Jimmy choo's

A snowHead

Question to all......

why is it that if you go to a shop and spend £300 on a pair of Jimmy Choo's, wear them to a dance and they give you blisters do you not take them back to the shop, jump up and down, swearing at the shop assistant and demanding a refund...............

but if there is the slightest pain in a ski boot (costing about the same or possibly less) the shop and the fitter are the devil incarnate.

i ask this as a bootfitter (developed thick skin over the years) it is something i hear in every shop i go into be it this country or in resort, and i am sure every bootfitter looking at this will concure. and in most cases the problems require a minor adjustment to make the boot perfect, yet i have seen people unwilling to accept this. Obviously there are more problems if the boot is not fitted properly in the first place, but there will always be some settlng in of the liner to the foot (and vise versa) which may require a tweak.

just read a thread that suggested that if the boots the skier bought from Profeet were not perfect from that moment he would be very disapointed

Is it the fact that the skier is loosing HOLIDAY time with sorting out the problems

Is it because there is a culture of 'this peice of footwear should be perfect'

many people say to me when i see them that they expect boots to hurt.....this is definately not the case they should not hurt...but they do require fitting and possible modification to stop them from hurting unless of course your feet came out of a box

i am not looking for a barrage of abuse, just an insight into why this happens and the thoughts that people have

A snowHead

CEM, personally I wouldn't spend £300 on a pair of Jimmy Choo's wink

As a new skier you don't really know what to expect of a pair of boots - Mrs H was in pretty serious pain wearing ski boots until she got a pair of Strolz boots with foam formed inners made around her feet. When I started ski-ing I experienced some pain when going up draglifts, more recently I got a pair of boots fitted at S&R and they're sufficiently comfortable that I don't loosen the bindings at lunchtime.

I remember being quite surprised when SZK said he'd expect pretty much all of his customers to be back for boot tweaking, as a simple punter this type of information isn't readily available to you...

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

Ian Hopkinson,

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CEM. I, too, used to fit ski boots for the public - almost 30 years ago for Alpine Sports (r.i.p.) in London. I think Alpine Sports introduced the 'comfort guarantee', which has been a convention for ski shops in the UK since then.

If a comfort guarantee is offered then it's hardly surprising that the customer seeks a guarantee of comfort.

End of story, I would have thought!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

CEM, maybe the thing is that you don't get people coming back to your shop and saying "wow, these fit great, I don't need to talk to you any more"!

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David Goldsmith,

if you are reffering to the guarantee offered by the big two, it is hardly a guarantee....we will take the boots back less a rental charge (around the cost price of the boot...who is losing there) i am not saying that people should not seek comfort they have every right to that, i have always said that pain is an optional extra, but they should be a little patient and accept that boots may need to be modified

a proper guarantee will offer a refund or replacement and you will find it offered by very few shops (i can name 3 or 4 there may be more)

Ian Hopkinson,

we used to get people coming back with beer, tips and sending postcards SZK gets the same in Cham so many people do appreiciate good fitting

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

After 10 weeks of skiing with painful boots, despite constant modifications, Mr C was over the moon having just had his first pain-free week after new boots with foam-injected liners from profeet. We would not expect new boots to fit perfectly and would always anticipate having to go back for adjustments. Leith at profeet got a phone call to say how pleased he was and we will pay a visit with some choccies.

After all it is free

CEM, that's because you're a bloke - you couldn't possibly be expected to understand wink

But seriously...... Actually, expensive girlies' shoes are often more comfy (relatively speaking) than cheap ones even though they look like the work of the devil. Often they have lovely padded bits that sit under the ball of your foot and the proportions of the shoe seem to be better thought out - thereby making them easier to wear. That said, clearly you're not going to have them on for 8-ish hours without sitting down. Anyway it's much easier (for me anyway) to blame your ski boots for the fact that you've spent the day skiing like a f**t rather than blaming your crap technique Toofy Grin

CEM, I see you're located in Bicester. You don't work for Beans do you? And if so, any discounts for SH's? Smile

Apologies for going a bit off-topic.

Ant

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antpj,

no I don't work for Beans, i have an orthotics & footwear clinic just down the street Toofy Grin

and yes we can sort out something if we sell what you want

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

The Jimmy Choos analogy would be a good one if it wasn't for the fact that no-one in their right minds wear a pair of shoes that hurt.

