New Boots - Are Daleboot any good?

A snowHead

People like Strolz and Dale can offer Customized shells but in my experience (with Strolz) a stock boot is used. The boots sold by a distributer are normally from what they have in stock, major modifications need to be done at the place of production. Sometimes a suit doesn't fit properly however many times it is altered and it is better to pick a suit that matches your bodyshape.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Johnw, that would explain it Very Happy

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Hi Johnw....sounds like you had a bad experience with the fitting of your dale's. It should probably be noted that if the fitter had confered with the guys at dale they would have been able to take a smaller shell and stretch it by up to 20mm to maintain a narrower last for you. They have also introduced three new liners since you experienced them. There is a low volume and high volume liner as well as a liner with an additional overlap for those with big calves. They 8-9 shell is a 98mm last and in cases were there is a need to secure the foot in width you can utilise a higher volume liner....like wise the 6/7 is a 95mm which is a race last. This shell can be stretched to an 8.5 or 9 to maintain proper shell fit
I would also like to say that the guys at dale are awsome at turning around shell mods and almost 80 percent of all dale's we sell are custom stretched. If the bootfitters are not willing to take advantage of the custom stretching that their partners offer then the client is not getting the full benefit that Dale can offer.
Glad to hear that you ended up with a great fit man!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

To cut to the chase Daleboots are simply the Dog's Bollux.

I had a pair for something like 15 or so seasons starting in the late 70s - including two where I wore them every day for three months - and they were like slippers yet they did the biz perfectly. OK - perhaps they did get a little soft in the end.

I was still extremely loath to part with them despite their age being the subject of much mirth from my mates (we're talking mid 90s here). I contemplated honouring them by having them cast in resin and used as doorstops.

They were also very light and comfortable to wear off skis.

It's a complicated story as to why I don't have a pair now but I must say I'm getting sorely tempted.

I'd say sod the cost and buy them. They were expensive back then and they're still pricey now but it was one of the best ski-related buys I ever made! If you're gonna spend a lot of time in the hills they're a wise investment.

Cheers

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Hi all, MJ's GF here, I'm going to see Colin at Solutions 4 Feet on 23rd June and I can't ruddy wait, been having so many problems with my feet in ski boots, am currently on my 3rd pair, eak!! Hopefully Colin will sort me out and I will finally have happy feet! Will post afterwards, I certainly have high hopes as I've only read good things on here about them.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Posted this elsewhere on the site, but as it relates to Daleboots and your question I thought that I would repost it here - specifically answering your question - I can't honestly see how with a Daleboot you could not have a boot that fits and my experience was across multiple boots and fitters with considerable sums of money being spent I could not get boots that were no excruciatingly painful - Daleboots have shells that can be different in size for each foot, shells that come in several volumes including larger calves and the ability to stretch the shells up to 20mm, plus liners that can be thermo-formed to your feet multiple times and a service which allows you to take the boots back for adjustment as many times as you like at no extra charge. In addition you clearly need custom formed footbeds with the additional support foam added on after shaping.

First ever post but I have to recommend Daleboots and James Choularton of Outdoor Traders

http://www.outdoortradersuk.com/index.php/brands/daleboot.html/

I stopped skiing 10 years ago because my feet hurt so much ( I was never any good at skiing as I never went more than a few days and then gave up after 4 years)

My wife asked me to go on holiday this year to Aspen as she loves skiing and wanted to go with friends. I agreed, but a couple of weeks before we were going to go I got out the "new" boots that I had bought in Verbier and spent a whole week trying to get to fit ( high instep, short wide feet). 20 mins in my kitchen wearing them and I remembered why I had stopped skiing.

Looked at the internet (how did I ever do without it) and found Solutions4feet.co.uk - went the next day and met Colin who was genuinely knowledgeable and made a small adjustment to the tongue of the liner, but said I would never get boots that didn't hurt me and would fit properly because of my foot shape unless I bought Daleboots (again excellent professional service from Colin).

Went to see Outdoor Traders a couple of days later, was measured up and returned a week late for final fitting - Boots seemed far better, but still not right - James intervened in the fitting process taking over from a member of staff - Decided that the shells were still not right and because I was going skiing to Aspen the next day ( clearly didn't leave this all to the last moment) decided that the boots they were working on were not going to be able to be fixed - so he gave me his!!! Pulled out the liners, took off all the adjustments for his feet, remoulded the liners to my feet and said - off you go!!!

Boots massively better than any before, so going skiing in Saas Fee with Warren Smith September and again next year to Park City - so have definitely got the bug.

