Women's Ski Boots

Every brand we fit builds a women's range. Atomic's is the Hawx Ultra, Hawx Prime and Hawx Magna. Lange's is the Shadow and the short cuff RS. Nordica's is the Promachine, Speedmachine, Sportmachine and the HF. Salomon's is the S/Pro Supra BOA and the S/Pro Alpha. Tecnica's is the Mach1, Mach BOA, Mach Sport and the Cochise. Head builds the Formula and the Kaliber, and Dalbello builds the Cabrio MV. They run from 96 to 103 millimeters across the forefoot, and a scan tells us which of them fits you.

The cuff and the liner, mostly. Brands cut the women's cuff to a different height and shape and give it more adjustment behind the calf, and they shape the liner to the calf as well. Lange's short cuff boots take 15 millimeters off the back and 20 off the front. Flex numbering also runs lower, so a women's 115 sits near the top of a women's range where a men's range is only starting. What does not change is width. Women's models sit on the same lasts as the men's.

Ski boots are not sized like shoes. They use mondopoint, which is the length of your foot in centimeters, so a 24.5 is a foot 24.5 centimeters long. Your street size does not carry across reliably, and two brands can put the same street size on different mondo numbers. The women's boots we fit run from 21.5 to 27.5. Both feet get scanned in the store, because most people have two different feet, and the shell is then chosen on the longer one. Guessing a mondo size from a shoe size is how boots end up too big.

Yes, and it is usually the cuff rather than the boot. A women's cuff is already shorter than a men's, which means it ends lower on the calf, and most of the lines here can be adjusted from there. Atomic's women's cuff adjusts the volume behind the calf. Head's women's models carry a double cuff adjustment. Your fitter can also change the cuff angle and, on many shells, move the rivet. Bring the problem to a fitting rather than sizing up, because a bigger shell does not fix a calf.

It is a boot that opens at the back instead of over the instep. Nordica's HF is the current one. Instead of buckles across the foot it closes with a single buckle at the back of the cuff, the shell swings open, you step in, and you push the buckle shut with your foot or the tip of a pole. Nordica calls it a hands free boot and most skiers still call it rear entry. The women's HF sits on a 102 millimeter last, which is the wide end of what we fit.

No. Ski boots and liners are fitted in store only. The shell has to be chosen on your foot, and a custom liner or orthotic, if you add one, is built the same day. Sizing is the reason this matters most on a women's boot, because mondopoint does not follow your shoe size and the difference between a 24.5 and a 25.5 decides the fit. Browse the models here, then book a fitting at any of our 29 stores. If the store does not have the model you want, we will track it down.