lal_truckee wrote:
honclfibr wrote:

I don't want this to turn
into a $180 ebay boot with $1500 in modifications


That should have been your first consideration, long before considering
ebay.

And it doesn't need to be a consideration at all.

A place like surefoot charges x-dollars for their
main product and fitting. They also guarantee their
fitting as long as they agree that you have the
correct shell size.

That last may be the sticker. If, as you say, your
toes ball up into a painful knot, you may not have
the correct shell size.

As others also pointed out, there is a limit to how
much a boot can be stretched, though I've seen a toe
blown out so much that Salomon driver bindings wouldn't
fit correctly and the owner had to buy Markers which
don't ride up on the boot toe so much, in order to get
consistent release function.

Personally I think you have bought an all-out racing
boot and that you are bound for pain as long as you
have it. I'd go for a boot which may well be as stiff,
if that's what you want, but has a cushier liner.

VtSkier