I've ridden with K2 size 9 liners in a 8.5 shell, and it works fine.

If you go the liner route, I'd very curious to hear your results.

 

I was under the impression that 256-260 would be considered US 8 boot and 251-255 would be considered US 7.5. By those numbers, I’d say 7.5 would be your ideal size. I could be missing something here. Now, I’m not saying sizing down a full size would solve your issue though, but you do seem to have some play in there. I’m 267-272, so a size 9 US (my long foot is 9.5), but I size down a half a size in K2 for a more performance fit. I’m using 8.5 US K2 Ortons this year and I’m very happy with them.

The liners in my Orton look similar to yours (minus the heel on the back) and I noticed ankle bone rub on the side. I think its the fact that blue mesh material doesn’t have any foam padding (like you said). I have tiny ankle problems so I usually have to had a layer or two of butterfly wraps or C-pads to mitigate heel lift. After adding some foam, I don’t notice any issue with my ankle rubbing the shell any more.

If I were you, I’d add some foam in the shape of a full circle (-ish) so it covers the white part on top, the black j-bar area, as well as the blue mesh area (even a little bit more). Basically like a C-pad but filled in. I think that will help, because for me, it wasn’t the pressure, but the rubbing back and forth of the shell on my ankle bone that was causing it. Now, this could make it worse because the pressure of the shell could be causing it. If this is the case, you can cut out the foam area (that you added ^) over the blue mesh area to help raise the shell off the ankle area and relieve some pressure on your ankle bone. It will basically be like a C-shape now. Hope that helps a bit; its one of those things you might need to experiment with.

 

The Thraxis liner sucks IMO. I had hot spots around my ankle and especially where the Conda boa attached internally. I swapped the liner with one from the Nidecker Talon, which doesn't have those ankle windows, and had no hotspots for my week in Colorado.

The other thing I did with the BOA Conda is place an under armour wrist sweat band under the top half of the plastic piece. Now when cranked down the pressure is more evenly distributed on the ankle and top of foot. I need to have it cranked down to keep my toes from jamming on heel side carves.

My technique for tightening these boots is foot in, drop kick the ground, crank Conda, loosely tighten top and bottom boa, boot in binding, crank ankle strap, then tighten lower boot boa until I barely feel it. The lower boot boa being too tight has been the only thing causing me pain, and I find using a cranked binding strap as the reference point for lower boot tightening has worked well. Finally, tighten the upper boa for your preference of response versus tweakability.

 

Why are you getting another liner? 😂

You can get them from Home - Intuition Liners (but not at the clearance pricing).

I ordered one for pickup at MEC. Hopefully my bruising is better in a few days and I’ll probably get it fitted at pickup (stock is low and I didn’t want to miss it). Apparently microwaved rice or ovens can work though. I’ll post how it goes.

It’ll ship for free in Canada… if there’s someone closer to the east you could ship from there cheaper. If not, send me a message (sometimes I can’t get stuff from the USA).

 

Why are you getting another liner? 😂

You can get them from Home - Intuition Liners (but not at the clearance pricing).

I ordered one for pickup at MEC. Hopefully my bruising is better in a few days and I’ll probably get it fitted at pickup (stock is low and I didn’t want to miss it). Apparently microwaved rice or ovens can work though. I’ll post how it goes.

It’ll ship for free in Canada… if there’s someone closer to the east you could ship from there cheaper. If not, send me a message (sometimes I can’t get stuff from the USA).

Ah yeah, I'll see what I can do. Wish I'd thought of this when I was in Toronto in the fall.

Lol @ me getting another liner. I have a low volume foot and I'm really hopeful that I can get the TM3 shells to work for me if I'm able to get a high volume liner to compensate. Hence my wanting to try. I don't know why but I love the TM3 shells and would love to give them a go with this.

After my ride fuses fell apart, I've been using its burrito liner in the TM3s and Ride lassos I have on hand. Currently going to try the TM3 liner in the lassos, since the lasso liner is trash. Hoping some combo of things will get them to work through the season.

