For years, I have recommended custom foot beds for skiers. The reasons are simple. Given the differences in feet, the bed that comes in a ski boot can’t possibly fit more than one in 10 and having one that is an exact match provides more comfort, reduces fatigue and enhances performance. The performance enhancement comes from being able to instantly transmit pressure from boot to ski.

Having skied with custom foot beds for many years, and with a new top of the line pair in my current boots, I gave a demonstration at Sugarloaf only passing attention. This was two years ago, and a specialist from the Sugarloaf ski shop was demonstrating the ALINE system. He was having members of our group step onto a platform where he had a strange looking device set up. A laser beam showed ankle and knee alignment, and a sliding lever under the heel allowed him to adjust the foot into proper alignment. Insoles were inserted under both feet, and tiny tabs were used to adjust them to fix individual problems.

The entire process took about five minutes and the cost of the insoles is $59. I left thinking that I had no need of this with my custom foot beds that retail for $150. I also knew that my knees are in perfect alignment, and that I have a neutral stance. This has been affirmed by a number of boot-fitters over a period of years. I have a Tecnica foot. I started skiing in these boots in the 1980s, and all I have to do is put in my foot beds and go skiing. I don’t have to adjust any of the available adjustments. My thought was that I had all I needed.

Until last weekend.

We were at Okemo enjoying some of the great skiing that can be found just about everywhere in the east right now, and there was a truck with ALINE on the side parked on the slope side of the Jackson Gore Inn base area. My friend, a certified instructor, asked what it was, and I told him what little I knew, and we stopped by.

There we met Gordon Hay, a veteran of over 20 years of boot-fitting. When he learned what I had in my boots, he said he had made thousands of them over the years. He wanted me to have him check out my alignment on the aliner, the measuring device he and designer Keith Orr developed. I was skeptical, but once inside I listened to another friend who had been fitted at Sugarloaf two years ago and swore by the results. I got out of my boots and placed one foot in the aliner. Gordon said, “You’re right, your knees are in perfect alignment, but your ankles are off.”

He set me up with his BFAST insoles, screwed a pair of tabs into the inside heel of each and rechecked the alignment which now lined up correctly. The entire process took less then 10 minutes. With the insoles replacing my foot beds, I was ready to give them a try.

I took a quick run on a beginner trail, and while the feet felt fine, the boot was loose. My foot beds were obviously a much higher volume than the BFAST so I had to adjust the buckles, actually going up a full notch on the ankle buckle. I then headed off to the main mountain where I made a few top-to-bottom runs. Again, the feet felt fine, but I didn’t like the way that tightened ankle buckle stiffened the forward flex. Before I ski again, I will add a firm pad under the insole to take up the extra volume in the boot, and I have an idea that will restore the boot’s feel.

My immediate concern, although I don’t feel any need to change my setup, is skiing, but I have tried to use foot beds in golf shoes and found the shoes didn’t have sufficient volume to work with any insoles I tried. My friend who has some serious issues said he wore the BFAST insoles in his regular shoes and hiking boots, and they really helped.

On returning to Maine, I contacted Ken Jacques at Ski Depot to see what he thought of the ALINE System. He told me his feet always hurt skiing. He got fitted with the ALINE System. “I wore them two hours a day for a week, then went skiing for three days. I haven’t even thought about my feet. This system is so simple it works.”

I also contacted Fred Cowin at the Jack Frost Shop and learned that he had known Gordon for years and had the system. He had high praise for the instrument which allows for a quick evaluation. Fred feels the measuring device is a valuable tool but that there is still a place for the traditional foot beds.

My experiment with the product is ongoing, but I know the benefits of a custom foot bed and the hour or more it takes to make them. The top line foot beds cost $150 or more. Now we have ALINE, a product that can be fitted in five minutes and cost $59.

There is a Web site – www.ALINE.com. From my brief trial and speaking with a few believers, it seems to be a great way to get things in proper alignment for better skiing, and who knows, maybe walking and other sports. I will have a more complete report after I finish with my evaluations. I suspect the ALINE system will undergo some refinement, but the instrument is an important new tool in evaluating a skier’s or anyone’s alignment. And a correct analysis is always the first step in fixing any problem.

Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.