Custom Casting By David Simmons

After much contemplation, I took the plunge to get a pair of custom boots from Simmons Racing. Last Friday in Duluth, I went to the Simmons booth at the vendor expo to get my feet custom cast by Mr. David Simmons himself. I talked with many of my skating friends and the overwhelming response was the quality of the cast can really make or break the boots. That was why I ended up ordering my customs sooner rather than later so I could be casted by the bootmaker.

The casting process was much quicker than I expected. I had my right foot done first. My foot was first smeared with Vaseline and then Mr. Simmons wrapped my foot with one roll of water-soaked wide-width plaster bandage. The wrapping was done in a very efficient manner with emphasis on the ankle area. My foot stayed relax while he wound the bandage around.

It was interesting to note that he used paper towel to soaked up the excess moisture from the plaster bandages while he shaped the plaster more closely to my foot. Next, Mr. Simmons asked me to put my foot on top of a soft fluffy foam pad and stood up with my knees bent. He adjusted me stance for a bit and held me knee while I carefully sat back down.

He shaped the cast a bit more while we waited for the cast to harden a bit. In the mean time, I voiced some of my concerns about my skating in general (knees turned in and having a really difficult time with pronation especially when I'm tired). He took a look at my ZX-5, noted how I already have the frame moved to the inside, and explained that he has problems with pronation himself too. Mr. Simmons recommended that he would build in 10 degree canting to my boots. I was a little skeptical about the built-in canting because after all, this is permanent....however, he is a very experienced bootmaker and I trust his judgement. I hope that this is a right decision.

It didn't take long for the plaster to harden just enough. Mr. Simmons proceeded to make a vertical slit on the plaster directly on top of the metal strip and the cast slipped off my foot easily. It was still soft enough to press the slit shut. I signed my name on the bottom of the cast and that was basically it. Picking and choosing the colour for my boots was pretty quick as I have already given my custom boots some thoughts previously. I ordered an extra set of mounting bolts because, well, you never know when disaster strikes, right?

It will be exciting to receive my boots in 3 months! Haahaa, this is probably as good an excuse as any to go to the Great EsSkate in Miami comes February next year. :)