Fill Your Boots – A Comprehensive Guide to Intuition Liners
Most people know Intuition because they make stock liners for major brands like
Dalbello, Full Tilt, Scarpa, Atomic and Thirty Two — to name a few. But you need to
know that the Intuition you get when you buy a boot off of the shelf is not the same
one you get when you buy an aftermarket liner right from them.
The liners that go into boots for retail are made softer so the boot feels good when
you try them on in store. Comfort is the priority here, and for most people that
works out great. But for real performance, you need to look at their full line up.
Intuition’s vast range of aftermarket liner options — which more than quadruples
the amount of options from any other custom liner company — includes just as
many models that are performance-oriented as comfort-oriented. And, in the end,
they’re all comfortable anyway, because they’re custom.
Here are a few facts to know about Intuition compared to some of your other
options:
Intuition
Pros: Light, warm, they come in a wrap or a tongue, mold not just to your foot but to
your shell (gives greater interface and power transmission from your foot to the
shell). Good for 200 to 300 days if fit to a shell that’s right for you. Easy to modify
and do additional fitting work to. Can be remolded and reworked up to 8 or so times
with the simple application of heat. They’re quick to dry, and good to camp in or use
as hut booties.
Cons: Foam doesn’t breathe and you sweat like a monkey in them. Some models
release vapour better than others, mind you, and tongues breath better than wraps.
They can also be overwhelming and cramp your feet until you break them in. Expect
five to 10 days before they break in, in most cases.
Foam Injected
Pros: Stiff, custom fit to the foot without as much cramping while breaking them in,
they basically don’t pack out and will last as long as your shell. Lots of pro skiers use
them, so you get to be cool like them. They breathe and wick moisture.
Cons: They’re heavy, cold, difficult to fit, only come in tongue models, expensive,
difficult to modify (requires acetone injection to soften them), they take forever to
dry because they’re like sponges.
Other Heat Moldable Options
Comformable makes one model, and various companies make their own stock heatmoldable liners, like Dynafit, but none of them compare and are worth talking about.
This includes European knock off brands. What’s the difference? For one: the foam.
Intuition has proprietary rights to use the foam they do, which is the highest quality
closed-cell memory foam out there. Next: R & D. There’s way more thought put into
each Intuition liner, thus they have enough models to service pretty much every foot
and boot.
Picking a Liner
Wrap vs. Tongue: Unless you know enough to know better for yourself, get a tongue
liner for an overlap boot, and a wrap liner for a tongue/three-piece boot (i.e.
Dalbello Krypton, Full Tilt, etc.). Next thing to consider is that wraps stand taller and
support the leg higher up. They add structure, stiffness, and can drive the top of the
boot better. They’re especially good for tall people and folks with skinny calves.
There are some stiff tongue liners now, too. But, they’ll only be as stiff as your shell
and don’t add as much structure. They’re best used with ultra stiff shells. Next thing
you need to know is that wraps will impede your walk mode in a touring boot. In the
regular alpine wrap, this is negligible, but the power wrap and plug wrap will add
considerable resistance. All the tongue liners come with laces, but you can pull them
off if you don’t like them.
Sizing: Intuition’s sizing used to be all over the map. It’s not anymore — it’s pretty
much bang on. They don’t do half sizes, so order the size below your half size. If
you’re a 26.5, order a 26. If you’re a 27.5, order a 27. You can go one size bigger if
you want, you’ll have more room in front of your toes, but the extra foam will have
to go somewhere and the forefoot of the liner will squash around and be a little
fatter and tighter as a result.
Wraps
Power Wrap:
The staple intuition liner — get this guy if you have a normal two-finger fit behind
the heel and you want to stiffen your boot. If you’re tight in your shell, these can take
some breaking in, and you might want to consider the plug liner.
Power Wrap Plus:
Same thing as above, but they take up way more volume. You need to be VERY loose
in your shell to fit these in—they’re THICK.
