Ski boot sizing and what mondopoint actually means

Mondopoint is a measurement, not a size

A mondopoint 27.5 boot is built for a foot 27.5 centimetres long. That is it. It has no relationship to a UK 9, and converting between the two with a chart is how people end up in boots two sizes too big.

Why boots feel too small at first

A correctly fitted ski boot feels shorter than a shoe. Standing upright, your toes should just brush the front. Flex forward into the boot the way you would when skiing and they should pull back off it.

If your toes are nowhere near the end when you are standing still, the boot is too big. You will then do the boot up tighter to stop your foot sliding, and the tighter boot will cut off the circulation and give you cold feet — which people then blame on the boot being not warm enough.

The shell fit is the real test

Take the liner out. Put your bare foot in the empty shell and slide it forward until your toes touch the front. Now look at the gap behind your heel:

• 10–15 mm — performance fit
• 15–20 mm — comfort fit
• More than 20 mm — too big
• Less than 10 mm — too small

This takes two minutes and tells you more than half an hour of walking around in a fully assembled boot.

Width matters as much as length

Boots are built around a last, quoted in millimetres across the forefoot. A 98mm last is narrow, 100mm is average, 102–104mm is wide. A foot that is the right length but too wide for the last will go numb, and no amount of buckle adjustment fixes it.

This is the part you cannot do online.

Come in

Boot fitting is a walk-in service here. A fitter is always available — that is deliberate, and it is the philosophy the shop has run on for decades. We measure both feet, shell-check, heat-mould the liner where it applies, and punch or grind the shell if it needs it.

We write down what we did, so when you come back in three seasons we are not starting again.