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Zipfits - have they gone bust?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I am trying to contact them re a shop in UK (south east) or Italy.

No reply on US number. No reply on Italian number (get a US answering message). Email sales@sandbox.zipfit.com is dead (bounces back). Website message box dead (captcha timeout error).
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Peter Stevens, what do you need to know/ i stock zipfit based in Bicester
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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?
Unlikely. The email is sales@zipfit.com - not sure where the sandbox one is from. The website is working fine (https://www.zipfit.com/contact/). There are a few decent bootfitters in the SE of Eng who are Zipfit stockists, including the usual suspects on here. Google will help if you are not near Profeet, Bartlett, Solutions for Feet, Ski Exchange etc.
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That email is on their website. I have re-sent to the other one; thank you.

I am looking for a shop, but most UK ones are too far away. I will be in Italy soon and asked if they have outlets near where I am going.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Peter Stevens wrote:
I am looking for a shop, but most UK ones are too far away.


Where are you based in the UK?
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In the Brighton/Gatwick area.
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@Peter Stevens, if it is really important I would get round to Bicester. We manage to get there from Chichester ok.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
My email did work. I've just got a call from them in Italy and they are definitely in business. An interesting product; you warm it up the first time. It continues to "form" subsequently. The normal heated liners work for a bit and then work loose, which is exactly what I found.

We might make a "day out in London" out of this. Normally we try to avoid the place Smile

Apparently a lot of people just buy these liners mail order but I find it surprising that it will fit right. The fit is so critical. And they are very expensive. Interestingly they imply that the best way to use these liners is to zip them up on your foot and then stick the whole thing into the outer shell.

Many thanks all.
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@Peter Stevens, The Skiers Lounge just past Horsham do Zipfits and in house fitting too.
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Nobody in there right mind should buy zipfits by mail order. There's a number of models with differing volumes so good fitter is needed to assess which is required and then do the heat mold etc. But they're not a solution for a shell that's too big to start with , which many people have.

And they don't actually have a zip, they lace up.
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Toying with the idea of Zipfits (slight thread drift) as my liners are cracked and squashed after around 24 weeks of quite hard skiing. The shells look and feel OK but I wonder what might happen if I go for a halfway house and then need to change boots. Would the Zipfits transfer to the new shells if they were different?? I guess that I would be sticking with something similar to my current boots (Atomic Redster Pro 120 - Circa 2014) so the volume would not be very different....... Thoughts please Boffins?
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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.
There's lots of Snowheads have zipfits, myself included. Mine were fitted into an existing pair of boots by @CEM. I love them.

I've tried putting them on my feet then sliding them into the shells but have never succeeded.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Klamm Franzer wrote:
......Would the Zipfits transfer to the new shells if they were different??......

Yes they can be transferred (within size limitations etc) and remolded so that the outside of the liner molds to the inside of the new shell.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Klamm Franzer wrote:
Toying with the idea of Zipfits (slight thread drift) as my liners are cracked and squashed after around 24 weeks of quite hard skiing. The shells look and feel OK but I wonder what might happen if I go for a halfway house and then need to change boots. Would the Zipfits transfer to the new shells if they were different?? I guess that I would be sticking with something similar to my current boots (Atomic Redster Pro 120 - Circa 2014) so the volume would not be very different....... Thoughts please Boffins?


so long as you are in the same size ands something approximately the same volume then all is good they can move very easily, what wont work is a liner in your old redster pro going into a big high volume shell and hoping it will take up the space

zipfit won't make up for a shell which is too big or has too much volume in the first place, but it can add security of fit and precision to a good shell either where you need that little more heel hold or where a liner has died.... my last pair went through at least 3 shells before they went to the bin
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
^ agree. I've just retired a pair of Zipfits, Sven Coomer fitted them for me in NZ in , erm, 1998. I still skied them until last year and they'd been in 4 shells.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
orange wrote:
^ agree. I've just retired a pair of Zipfits, Sven Coomer fitted them for me in NZ in , erm, 1998. I still skied them until last year and they'd been in 4 shells.


believe me the new ones are so much better than the old ones from round that time, this last pair have been the best
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
In my opinion, FWIW, anyone UK based and considering Zipfits should go to CEM in Bicester. With ski boots, getting them right first time more than justifies the time commitment and cost. It's about the only aspect of skiing where compromise/corner cutting is usually pointless.
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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?
CEM wrote:
orange wrote:
^ agree. I've just retired a pair of Zipfits, Sven Coomer fitted them for me in NZ in , erm, 1998. I still skied them until last year and they'd been in 4 shells.


believe me the new ones are so much better than the old ones from round that time, this last pair have been the best


Yeah I need to have a look at them as my current liners are starting to fall apart now. I worked for Sven and he taught me (what little) I know about bootfitting etc over 2 winters, amazing guy with a wealth of knowledge and a pretty handy skiier in his day.
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Deleted as a duplicate post ... I shouldn't use the back button on the browser....


