The right pair of supportive insoles can make a big difference to the comfort of your snowboard boots. Snowboarding is an incredibly dynamic sport, with huge amounts of energy being transferred through your feet. This can quickly lead to fatigue and pain.
Snowboard boot insoles can help reduce fatigue, promote circulation, distribute pressure and improve energy transfer.
But which snowboard boot inserts are the best? What should you look for in a pair of snowboarding insoles? Do you need custom insoles? What if you suffer from cold feet? We’ll address all of these points in the post below, and explain why SOLE footbeds are the best choice a snowboarder can make.
Snowboard insoles with good arch support.
When choosing insoles for snowboard boots, the first thing to look for is an insole with good arch support. Snowboarding puts the feet under a unique strain.
Unlike walking or running—where your feet move freely—snowboard boots lock your ankles into a fixed position. This means your feet, especially the midfoot and arch, take on far more of the stabilizing work.
Without proper support, this hard work can quickly lead to fatigue and pain. A supportive insole helps stabilize the foot, keeping the foot aligned and preventing the muscles in the arch and lower leg from overworking.
Arch support also helps distribute pressure evenly across the foot, reducing the cramping, burning, and hot spots that often show up after just a few runs.
SOLE footbeds are designed to prevent foot fatigue. They feature a supportive arch that’s clinically proven to reduce strain in the feet by an average of 34%. Less strain means less fatigue. Less fatigue means less pain.
They also feature a deep heel cup that cradles the heel in place, helping to add a sense of comfort and support to your whole foot within your snowboarding boot.
Supportive insoles for snowboarding, with our without built-in metatarsal pads.
Shock absorbing insoles for snowboard boots.
When it comes to absorbing shock in your snowboard boots, nothing is more important than supporting your body’s natural shock-absorbing system: your own feet.
The foot’s arch arch is essential to absorbing energy. When supported correctly, the foot can absorb and return energy more efficiently, softening impacts from jumps, choppy snow, or heavy heel-side loading.
Having good arch support is therefore not just important for reducing fatigue, but absorbing shock too. A layer of cushioning in the footbed’s materials can help the insole feel more cushy in your boot, but ultimately the most important consideration should be supporting your foot’s natural shock absorbing mechanism - the arch.
Heat moldable insoles for snowboarding.
The very best insoles for snowboard boots offer your feet a customized level of support. There are many options on the market, from prescription orthotics that cost hundreds of dollars, to others that require going into a store for a custom fitting.
SOLE footbeds are all custom heat moldable using your own oven at home. In a simple process that just takes a couple of minutes, you can get the customized support for your unique arches and foot shape.
Once heat molded to your feet, the footbeds become even more effective at distributing pressure evenly and transferring energy efficiently.
A more custom fit also makes it easier to apply pressure more precisely through the boot and bindings, translating into better edge hold, smoother transitions, and a more responsive feel on every turn.
Snowboard insoles with a metatarsal pad for forefoot comfort and numb toes.
If you suffer from pain or numbness in your toes while snowboarding, insoles with a built-in metatarsal pad (or Met Pad) could be an excellent option for you. The Met Pad helps support the foot’s transverse arch, promoting healthy circulation and comfort in the forefoot and toes.
The built-in metatarsal pad is especially effective for anybody who suffers from Morton’s neuroma or metatarsalgia. The added support in the mid-foot area can also make a big difference to prevent the sense of your foot being crushed from above, as many people experience in snowboard boots.
SOLE with Met Pad footbeds feature a Met Pad that’s built right into the structure of the footbed, perfectly placed to work in combination with the insole’s regular arch support to give the most comfortable and supportive ride possible in your snowboard boots.
The best snowboard insoles for cold feet.
If you suffer from cold feet on the mountain, having a good insulating insole in your snowboard boots can make a big difference to your enjoyment of a day snowboarding. Good socks are important, but we lose a lot of our heat through the bottom of our feet in particular.
SOLE Performance footbeds feature all the benefits mentioned above (including being heat moldable), while also adding the insulating properties of natural cork to the mix.
Cork is an incredibly efficient thermal insulator: even a thin layer can make a big difference to the warmth of your feet. This means that if your snowboard boots fit snug, you can still fit a supportive, insulating insole without taking up too much space in your boot.
Our Performance footbeds are constructed using recycled natural wine corks, giving a second life to a natural material that’s far too valuable to go to waste.
Snowboard insoles with odor control.
The inside of your snowboard boot liners is a dark, sometimes damp, often warm environment: perfect for the growth of the bacteria that cause bad smells. All SOLE footbeds are treated with Polygiene Stayfresh. This compound prevents odor-causing bacteria from growing on your insoles, stopping stink at the source.
Insoles for snowboarding with flat feet.
We have dealt extensively with the importance of the foot’s arch while snowboarding above. When you have flat feet or fallen arches, the various aspects of energy transfer, stabilization and shock absorption all become more difficult and fatiguing.
The solution is insoles with good arch support. But the very best insoles for your snowboard boots when you have flat feet are SOLE custom moldable footbeds. This is because the heat molding process described above allows you to adjust the arch support of the insoles to a comfortable level for your flat feet.
In many insoles the arch might be too high, and feel too aggressive under flat feet. In others designed specifically for flat feet, there may not be enough arch support to offer the full benefits you’re looking for.
With SOLE, you can repeatedly heat mold your footbeds (up to five times) until you have a happy medium between comfort and the benefits of proper arch support.
SOLE footbeds come in three thicknesses, to fit any snowboard boot.
Which SOLE footbeds are best for snowboard boots?
SOLE footbeds come in two materials: EVA plastic, or recycled natural cork. As discussed above, the cork footbeds of our Performance collection are best if you suffer from cold feet.
The EVA footbeds of the Active collection are incredibly durable. They’re the best choice if you like taking your footbeds in and out of your boots on a regular basis to dry them or for any other reason.
Our footbeds also come in three thicknesses. We recommend you take the factory insole out of your boot and see how thick it is before deciding on which SOLE footbed you’ll choose.
Our Thin footbeds have no cushioning layer, just the essential support of the SOLE Signature Supportive Shape. At just 1.6mm thick, they don't take up any more room in your boots than the thinnest of factory insoles.
Our Medium footbeds have a cushioning layer that adds some extra shock absorption to the insoles, while still being thin enough (3.2mm total) for a versatile fit in most snowboard boots.
Our Thick Footbeds have twice the cushioning of the Medium, with a total thickness of 4.6mm. Some snowboard boot brands (e.g. many Vans boots) come with a thick factory insole inside their liners. If you have a thick factory insole, we recommend you try a Thick SOLE footbed.
As mentioned above, if you suffer from numbness or tingling in your toes, Morton’s neuroma or metatarsalgia, we recommend you try SOLE footbeds with a built-in metatarsal pad for your snowboard boots.
Remember SOLE footbeds are all covered by a 90 day satisfaction guarantee. This means whichever footbed you choose, if the fit isn’t perfect you can always exchange it free of charge within 90 days of purchase.