 

The Power Wrap Plus seemed too bulky around top, but didn’t really hug my legs either. Might work with a power strap? I didn’t mold them obviously.

The Pro tour HV just feels right.

I'm not sure if the Dreamliner (without the articulation area) would've provided more support around the side of the instep, or just got in the way of the 3rd boa. But it wasn't high volume and just wasn't snug.

 

I took last weekend off and, while my ankle is still a bit sensitive, I finally got back out.

Here’s the liners that I got (high volume):

Boot Liner and Boot Insert Store | Intuition Liners

Intuition Liners hold a wide range of liner products for different applications, including skiing, snowboarding, skating, waterskiing, and mountaineering.

intuitionliners.com

Intuition on the left, Thraxis on the right:

It seems to be 2 to 3 times as thick in most spots and the white material is quite stiff, almost like an outer shell. You can also get a stiffer tongue that’s not just stiff up top, but all the way through.

The pro tour has a flexing area cut out by the instep. I think this is practically a necessity with the HV. Even with that cutout there’s still a bit too much volume around there. Enough that the ankle strap doesn’t come as far over the boot and the upper boa doesn’t tighten around the calf as much as I’d like. I had them heat molded, but might go for another round.

Hopefully I can get a couple seasons out of these… but I wouldn’t buy the Thraxis again.

 

The Pro Tour HV is good, but if you had the option I'd probably go with the full stiff tongue.

With just the 2 boa knobs, you might look at the Dreamliner HV, as it would have a more material around the articulation/instep. I tried the medium volume that was in stock. It wasn't enough, but it was a really nice liner.

 

That’s a good question, I don’t recall noticing it initially. I’m not talking huge bulges, but I can feel the tension where the laces are and it’s not a consistently snug wrap. After about 10 days I actually added a layer of foam to the upper tongue to make it a little more snug up top.

I like my leg supported so that it articulates with the boot rather than moving inside it.

 

Over the years I’ve put different liners in different boots and I ultimately concluded that it’s never really been a true fix in snowboard boots for me. What I experienced, every time, is that while it might fix a comfort issue, it causes the shell to fit the liner differently which has inevitably caused the shell to perform differently (usually more articulation and undesirable creases, often the shell either stretches too much to compensate or finds limitations, etc.). One change can have unintended negative consequences, and that’s been my experience with switching liners. For this reason, I prefer to doctor up existing liners rather than getting aftermarket liners. Plus, if the aftermarket liners were originally developed for ski boots, it’s not always going to work in a snowboard boot.
That’s why I was wondering if you noticed it before switching the liner. I have no idea if this is the case with your setup, but it’s food for thought.
Have you considered getting a smaller size? 🤷‍♂️

 

Thanks for the suggestions… when I looked at the liner design I figured I couldn’t be the only one. What material did you use and where would I find it?

My Pedorthic scan does looks like it could be a 7.5. When I do wiredsport’s stoked method I get about 258 (which jives with the boot fitter) and even more if I pronate my foot and flatten the arches a bit. But I do have the kneed2move insoles in these for some arch support.

I think you’re right that the K2’s seem to fit a bit bigger than the mondo size.

 

Thanks for the suggestions… when I looked at the liner design I figured I couldn’t be the only one. What material did you use and where would I find it?

For sure!

I use this stuff. There's a whole boot fitting section on the site and gives some insight and ideas. In the end, I found that just getting the sheets of foam allowed for the most customization.

 

After watching the @BurtonAvenger vid:

I think I’ll try starting with a C like Justin did… just get the bone off the shell.

 

I'd start by putting some boot packing foam at put them on the shell at the spots that bother you.

 

Looks great this morning!

 

I'd add that the only time I've ever had frostbite while riding was in one foot while wearing ride boots. I don't think that they're that warm... For NE conditions anyway.

