 Poster: A snowHead
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Was going to purchase some ski boots and was wondering were the best place to purchase them from for price and for the overall fitting proccess
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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depends on the store I reckon..round here I prefer EB as they seem to have better\knowledgable staff.. If you have both stores near by also worht going and just browsing round and overhere what the staff say and ask questions before actaully committing to anything etc you should get an idea of which ones more clued up..though obviously not in a stalker way 
does SR still size up slightly to make you think yopur boots are comfortable in store..
where abouts are you, some folk on here might beable to recommend a better or closer fitter.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 14-11-08 17:58; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Whichever shop has the best boot fitter based on reccomendation is the silly but correct answer.
If you tell people where you are I am sure some  can reccomend a boot fitter in you area or a shop that has a good rep
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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yes get a personal recommendation, otherwise it's a lottery.
Even better (and I wish someone had given me this advice a lot sooner in my skiing) get a personal recommendation of a fitter and get it done in resort on the first night you arrive, and get decent footbeds and custom liners. Any fitter worth his pay will fettle and adjust the boots for you as many times as it takes to get you comfortable and happy with them over the week. Hard for even the best S&R or EB fitter to do that for you from UK, and problems or discomfort won't be apparent from standing in a shop for 20 mins!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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chelt881, where are you based? There might be better options than S&R or EB.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Why not an independant retailer?
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i am getting my boots fitted tomorrow by cem www.solutions4feet.com in bicester and from what people have said on here he seems a good choice
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Personally i would avoid both and head for Profeet in Putney, it costs about £120 extra which includes footbeds but its well worth it IMO.
I bought a pair of Salamon boots (forget the exact make) from EB 3 seasons ago for about £270. They seemed ok in the shop but when i skied on them in resort i was in agony. I ended up buying some Surefoot footbeds in resort for about £120 to get me through the week. The next time i skied on them it got worse and by the time i got back to the UK my big toe had come off and was so brused i was in sandals for days. EB didn't really want to know so i took em to Profeet for a free check. Turns out i have quite narrow feet and these boots are pretty wide so my foot was not being held properly.
Profeet put me in a new pair and cut me a new footbed, and they are the most comfortable boots ever. Their fitting is awsome, they are not just boxshifters and really know what they are doing.
i was going to go there in the first place but was to tight to spend £120 on fitting. So my tightness cost me £279 for boots and £120 for footbeds that are sitting in a cupboard. they are awsome boots, but just the wrong fit.
The profeet ethos seems to be simple, find a boot that fits properly and it will be comfortable.
Hope that helps. Damn my funny shaped feet!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| chewy192 wrote: |
| i am getting my boots fitted tomorrow by cem www.solutions4feet.com in bicester and from what people have said on here he seems a good choice |
CEM fitted ours a few weeks back. Can't wait to use them.
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| jameswylie wrote: |
| by the time i got back to the UK my big toe had come off |
yow that's gotta hurt....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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never had a set of properly fitted boots so i am looking forward to it 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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chewy192, Its quite an eye opener. Our original boots had been sold to us by a local store here in South Wales. CEM showed up that both pairs were 3 sizes to big for us and they had been happy to sell them to us. £500 down the drain.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Fri 14-11-08 18:29; edited 1 time in total
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| jameswylie wrote: |
Personally i would avoid both and head for Profeet in Putney, it costs about £120 extra which includes footbeds but its well worth it IMO.
I bought a pair of Salamon boots (forget the exact make) from EB 3 seasons ago for about £270. They seemed ok in the shop but when i skied on them in resort i was in agony. I ended up buying some Surefoot footbeds in resort for about £120 to get me through the week. The next time i skied on them it got worse and by the time i got back to the UK my big toe had come off and was so brused i was in sandals for days. EB didn't really want to know so i took em to Profeet for a free check. Turns out i have quite narrow feet and these boots are pretty wide so my foot was not being held properly.
Profeet put me in a new pair and cut me a new footbed, and they are the most comfortable boots ever. Their fitting is awsome, they are not just boxshifters and really know what they are doing.
i was going to go there in the first place but was to tight to spend £120 on fitting. So my tightness cost me £279 for boots and £120 for footbeds that are sitting in a cupboard. they are awsome boots, but just the wrong fit.
The profeet ethos seems to be simple, find a boot that fits properly and it will be comfortable.
Hope that helps. Damn my funny shaped feet! |
surely you would have noticed the boots were to wide when initially trying them?
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| chewy192 wrote: |
| i am getting my boots fitted tomorrow by cem www.solutions4feet.com in bicester and from what people have said on here he seems a good choice |
CEM fitted ours a few weeks back. Can't wait to use them. |
From his site it looks as though CEM is now selling boots - or is that some arrangement with Lockwoods?
He's a great bootfitter - and I have been thinking of pensioning off my x-waves.
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Poster: A snowHead
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achilles, Fingers crossed. I just sent him an email about it before reading this post.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I came very close to visiting CEM a year or so ago. However, I never got around to it, will force myself to actually do it this year as my Christmas present, especially if the boots are onsite. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I always found Lockwoods in Leamington Spa very good but had good results with EB too.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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CEM's a top bloke, thoroughly recommended. Really helped with my skiing. Also worth getting your boots and skis shimmed by his mate Andy, who runs out of the same shop (or at least did this time last year). Transformed my skiing really...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I will put in a vote for Lockwoods in Leamington Spa.