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 22-12-21 15:58; edited 1 time in total
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
custom liners are the best investment I've made. I picked up a cheap pair of bootdoctors & DIY it for snowboarding!
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@Peter Stevens, if you are going to make a day out in London you will be lugging your boots around. Unless you are going to drive and park of course.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
make sure wherever you are planning on going has the liner you need in the size you need, i know for a fact that some of the "stockists" don't have much stock

rough guide to models 92/93mm race boot +Corsa, 98mm boot + Gara, 100mm or more = Grand prix Freeride, this can change if you have a very high or low volume foot in a shell
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Skeet wrote:
In my opinion, FWIW, anyone UK based and considering Zipfits should go to CEM in Bicester. With ski boots, getting them right first time more than justifies the time commitment and cost. It's about the only aspect of skiing where compromise/corner cutting is usually pointless.


+1

Mine were fitted by CEM, as were my boots and are the best thing I have done equipment-wise for my skiing. Superb.
Well worth the 3hour + drive each way.

Interestingly, I always put them on first then slide into shell - horses for courses I suppose.


No relation to Solutions 4 Feet either, other than a very happy customer.
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Unfortunately I can't recommend solutions 4 feet as I haven't been yet but plan on putting the effort in and making a trip from aberdeenshire some point this season for zipfits. Existing nordica liner seams to have compressed down after 12 weeks of skiing.
Options are driving 1000 miles or flying to Heathrow and hiring a car.
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What is wrong with the Skier Lounge? It is just up the road, relatively speaking.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Hi @Peter Stevens, can I ask why you're specifically looking at Zipfits? Are you having issues with your current boots/liners? I have a recollection that you might already have spent quite a bit on boots, so if you're still not happy with them, I'd suggest discussing this with a good boot fitter, who should be able to help diagnose the issue and recommend an appropriate solution.
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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.
I am looking at them because they come relatively highly recommended, and by forming themselves "continuously" they seem to avoid the issue which I have had: you get a thermally fitted liner which works and is nice and comfy, for a few weeks, and then "moves around" and gets sloppy and you have to tighten it up more and more. Especially at the top. On my last trip (last week) I got some nasty "injuries" (cut skin) caused by an apparent disintegration of a Sidas thermal liner, about 10cm above the ankle (there is a joint there in the liner; maybe current-year versions of the Sidas are different). The shop (Italy) was puzzled by the failure (of a ~€250 liner which had seen only a few weeks of skiing) but they didn't have one in the right size, so I did nothing, also not wishing to blow yet more money; I managed to ski another day with some silicone pads stuffed inside the socks but now I am glad to be back home and healing up. Italy may yet screw Brits post-xmas... I had a similar thing with wax-injected liners before that (can't recall the brand, but certainly not cheap).

The problem is that in this game everybody is an expert (same as everybody is an expert skier, although that one is more true of people you meet on the slopes) and everybody tells you that what you have is crap, etc. To a large extent that happens here too. Of shops, no two shops say the same thing, true also of shops posting on forums, and I would expect ski resort shops to have far more experience (at a price, of course; the stuff is cheaper in the UK). They certainly have the kit: laser foot scanners, etc. and they have vast stocks compared to UK shops. I've been to some ski shops in London a few years ago, where they keep 5 boots and one of them "will be right for you, sir" Smile I started off with boots 1cm too wide, because that's all the shop had left, shortly before it went bust. One ski shop, near the A27, somewhere near Eastleigh/Portsmouth IIRC, didn't want to talk about boots: some young lad telling me "it takes me an hour to sort out boots but I can sell a £500 ski jacket in 5 mins". Well, no surprise; there is practically no skiing in the UK and the resort shops are so much bigger, so the business is hard.

So I am doing some "research" and then I will try it out. Can't be any worse than what I've had previously. And my legs/feet are quite normal. In the right conditions, I really enjoy skiing and am very happy with the kit I have (yes; those with lots of time to wade through posts 2-3 years ago will evidently find I got the p1ss taken out for skiing with what somebody called baby skis; real men ski with 2.2m skis Wink ) but the boot liners remain a problem which I do need to sort out.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I really could not recommend anyone better than CEM at Solutions4feet in Bicester. He didn’t palm me off with a just about good enough fit the first time I went - he got something more suitable in for me. He also told my OH there was nothing wrong with his existing boots that a new footbed would not correct. They kept him going another three years or so till he returned and bought new boots. And even then the relatively new footbeds were transferred to the new
boots. But it is up to you of course.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Peter Stevens, in that case, I'd suggest giving a couple of boot fitters a call to discuss the issue. No point driving miles to one of they don't have the right things in stock to sort the issue.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Peter Stevens, I would go and see Colin at Solutions4Feet. He is the best you will find in the UK and will take the time to sort out what is best for you.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Peter Stevens, IIRC Skiers Lounge has been recommended elsewhere on this forum for boot fitting. No personal experience (for UK fitters i can only add my endorsement for @CEM).

