner are options at any fitting, never a requirement. A fitting takes a little over an hour and the boots go home the same day. Bring them back to any of our 29 stores when the fit needs a change.

Models we fit this season

Live from our catalog, every one fitted in store. Prices are for the boot as listed. A custom orthotic or Surefoot liner is optional and quoted in store.

Fitted in store

Book a junior fitting

Pick a store, pick a time. A fitting with a custom liner and orthotic takes a little over an hour, and the boots go home with you the same day.

Questions

What size ski boot does my child need?

Ski boots are sized in mondopoint, which is the length of the foot in centimeters measured from the heel to the big toe. A 22.5 boot is built for a 22.5 centimeter foot. To get close at home, stand your child on paper with the heel against a wall, mark the longest toe and measure with the foot fully weighted. It is not a street shoe size, and converting from one is a last resort because shoe sizing is inconsistent. The boots here run from a mondopoint 17.5 to a 26.5, and at a fitting both feet are scanned so the shell is chosen on the foot.

Should I buy ski boots my child can grow into?

Not the way it is usually meant. A boot two sizes too big does not teach a child to ski, it teaches them to fight the boot, and a foot sliding around inside a shell is how kids end up with sore shins and cold toes. We do not fit a boot with an adjustable shell length, though Atomic publishes a sizing insert that makes a boot half a size smaller. Half a size, not two. Children do grow out of boots, sometimes in a single season. Fit the foot your child has now and have the size checked before every winter.

What do the numbers on junior ski boots mean?

Most of them are flex ratings, which describe how hard the boot is to bend. Lange's RSJ 50, 60 and 65 and Head's Raptor 60 all work that way. Three on this page do not. Tecnica's JT 4 is named for its four buckles, the way the JT 3 has three. Atomic's Hawx Kids 3 and 4 are steps in a ladder, and Atomic rates those two boots at 45 and 55. Junior flex numbers only compare against other junior boots. A junior 65 and an adult 65 are not the same boot, and even between adult boots the ratings are not uniform.

Do junior ski boots fit adult bindings?

Not always, because the boots here do not all use the same sole. Alpine soles follow a standard called ISO 5355, which has a children's norm and an adult norm, and the break falls inside the junior size range. Tecnica publishes it on its own JT 4, where the sole meets the children's norm up to a mondopoint 21.5 and the adult norm from 22 up, in the same model. Lange's RSJ boots use a junior GripWalk sole, its short-cuff race boots a solid FIS sole, and K2's Mindbender Juvy a GripWalk sole. Have the shop check the binding against the sole before the first day out.

When does a child move into an adult ski boot?

On the foot, not on a birthday. Our junior shells run up to a mondopoint 26.5 and the adult shells in our catalog start at 21.5, so there is a wide overlap where either could be right, and the answer depends on the size of the foot, the length of the lower leg and how hard the child skis. What changes is real: a stiffer flex band, a taller cuff, a different sole and usually a heavier shell. Tecnica builds the Junior Cochise Team for exactly this stage, for kids with bigger feet who are not yet ready for a full adult boot.

Do you sell junior ski boots online?

No. Ski boots and liners are fitted in store only. The shell has to be chosen on the foot, and a custom orthotic or a Surefoot liner, if you add one, is built the same day. Browse the models here, then book a fitting at any of our 29 stores. If the store does not have the size you need, we will track it down.