 Poster: A snowHead
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My other half has hammer toes, and it's taken a while to figure out it's limited headroom in ski boots that has caused pain and not the width (surprisingly non-obvious to all apart from me one day when I suggested cutting off the front half of the foot bed to create extra headroom - which worked a miracle).
Anyway, the time has come to get new boots (without being blown out widthways) that fit properly and don't need faffing about with carefully positioned bits and pieces of footbeds.
Who out there is going to realise that the top of the boot's toe needs blowing out to accommodate high toe knuckles?
So far I've come to the conclusion that Profeet are the chaps to plump for, with Surefoot mere upstarts.
Next ski resort is Avoriaz. London/Ashford is the easiest axis for bootfitting specialists.
Does anyone have any opinion as to whether Profeet is a reasonable conclusion or not?
This is for an experienced and competent skier who aspires to comfort rather than an olympic gold medal.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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crosbie, Hmmmm, I have had a Profeet fitting. They allowed an hour for the job, which was insufficient as I needed a few modifications. I can't blame the fitter for the work they did in the time allocated, but I felt fairly pushed towards the till, whilst I overheard the fitter apologising for keeping the next client waiting.
I took my feet and uncomfortable boots to CEM to get the job finished. It was wonderful as I had his full attention and an ample appointment time. I know that other SH's have had a better experience with Profeet.
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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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CEM is in Oxfordshire...
http://www.solutions4feet.com/ :-/
Are they really head and shoulders above and worth the trip?
My other half was ready to buy any old pair of boots the other day and I had to stop her and say "With your feet you need a bloody specialist! Not just a shinier pair of boots and a good bedside manner".
I think I've convinced her to go to a specialist in London. Others have been saying "Nah. Buy 'em in a resort and then they can fix any problems", which I think may work for normal feet...
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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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I've had problems for ages with boots due to my arkwardly wide and high feet and big calves. Went to snow+rock @ Chill Factore, got seen to by the store manager, absolutley brilliant, he didn't push me into anything, acted like we had all the time in the world. I thought they were ok until i tried them on the slopes, still a bit tight on the toebox, but went back and after an hour he'd sorted it out. Well recommended.
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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 have hammer toes too and found there is ample "headroom" in my boots even with custom footbeds in place. They're Nordica GTS8.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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crosbie, CEM is most definitely worth the trip, the breakfast is highly recommended and you can hit Bicester outlet shopping too, or if you've got access to a car when in Avoriaz, get yourself along to LARGEZOOKEEPER(Jules) at Sanglard Sports in Chamonix.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 13-02-08 9:53; edited 1 time in total
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Thanks Butterfly, that's interesting to know. I'll pass on the tip about the Nordicas. My other half has Salomons.
Funnily enough it was in Chamonix (the boot doctor?) where they failed to figure out how to make them comfortable, and just blew out the width. I don't blame 'em though, I don't think my other half knew why she was in such agony and perhaps presumed it was caused by the boot being too narrow (instead of too low).
I'm in Chamonix in a few weeks and have a boot I might want expanding in the toe area by a couple of millimetres. I've plumped for micro-thin socks as the interim solution. I'll see how it goes. Last season the boots seemed to be settling in, but this season I guess the thermoflex has expanded and made things a tad cramped again.
I'll suggest Bicester, but I dunno if that's going to be a goer... :-/
I'll have a car in Avoriaz, so yup, might suggest Chamonix as another place to buy - but it's a bit of a long to and fro to adjust 'em.
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crosbie, Yes, CEM is in Oxfordshire, and I note your location as Ashford, which is quite a long drive. I guess that your other half will have the final say. Specialist bootfitters are few and far between, whereas ski boot sellers seem quite plentiful.
Another option for Chamonix is SMALLZOOKEEPER at Footworks in Chamonix Sud. She will need an appointment for a fitting.
I had heard that there were some poor bootfitters now operating in Cham. Looks like she found one. I don't believe that there is any industry examination or standard for bootfitting, though CEM is a qualified Pedorthist, and has customers from all walks of life 
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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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crosbie, another vote from me for CEM. Bicester is not that far, trains from London go from Marylebone to Bicester North about 4 times/hour and take about an hour, it's a pleasant train, good service. Or drive and make a day of it taking in the outlet village with Helly Hansen, The North Face and loads of other 'wife friendly' shops (if she's anything like me, place is heaven!) especially as you say your boots need a bit of tweaking too, you could both go and get sorted.
CEM is worth the travel. He is patient, allows plenty of time, puts up with prattling women with long list of boot complaints  , takes it all in his stride and comes up with the right solution. He knew the exact make and model of boot which would be right for my foot and he was spot on! And his attention to detail is great. I was on and on about wanting a tiny bit more room on the big toe and we were both reluctant to stretch the shell given that I had gone to him in the first place with old boots which were too big. Just as I am persuading him to stretch them he has a thought that actually the feeling I am describing might be one of toe height room and not length and so he whizzes off and nips a bit off the footbed. Bingo! Sorted! A massive improvement for a quick fix but how many bootfitters would think of that? Not many at all , most would have irreversibly stretched the shell. I feel sure that he will guide your other half to models with the required 'headroom' for her toes and will then tailor the boot perfectly.
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crosbie, another vote for CEM from me. I travelled from Manchester to see him and it was worth it. Had my first ever week of pain free sking. Would echo all that sarah above has said.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ok. Thanks sarah & minx. I've now encouraged her to strongly consider www.solutions4feet.com (It still baffles me why this is generally referred to as CEM instead.).
We'll see what she opts for. There might be an occasion to pop up there between now and April when the boots will be necessary.
Incidentally, snowbunny, she bought her boots and had them adjusted in Chamonix over 10 years ago.
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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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Sounds like a good deal.
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crosbie,
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(It still baffles me why this is generally referred to as CEM instead.).
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it's because Solutions 4 Feet is the business name and it's CEM's (screen name) business, he's called Colin and the EM are his other initials.
Loads of time between now and April, get on down 
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You know it makes sense.
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Also recommend CEM - took the time necessary!
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