 

I ordered some stuff from tognar... but actually considering a whole new liner. MEC has them at 52% off right now:

Intuition Power Wrap Plus Boot Liner - Unisex | MEC

Intuition Power Wrap Plus Boot Liner - Unisex: Intriguingly warm, the Power Wrap Plus is the perfect solution for over-sized shells. Designed with an extra thick cuff wrap reinforcement to stiffen and fill up size gaps.

www.mec.ca

It says for half sizes to size up, but I'm really not sure about putting my size 8 foot in a size 9 liner in a size 8.5 shell.

 

Uhhhh.... any chance anyone can help me get one of those liners in the US. MEC won't ship here.

 

Why are you getting another liner?

Edit: Dang, those actually look good. I wonder if the higher volume liners might help me out lmao.
@WigMar looking for liners to see if you can suck up some more volume?

 

Those liners were way too big. Going with the high volume pro tour. It has an articulation point that may or may not be good? The dream liner looks VERY nice, but not HV so a bit loose for me.

 

Liner didn't fit in the shell?

 

wow that does look thick! hope it at least alleviates your ankle bone rash.

so with all that extra volume you're getting some heel lift?

 

No, definitely no heel lift, the ankle is really locked in. It’s just not as tight up top. The lowest part of the upper boa is really tight, so the upper part of the upper boa just doesn‘t get as tight. It’s like I need to squeeze some of that foam upwards.

I like having the top of the tongue tight against my tibia for better response.

 

I like having the top of the tongue tight against my tibia for better response.

Ahh I see. Same here. Have you tried Strapins? That's what I use for that sort of feel. Might be worth a shot if the extra foam doesn't help.

 

I haven’t, but that is something to consider. I’m not sure it would be very helpful below the boa knobs, but there’s not much boot above them.

I’m kinda hoping that it packs out a bit around my instep, allowing the upper part to get tighter. It’s not bad, but it could be better.

 

I got the strapins. Intuition makes them as well, but I went with the recommendation here.

It helps, but doesn’t really work like I thought it would. I was hoping to add support between the boa straps, but it wants to slide down to where they cross over, which is the narrowest part of the boot. It does keep that area nice and snug though, allowing the boa to loosen up a bit over the instep.

 

Interesting, I don't have the slide down problem, but I only have 2 boa knobs.

How are you liking the Pro Tour HV liner? I'm in need of some more volume-sucking liners for my chicken legs.

 

End of season update…

I did heat mold them again myself. I put the boot dryer on heat with 2 hoses in each boot for 30 min and it worked. Over the next 25 days it did pack out around the instep and got more comfortable.

I did start using a strapin power strap right above the instep. I would’ve liked to go higher, but it would slide down. It didn’t add any tightness over the boa, but did allow the instep & top of boot to loosen up a bit riding, while keeping it tight and supportive just above the ankle.

I doubt I’ll get another 50 days out of the Thraxis shells.

 

I appreciate the update.

I tried a couple K2 liners on my Ortons this season (now on 100+ days) and couldn't get it 100% happy for me (not too tight on my instep, but still have enough support/response above the ankle). I think I'm going to give this HV liner a try next season.

 

My feet froze in Ride Insanos last year (size 8). This year I got the Thraxis in size 8.5. They fit great fresh, but after 15 or so days they’re packing out. I should be in an 8.

My main issue is the ankle bone which even got a little bruised today. There’s almost no cushion in that teal part so it kinda hits the side of the boot. Should I add some foam around the teal bit, over it, or both?

View attachment 166210

I don’t like the conda over my arch either, so I’m not running that very tight.

Hopefully it’ll warm up soon and I can wear the Insanos more regularly. For the future, I’m not sure if I’ll eventually try the Thraxis in an 8, or try something else.

Last year the boot fitter said an 8 was a performance fit, I think he was right. According to my foot scan I could go even smaller, but I can’t see that working with my arches & i
[/UOTE]
Dude I worked with in the park Had insanoes and I remember him saying a few times that he had to go in to let his feet warm up.