ROCES Idea- Perfect Solution for English Kid Skiing in Scotland?

A snowHead

I had a search for info Roces adjustable ski boots 2 years ago when I first thought about buying them for son 1. Was very little info about them which surprised me greatly. I thought there would be loads of people looking for something like that for growing kids. Anyway, I bought the small size for son 1 as they were pretty cheap and we were hoping to get some weekends skiing done. They worked fine for two seasons but this year his feet were again too big. I scoped out various shops in Manchester to buy him some normal boots as I was sure that the next size of Roces wouldn't work as it supposedly spans 6 half sizes. But as the missus pointed out, we couldn't buy the normal single size boots until just before the ski trip as he grows 2 half sizes through the season generally. But we didn't know when our ski trip would be as we were still hoping for a last minute cheap deal at New Year. But the backup option was Scotland for a couple of days and that's a complete non starter unless you've got all the kit ready and waiting.

So I ordered another set of Roces in the next size up as a backup plan just in case we did Scotland and there was no other option. Things worked out excellently and we had a brilliant 2 days skiing at The Coe on Monday and Tuesday. As usual the queues to hire kit were enormous and we were so glad we could just hop on the lift and straight up the mountain (well, after 30 minutes queueing for lift passes ). All day I was expecting him to start complaining about sore feet, but nope, no problems at all.

Hiring boots for a week skiing abroad is fine - 30 minutes in a warm shop on a Saturday evening gets you kitted out for the week fairly easily and cheaply. And the boots probably work better than adjustable ones - more precision and control.
Owing specific sizes of boots is fine if you live near the slopes and can guarantee to use them before they are outgrown (as little as 3 months in our case)

But what do you do if you live in Manchester and spend the whole season looking at Winterhighland and taking the plunge on random weekends for a mission up north? You need to know that the kids have equipment that they can use without the hassle and expense of hiring. But you don't want to splash out on fixed size boots as you may find the weather is pants every free weekend and they don't even come out of the box all year.

So what's the catch? I think they worked out excellently. £67 well spent. But there must be some downside, do any of you know whether they make skiing significantly harder or worse? Or do you just hear nothing about them because the industry likes people spending loads of cash buying or hiring size specific boots...

PS - yesterday absolutely rocked. at 10am we were sitting in the chairlift at Glencoe in a gentle drizzle and strong wind trying to see 100ft up the mountain murk. By 1pm it had cleared up completely and the pistes were very quiet as most people had gone home in disgust. Did some lovely skiing with the kids, including the Spring Run with the 7 year old. Absolutely amazing, it almost made all the previous poo-poo weekends in Scotland worthwhile.

PPS - Isles of GlenCoe Hotel. What's that all about ... dinner, B&B, swimming pool, wine for a family of 4 for £55. That's just nuts. Go there.

A snowHead

We have bought Roxa Chameleon ski boots for our granddaughters this year when they grew out of their first secondhand boots- as with the Roces they are adjustable, the ones they have allow three different lengths. They are using them every week at "Junior Club" at the dry slope at present, but will be taking them when off to France at easter. The girls have had no complaints, and the boots seem to work well - my only thought is that if they get into racing they will not be stiff enough.

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

Haven't been to Scotland skiing for years. But gather from people in the know that you can hire near to resort rather than in resort for less money, less queues, better choice. Look for villages 10miles away...? Not sure if the Coe has somewhere suitable...

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We had some Roces boots which saw our youngest fine for a number of years. He was in the smallest model and they lasted him quite a few trips to Europe and a fair bit of dry-slope skiing too. He could in theory have moved into the next size of Roces boot, but as we have a loft full of ski boots from his big brother he is working his way through those instead.

Help!!

ROCES Idea- Perfect Solution for English Kid Skiing in Scotland?

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