Fitting Intuitions in Arctis Expes

[bearman14]

Hey,

 

I'm going to be fitting a pair of Intuition liners into my Koflach Arctis Expes, and I was wondering if anyone here has had good/bad experiences with working around the heel cup. I've seen some suggestions for plastic, or blue foam, but if you've tried something, and it worked well or bombed, can you let me know? Thanks.

[hydroman]

I have that combo and it seems to works well for me. The guy at Marmot just cut some stiff thin material of some sort to fill the heel cup before molding them.

[Mark_Husbands]

i molded mine with nothing in there and its fine. the liner just fills the little gap.

[bearman14]

Hey guys. Thanks for the replies. Mark -- do you not feel the gap in the heel? I was wondering if I would constantly feel a depression there. That's definitely the easier option, so if it works, I might go for it.

[DaveH]

Bearman - I had my Intuitions fitted at the Intuition warehouse in Vancouver. They filled the heel cup with a piece of hard closed cell foam and suggested that I glue it in place although I ended up just using duct tape so I can take the foam out if I ever want to use the standard liners (in warmer conditions for example).

 

They recommended against just letting the intuition foam liner fill the heel cup because it is a waste of foam that is better off insulating somewhere else in the shell.

[Mark_Husbands]

maybe would have been better to use a pad, but I can't feel the edge at all and the foam seems to just spread out there. we're talking about a very small space. i certainly dont notice any cold spots. I mean the foam doesn't migrate from heel to toe or anything.

 

but if the intuition folks suggest something as simple as a piece of cut foam, why not?

[featheredfriends]

Feathered Friends has had good results with inserting a piece of foam into the heel area of Arctis shells. Feedback on the field usability of this method has been positive. Taping the foam in sounds like a good solution- replaceable but keeps you from losing them when you take your boots off.

[bearman14]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. For what it's worth, I ended up finding some 1/4 inch felt at my hardwear store that I was able to cut to size. A little sticky velcro holds it down nicely as well. It's a little less compressable than the closed-cell foam I was trying. I haven't fit the liners into the boot yet, but even with just my sock in the shell, it feels not too bad.

[Mark_Husbands]

will the felt absorb water perhaps?

[Couloir]

It would definitely absorb it more than closed-cell foam. To what detriment? A few cc's of water? That shouldn't make any difference.

[Mark_Husbands]

OK. I always try to keep potentially frozen stuff out of my boots, but what do I know?

[Couloir]

Of course. No boots will be 100% dry inside, from whatever source including sweat. I just think that small little space at the heal whether it be filled with foam or a piece of felt or whatever will make little difference between wet or dry feet.