Bye bye boot pain hello PUDZ shin & ankle protectors

PUDZ shin and ankle protectors are the best cheap solution to a host of boot pain problems we have come across. This week they even solved my disintegrated boot liner problem. WE love PUDZ, you will too.

Sometimes simple solutions are best, and Aussie designer Dave Conway has come up with a winner here that will save you a lot of grief for just $AUD 30 a pack of two – or even less save 10% with Coupon code SNOW purchasing on their website. That includes FREE Australia-wide postage! International Postage is $AUD 15 additional.

We have used and sworn by PUDZ for 2 southern seasons and one northern one now.

But when my trusty old Rossignol All Track 120 boot liner fell to bits last week they even saved the day there. I thought I was stuck in Argentina, on the opposite side of the planet from any chance of getting a replacement liner. With no foam left in the liner behind the heel and on the sides – right where the joint in the boot cuff is – skiing suddenly got super painful. 

I saw why when I pulled out the liner. Bugger.

After a few failed ideas to fix things I thought why not just use both my PUDZ in the one boot! I slipped one pad around the back of my ankle, which basically solved the problem of the missing boot liner foam on the heel and the ankles. Then I slipped the second around the shin, locked the buckles down, and had a pain free powder day. Thanks PUDZ!

For the original story & review on PUDZ in more regular use, read on. Get them direct from PUDZ on the link here with a 10% discount – just enter Coupon Code SNOW all caps when purchasing off the PUDZ website. Includes FREE Australia Post delivery to Australian mail addresses. Same discount applies for international buyers, just need to add $AUD 15 per order for postage when checking out there.

Seating your PUDZ protector pads neatly in your socks and then in your boots is the key to pain free skiing © Owain Price

We were already sold on the concept after trying them at Sydney’s awesome Off-Piste Ski & Board Simulator centre in June pre-season. After solid seasons of road testing them from Australia to Argentina to Japan, we can report they work, and work really well, to solve a lot of ski boot problems.

Building up the ski time, ski legs and pain thresholds – as you inevitably do skiing seasons anywhere, we got to work out just how to get the most out of our pair of PUDZ to deal with a nasty bone spur on the right foot and even nastier crater on the ankle bone on the left foot. The trick is to make sure you seat the PUDZ properly in your ski socks first as you put the socks on, then again putting your boots on – and locking in your boots properly in ski position with already tight settings to avoid movement. Then a little tightening of the boots as you get into top gear depending on the runs/conditions and you should be set for a pain free day – from sketchy hardpack to (sob only 2 so far !) powder days to spring slush busting at speed, the PUDZ just give me more and more confidence and less and less pain.

Skiing is meant to be fun, and a set of PUDZ is a cheap way to keep it that way.

How easy is this?

Dave can talk about foams like the normal guy talks about footy teams, analysing their strengths and weaknesses and what they are best suited for – he has been running an industrial foam business for over 30 years.

But he is also a long time keen skier, who like most of us has had his share of boot pain problems. So he set to work to make the ideal easy to use insert pads, and after going through a few prototypes he found the perfect blend of useability, comfort and durability. Made from polyurethane dense foam, PUDZ consistently cushion and protect your shins and ankles.

Of course there are manner of gel packs, foam injections, rubber donuts and many more “solutions” offered by amateurs and professionals alike.

But PUDZ are different, you just pop them on soft side down over your ankle against the skin and then slip your sock on over so they work in any ski boot.

Pop on your socks over

I originally gave them a workout at Off-Piste, Sydney’s awesome new Simulator centre in Moore Park, and found they made an instant difference; I have suffered from a nasty bone spur on one instep and a crater on the ball of the ankle on the other foot that have a knack of causing grief however much I get my boots blown out/adjusted etc. Slipping on the PUDZ I was super comfortable, and they also served to make a snugger fit in Off-Piste’s rental boots I was using.

I can vouch for them working in my own beloved Rossi boots and rentals

The big Avalanche Simulator really works your legs and a double session here with 30 minutes on the machine equates to a fair whack of skiing – maybe 4 top-to-bottoms on Crackenback Chair at Thredbo for example – and was enough to sell me on the idea. I’m looking forward to using them daily this season.

PUDZ are available at 30 leading ski shops – an indication of how well professionals regard them. Smart bootfitters know a good thing when they see one.

If you rent boots always or sometimes when traveling overseas for example they also work well by improving the fit and eliminating shin bang.

We love them, and they are a shoo-in for a Snow Action Smart Stuff medal. Get them direct from PUDZ on the link here with a 10% discount – just enter Coupon Code SNOW all caps when purchasing off the PUDZ website. Includes FREE Australia Post delivery to Australian mail addresses. Same discount applies for international buyers, just need to add $AUD 15 per order for postage when checking out there.

PUDZ only take a couple of seconds to put on