Garmont G-Ride Boot Problems?

Just wondering if anybody out there has any suggestions for solving hot spot/blister issues? I've had the Garmont G-Ride AT boot for several months now and still get large blisters on the inner heal on both feet. I've tried many things including different sock types, liner socks, padding the liner between the shell/liner and duct tape on the feet. None of the above seem to work. <br><br>One guy from Marmot commented how they are always "correcting" boot fitting issues for those that purchased their AT gear at REI due to incompetency ???<br><br>Anyway, any input/advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi David, Welcome to my club!! Take heart, you are not alone. Have any photos to share?<br><br> <br><br>I get them really bad, really quickly. However I am able to significantly mitigate the issue by prophylactically placing the substantial Johnson and Johnson "Advanced Heeling" hydrocolloid bandaids on the inside of my heels:<br> <br><br>The above is the only brand of adhesive which works for me--and I've tried lots. With them on, I rarely have problems. You can find them at Rite Aids and Thriftways but not grocery stores. Obviously this isn't an ideal solution. During the holidays I plan to see the esteemed bootfitter Cosmo in Tahoe City to see what he recommends. I suspect he'll build me a heel nest to hold down the heel. I'll let you know how this goes.<br><br>

I bought mine at Marmot and still get blisters . . . a very smooth sock seems to help (Wigwam Ultimax liner from REI.Outlet.com) but if I skin for over 2 hours I usually end up with a hot spot (yes, inside heel, right foot). If I stop immediately and apply a couple of strips of adhesive tape from under the heel to mid-achilles, it usually doesn't turn into a full blister. Not sure what the answer is, I pretty much have relegated the G-Rides to lift-served with a bit of skinning and take the F-1's if there's a lot of skinning planned, but there's a definite downside in terms of skiing performance.<br><br>Edited to add: I had this boot's predecessor, the GSM G-Fit before which seemed to be built on the same last (in fact I used the same G-Fit liner without re-cooking it). No serious blister problems with the GSM, but I did pull the pins from the walking hinge out of the lower shell . . .

I am usually prone to blisters in that area. Had Jim Mates in Ballard fit mine and have never had any problems.<br><br>Michael

Funny, Mates does all my boots/footbeds as well, I didn't get blisters with the GSM's and don't with my Scarpa F1's, so perhaps there is something to this G-Ride thing . . .

Go see Jim Mates at Custom Boot in Ballard. He did a great job for my foot and ankle comfort in my Scarpa T2's purchased at REI. Before I went to Jim, Marmot/Backpackers attempted to fix the problem with thermofit's - that didn't work and so I went to Jim who fixed the issue.

I gotta add some input from my experience at Jim Mates' shop.  I wanted a little extra toe wiggle room in my TLT's, so I called him up.<br>I asked him on the phone and when I first arrived 'hey Jim, so how much is this going to cost me?' He said that he'd just a take a quick look at my boots and would have a better idea then....So, he checks the boots out, cooks the toes of my liners to pack them out a bit...then he asks for something like  $60.  <br>So, yeah, Jim Mates may know how to fit boots...and I may yet got back to him again someday if I have an ill-fitting pair of boots...but my first experience with him was rather negative. I don't like it when a service provider won't even give the customer a rough estimate on the cost, maybe its my fault for assuming it was going to be relateively cheap, and then get nailed with what I considered a hefty bill for the work provided. <br>just my two cents...<br><br>by the way, I got Megarides and have had similar problems...my thought is that I've never had blister problems with Scarpas because of the middle instep buckle keeps my ankle from lifting up and shifting around even when the rest of the boot is loose...when I loosen up my mega's...my heel can lift up and rub.  I may try adding laces to my liners this season to help lock my foot in place while skinning.

Vaselin, it's gotten me through 5 marathons and a 50 mile run blister free.

Indeed, Mates is not cheap - my boots run around $150 to $200 per pair for a full fit job including custom footbeds, shell fitting & grinding, and thermofit cooking. I've been a shop tech and have done my own shell and liner work before (and could again) but I still think he's worth it. You could probably cut the price in half by just getting the footbeds, which I think are critical and most people couldn't do on their own, if you have no contact issues with the shell or are handy with a boot press and heat gun . . .<br><br>You could also try Kelly Timmons in Wallingford (Dr. Happy Feet), who tends to be more racer oriented (former Lange WC serviceman) but I doubt that his prices are much different.

