I was reading through the survey responses again yesterday and found this question:
Should your heel lift at all or be flat against the sole of your boot the whole time on a toe carve?
Heel lift is something a lot of snowboarders struggle with, usually due to incorrect boot fitting or poor advice when buying their boots.
Should you be getting heel lift on a toe side turn?
What you should be aiming for:
Ideally, your foot will be flat against the sole of your boot, no matter what movements you make, even on a toe side turn. The fit should be snug and hug your foot with no lifting, especially not your heel. However, this isn’t really the case in the real world.
It’s very, very hard to actually have a boot that’s never going to give any heel lift at all. What you’re aiming for is 95% no heel lift. When you’re just standing up and walking around, there shouldn’t be any heel lift, but it’s alright to have a tiny bit of heel lift when you’re carving hard on your toeside.
There’s always going to be that tiny bit of heel lift when you’re doing hard toe side turns due to the cushioning of your boot compressing under pressure. As long as there isn’t any heel lift in other situations and the heel lift that you’re getting is barely noticeable, you’re in good shape.
If you’re having problems with heel lift or you want to make your heel even more snug, be sure to check out our blog on stopping heel lift.