 Poster: A snowHead
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There may also be differences between branches of the big chains. I have had boots fitted by EB at Castlefield in the past, the same people have been working there for a long time. I tried on some boots at the Chill Factore branch of S&R a couple of weeks ago and felt that the fitter knew what he was doing.
I went to Lockwoods yesterday afternoon to try on a different pair and was very impressed.
I do have easy to fit feet though, I will be getting a pair from Lockwoods but don't think I will find any pressure points until I have skied in them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sorry about late reply but i live in bristol and both shops are near to wear i live
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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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chelt881, I'd say it's worth you making a bit of a journey up to Bicester to see Solutions 4 Feet. In my experience there is a world of difference in expertise between the 'boot specialists' at S&R or EB and someone like Colin at Solutions 4 Feet.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Back to the original question. I cannot fault EB in Manchester. They have always given good service to me and my family. My current boot's are on their 4th season now "Technica Diablo" EB fit them for me along with custom footbeds for about £50 and from day one I have skied in them all day with no problems.
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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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| rob@rar wrote: |
| chelt881, I'd say it's worth you making a bit of a journey up to Bicester to see Solutions 4 Feet. In my experience there is a world of difference in expertise between the 'boot specialists' at S&R or EB and someone like Colin at Solutions 4 Feet. |
Probably !!, but I think their is also a world of difference between Stores within the same chain. I went into EB at Xscape MK for some wax when I was passing a couple of weeks ago and the staff that I dealt with knew absolutely nothing about different waxes, Compare this with the staff in the store at Manchester, they all seem to know their stuff, just my humble opinion. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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chelt881, Ah - well Biscester is not too far - I used to do the journey from Bath to visit a friend ... about 1.5 hours and a pretty drive.  The thing is, most novices want a fit that feels comfy in the shop, and most shops will sell you whatever you want .... that's how people end up with boots too big that they have to replace in rather short order.
Kel, yes - that's true, and it's also the problem - the customer has no way of knowing if the staff are good or bad unless they're very experienced, in which case they wouldn't be asking the question in the first place.
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| chelt881 wrote: |
| sorry about late reply but i live in bristol and both shops are near to wear i live |
I live in Bristol myself and after having a complete disaster of a fitting a few years ago at S+R (which is literally just up the Gloucester Road from me) I wouldn't touch their boot fitting with a large, medium or short barge pole. The staff in the shop are mostly great (apart from one of their managers but that's a whole other story) and I'd say general purchases there are fine but there's absolutely no way I'd touch them for boot fitting.
I've always had great experiences at EB (top of Whiteladies), IMHO the staff there will bend over backwards to help and do a great job (more so than S+R in my experience) but again I just wouldn't take the risk on the boot fitting.
Bicester aint so far away from here and I've driven over a few times so I'd strongly recommend going there or to another of the recommended fitters mentioned above.
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| easiski wrote: |
Kel, yes - that's true, and it's also the problem - the customer has no way of knowing if the staff are good or bad unless they're very experienced, in which case they wouldn't be asking the question in the first place. |
Indeed - I live 4 minutes away from S&R in chertsey, but am now booked in to see CEM next week. I can't / don't want to take the risk of getting the wrong kit / wrong fit from perhaps a 'saturday guy' at S&R, especially as I don't know enough to tell good from bad, but based on the fact that everyone recommends CEM (& SZK) then I'm quite happy to drive for the hour or so to go to a fitting - and gives me an excuse to to the helly store at the outlet too..
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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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bertie bassett, Don't forget to visit the North Face shop as well 
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| snowbunny wrote: |
| bertie bassett, Don't forget to visit the North Face shop as well |
Don't I might just have to buy something and I already have too many fleeces/tops..I could usefully have one more shell jacket however...hmm could be an expensive day!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Boabski says his Strolz books cost €600 earlier this year. That for custom made boots is very cheap, I may get a pair the next time I need new boots. However I wouldn't expect any boots to last for 15 seasons unless you only ski for 2 weeks or less each year.
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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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welshflyer, I get about 5 years or 150 weeks out of a pair of shells - not out of the inners though.
However experienced we are we can still make mistakes with boot fitting - I did myself about 5 years ago. I did all the right things, the boots seemed fine, every morning they seemed fine and after 20 mins I was in agony. they gave me bursers on both feet and then blisters on the bursers - I went back to my old boots and had them blown out so far that no part of the front of my foot touched the outside of the boot. I couldn't walk, I couldn't wear any sort of shoe until mid-July, and it took me 3 years to get my feet back. If I can make such a huge mistake after all these years, what chance does a novice have? 