You guys rock...thanks for all of the responses, I greatly appreciate it. I was thinking that since nobody I ski/tour with was getting them, than it must be my feet.<br><br>Yeah, I spoke to Yates on the phone last week. Now I know maybe I should see him. For those that didn't report any cost, any idea how expensive it could get? He told me that it clearly depends on the problem, but that it could run into the hundreds.<br><br>Gaper - Yup; I wish Paul & Sky would have taken a photo of my foot back in January on our trip....that was my inner heel on both feet precisely! I will definitely give those a try. In the past I have tried Spyroflex, Moleskin, Second skin and none of those worked either.<br><br>I completely agree with the results of touring in the Laser. That was my previous boot; never any problem on looong tours, but tour 1 hr. in the G-Ride and it's as if I've been skinning all day.

Jim Mates was very reasonable with me. He spent at least an hour investigating my foot-boot situation and then re-molded both shells. I paid him something like $45 (I think he asked something like $35, after telling me more like $60 on the phone ?). The cost was minor considering the vast difference he made. I did use his free follow-up molding too to tweak the fix to perfection.<br><br>I encourage you to ask him what his rates are for your needs, so that you aren't surprised. Based on my experience I don't hesitate to recommend him if you have problems with your boots.

Martin Rand at Sturtavents in Bellevue is also a great alternative. I had that heel problem on my alpine boots and they took care of that real quickly with a little grind. The plastic could be a little tight around your heel and a little grind will get rid of that. They have a break down of a price up front as to what it will cost you. <br>JDB

Yeah, Martin's great, is he back at Sturtevants full-time? He used to only work enough to get his pro deals.<br><br>Alpine boots usually have an abundance of plastic in the heel, ankle and arch areas - you can grind away a lot and hardly affect the flex. I used to get race boots and grind tons of material away to get a reasonable flex for crud/steep skiing. The G-Ride has a pretty thin shell, and I would be wary about doing much grinding - all my pressure points were pushed out.<br><br>The G-Ride blister thing is unusual in that there is no ostensible pressure or pain while shell fitting, standing or skiing downhill, just when skinning. I can lift ski in them all day, no problem.

This has become quite the interesting thread...when I spoke to the warranty department at Garmont yesterday for suggestions, they claimed that they have heard of no such problems re: these boots. Marmot voiced the same thing.<br><br>I agree that Jim is worth a shot. One friend I tour with, Paul, has an interesting point since he has the Denali XT's with the same G-Fit liner; he indicated that since Scarpa has that 2nd buckle from the bottom situated right at the flex of the boot that this possibly eliminates the potential for any heel lift? He has had no problems with the G Fit liner in terms of hot spots, which could indicate shell issues? If you notice on Garmonts; the lowest 2 buckles are located on the lace-up portion of the foot.<br><br>Anybody tried the new Scarpa Matrix? Word is it's much stiffer than the Laser was; which I found too soft and consequently would throw me in the back seat when skiing crud, etc.

Who did you talk to, Nate Cross? When I pulled the hinge pins out of the lower shells on my GSM's, he claimed he had never heard of that happening either, which I found hard to believe, as I'm not that big. When they switched over to the G-Ride, I noticed that on average they were inserting the pins a little lower in the slot (more plastic over the pin). No problem with the G-Rides so far in that regard.

One other thing I've tried is placing a Velcro strap around the lowest vertical portion of my liners to create a "mini powerstrap" that'd hold down my heel. The results of doing this were inconclusive as I did it for a very short period and now I can't find the straps I used to try it again. It's certainly worth experimenting with more.<br><br>

I too can vouch for the credibility of Jim Mates and Martin Rand. Top notch guys and tons of experience! I've also got to mention Brent Amsbury over at World Cup Skier Service in Bellevue. He's a master of the bootfitting art as well! In my opinion, his footbeds are 2nd to none. ;D

Not quite, Dave. I am skiing Denali XTs with Gfits, but when I tour I keep the top two buckles essentially undone, and the lower two buckles very loosly buckled. My heel moves around quite a bit, which is necessary given the stiffness of the Denali. I have never had so much as a hot spot with these boots and liners, even on really long flat approaches. I suspect that the shell of the garmonts causes the problems. <br><br>From what I've seen the new Scarpa liners are very soft and squishy...I really don't like them. Unfortunately.

Greg - Yup, Nate is who I spoke to. Garmont must train their warranty department well to respond the same way regardless of the problem - almost robotic in nature. ???<br><br>Paul...we've never talked in detail when we ski together, particularly since we have different boots, so I wasn't sure of your strategy with the buckles while touring.

