Gear Review
Featured Article
Skiing equipment can be daunting to replace. Once one finds their gear, it can be convenient to keep the equipment for as long as possible. For me, I have had the same pair of Nordica boots for the last six years. I have had some problems with them, but after replacing my old liners with Intuition Liners, I have a whole new pair of boots. Intuition Liners creates liners for skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering, inline skating, and water-skiing boots.
The previous problems in my boots can be accredited to my liners. Between every run, I would unbuckle the top two buckles of my boots, as it was the only way to get a substantial amount of skiing without my foot numbing. Additionally, I felt my boots were not performing well. My liners were excessively worn down and puny, and I felt they were not giving me enough control over my skiing.
I tried two different liners; the Downhill Tongue High Density 9mm (DHT-HD9) and the Tour Wrap Dual Density 9mm (TRW-DD9). The DHT-HD9 liners are lace-up liners, and the TRW-DD9 liners are wrap liners. To new users, the options such as liner density, style, volume, and definition can be overwhelming. Luckily, on the Intuition Liners website, there is a short quiz that users can complete, which will recommend a specific liner depending on users’ preferences. Furthermore, they offer a Home Fitting Kit and resources on their website that help users navigate the at-home molding process. Through this process, they encourage calling customer service should users run into concerns. Intuition Liners takes pride in its exceptional customer service; as someone who has never replaced their liners, I decided to call customer service to ensure I chose the correct liners.
I spoke with Ben, a customer service rep for Intuition Liners. He was happy to help and explained the differences between liners and their molding processes; the high-definition liners are recommended to be heat molded in-store, while the Home Fitting Kit is ideal for dual and low-density liners. I was glad I got into contact with Ben, as I took his advice and achieved a great fit through both my home and in-store molding experience.
When I received the liners, I was slightly concerned, as even though they fit my foot perfectly, they looked like they may not fit in my boot shell. However, these concerns were soon alleviated. Following Ben’s advice, I brought the DHT-HD9 liners to Surefoot in Canyons Village. They were extremely efficient and adjusted the notches on my shell that determined the width of my calves, so the liners fit easily. They then heated them for 6 minutes. Afterward, I had to sit in my liners and boots for about 20 minutes before the liners were completely molded. In total, this was $30 and about a half hour of my time.
The next day, I was ready to ski with the DHT-HD9 liners. I laced them up and then buckled my boot, which allowed for a precise fit as I could determine how tight I wanted the liner and the shell. With my new liners, my feet felt much more secure and full in my boot. This made me nervous that my feet would still become numb because of the high compression of the liner. However, throughout the day, I did not loosen my calf buckles once, and there was no numbing in my feet. Also, throughout the day, it became evident that the liners combated the cold weather, and my feet did not numb because of the cold either.
With the stiffness and size of the DHT-HD9 liners being so much more than my previous liners, I was more conscious of them. For instance, the liners were taller, and I could feel them on my shin more, which made me more inclined to press my shin forward and achieve a more aggressive stance. With a more aggressive stance, I could go in and out of my turns more seamlessly. Also, the stiffness and prominence of the liner in my shell made me feel I had much more power. There was no room for movement within my boot, so I had much more control over my turns.
I was extremely pleased with DHT-HD9 liners. I faced no discomfort in the molding process or my first day skiing with them. The liners allowed me to be less concerned about my boots throughout the day–I did not need to unbuckle or alter my boot fit because of pain. The liners also helped me ski more confidently and power through each turn. I personally loved the lace-up feature of the liners, as it allowed for a precise but custom fit. After being so impressed with the DHT-HD9 liners, I was excited to try the TRW-DD9 liners.
The TRW-DD9 liners are dual-density. This means that it is a mixture of “medium and high-density foams.” Intuition Liners’ dual-density liners prioritize comfort, but maintains that stiff feel. Because the wrap liner is dual-density, I could use the Home Fitting Kit to mold the liners. The kit was very straightforward, but I was confident that if I ran into any issue, I could either go to their website or customer service for assistance. The kit featured a sheet for directions, two stockings, and a toe cap. The only thing I had to provide was 3-4 pounds of short-grain rice. First, I had to make sure the liner fit into the boot. After checking that, I put rice into the stocking and heated it in the microwave. While the instruction sheet features times for how long you should put it in the microwave depending on voltage, it is essential to keep an eye on the stocking to ensure it doesn’t melt. After heating the stocking, you simply put it into your liner in your shell. The instruction sheet describes how long each liner should hold the rice stocking, as it varies depending on the liner type. For the TRW-DD9, it was 12 minutes. Now, I just had to remove the stocking and step into the liner, wearing the toecap and other stocking over it. I buckled up my shell and stood in the boot for 5-7 minutes. I repeated this on the other side, and my boots were ready to ski. I was satisfied with how incredibly straightforward this process was. Intuition Liners makes heat molding liners accessible and easy for all their customers.
After heat molding the TRW-DD9 liners, I was ready to ski. The TRW-DD9 liners come with strong Velcro to keep the wrap in place. The strap and Velcro are high quality, and I did not have to worry about the liner loosening throughout the day. So, after I had buckled my boot and wrapped my liner, I fastened the strap. The wrap liners skied similarly to the lace-up liners; they gave me more power within my turns and encouraged me to achieve a more aggressive stance. However, the liners fit slightly differently from the lace-up liners. The wrap liners seemed to have more room for skiers with larger calves. While the DHT-HD9 liners rely on the lace-up feature to achieve a comfortable fit, the TRW-DD9 liners rely more on the fit of your shell. Still, the TRW-DD9 liners fit my foot very well after the heat molding. Like the DHT-HD9 liners, the TRW-DD9 liners were extremely comfortable, which was also due to the dual density foam. Especially with the larger, more adjustable calves, I did not unbuckle my boots once during the day. Unlike my old liners, the wrap liners made me feel much more powerful in my turns, as the stiffness gave me more control.
Ultimately, Intuition Liners are a phenomenal investment to give a new edge to your boots. Through both the TRW-DD9 and DHT-HD9 liners, I was more comfortable and not thinking about my boots. This is the highest review I can give, as Intuition Liners allowed me to pay less attention to my equipment, and more attention to my technique. While your perfect fit may not be the DHT-HD9 or TRW-DD9 liners, it is evident that Intuition Liners consistently have high-quality, practical liners for your outdoor adventures. Before Intuition Liners, I was compromising in terms of the comfort and power of my boots. Now, I can not wait to get many more years out of my boots with Intuition Liners and learn how to harness more energy in skiing.
