Local boot fitter helps soldiers, skiers sidestep agony of the feet
The 306th Rescue Squadron stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Ariz., conducts search-and-rescue missions in extreme environments. Its equipment meets the highest standards.
Pat Sullivan, the lead boot fitter and foot specialist at Mountain Gear in Spokane, recently spent a weekend with this group customizing its new Dynafit ZZeus boots, the latest in high-tech alpine touring footwear. He worked with 17 “pararescuemen,” members of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command.
“These are very elite guys doing intense stuff,” Sullivan said. “They’re expected to perform well on skis while they’re heavily loaded with equipment and weapons. Their gear absolutely has to be dialed in.”
Sullivan also owns Alpine Pro Performance (alpine-pro.com), a custom boot fitting and foot bed lab in Post Falls. He’s a graduate of the Spokane Falls Prosthetics and Orthotics program and an instructor with MasterFit University, a company offering boot fit training programs across the United States.
Sullivan recently completed the pedorthic precertification course at the Robert M. Palmer Institute of Biomechanics in Elwood, Ind. In May he sits before the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics,
“The foot is an amazing piece of equipment,” he said. “But it has 26 bones and they all can cause problems in a ski boot. I look for things like the forefoot unlocking to move in a different position than the hind foot. I also look for bony prominences in places like the ankle and base of fifth metatarsal on the outside of the foot. Other problems I see include bunions and nerve damage from bad shoes.”
Manufacturers design boots to fit the widest variety of feet possible. But feet are like fingerprints – everyone’s are different. Sullivan created a perfect match for the pararescuemen with custom foot beds.
“I looked at their feet to see what’s going on and why,” he said. “Looking at the wear pattern of shoes tells you a lot. I do various tests on the foot to see what limitations it has to find out more about what I need to build into the foot bed or the boot.”
Sullivan makes a cast of the foot and designs the foot bed to offset foot problems that make a ski boot uncomfortable. He builds in support to help transfer movement from hips, knees and legs to the skis and distribute forces that build on the foot in a turn.
The first thing a skier will notice with a custom foot bed is comfort. The uniform fit offers more control and turning takes more subtle movements. Blood flow improves and feet feel warmer. What skiers notice most is lateral control when rolling the ski over edge to edge.
Sullivan said boots are becoming easier to fit. Now he works with a lot of different widths, shapes and sizes. Liners are easier to manipulate. Manufacturers are also making high-end wide boots not seen a few years ago. Skiers with wide feet were often stuck with an intermediate boot. He said one of the best new innovations is a Salomon boot with a custom shell baked in an oven and molded to the foot.
Other than their serious purpose, Sullivan said, fitting boots for the 306th Rescue Squadron was like fitting boots for anyone else – almost.
“The Air Force gave us a narrow window to get the job done,” he said. “A lot of the guys had tried on the boots beforehand and they were so darn tight they could hardly handle them. Several needed some serious shell and liner work. I was exhausted after fitting 17 guys in one day, but it was actually quite fun.”