I too am blister prone and feel your pain...a tenderfoot.<br><br>My latest solution to blisters and hot-spots has been the green "Superfeet" footbed. They've been the magic bullet for me and fit my dirtbag budget at $30 a pair.<br><br>They also give me better edge control in skiing. I use them in all my boots, AT, downhill, hiking and skates. And yes, being a true dirtbag, I have one pair and swap them between boots.<br><br>Oh yeah, my AT boots are the Nordica TR-12, which I consider the LA-Z-BOY of touring boots. Heavy, ugly, but oh so cushy!<br><br>-Doug

Anybody tried the new Scarpa Matrix? Word is it's much stiffer than the Laser was; which I found too soft and consequently would throw me in the back seat when skiing crud, etc.

<br>I tried it this past wkend at Sports LTD in Tahoe. (Great store overall, plus they have almost all the new toys in stock for this season.) Definitely an improvement in forward stiffness over the Laser. (The tongue is still super-floppy though, but then again that just means you can up the stiffness even more by adding an old Raichle Flexon tongue as shown on Lou Dawson's website.) The new walk-ski switch could be tough to operate with gloved hands. And despite the magazine reviews to the contrary, I didn't think the fore/aft range in walk mode was anything special (and was definitely less than my heavily modified old GSM). The buckles are better than on the original Laser, but I think the new buckles were already on the 03-04 Laser?<br><br>

From what I've seen the new Scarpa liners are very soft and squishy...I really don't like them. Unfortunately.

<br>I'm not quite sure what you mean by "new" - they're in their third season, albeit with minor tweaks each time, and they're really just variations of the Intuition liners (ditto for Raichle and Dynafit). But I agree they are far different from the Garmont liners, and can be described as soft n squishy. They're definitely not as responsive as the thin dense liners of my Nordica Dobermann "plug" race boots, but then again I've run gates in the backcountry only four times, so definitely not as much of a priority. Plus they're super warm and super comfy. <br><br>BTW, another interesting liner is the one in the Lowa Struktura Light - almost seems to be a cross between an Intuition, G Fit, and traditional sewn liner (even has laces up the tongue and around the instep).

FYI the blisters show up wearing the Garmont Adrenalin too. I'ld say right around the two mile mark of the skin up to Muir.....But they sure do ski nice.

I took the G-Rides down to Jim Mates' yesterday, and we spent about 45 minutes carefully checking my bare foot in the shell with ink on my heel - the conclusion was that the spot where I get the blisters was not touching the shell with my foot flat on the footbed. In other words, it is a movement problem rather than a shell fit problem. He pressed out a point on the forefoot that was bothering me and suggested that I try skinning with the bottom 3 buckles buckled to hold my ankle down (he does this, but he's a tele skier). Didn't charge me for the "follow-up."

GregL - You must have had an appt. right? My understanding is you just can't "drop in". I'm convinced mine is a movement problem is well, because I feel the heel slightly lifting during skinning (no matter how tight the boot is). I've tried heel shims too, but that didn't work.<br><br>So Greg, is it still somewhat inconclusive based on your meeting with Jim re: what is causing the blisters other than to try skinning with the lowest 3 buckles tightened down? As for the forefoot, was this done in response to your heel issue or just not enough space towards the top of the foot?<br><br>Thx,<br>DC<br>

Hi David: Yes, you need to call ahead and make an appointment, usually he works Tues-Sat unless there's a masters race or something. The forefoot problem was not really related, I blew out my left achilles tendon two seasons ago and the bulge pushed my foot forward slightly, so my bone spur near the left little toe is in a different place. Coincidentally, the achilles bulge solved the blistering problem with the left heel, as the achilles hits before the heel. He did mention that we could reshape the heel of the right boot if the buckle thing didn't work, but it would probably result in less heel hold down while skiing.

Coincidentally, the achilles bulge solved the blistering problem with the left heel, as the achilles hits before the heel.