I'd prefer to put it the other way round; having spent on a pair of ski boots at least as much as on a decent pair of shoes, why aren't they comfortable and why do they slip about like eels on any mildly slippery surface?

I'm particualry grumpy because last season I managed to get my boots really comfortable, only for them to turn into the foot equivalent of iron maidens over the summer. I ended buying myself a new pair on Christmas Day (I'm worth it). I think that they just reverted to shape due to too much blowing out, not helped by me leaving them undone with no inners in all summer.

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Unless he's got unusually small feet, I think Ian will struggle to find any that fit...

You know it makes sense.

richmond,

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

CEM, haven't done yet! Could they have done what I think?

A snowHead

richmond,

A snowHead

CEM, I meant, could the boots have gone out of shape to the extent that they apparently did?

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

DavidS, since you ask, I do have 'elfin' feet... wink

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I am on my 4th season in a pair of Xwave 10's and finally my feet have moulded themselves to the boots, now they are comfortable. I'll probably need new ones next year Crying or Very sad

I am still mourning my last 2 pairs of Rachlie Flexon comp's, and have tried the Dalbello Krypton's they are not the same Evil or Very Mad

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richmond,

in a word, yes

the liners need the shell as an exoskelaton to keep them in shape, it is ok to take them out for 24 hrs or so to dry them out, but long term they need to be in the shell. the shell has got elastic memory in the plastic, if eft unclipped the cuff will try and straighten out, as for the stretches on the boot, to get a permanent stretch you have to heat the plastic to a point where you change the molecular structure (there is a fine line between this and melting it completely) and the press needs to remain in place until the plastic cools properly, some plastics stretch better than others and this varies from make to make.

the moral of the story is dry them out then leave them clipped up in a cool dark place, wardrobe, cuboard under the stairs or similar

Dypcdiver,

if you get to the uk Lockwoods in Leamington had some stock of flexons last time i spoke to them (not all sizes but most) Precision ski in Val d Isere also had a few pairs last week

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CEM, thanks.

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

Whats a Jimmy Choo?

After all it is free

Frosty the Snowman, I'm guessing it's a shoe in which you can dance.

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The first few times I skied I hired boots. The pairs I ended up with weren't UNcomfortable, but I must admit I would get to the stage when I thought "I really don't want to unclip these, coz it'll only be horrible when I do them back up again".

So I finally invested in a pair - I was the only person in the shop (the shop I was in was already getting the summer hiking stuff ready (this was Holland, in February!)) and I had loads of time and space to wander around without any pressure from friends to get a move on.

Even with Jimmy Choos (I would imagine... if only rolling eyes

) you can't know what your feet are going to feel like after 8 hours upright in them after just a shop fitting.

Still, comfort's all relative. Anyone ever been fitted for pointe shoes? wink

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

clara_jo, And as for climbing shoes.... try descending a long gully wearing shoes 2 sizes smaller than normal hehehe Evil or Very Mad

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Manda,

My comfiest shoes are Asolo - they stopped making climbing shoes about 5 yrs ago so I have had them resoled a few times - they are now falling apart *sob sob*

5.10 Anasazi's are my next most comfy - but they are a touch tight as I got them from bankrupt stock cheap (only a few sizes to pick from). They are pink though so may look like girly fashion shoes Confused

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

CEM, could never afford jimmy Choo's when I was younger and now I can I couldn't justify it .........that's half a skiing holiday!

A snowHead

Lorraine,
not really my bag either but I could dream (if i was a girlie)

A snowHead

CEM, what's an outlet village? Is it good or bad the Bicester has one?

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

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richmond,

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

David Goldsmith, Apline Sports? You worked with Martin and Jules?

CEM, Currently 97 last shapes in ski boots, 4 Billion pairs of feet on the planet. You get it right first time, you've had one hell of alot of luck, 97/4000,000,000.or they are too big. Little Angel

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SMALLZOOKEEPER,

4 billion feet sh*t that is one hell of a lot of boots to fit just think of the end of season bonus Very Happy

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CEM, New Bike. Little Angel

After all it is free

CEM, thanks. You learn something every day. Sounds like hell (the village, not Bicester, which always sounds rather pleasant, although I've never been there).

Dypcdiver, i have loads of Flexon. Just what didn't you like about the Kryptons? Little Angel

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SMALLZOOKEEPER,
motor or pedal Puzzled

Help!!

Jimmy choo's

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