As @sugarmoma666, says, get yourself and your boots along to a good fitter and I'm sure they will be able to help.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Peter Stevens, I would ring Colin at Solutions 4 feet in Bicester and discuss what he can do for you.
I've no other interest other than he bought me a beer once Very Happy and I have sent him friends as recently as last month who are very happy with the service he provides.
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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?
@Peter Stevens, if you've no faith in uk fitters, base a ski trip on getting some. Don't fall foul of thinking just because they're in the Alps they know what they're doing and they'll have what you want in stock. Chamonix would be your best best there are several shops with multiple boot fitters and they have loads of stock between them all. I kinda know what your saying about a UK fitter. If you're not skiing in the UK. Not much they can do for you when your on your holiday and you need some mods
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Klamm Franzer wrote:
Toying with the idea of Zipfits (slight thread drift) as my liners are cracked and squashed after around 24 weeks of quite hard skiing. The shells look and feel OK but I wonder what might happen if I go for a halfway house and then need to change boots. Would the Zipfits transfer to the new shells if they were different?? I guess that I would be sticking with something similar to my current boots (Atomic Redster Pro 120 - Circa 2014) so the volume would not be very different....... Thoughts please Boffins?


I love my Zip Fits...have used the same liner in two pairs of boots so far. Awesome heel hold, no sign of packing out. And they added a bit of stiffness and damping to my lightweight Atomic Hawx boots (not that that'll be needed in your Redsters). Though they have lambswool in the toe box, they aren't the warmest; I'm looking at heated socks or a warmer insole to keep my toes warm.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thank you all for the input here.

I phoned up Ski Lounge (local to me) and the guy said he doesn't know if they have Zipfits in stock; told me to look on their website.

So I phoned up Solutions for Feet and the guy sounded really clued up. So I did the 5hr drive to Bicester and back. A kind of Littlehampton (charity shops and nail bars) but in the Cotswolds Smile No problem parking.

It's a great shop. Not a ski shop; they just do boots and liners and a few other bits. Appointment only. 1hr slots.

The Zipfit liners feel great. Very good fit right out of the box. Contrary to what others say they *are* heat moulded initially (with gentle heat only used) and that improved the ankles for me. The preferred way to get in and out of the boots is to lace the liners on and get in and out of the shell with them on - avoids cutting your foot on the boot edges. Dead easy to get out which is a huge bonus for me; getting in that way needs a "technique". A bit of yoga would come in handy (women will be ok) so I need to practice Smile A really excellent product.

The guy is really clued-up (a former ski instructor too) and I learnt a lot; stuff like the order of doing up the buckles.

The old Sidas liners were badly damaged, after only 1-2 weeks of usage! Overheating was suspected, and from the timing (my Head boots originally came with Liquid Fit liners, which didn't work for me) it would have been one of several shops. Due to the 2 year gap I can't remember which and where. The resin formed sharp blobs under the fabric and that cut my foot, bad enough to bleed. I noticed that current Sidas liners (same model) are constructed differently and don't have a joint in that area like the old ones did, so this probably happened to others. Anyway the view was that Sidas would have walked away, after 2 years, so the liners went in the bin. A lot of money wasted (€200+) but that's normal in the ski business.

The Zipfit price was good. About what one can pay in a resort for Sidas.


Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Thu 30-12-21 12:17; edited 1 time in total
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@Peter Stevens, so glad you had a good fitting appointment and that the Zipfits feel right for you.
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So you've finally found someone in the ski industry who isn't conning you and yet many people here would have recommended in the first place. Now to do something about those kids size skis.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Dave of the Marmottes wrote:
So you've finally found someone in the ski industry who isn't conning you and yet many people here would have recommended in the first place. Now to do something about those kids size skis.

Laughing
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Not long before the nasty crowd turned up Smile

Dave of the Marmottes
Posts: 33680

Good form! Even better than 2 years ago Smile

spyderjon
Posts: 10221
Location: The Piste Office, Nottingham
https://www.thepisteoffice.com/
Please feel free to call or email for advice.

No thanks; any normal customer reading the owner's forum posts here is unlikely to bother. The owner did after all need considerable time to generate 10221 posts, in between serving customers Smile
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Just out of curiosity (and I fully expect to be proved wrong, but hey it is better than arguing about covid, Brexit, and transvestites snowHead), I see two cases for buying ZipFit liners:

1- You have shells which you like, and the liners are packed. However, it seems to me that the prices are barely competitive with buying new boots? It looks like €400 odd a pair? Surely it is better to pay a little bit more, and get new boots without e.g. shell wear from walking/bindings, damaged buckles etc.

2- You have strange shaped feet/problems which require extra fitting. This means that, while there are shells which can be adjusted, the OEM liners are inadequate. How many people does this really cover? How often (provocative!) are ZipFits and similar sold to get customers fitting in the boots which are in stock?

Little Angel
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