 Poster: A snowHead
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Looks as if Decathlon will be offering boot fitting. I was in the Stockport store today and stumbled across a staff training session in bootfitting. One guy giving a talk and demonstrations of measuring and shell checking and about 12 staff members gathered round. I was quite shocked to see it. I went round the aisle slowly a couple of times to eavesdrop  Boots all still self service on the shelves, though there seemed to be the makings of a boot fitting station and I did see a footbed heater.
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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 asked the folks at the Nottingham store about it and they said all stores selling boots have trained fitters for this year though best to call and check if they are on duty before you go.
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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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All bootfitting is not bootfitting...
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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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under a new name, having witnessed the 'training' you can say that again!
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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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I'll stick with CEM ta 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hmm, Stockport yes I'd be sceptical but I've been surprised by how knowledgeable some staff are regarding other products in the French Decathlon stores. Also know a French ski shop manager with quite a bit of SIDAS/Conformable training who works in Decathlon stores in St Malo interseason, so I'd say taking a gamble on a bootfitter in such a shop would be only slightly more risky than walking into any alpine shop without a recommendation.
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Truth is they're going to be selling boots in large quantities. Surely it's better if staff have at least a little knowledge to guide the unsuspecting punters. Let's face it most skiers are clueless when it comes to what they should be feeling/ buying anyway and it has been a case of the blind leading the blind at times in Decathlon. A half decent fit by them is probably going to be at least as good as many if not most hire outlets. The people who are buying are not tossing a coin as to whether it'll be a trip to Bicester or a trip to Decathlon.
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Quite a few in the ski dept at the Nottingham one last year were French and seemed to know what they were 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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It's not really rocket science to "fit" someone into proper sized boots. That's where "bootfitting" ends anyway for huge majority of "boot fitters", and even bigger part of skiers. And it's right so, since it's getting more and more ridiculous to read and listen recreational skiers dealing with "fitting" of recreational boots.... for 5 ski days a year. 
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bought my first books from Decathlon in Romford, great fit, they picked a boot that was good for my narrow feet, my wife got her's there as well both very pleased
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Sat 19-10-13 10:03; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Here in Spain in our local Decathlon, if you can find an assistant who isn't chatting up some 16 year old, boot fitting consists of "you'll find boots in the third aisle" then they are off to find a 16 year old to chat to.
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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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| Quote: |
A half decent fit by them is probably going to be at least as good as many if not most hire outlets. The people who are buying are not tossing a coin as to whether it'll be a trip to Bicester or a trip to Decathlon.
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+1. Most hire shops just ask what size shoes you take and chuck you a pair to try. If you say "Yes", that's the end of the bootfitting. Nonetheless, most people cope perfectly well. At the recreational skier level I'd say that only people with problematical feet (and there are quite a few of them) need to be too bothered about scientific boot fitting. When I visited the big Decathlon in London it seemed that all the staff were foreign - some French but lots of others - all spoke good English and all were very helpful. They were also mostly very good looking - maybe that's part of the selection process.
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| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
A half decent fit by them is probably going to be at least as good as many if not most hire outlets. The people who are buying are not tossing a coin as to whether it'll be a trip to Bicester or a trip to Decathlon.
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+1. Most hire shops just ask what size shoes you take and chuck you a pair to try. If you say "Yes", that's the end of the bootfitting. Nonetheless, most people cope perfectly well. At the recreational skier level I'd say that only people with problematical feet (and there are quite a few of them) need to be too bothered about scientific boot fitting. When I visited the big Decathlon in London it seemed that all the staff were foreign - some French but lots of others - all spoke good English and all were very helpful. They were also mostly very good looking - maybe that's part of the selection process. |
Think it is probably that most people don't know what a properly fitted boot feels like and expect to bear the suffering to get their skiing. I certainly could ski all day in any old boots that just about fit but it wouldn't be comfortable and by the end of the afternoon I'd be very aware of my feet and not in a good way!
With my fitted boots by the end of the day my feet feel no different to having done a days hiking in my properly broken in walking boots.
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You know it makes sense.
