Snowboard Boot Insoles

Snowboard Boot Insoles

Just like hiking boots, snowboard boots can range widely in quality. Oddly, even the most expensive boots sometimes come with thin and unsupportive factory insoles. You may be familiar with the concepts of arch support and pressure distribution for running but snowboarding requires your body to work differently than running does. When you’re snowboarding, you are shifting your weight within your boots and using that pressure to help steer the board. The weight shifts can add strain to the feet in novel positions. Your stance is also much different than walking. For example, you may be bending your knees while leaning through a turn, something that is not a typical movement for walking or running. These shifts in your body’s alignment could cause your feet to overpronate and at best may lead to a poor run down the mountain. At worst it could lead to injury or chronic foot pain.

What to look for:

Alignment

Firstly, the snowboard boot insoles should have alignment technology so that your foot sits comfortably in your boot without turning inward or outward. When your foot rolls inward it is called overpronation. When your foot rolls to the outside it is called oversupination. Either of these positions will put you at risk for injury or chronic pain if not corrected. An insole that corrects the position of the ankle and the alignment of the kinetic chain for proper biomechanics is much different than an insole that only provides cushion for comfort, so make sure to look for this language on the packaging or website.

Arch Support

Like we mentioned above, many snowboard boots come with flat, unsupportive insoles. This means that they will lack arch support. Arch support is important because it helps to provide structure to the foot and keep the arches from collapsing. When participating in high-impact sports, you can injure or tear the tendon that helps to create the arch tension in your foot. This can promote arch collapse, which can lead to chronic pain. Proper arch support can be a preventative measure against flat feet but will also help those who already have flat feet to be more comfortable in their boots.

Pressure Distribution

When you are walking, your feet bear the weight of your body which puts pressure on your feet. This pressure, when carried by a well aligned body, is able to be distributed properly across the foot. However, snowboarding requires that you lean and move your weight into atypical positions, which means your feet will have to deal with the changing dynamics of your body weight. If you lean into a position for too long, just like wearing high heels, parts of your feet may be required to bear weight in a way they are not used to. A good insole will help distribute this pressure and make it so you can play longer and with less pain.

For snowboard boots, we recommend the Protalus M-100. It includes our patented alignment technology, pressure distribution, our highest degree of arch support, and cushioning for comfort. If you’re gearing up to shred the gnar, the right insoles can make a big difference in your boot’s performance.