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Ski Boots South West UK

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Any decent ski boot fitters in South West UK?
I sold my old boots as they had some heel lift after 30 days that wasn't present when I originally bought them. Turns out the shell fit was really loose.
Was hoping to go to something like Profeet but think they might only be in London.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
www.solutions4feet.com 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?
They only have Atomic, Head, and Lange in stock. I hope that's enough choice...I had Solomon's before.
I worry about places with lack of range as they may give you something not quite ideal for your feet.
Want to get it right this time...
Looks like they charge for any boot modifications though in addition to assessments and stuff.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
GordonFreeman, I wouldn't worry about the issue of what www.solutions4feet.com (or CEM) has in stock. He'll measure your feet and suggest the best boot for your feet. He measured my feet and suggested an appropriate boot, I went to a shop (the place in Hillingdon, forgotten the name), tried the boot, it fitted very well and I bought it. Been back to CEM a couple of times since for modifications, once to have some plates fitted to the soles to sort lateral alignment and again to have the flex softened. As long as he's around I'll never go to S & R for boots again.


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Fri 13-03-09 15:45; edited 3 times in total
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
GordonFreeman, I echo what Kelskii said, I don't think CEM will sell you something that isn't suitable. He has a reputation as one of the best bootfitters, which is well deserved in my experience.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
salomon boots will be available on our range for next season also Toofy Grin
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Buy in resort, these days it's super easy to find a capable Bootfitter in most resorts.
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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!
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
Buy in resort, these days it's super easy to find a capable Bootfitter in most resorts.

and 50% more expensive
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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.
Spyderman, but 200% more chance of success and less wasted time. 80% of our clients are those that have bought in the UK, no price on a wasted holiday during a financial crisis i guess. Who told you we are 50% more expensive, a British sales person? I'd have to agree that we are more expensive but are prepared to move at this point to help you we've never been 50% more expensive than MRRP in the UK, but if/when your boots may last 10 years, the price is more than recuperated with our UK back up service. And that's from someone who has worked in both resort and in the UK. Little Angel
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
SMALLZOOKEEPER, I'll agree to disagree and continue to buy my boots in Bicester. The breakfast is better.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
In resort I'd much rather be skiing than trying to find a capable boot fitter, what if the resort is small and has no decent bootfitter? How would you get to know who the decent boot fitters are when you're visiting a small resort for the first time? Buying in resort may be a good idea...sometimes but not always.
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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.
Spyderman, Exactly. Colour, Breakfast, it's all the same. Cool
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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
Kelskii, I talk with 5 of you a day, perhaps oneday we'll meet, when you've bought your boots in the UK and are stranded, spending your time and money in resort. Cool
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
ISMALLZOOKEEPER, You're obviously suggesting that all bootfitters in the UK are the same and I've nothing against having my boots tweaked in resort by someone good (like you?) but I'll continue to have them fitted over here.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Kelskii, Nope i'm not suggesting thet Bootfitters in the UK are all the same, far from it, but buying in the UK is a far less successful way of buying ski boots in my experience. We are just one shop, in Chamonix, and we have 5 people on average wonder in each day needing work done on boots bought in the Uk by good and bad bootfitters. So you saying that you do not wish to spend valueable ski time in a shop in resort isn't neccessaryly going to be the case. We retro modify around 60% of our boots sold, mainly as they are pecision fitted. I therefore would expect 60% (at least) of boots bought in the uk (if fitted pecisely) to need modifiying, and unless you are going to fly home each time, i would suggest that you are going to be visiting the bootfitter in resort, and if they are a good bootfitters, you're going to be waiting around a far amonut (cos they'll be too busy for drop ins and exterior customers) and you will also be paying full wack for modifications (circa 60€ per hour plus parts) which both negate your time issue and Spydermans money saved issue. Buy in the UK? Please do, you're getting one step closer to buying in resort, see you soon!!!! Cool
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
SMALLZOOKEEPER and CEM often are recommended on this and other forums as excellent boot fitters.

However I think that SMALLZOOKEEPER assumes that all resort bootfitters (and ski shops) are as good as him. My experience of French resorts is that there are a plerothora of Ski Shops, that brands are split up in a resort so you need to shop around and Ski Shops can be intimidating to the novice skier who might be distrustful of the interests of the vendor. In my case I bought from S&R following some CEM advice, he suggested coming back to him if I had any problems, because I couldn't get an appointment in time, in reality they fitted (and still fit) fine.

I must admit that my S&R (Portsmouth) experience wasn't brilliant, the fitter wasn't confidence inspiring, the guy who was was serving someone else, however the S&R guys seem to be trained and work to a script, which I think would ensure that you don't go out with inappropriate boots.

You need to leave plenty of time to try boots and not have an appointment somewhere else to get to!

