LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

I need to heat mould my skates fairly soon. I need to let them damage my feet a bit first so they slightly over-exaggerate the host spots to make them the best possible fit. Should be ready to cook them around the end of feb.

Has anyone had success with the process and if so what did you find best? Also if you made any mistakes I'd like your input to help me to avoid any pitfalls. i.e. did you follow the process exactly as published by Bont or did you try that and then do it again slightly differently to get a better result?

Lastly, does anyone want to get together for a heat moulding day where we all do our skates and help each other out? That way we hopefully have comfy feet for the coming season.

Van · Joined: 10 Nov 2008 Posts: 227 Location: London

http://www.bont.com/faq.htm

"Q: How do I Heat Mould my Bont Boots?
A: Your boots have been constructed using a special 'heat moldable' material. If necessary, the heal and ankle area of the boot can be heated, using a hair drier on the inside and outside of the boot, to make the fit more comfortable. When the boot has been heated sufficiently, so that it feels quite hot (do NOT scorch the leather, keep the drier moving in a circular motion), place the boots immediately onto the feet and lace firmly. You should NEVER wear boots with bolts only in the base, as it can damage the boots. Leave on until cool. The heating process takes a few minutes to do properly, so don't rush it. Be patient and do a good job. CAUTION: bolts used to attach frames should, for safety, be turned a minimum of 3 times into the nut. DO NOT PUT YOUR BOOTS IN THE MICROWAVE."

Q: How do I heat mould my boots in the oven?
A: Pre heat oven to 85C or 185F. Remove all bolts, frames, wheels etc from the boot. Place the boots in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Higher temperatures will damage the boot. Caution: Do not place feet in hot boots, let them cool a little first. Test the boot temperature with your hand before placing foot inside. Mount the frame to the boot and stand on it without wheels. Tighten the boot with the laces and wait until the boot cools. If there is a certain area giving you problems, push that area out using the handle of a screwdriver until the boot cools. You can heat mould the boots as many times as you like.

Apparently the instructions are slightly different with the printed instructions but the website instructions are more correct.

Make sure you put them standing on an oven tray and don't let any of the boot, straps etc touch the side or bottom of the oven, otherwise the plastics will melt. I did this on my semis but fortunately didn't damage them too much.

EdP · Joined: 05 Aug 2009 Posts: 481

My top tips:

I just popped mine in the oven as per Alexander Bont’s instructions.

Don’t forget to test for comfort over the whole range of ankle movement, including turning the toe slightly in at the start of each D-shaped recovery – this caught me out.

Also remember to do it later in the day when your feet are swollen (they can grow by 1/3 of a size over the course of the day).

I left the frame on (which was fine) and put a set of unwaxed laces on them so that I could do them up straight away without having to mess about.

It was also helpful to mark out the pressure points/uncomfortable parts with a whiteboard marker before they went in the oven.

I think that they take 30 minutes in the oven, so I put them in at 15 minute intervals so that I could focus on each individually.

I also wore thin cold, damp socks.

The boot will increase in size slightly with each heat moulding, so remember to squeeze everything in a little each time to counter this.

Lastly, be prepared to have to do it a few times to get it perfect.

Sparky · Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 450

EdP · Joined: 05 Aug 2009 Posts: 481

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

Sparky · Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 450

I think the guide lines in the video on the Bont site are different to those I followed from the Bont forum, the boots were definitely more malleable the second time round which gav.e a much better result.

I did use an oven thermometer on both occasions.

toby · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 63

Well I think the guidelines are rubbish.

I found, to get the whole boot hot enough to make any shape differences you run the risk of damaging various less heat resistant parts of the boot.

Much better to use a heat gun and tool to work specific areas.

PS. Ed has a great heat gun and tool kit - actually I may still have it?!

Rick · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 5914

If I can grab the gun and tools I might try heat gunning them first as I have a specific area that needs a lot of work on the right skate of each pair. For general fit I still think baking is going to give a better result in helping the overall break in process but then I only need to soften the inners and not the whole boot.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I have 3 pairs to do so if I make a balls up of the first pair I won't be completely lost.

ed! · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:40 am Subject: Re: Heat Moulding My Bonts