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| davkt wrote: |
| pam w wrote: |
| Quote: |
A half decent fit by them is probably going to be at least as good as many if not most hire outlets. The people who are buying are not tossing a coin as to whether it'll be a trip to Bicester or a trip to Decathlon.
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+1. Most hire shops just ask what size shoes you take and chuck you a pair to try. If you say "Yes", that's the end of the bootfitting. Nonetheless, most people cope perfectly well. At the recreational skier level I'd say that only people with problematical feet (and there are quite a few of them) need to be too bothered about scientific boot fitting. When I visited the big Decathlon in London it seemed that all the staff were foreign - some French but lots of others - all spoke good English and all were very helpful. They were also mostly very good looking - maybe that's part of the selection process. |
Think it is probably that most people don't know what a properly fitted boot feels like and expect to bear the suffering to get their skiing. I certainly could ski all day in any old boots that just about fit but it wouldn't be comfortable and by the end of the afternoon I'd be very aware of my feet and not in a good way!
With my fitted boots by the end of the day my feet feel no different to having done a days hiking in my properly broken in walking boots. |
I think the reverse is also true, a lot of 1 week a year recreational skiers live with reduced skiing levels at the expense of a boot that is comfortable. Which is fine if you understand that
I am never going to be a skiing god, but I like to push things a little harder from time to time. For me that means a good fitting boot that suits my skiing level. My old boots (too big and wide) were fine for the cruising around the slopes, but if I wanted to go a bit faster and steeper I had to crank them tight to the point of pain, because ultimately they didn't actually fit properly.
Now it's boots on, clip up. A few runs then tighten them up for the rest of the day, no pain, no flapping about. For me that is the benefit of a properly fitted boot. ( and for reference the last pair were fitted and then adjusted at a later date by a major chain with no mention that they didn't actually fit me well in the first place.)
Individuals can make their own choice.
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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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ansta1, Couldn't agree more about well fitting boots. I've had my last 2 pairs fitted by CEM and wouldn't do it differently. My point is dealing with reality. Decathlon sell cheaply. People go there to get an inexpensive pair of boots. They are not going to CEM or even EB and the alternative to a guide with their fitting is that they go, pick up a pair off the shelf and try them with no knowledge of what to look for so take a fit like their trainers or walking boots. Rec skier education is a whole other issue, not just with regard to boots but ski selection, resort selection, the need for continued instruction etc.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Lets be honest - Ski boot fitting is not rocket science.
Most of the job is about measuring foot for the correct shell size, selecting proper footbeds and then perhaps molding the liners. There is no reason why Decathlon couldnt provide this service (assuming you want to buy their budget end of the scale intermediate boots).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Haggis_Trap, Maybe close to true if you have natural alignment and regular off the shelf feet but trust me if you have bits that don't line up properly a 'guru' is most definitely a massive help and makes a huge difference to performance/ potential. Even getting 'correct shell size' is not as simple as you suggest. I am a size 8 shoe, have skied in a 26.5 ski boot for years and CEM put me in a 25.5. What a difference.
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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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^ the kind of client buying boots in Decathlon is hardly likely to be training for a euro test
indeed if they didnt buy boots from Decathlon then they would probably just rent them.
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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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Agreed Haggis_Trap, but if they were or just taking the sport seriously, a top class bootfitter would make the kind of difference they would only appreciate after they'd seen one.
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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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^ actually a decent pair of boots from a "well trained boot fitter" would make all the difference. dont get suck into the hype that bootfitting is some kind of complicated mysterious art that can only be practised by top class guru's. anyone who tells you this is pulling the wool over your eyes. the real issue is that most punters dont know what their ski boots should feel like (so closing the feedback loop is hard).
Decathlon wouldnt be my first stop for ski boots. But they do stock a decent range of mainly intermediate boots (rossignol, lange, atomic, salomon). Why get snobby about them training their staff ?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Haggis_Trap, you are correct, but the problem is so many bootfitters fit according to the colour or make of boot requested rather than the fit of the boot to the feet.
punter goes in and asks for salamon, fischer, blue, green. they find the correct length and proceed to sell them. Rather than the
"sorry sir, madam these boots are too wide or too stiff for your feet or skiing level"
sale will still happen, a good percentage of people will still be happy with their purchase because they dont now any better.