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chelt881, ebay is good, or you could make your own - it's actually not that hard to do.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| or you could make your own - it's actually not that hard to do. |
Make your own boots. Wow!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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rob@rar, were you not a Blue Peter buff back in the day? Sticky-back plastic plays a fairly pivotal role
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red 27, I just purchased a new big toe kit on Ebay
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| red 27 wrote: |
| rob@rar, were you not a Blue Peter buff back in the day? Sticky-back plastic plays a fairly pivotal role |
When I was watching Blue Peter I think most people were skiing in leather boots...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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chewy192, What a coincidence - so am I! Need to set the alarm early. I'm packing Mrs Noggy off to Bicester Village.
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yes, l loosing my big toe was a bad day. I won't go into the details about the draglift incedent that took my arm off!.
Ok so it was only my toenail, but it bloody hurt.
Papasmurf, no i didn't notice to size, they semed ok in the shop. We're not talking a huge gap, but when the guy in profeet showed my my foot in the EB boot and their recommended boot you could see the difference. Also he did say that the fitter should never have put me in a wide boot given the shape of my feet. I guess the point is that I trusted the EB bootfitter and he got it wrong, and the fact that its a high value purchase that can make or break a ski holiday means i would go to a professionsal bootfitter in future, and i don'd consider EB or snow and rock to be professional bootfitters.
Clive5, i had to go to pro-toe for that! 
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You know it makes sense.
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| noggy wrote: |
| chewy192, What a coincidence - so am I! Need to set the alarm early. I'm packing Mrs Noggy off to Bicester Village. |
we did the same a couple of weeks ago, Bicester village should be offering a partners shuttle service to/from CEM's shop 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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jameswylie, After your experience I would have thought you might have considered buying new boots in Resort?
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Poster: A snowHead
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It is a bit of a lottery buying boots in the city and then heading of for a week or more. If you could do a weekend first, then the risk is lower, but cannot beat buying boots in the resort. Any issues can be handled on the spot.
NB: Most people buy boots one to one & half sizes too big. They comfortable in the shop, but finish up being like a pair of wellies full of wet sago to ski in.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You have to find a good boot fitter, that's not much help I know, there could be one in EB or S&R. It's not the shop that matters it's the individual boot fitter.
There are 3 specialist boot fitters that I have heard of that people keep recommending. I don't know who he is but there is CEM (Snowhead) in Bicester, see another forum entry above. The other 2 are Profeet and Surefoot who have shops in London. Surefoot also has shops in 4 European ski resorts.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Seeing a posting from Ulmerhutte (a place in St Anton) reminded me that there is one other specialist ski boot maker/fitter. There is a shop called Strolz which virtually "hand make" your ski boots, their shops are in Lech & Zurs in Austria (near St Anton).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Clive 5 - With hindsight it would have been a better choice than EB. My concern would be not knowing the shops / staff in resort and thinking it might still be a lottery. I would also be concerned about getting ripped off as a tourist rather than a local. I agree with welshflyer about finding a good bootfitter. I went into surefoot in resort a few times but they seemed more interested in putting a moulded liner into my boot which was pricey. Their answer for everything was 'have this moudled liner and a footbed' I liked Profeets simple approach, get a boot that fits and you don't need fancy mouldings, etc.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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EB at Milton Keynes were good last week and spent a lot of time getting my wife sorted out. Gordon knew his stuff and recommended boots based on my wife's specific foot shape.
He didn't alter them but asked that she spend two hours on the slope first and then come back and let him know how they felt, whether there were any pressure or soft spots. She could even change them if she didn't like them after use.
She loved them and said the fit was perfect.
Iam sure some people need hours of work on their liners but I am sure that most people, who have normal feet, do not, if they are put in the right boot to start with.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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welshflyer, Bought a pair of Strolz boots earlier this year and are fantastic. The process of getting them made is pretty lengthy, ie about 25 mins taking precise measurements of your feet etc, then they make the boot overnight and you return the following day and get your custome liners and footbeds done taking about an hour and a half (the foam injection is a really weird sensation). Downside is they cost €600 (inc a bag) upside is that I have been told by many Strolz users that they will last around 15 seasons, and the after care service is fantastic apparently. Only any use though if you're heading to St Anton/Lech/Zurs though, sorry.
Would agree with other comments re CEM as he really seems to know what he's talking about.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Personally I wouldn't use either for fitting, I'd recommend CEM from personal experience.
However, there are people who have had what they consider decent fitting at one or the other but it very much depends on who you get - it's very hit and miss I'd suggest and I wouldn't risk it!
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chelt881, Don't waste time and good money at either.
Listen to the advice, i had mine and the wifes fitted at Lockwoods of Leamington Spa(spot on), but would also use CEM.
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FAQ
Or did profeet provide you with a new one of those? 
DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER buying them on ebay. 