<br>You mean all we have to do to solve this is rupture our achilles? Sweettt

I met with Martin this week to get a new pair of Alpine boots fitted. We discussed this issue. I like Intuition liners w/my orthotics molded in the liner for the best fit and they are light. Intuition liners can be a touch on the abrasive side though. Add a sock (wafer thin Thorlo) with the seam on the inside and outside of the heel and my result can be similar to Gaper Jefferies picture of his feet. My Alpine boots fit so well that I can climb with them totally buckled. I tour in my alpine boots. I am mostly a daytripper and combine ski area with backcountry trips. I have yet to fall for the performance compromise of a hard core AT boot with stiff walking capacities. So I can't see spending extra dough yet. I will not do overnights or extensive exposure rock climbs in the Alpine Boots. I have an interest in the new Scarpa TT's and The Garmont Adrenalines though, but they are difficult to find-Marmot and Backpacker supply do not have the larger sizes in stock to try yet. I tryed the Mega Ride or fit and that was a nice boot, just a little soft for power turns on big skiis. Any input on those boots?

I have an interest in the new Scarpa TT's and The Garmont Adrenalines though, but they are difficult to find-Marmot and Backpacker supply do not have the larger sizes in stock to try yet. I tryed the Mega Ride or fit and that was a nice boot, just a little soft for power turns on big skiis. Any input on those boots?

<br>I tried the Adrenalin last weekend at the Sports LTD in Tahoe (which is a great shop for anyone in the area, and they have pretty much all the new toys for this season in stock).<br>Overall, I think they have largely succeeded in what they set out to do. <br>The *forward* flex is not super-stiff: just a bit stiffer than my heavily modified Garmont GSM (which no longer bear much resemblance to the stock boot), as well as just a bit stiffer than the new Scarpa Matrix (stiffer version of the Laser), which also makes it significantly stiffer than the MegaRide. Might be because it's not a very tall boot. I was able to stiffen them up in the shop a bit more by wrapping the velcro power strap *under* all the plastic layers (thereby engaging the shin immediately instead of having a bit of a gap).<br>But laterally is a whole different story. Edge responsiveness should be comparable to a very high-end alpine downhill boot. For anyone who is not currently skiing in alpine race boots, not regularly skiing Eastern ice, not possessing an incredibly long lower-leg shaft, and not incredibly heavily, this could very well offer all the performance you need for lift-served (not to mention backcountry). Kind of like a compromise between my heavily tricked-out Garmont GSM and my Nordica Dobermann "plug" race boots.<br>Weight is heavier than a Garmont G-Ride, Scarpa Denali TT, or Lowa Struktura Light (i.e., the non-Dynafit alternatives), but not horribly so. Tromping around the store with my GSM on one foot and the Adrenalin on the other, the half-pound difference per foot was not noticeable.<br>I did notice that the rear cuff in walk mode did not offer the same amount of range of motion, and the rocker is less.<br>Switchable soles is a plus for those who want to toss their alpine downhill boots yet still want to maintain some alpine downhill setups or just have the flexibility to demo. But with 22 screws, not exactly a lunchtime endeavor. And you can't prolong their life by swapping in new soles, since the top ledges would still be beaten up (as the entire lugs are not replaceable a la the Atomic design).<br>Overall, a huge thumbs up for any lift-served skiing short of racing, and for any touring that entails skinning only. Looking back on my last few seasons, June/July PNW volcano tours (e.g., tromping back across melted-out lower elevations on Adams from the SW chutes), late-April New England hut trip, late-May Tioga Pass (e.g., slogging across the melted-out Dana Plateau to from the base of Dana Couloir to the top of Ellery Bowl) - these boots would be a liability compared to a Matrix, Lowa, or other Garmont model, though you'd be able to get by. Other tours though in winter and early-spring (i.e., all on snow), they'd work very well.

Joe, I've been skiing my Adrenalins for a few weeks now and I think it is safe to say that for my resort skiing this year, my L10 Race boots will be retired. I'm 195 pnds and don't see any compromise in the lateral stiffness of the Adrenalin. <br>All last year I skied the Megarides and these are night and day different from those.<br>As I said earlier, on the 4 mile skin up to Muir, I developed some nasty blisters on the heal, but after reading the rest of this thread, I'm sure that they were caused by movement and that changing how I buckle my boots will remedy the problem.<br>For my use I give them 5 stars!<br>

Great input Jonathan S. and Skinveen. I am a bigger guy 6'4 and 195# and I am pretty aggresive in area. I am looking for the perfect blend your insight helps me decide. I would love one do all boot, but I have to look at my goals first. It sounds that the Megas were a little soft for aggresive skiing, but great for climbing. <br>To show you how up to date Marmot was- I walked in with my socks and orthotics, asked about the TT and I nearly had to pull out the ski boot test reports from the mags to show them which boot I was looking for. Anybody tried the TT? <br>Thanks again for your input!