Common wisdom says that if the shoe fits, wear it. For years, skiers have accepted that if the boot hurts, bear it.

Foot pain is one of skiing’s not-so dirty little secrets. For example, bootmaker Dynastar is sometimes referred to as Dyna­hurt—albeit laughingly—by industry insiders like Barry Cleator of Vancouver Ski and Snowboard Services. For Cleator, unless you’re a racer, most boots are too stiff for the average skier’s own good.

The fact is, much of this suffering is needless. Five years ago, French ski equipment manufacturer Rossignol introduced a line of “soft” plastic boots that quickly won over veterans such as former Canadian alpine ski team coach Al Raine.

As a matter of fact, when approached by the Georgia Straight at Sun Peaks Resort last January, Raine was just as enthusiastic about soft-boot technology as his wife, Nancy Greene Raine, had once been in the 1960s, when she got her first moulded plastic models. Greene Raine credits her medal-winning success at the 1968 Winter Olympics to those stiff, cutting-edge boots that provided sharper turning response on her skis than the leather ones that were then standard issue.

Now comes the puzzling part. When the Straight caught up with 30-year Rossignol staffer and boot fitter Robin Tolhurst at the company’s Richmond office last week, he regretfully announced that soft boots were no longer available in Canada, though they continue to be popular in Europe.

“The demise of the soft boot rivals that of step-in snowboard bindings,” Tolhurst said. “They were both killed by the ‘coolness’ of ski-shop staff who felt they were only for gorbies and put the technology down.” (As defined in the on-line Urban Dictionary, gorbies are “average thrill seekers who tell annoying stories about their ‘near-death experience’.”) In Tolhurst’s opinion, “Soft technology was simply the wrong name for the North American male market.”

Snowboard boots are much softer and more comfortable than their counterparts in the ski world, yet this market suffers none of the same stigma. No one ever accused snowboarders, regardless of gender, of being wusses for not wearing plastic models. Top-ranked Canadian snowboard racers, such as North Vancouver’s Drew Neilson, have consistently eschewed the stiff-boot option favoured by many of their European competitors.

Soft or stiff, one way to improve the comfort and performance of ski boots is to get fitted with a pair of orthotic foot beds. These upgrades replace the thin insoles that manufacturers typically include inside new ski boots.

Nothing is scarier than trying to turn your skis and finding that they won’t respond quickly enough because your feet are swimming around in loose boots. Then again, nothing is more frustrating than trying to ski in boots that are so tight that your feet feel like blocks of ice after an hour on the hill.

All you really need to rectify the problem is a pair of foot beds.

With that thought in mind, earlier this month the Straight stopped by Snowcovers, a Vancouver-based ski equipment store, and chatted with Jonathan Garant, a boot fitter with 12 years of experience. “Interpreting how a foot moves in a boot is the most fundamental part of getting a good fit. Like our fingerprints, no two pair of feet are the same.”

When properly fitted, ski boots act similarly to a computer operating system. They get the job done sight unseen as they rapidly translate commands coming from your brain to your feet. Unless there’s a smooth interface between what you tell your skis to do and how well they respond to the motion of your feet, everything can unravel in a hurry. Foot beds provide that added touch of custom control, not to mention comfort.

And the good news is that foot beds come in a range of prices from $40 to $150. “The more aggressive a skier you are, the thicker and stiffer the foot bed,” Garant explained. “Even the cheapest ones are 10 times better than the crappy insoles that come with even the most expensive boots.”

When shopping for foot beds, there are several options to consider. You can buy composite models made of foam and plastic and simply trim them to fit your feet at home with a pair of scissors. More expensive cork models require assistance from technicians such as Gallant to get a custom fit, a process that can last an hour. For this reason, most stores require you to make an appointment.

It’s amazing what supposedly average skiers can accomplish when their boots work for, not against, them. Tolhurst and Garant both know from experience that what helps skiers improve most are good boots. An investment in a quality pair, complete with orthotics, is easily rationalized when you consider that they will serve you well for years to come. “In the long run, buying a good-fitting pair will cost less and improve your style at the same time,” Garant said.

“As an expert,” Tolhurst said, “I could ski anywhere in $300 boots compared to a $700 pair without a terrible lot of difference. Human nature being what it is, some people will always need more expensive, stiffer boots.”

Here’s a thought. If you’re shopping for that hard-to-please skier this season, perhaps a pair of foot beds tucked into their Christmas stocking might just put the boot to their pain.