 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Taking the plunge to buy some boots for myself. Experience skier of 30 some years but have mostly hired. I did have my own boots when I has a foray with ski racing in the 1990's.
Anyway looking for a recommendation of where to have some boots fitted and bought. Live near Newark but trip up or down A1 relatively easy.
Not heard good things about EB at Castleford but this was admittedly a few years ago.
Advice please....
ps any recommendations on a boot - widish feet
Thanks all 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| RetroBod wrote: |
ps any recommendations on a boot - widish feet
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No need to get recommendations, a decent boot fitter will put you in the right boot for your feet.
You might want to reflect whether to wait until new seasons stock is in (autumn) so that you can be reasonably confident of getting the right boot rather than what's left.
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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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EB at Tamworth fridge did a good job for me, as have Lockwoods in Leamington Spa but as @Tubaski says stocks will be low at this time of year, unless it is urgent I'd wait till the new season stock appears late summer.
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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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Thanks both. Good advice.
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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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Your are less than 2 hours from Bicester. Go see Colin at Solutions for Feet. I shall be making the trip ahead of next season.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Closer than those is Tallington Lakes near Stamford. Not tried them myself, but may be worth a quick look. Not sure on the widths of their stock, best give them a call.
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I'm going to say something completely different to what you've got here.
This season I bought new boots, and I bought them in resort. I never thought I'd buy in resort - inflated prices, inexperienced season staff, rushed timings... and in the end none of this happened.
You see it's logical that every resort has at least one proper shop. There must be, for the pros / racers / instructors etc. I approached a group of instructors in a bar and asked them where they got their boots and skis serviced. They pointed me to this shop, and I bought my boots there. The boots cost less there than I could get them online in the UK for. They did a really thorough job of fitting them and did far more customisation than simply heat moulding (which a lot of shops consider to be the be-all and end-all of boot fitting).
But the reason I would say to buy in resort above all else, is that immediately after the fitting, I went out on the mountain. I spent about 2-3 hours on the mountain, and then went back to the shop. I told them all the places it felt bad and what it felt like, they did some more work, I took them back out and wore them another 2-3 hours then took them back and did a bit more work. Then I skied another day or two on them, took them back in for some final adjustments and now they're an extremely well fitted pair of boots.
As much as I can say nothing bad about Colin - who made brilliant footbeds for me - you cannot get that service anywhere in the UK. Not even in a fridge, spending 2-3 hours going up and down the button lift is nothing like 2-3 hours on a mountain.
I can honestly say that I would now recommend finding a good shop, and getting fitting done in resort. I am a complete convert to it. The ability to trial the boots and make refinements several times in the space of a day far outweighs the convenience of having it done at home. A lot of UK shops (this doesn't include Colin) will simply heat mould the boots, make some footbeds and send you on your merry way. That is not in the same league as a thorough day's boot fitting and trialling them on the mountain.
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[quote="dp"]I'm going to say something completely different to what you've got here.
This season I bought new boots, and I bought them in resort. I never thought I'd buy in resort - inflated prices, inexperienced season staff, rushed timings... and in the end none of this happened.
You see it's logical that every resort has at least one proper shop. There must be, for the pros / racers / instructors etc. I approached a group of instructors in a bar and asked them where they got their boots and skis serviced. They pointed me to this shop, and I bought my boots there. The boots cost less there than I could get them online in the UK for. They did a really thorough job of fitting them and did far more customisation than simply heat moulding (which a lot of shops consider to be the be-all and end-all of boot fitting).
But the reason I would say to buy in resort above all else, is that immediately after the fitting, I went out on the mountain. I spent about 2-3 hours on the mountain, and then went back to the shop. I told them all the places it felt bad and what it felt like, they did some more work, I took them back out and wore them another 2-3 hours then took them back and did a bit more work. Then I skied another day or two on them, took them back in for some final adjustments and now they're an extremely well fitted pair of boots.
As much as I can say nothing bad about Colin - who made brilliant footbeds for me - you cannot get that service anywhere in the UK. Not even in a fridge, spending 2-3 hours going up and down the button lift is nothing like 2-3 hours on a mountain.
I can honestly say that I would now recommend finding a good shop, and getting fitting done in resort. I am a complete convert to it. The ability to trial the boots and make refinements several times in the space of a day far outweighs the convenience of having it done at home. A lot of UK shops (this doesn't include Colin) will simply heat mould the boots, make some footbeds and send you on your merry way. That is not in the same league as a thorough day's boot fitting and trialling them on the mountain.[/quote
I totally agree. After a booting fitting in the UK by a well regarded boot fitter (never worn such uncomfortable boots) the only way for me is as above.
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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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But the flip side of that coin is that you will be wasting precious holiday time to go & get fitted, and then possibly go back a number of times for adjustments (wasting yet more valuable time).
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@dp,
@Jerby,
I would agree :
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Not even in a fridge, spending 2-3 hours going up and down the button lift is nothing like 2-3 hours on a mountain.
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Boots fitted and skied in UK fridge perfectly for around 15 times at approx 2 hours each time - no issues at all. Third mountain day onwards, now got quite a strong pain over Distal Tibia ( inside ankle bone above instep) this has gotta be fixed!
Because i flex significantly more on a real mountain ( greater momentum etc) clearly this has brought up additional fitting issues... I feel like i need a really good bootfitter to do this now.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| snowglider wrote: |
| But the flip side of that coin is that you will be wasting precious holiday time to go & get fitted, and then possibly go back a number of times for adjustments (wasting yet more valuable time). |
At least you shouldn't waste "ski time", as most shops are open in the evening.
If you get them fitted in the UK and they turn out to need adjustments while skiing in resort....you will have the same problem, only it will take money to fix.
There are pros and cons what ever you do.
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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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| Old Fartbag wrote: |
| There are pros and cons what ever you do. |
This.
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I agree, fitting in resort is the way to go if you can find the right place.
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