Saw James today - gave him back his boots and he is refitting my new ones to be 100% - Cannot ever remember getting better service from any company - absolutely recommend Daleboots and Outdoor Traders if you have "strange" shaped feet and/or calves.

After all it is free

I wanted to post this review here because I think people should know that daleboot ski boots are not all they are cracked up to be (well not anymore they are not) and they should be aware that there are now many other ski brands that offer a custom ski boot at a much lower price then a Daleboot boot

Daleboot is literally the worst ever company to sell me a boot especially the work done by Rob Graham himself. They have spent 4 months working on the boot and still could not get it to fit properly because of an incompetent employee. And the best part is they have a money back gaurantee which at first they denied constantly until I had emailed Daleboot USA (they confirmed the money back gaurantee for them and the daleboot dealers) and suddenly there was a money back guarantee for Daleboot Europe aswell.

Well guess what even with the money back gaurantee I did not get a full refund even though Rob himself promised I would have. The worst part of the boot was that Rob put the cuff at a 20 degrees forward angle which with my anatomy was completely impossible but did they do anything to correct that no of course not (even with me constantly telling them) they did not since Rob has a bit of a god complex I think and everything he does is correct. He apparently does not know how to admit mistakes as I have heard from a very reliable source.

I now have perfectly fitting ski boots from Fischer (the vacuum fits) and I would strongly advice anyone to try them first since they are much cheaper. And also find a good bootfitter since they make all the difference and not the boot. Daleboot boots are in my opinion just gimmicks that you pay a hell of a lot of money for and get not much in return compared to other brands that are way cheaper.

Also I literally hated the wrap around intuition liner a tongue liner is a hell of a lot more usefull (but that is just personal). Also during the fitting process of 4 months (yes indeed 4 months) the constantly taking out of the liner damaged the liner in the heel area and of course they would not want to do anything to correct that. Also be aware that if the angle of the shaft is set to far forward you will be constantly battling the 2 lower buckles since they will be constantly in each other way making it impossible to open the boot smoothly.

The quality of the intuition liner sucks as it constantly changed back to its original shape after heat forming which apparently should be relatively permanent at normal use temperatures

And 1 last comment the finish on the buckles is utterly crap because of the 4 months of putting the boots on and taking them of the buckles were completely filled with scratches from the 2 lower buckles rubbing against each other. You would think that paying top dollar for a pair of ski boots (like buying a ferrari) the quality would be top notch but instead the quality is crap (like the cheapest car you can buy).

All in all I would think Mel Dalebout would probably turn around in his grave knowing how the company was run now.

Welcome to Snowheads, @scientist1234,

Sorry your first post is a complaint! I hope you'll stick around and join in other discussions.

However, I have some sympathy with your concerns. I have a friend who had Daleboots fitted and has had considerable problems. You have a PM.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Hi Pam

Yeah I am sorry as well that I should start using the forum with a complaint but I think I should let people know how Daleboot operates in Europe now, I can not comment on the USA as that is run by Adam (do not know last name) and not Rob Graham but really for such expensive boots I would have thought to receive a top notch service, I could not have been more wrong.

Oh and I will stick around to help people on the forum if I have usefull information

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I know everyone has different experiences with these things, but I have a pair of VP Pro Dale Boots and I can honestly say the have been fantastic! My husband also has a pair of the other model (black with white trim) and he too loves them. We ski about six weeks per year in Europe and Canada and my skiing has transformed since I got them. I have narrow heels and getting a pair of boots that did not have heel lift was impossible. Dale boots solved the problem and they are so comfortable neither my husband nor I ever think about them. I think with anything there are bound to be different stories and experiences, so I would just say to keep an open mind. For us, they have been worth every penny and then some!

snow reports

My husband had boots he slopped around in for years in order to go around is very bony ankles. We tried snow and rock, Ellis Brigham,France - intersport, Vieux Campeur and in the end went to Alber sports in St Anton when we happened to be here. I told the guy I thought my husband needed Stoltz custom made boots. He looked and reported we were 1 -2 week a year skiers and he would find hubby a pair that would fit without the expense of Stoltz. 90 minutes later he admitted he couldn't find anything tha
t would work and hubby started the lengthy fitting process for his boots. His skiing improved dramatically instantly for having boots that were both comfortable and fitted. You do see racers in Stoltz boots which come in 3 stiffnesses.

If I were looking in the UK I would go to ski bartlett in West London. I went there with my boots which were getting old and a bit sloppy and expected to be sold new boots. I came away with a £20 sock that fitted over the outside of my boot liner that kept them going for another 3 years without problems.

Help!!

New Boots - Are Daleboot any good?

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