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easiski, Bursers and bursitis comes from a biomechanical issue rarely from a ski boot. More about what you are doing in a ski boot than the boot itself. Like toothache, these things are Birthday induced.
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You know it makes sense.
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| boabski wrote: |
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. |
I too have Strolz boots. Bought them in 2007 and they have about 80 ski days on them now. Fantastic boots. Made the world of difference to my skiing. Well worth the cost and time for me.
The boots they replaced, Salomon Equipes, required 5 or 6 trips back to the shop for adjustment, and were never "perfect". I must have weird feet. No changes needed to the Strolz boots.
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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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Going back to my point about EB in Manchester. I was set on buying some Salomon boots, the boot fitter took one look at my feet and said "NO". I did try them however and he was right.
EB in Manchester has been there for about 30 years to my knowledge, probably longer. These new stores setting up at snowdomes and retail parks just don't have the staff the more established sites have, so EASISKI yes I agree.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'd had problems with boots so I decided to go to PROFEET in London. They're not cheap but for someone with awkward feet/legs they seemed good value.
One of the big advantages with them (as opposed to the big ski shops) was the amount of time the sales person dedicated to me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Kel wrote: |
Going back to my point about EB in Manchester. I was set on buying some Salomon boots, the boot fitter took one look at my feet and said "NO". I did try them however and he was right.
EB in Manchester has been there for about 30 years to my knowledge, probably longer. These new stores setting up at snowdomes and retail parks just don't have the staff the more established sites have, so EASISKI yes I agree. |
They used to be next to a disco called "time and place" back in the 60s ...bought my first pair of skis (head J C Killys 210s with ESS 3 bindings) from them ...very much a family business in those days
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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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rich.ll, I used Profeet, and was allocated a strictly managed time slot. As a result, my boots were not comfortable when I left their shop, as I had "run out" of time and the fitter had another customer waiting. I subsequently visited CEM to get the necessary modification work done.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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snowbunny, I can only speak for my own experience, clearly yours was different.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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snowbunny, I had exactly the same experience as yourself at Profeet. Did some diy fitting after to make them usable and then took a trip to CEM a professional fitting. I would't go to Profeet again.
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I got good service at Ellis Brigham at the Milton Keynes snowdome. The advantage was I went directly and skied in them for 2 hours, then went back and had a tight place on the side of one boot blown out. Of course you could do this even more conveniently in a resort but you don't want to waste proper skiing time doing that, do you.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 17-11-08 15:00; edited 1 time in total
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| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| 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. |
was that the ski lodge?
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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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where are you from then TFC?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| roga wrote: |
| chelt881 wrote: |
| sorry about late reply but i live in bristol and both shops are near to wear i live |
I live in Bristol myself and after having a complete disaster of a fitting a few years ago at S+R (which is literally just up the Gloucester Road from me) I wouldn't touch their boot fitting with a large, medium or short barge pole. The staff in the shop are mostly great (apart from one of their managers but that's a whole other story) and I'd say general purchases there are fine but there's absolutely no way I'd touch them for boot fitting.
I've always had great experiences at EB (top of Whiteladies), IMHO the staff there will bend over backwards to help and do a great job (more so than S+R in my experience) but again I just wouldn't take the risk on the boot fitting.
Bicester aint so far away from here and I've driven over a few times so I'd strongly recommend going there or to another of the recommended fitters mentioned above. |
Yeah if you are going to go to either in Bristol, then I'd take EB over S+R, especially as their staff seem to have soem recent ski experience and have even tested some of the new gear. Also if you go Sunday mornings, its empty. I always have the suspicions that S+R upsize you to make it feel like your boots are comfy.
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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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You know it makes sense.
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I changed my 9 year old boots at S&R Manchester a couple of weeks ago and found that my previous boots had been a size to big (although they were bought at an EB outlet store and not properly fitted).
I was pretty impressed with the fitting and they have what seems an impressive back up guarantee.
They have also fitted boots for my partner and 2 of our friends one of whom had previously experienced real problems with hire boots in resort and we have all been impressed.
Can't wait to get out to Italy in January now but will certainly be trying them out at Castleford a couple of times before we go.
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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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Can't recommend Lockwoods highly enough.
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Poster: A snowHead
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FAQ
I now realise though what happens when you go in a shop. You try a pair of boots on, they are tight, yes they hurt, an inexperienced boot fitter will immediatly, for fear of losing a sale, drag out a bigger size. Keep doing that an you end up with 2 pairs 2-3 sizes to big 
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very nice bloke and the boots are superb well chuffed and cem assures me that red ski boots are faster than any other colour 
can't recommend his service enough i would advise anyone that needs new boots or fitting to visit his shop