Plug Wrap:
Intuition’s stiffest liner—it’s got thin walls and a really thin layer of foam under foot
so it can still accommodate a foot bed. It’s much lower volume for those of us with
one finger or less behind the heel, and an all around tight fit. Think racer tight.
Alpine Wrap:
This guy will add structure while still being reasonably supple. It doesn’t take up as
much volume around the calf, because there’s no overlay (the “power” layer), but it’s
still HD foam so it drives quite well. It has a bit more foam under the foot to take up
some volume there, too, and gives some bounce. If you want a wrap for your touring
boots, this is the way to go if you don’t want to bother your walk mode.
Pro Wrap:
This is a hybrid. It’s got a stroble bottom, which means no foam (though there’s an
insert if you want it). Next, it’s got thinner foam around the toes. This means it
handles thicker footbeds better and you can drive more energy directly into the
bottom of the boot, and your edge — and wiggle your toes. Though its just as thick
as the other wraps, it has less volume overall because of the sole, so it’s best used in
a tight shell. It also has a lower cut cuff that slopes forward and feels a bit more
traditional — like a tongue.
Godiva:
Basically, this is a power wrap designed specifically for women. It has a cut away
calf that’s more anatomical, less dense overlay to accommodate lower legs, and is
pink on the inside! It also has a slightly softer layer on the inside, but not enough to
compromise power. It’s actually one of the more brilliant liners, and back in the day
they donated some of the funds from this model’s sales to breast cancer research.
Classic Wrap:
Honestly, the only reason to get this is if you’re a split boarder modifying hard boots
to make them feel like soft boots. They’re old school: really low and quite squishy
under foot. They’re better than a stock liner, but compared to Intuition’s other
offerings they’re miles behind. Unless, of course, you had a pair ten years ago you
loved, and you want the exact same thing.
Tongues
Pro Tongue:
This is the stiffest and densest tongue liner. It’s the only one with a full-length
overlay on the tongue. Think of it like a full shank. It also has a stroble bottom (with
optional foam insert to take up volume) so it accommodates a foot bed well and
drives energy to the edge through the bottom of the boot. Sam as the Power Wrap
Pro, this gives it a low volume feel, so it’s good for tight shells — one to one-and-ahalf fingers behind the heel.
Dreamliner:
This is your comfort liner. It’s built the exact same way at the medium volume
Luxury liner, but it has a layer of low-density foam on the inside. It doesn’t require
molding (though it can be if you want it), and is really squishy and warm. It doesn’t
drive as well, but it’s great for intermediates, or even touring boots where the
priority if comfort and warmth.
Luxury:
The most versatile in the line: they come in low, medium and high volume, so you
can accommodate any foot in any shell. It’s also an HD foam, so it drives quite well.
On average, it’s the go-to tongue liner. They work as well in touring boots as they do
130-flex shells. Don’t let the name fool you — these perform.
Pro Tour:
This is your touring-specific liner. It has a bellows at the back to allow it to move
with your shell in walk mode, and will be the best for touring performance. The
downside is you lose a bit of tightness in the fit for the cut-aways that allow for this
movement, and there’s almost no structure there for driving the boot, so it’s all the
shell’s stiffness on the way down. You can get different tongues for them, to help
stiffen them a bit, but beware the Velcro interface over your toes if you don’t have a
lot of room in the toe box — it bugs some people. Think TLT 6 and long missions for
this liner.
HD Race
This is a low volume liner for your tight-ass shells. It uses an HD foam that locks
your foot in and transmits energy super well, but doesn’t have a lot of room for stiff
overlays. This tongue fans out over the toes in what looks like a moccasin, and is
really low volume over the toes. It’s great, obviously, for tight toe boxes.
FX Race
Same thing as above, but with softer foam for a bit more comfort and warmth. A
good option for tight touring boots with little space for the toes (though, you should
buy your touring boots with space for your toes!). It’s also good if you like the
performance of a tight shell but you feel like you’d still like a bit of cushion all
around.