Accurate boot alignment is the basis of the modern expert skier's stance. Skiing is a sport of balance and precision, and nothing else can improve a skier's balance as dramatically as good boot alignment.

You wouldn’t think of spending $500.00 on new tires for your car without getting the wheels aligned to get the best wear and performance out of them, would you?

You and your ski boots are no different.

Try this simple at home test. Stand in front of a full length mirror on a hard surface with your ski boots on. With your feet pointed straight ahead hip to shoulder width apart. Transfer your weight onto one foot and balance on it. Pick the other foot up four to six inches off the ground. Try the other side. Do you wave your arms? Twist your hip? Lean way over. Do your knees go way in/out? Does one side seem easier than the other?

Try it out on the hill on a very gentle almost flat slope. Start going very slowly down the hill in a straight line and stand on one ski and ride it a ways, then try the other. Does it go straight or does it turn or twist? Do you have to lean or stick an arm out?

One of the most basic and fundamental elements in skiing is the transfer of weight from one foot to the other. Does your equipment hinder your ability to do this? Most likely it does. Our studies (based on 500 respondents) have shown that only 6% of men and 5% of women stand optimally on their skis.

Ideally you should able to balance as well or better with the boots as without. (the rigid structure should provide stability, not further instability)

If your foot and ankle are not busy trying to create balance your can use them to control your skis. This can lead to that fluid, efficient and seemingly effortless skiing we all aspire to. If the foot and ankle (and the knee and the hips) are all busy trying to create stability we are left with that familiar and unaesthetic thrashing and twisting of the skis (and shoulders and hips and knees) to force them into the new direction.

These realities have become even more important with the advent of the shaped skis. As the skis become more responsive to smaller and more subtle input it becomes even more important that input is being accurately transmitted and received.

The vast majority of common skiing problems can be directly linked to common stance issues. Complaints such as turning better to one side than the other, difficulty edging effectively on hard snow, poor fore/aft balance, and even a simple failure to progress beyond your current plateau. In fact in tests with Ski Pros from the Ski and Snowboard Schools of Aspen it was demonstrated that movements and ski performance could be changed on a very predictable basis simply by creating changes in alignment.

Smarter Ski Boots provide this critical link between the Athlete and the Equipment.