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Not quite sure of your pointHaggis_Trap, You say 'actually a decent pair of boots from a "well trained boot fitter" would make all the difference' and then not to have the wool pulled over your eyes. I can assure you that I've not had the wool pulled over my eyes and after skiing for many years only came to seeing one of the 'gurus' in the last 3 or 4. It does make a massive difference. I'm not deluded, my skiing improvement backs me up and I'm fairly confident with my Level 3 if not this season then next and that at 56. Like I said earlier, lots of people are very nicely aligend with very regular shaped feet. They will prbably get away perfectly adequately with a reasonably trained fitter but not everyone will get the optimal reward they look for doing this.
I'm also interested that people of much greater knowledge than me from all over the world, without a commercial imperative to push finding quality bootfitters almost universally recommend them.
Out of interest have you had a fitting from one of these people with the big reputations?
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As a previous employee of said retailer, I must admit the level of training a few years ago wasn't great. Knowledge varied wildly from store to store. Many of the sales assistants don't have a particularly in depth knowledge of alpine skiing but everyone is usually recruited as a 'specialist' with most staff participating in a specific sport/hobby to a fair degree. The staff tend to be very passionate and enthusiastic, and I can say this now as a customer in various stores across the UK.
The target market is definitely the entry level skier, who more often that not, will ski once per year and use the kit as an investment instead of hiring kit every year.
Just to point out, Decathlon staff are not on commission and tend to be in the job for the love sport, so sales pitches don't really exist. They are called sales advisers, and prime role is to advise customers on the best product for the job.
It's nice too hear they are investing in even some basic training for their staff. If they can provide a better fitting than a rental shop then that's great! Many of my customers wanted a boot because of it's price, colour and more often than not, brand opposed to spending the 10 minutes with me to at least get a general idea of what they actually needed from a boot. I must agree though, most of the customers had no idea how a boot should fit, and often found customers ignoring my advice and buying 30.0's instead of 27.5's.
I never claimed to be a boot fitter, however I offered my advice and experience to folk starting out. Decathlon's business model doesn't include a professional boot fitting service but to make sport and equipment accessible to all (ie cheap).
You'll figure out straight away if the sales assistant knows what he/she is talking about, and if not ask to speak to someone who specialises in ski.
Things may have changed since I left though...
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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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I think they always did fitting? The surrey quays store in london has always seemed to have someone around able to help fit boots (even if someone else had had to go fetch the 'boot guy') and they look okay to me, at least as good as most of us were when I worked at sheffield ski village way back when. For lots of people who are okay in hire boots but would like their own to save time/better hygiene/feel like a proper skier they are a good option. I've seen them measure, do a shell fit, check width, have you flex forward and walk about a bit and there are good descriptions of the boots up and some excellent prices. Yes, not much aftersales if you get stuck and they don't do any custom work, but it can't be worse than hire fitting? And the more staff they train, the better!
On: "so many bootfitters fit according to the colour or make of boot requested" -having thought about it I'm not sure they do? My group is around 20, most of us own boots, most of us have had a couple of pairs. I've never seen a bootfitter give in to any of our desires for the "nice blue ones which match my jacket". Maybe we are just lucky.....
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have to agree a.j. when i got my fischer boots i had set my heart on a pair of green salomon ones but he told me they did not suit my level or my foot and that the red and black fischers were right for me. I also argued with him that at 6'1' tall i could not possibly be a 7.5 shoe size as i always wore size 9's. I was so wrong, the correctly fitted boots made a big difference to my skiing.
hire shops i have used in scotland and france before getting my own just ask what size and then give you them no measuring i have witnessed.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Was simply looking at boots in local Decathlon store. Young French lad started talking to me about boots. He made some recommendations etc. He is learning to be a ski instructor in-between studying in UK.
Surely staff with some knowledge is better than a 16 year old Saturday worker who has limited information.
p.s. I did not buy the boots but the last newsletter had some deals I am tempted by. 
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