With hindsight I would only buy boots from someone who was recommended, and if this were the case I would not be concerned whether they were in the UK or a resort.

The price is sort of irrelevant, bad fitting boots will ruin a holiday, and the price difference is probably the cost of a round of beers in the 3 Valleys!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
DavidYacht, All agreed, but again, the average BF in resort will be of a way better standard than the average in the Uk, IMO, that said we/they can be an arsey lot!!!
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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?
SMALLZOOKEEPER, I think which bootfitter I go to depends firstly on recommendation, then my experience of their service once I've been to them. I'm perfectly happy with the service offered by CEM, however if he wasn't around, based on my previous experience, I would be taking the trip to Chamonix to see LARGEZOOKEEPER
It's the quality of the individual which is my top priority.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
Buy in resort, these days it's super easy to find a capable Bootfitter in most resorts.

Can you recommend one in Les Arcs?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
GordonFreeman, back to the original question - I've always done alright out of South devon Ski at Newton Abbot.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
...and profeet in London?
Sounds like they have more high tech machines but it's an back bottom to get to and park.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
GordonFreeman, just bite the bullet & go see CEM
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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!
DavidYacht wrote:
SMALLZOOKEEPER and CEM often are recommended on this and other forums as excellent boot fitters.

However I think that SMALLZOOKEEPER assumes that all resort bootfitters (and ski shops) are as good as him. My experience of French resorts is that there are a plerothora of Ski Shops, that brands are split up in a resort so you need to shop around and Ski Shops can be intimidating to the novice skier who might be distrustful of the interests of the vendor. In my case I bought from S&R following some CEM advice, he suggested coming back to him if I had any problems, because I couldn't get an appointment in time, in reality they fitted (and still fit) fine.

I must admit that my S&R (Portsmouth) experience wasn't brilliant, the fitter wasn't confidence inspiring, the guy who was was serving someone else, however the S&R guys seem to be trained and work to a script, which I think would ensure that you don't go out with inappropriate boots.

You need to leave plenty of time to try boots and not have an appointment somewhere else to get to!

With hindsight I would only buy boots from someone who was recommended, and if this were the case I would not be concerned whether they were in the UK or a resort.

The price is sort of irrelevant, bad fitting boots will ruin a holiday, and the price difference is probably the cost of a round of beers in the 3 Valleys!


S&R aren't particularly great, as you say it depends on the fitter. When I got my boots, I got nothing measured apart from the length of my foot. I then got given a shell that was way too big. Seemed comfy at the time but after 30 days the heel started to come loose in the boot so I got rid of 'em. To be fair I went back to S&R a couple years later and the fitter that time told me the original fitter was a muppet, suggested some different options, and gave me a shimmy but it just made the boot uncomfortable.
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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.
GordonFreeman, Definately go see CEM - no question. If he can't sort you out, no one can. If I moved to Scotland, I'd still make the trip to him to get my boots fitted.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
How worth it is this type of thing when it comes to boot fitting:
bio mechanical analysis, feet pressure mapping?
Seems to be what profeet do: http://www.profeet.co.uk/ski_comfortguarantee.asp
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
GordonFreeman, Means a huge amount if you can translate the data into work that requires good hand to eye co-ordination, otherwise it's just Blah, Blah, Blah.
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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 believe that the boot fitters in the Uk can be as good if not better than european resort bootfitters. I've worked for a certain chain store and we also have many a boot coming back in bought in resorts that are uncomfortable or ill fitting. Most occasions it's due to boots being oversized to fit comfortably in the shop then they get huge over the course of a few weeks skiing.

The larger chains in general have excellent training for the boot fitters. S+R have a training team that goes throughout the southern and northern stores, generally the southern stores tend to be of a higher boot fitting standard.
Ellis Brigham have intensive training days from world cup level boot fitters and also from Comformable.

Obviously the level of the boot fitters can vary massively in the larger chains as you have staff which have worked selling boots and skis from 25 years to a few months. But at least they stock the larger ranges of boots so there is generally something that will suit your foot shape and ability.

In the north we have Julian Thorpe who is a well renowned boot fitter with over 25 years of experience, he is also 2 thirds of his way through his podiatry course at University so has a top class foot knowledge.


Ideally try to find one of the more experienced staff members in a shop or go on recommendations from other people, but please remember, without a custom insole a boot will not fit properly and sometimes it's not the boots problem. It's your foot!
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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
unity,2 year old thread, well done!!

quick synopsis incase you missed it over the past 2 years

GordonFreeman came to visit, we ordered in a boot which he subsequently didn't want, he bought a pair of something else from a large chain store and i believe returned said boots as he was not happy with them, alas he started another thread a month or so ago entitled the same but this time does not want to travel past bristol

got to love this site Toofy Grin
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