Review by Jack Reaney
After about 200 total ski days, I brought my boots into Surefoot’s new shop on Town Center Avenue. I yanked out my K2 factory liners and asked manager Chris Fajardo to give me his honest opinion on their condition.
“I’ve seen worse,” Fajardo said. As the Big Sky manager for Surefoot, an innovative bootfitter specializing in custom-molded memory foam boot liners and medical-grade orthotics, I took his word without shame. Fajardo demonstrated Surefoot’s whole process and built me a custom liner and insole for my new pair of boots, all aimed at locking my heel in place at a neutral stance and increasing my powder-slashing, hardpack-edging potential.
Fajardo and his small staff are data-driven: the bootfitting process begins by stepping barefoot onto a 3D sensor to measure a customer’s arch height, instep, foot length and width and pressure points.
Here’s mine; I discovered a dramatic difference in width (96 vs. 100mm) and poise between my two feet, and Surefoot’s ethylene-vinyl acetate insoles are molded individually to each foot.
Intuition and a detailed spreadsheet help match a customer’s measurements with the best fit among Surefoot’s industry-standard boot selection. Surefoot purchases boots without the manufacturer’s liner about 85% of the time, saving cost and waste—they’re making you a Surefoot liner anyway, which Fajardo says will last about 300 days; factory liners break down in 75 to 100 days, he says. And every Surefoot liner is compatible with battery-powered heat.
Perhaps you’re loyal to Solomons, Dalbellos or Atomics. Fajardo and his team might identify a better fit in Lange or Technica. Skiers should enter Surefoot with an open mind; Fajardo pointed out that boot brands may change their shape over time. Maybe your favorite boot brand changed its shape, too.
After selecting new boots and having your custom footbeds molded, it’s time for the grand finale: Surefoot’s custom liner.
This part feels like a doctor’s blood pressure check. With my feet inside my new boots and Surefoot liners, Fajardo combined polyurethane and memory foam, creating a chemical reaction and pumping the rapidly expanding foam into my liners through Surefoot’s funny looking tubes. The foam came to life, squeezing around my ankle and foot, and then hardened. Fajardo removed the tubes, and I could already feel myself hot-dogging down Mr. K.
Two weeks later, that’s exactly what happened. Although I was surprised by the density of my Surefoot liners, the stiffness translated to power. As I carved through opening day crowds on Mr. K and Ambush, my heels were locked in. I pushed hard into my edges and the boots responded.
*One confounding variable: I skied in jeans which may have also increased my skiing ability immeasurably.
Surefoot has been wanting to open in Big Sky for a while, Fajardo says. He moved to Bozeman two years ago after six years with Surefoot in Colorado, and this year, he volunteered to open up shop.
“This is my baby,” he said, and he’s excited to meet community members. Surefoot will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments recommended.
There’s far more I could share, but I’ll let Chris do the talking. Go pay him a visit.
