How To Stretch Snowboard Boots

This guide will walk you through some tips and tricks for properly breaking in a new pair of snowboard boots.

The answer is yes, your snowboard boots will stretch, aka pack out, meaning that you will feel more room inside your boots as you use them. But don’t worry, it’s all part of the natural life-cycle of breaking in snowboard boots and won’t be a problem if you’ve chosen your boot size correctly. For tips on selecting the right size of boot and a guide on which features to look for check out How to Choose Snowboard Boots.

How Tight Should My Snowboard Boots Be?

Here’s a checklist:

• Snowboard boots should fit snugly around your foot when they’re brand new, without creating any pain points, tingling sensations or loss of feeling.
• Your toes should lightly touch the end of the boots while standing and not touch at all when bending your knees.
• You should be able to wiggle your toes slightly and feel your heel firmly held to the footbed while leaning forward with your weight on your toes.
• There shouldn’t be gaps between the tongue of the boot, the liner, and your shin.

Tips on How To Break-In Snowboard Boots

When snowboard boots are broken in, it means that they have become more flexible and are shaped to your feet. This increases comfort and enhances the responsiveness of your snowboard.

A new pair of snowboard boots will naturally break in after a few days of riding, but breaking them in at home before heading to the mountains can avoid potential blisters and foot fatigue.

Here are a few tips on how to break them in before your first day on the mountain:

1. Wear your boots around the house fully laced up as if you were on the mountain.
2. Stand as if you were on your snowboard with bent knees and shift your weight from your heels to your toes as if rolling over a tennis ball.
3. Bring your boots to a professional boot fitter and ask for them to be heat-moulded. We go into more details about heat-moulding below.

Tips on How To Break-In Snowboard Boots

If you have self-moulding liners, which many boots do, this can be done at home by lacing up boots and walking around the house. Try standing as if you were on your snowboard, with bent knees, and shift your weight from your heels to your toes as if rolling over a tennis ball.

Stretch Heat-Moulded Liners

Some liners are heat-moldable and should be worked on by a qualified boot fitter. Heat-moulding involves removing the boot liner from the outer shell and placing it in a preheated oven. After a short period, the boot fitter will place your foot in the liner and have you stand up for about 10 minutes while the liners take the shape of your foot.

What Not To Do With Snowboard Boots

There are a few things to avoid when considering snow boots and sizing.

Should I Buy Snowboard Boots One Size Bigger?

Bear in mind that a brand new pair of snowboard boots will feel snug around your foot, but unless you feel pain rather than compression, try to avoid the reflex of buying a full size bigger than your shoes.

Note that snowboarding – like all sports – will cause your feet to swell a little. But, properly fitted boots will minimize swelling and remain comfortable after they are broken in.

Avoid Heat Molding Boots Yourself

Ideally, heat moulding should be done by qualified boot fitters. The process involves evenly heating your boot liners in a specialized oven, and once removed, placing your foot in the liners for about 10 minutes, allowing the liners to take the shape of your foot.

Although we highly recommend having your boots moulded by a boot fitter if you really can’t get to a pro, here’s the DIY heat moulding method: