 Poster: A snowHead
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I have just had the expereince of a lifetime and I want to share it with you. For those of you who have put up with ill-fitting ski boots and beleive that is the norm. Think again.
I have pronounced (sticky-out) ankle bones and have crammed them into boots for years and put up with the pain. Boot fitters in resort never fixed this situation and I was recommended on Snowheads to vist a proper clinic like ProFeet in the UK. They have a shop on Fulham high street and the difference between what they offer and that of the resort shops is a world apart.
After 2 1/2 hours of being measured, videod, analysed and having footbeds and boots moulded to fit. I now have boots more comfortable than my slippers. The total cost was less than some of the fancy resort prices and I look forward to a ski season sans pain. This is not an advertisement - just bl**dy good feedback for all snowheads with strange feet. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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keshvane, I bet you 10p they'll feel different on that oh-so-telling first run!
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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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Bode Swiller, thee of little faith.
My new ones were spot on, that CEM knows his stuff. 
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Mosha Marc,
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My new ones were spot on, that CEM knows his stuff
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Ditto.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'd suggest a better way to put it would be that professional boot fitting is the way. The fact it's in the UK is incidental. In fact i'd go so far as to say you're probably more likely to find such a service in resort than in the UK but that's another story.
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Oh my goodness, it's a while since we've had an argument about UK fitting v resort fitting.  Where's SMALL ZOOKEEPER, anyway?
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Mr D just scored for a pair of cheap Nordica Sportmachine booties via a bloke who bought them in an end of season sale last year, found they didn't fit properly and traded them in for more new ones in a resort shop. Always worth having feets which fit right.
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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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RobW, There are ways around asking about on here & waiting for someone to give a recommendation.
You could do what i did last time i bought boots. Email Footworks in Cham telling them i'd bought my previous pair of boots off of them. Saying i'm in the market for new boots but can't make it to your shop can you recommend someone in La Grave/ Serre Chevalier proceed with that recommendation to get perfectly fitted boots.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Please don't do that. Where is the *wince* smiley?
RobW, makes perfectly good points regarding accessibility of shops and reliability of information. You could indeed ask for a recommendation from the last shop you bought from, but what if you bought boots in Austria and you plan now to ski in Spain? What if these are your first boots? If you know someone in resort who can make you a good up to date recommendation then fair enough, but if not then buying in the UK from a fitter with a good reputation isn't a bad option by any means.
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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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| keshvane wrote: |
I have pronounced (sticky-out) ankle bones |
For some reason a Lilly the Pink verse just came into my head
Old Billy Wankles
Had sticky out ankles
His thighs would really bu uh hurn.
So they gave him
Custom Footbeds
Now he schusses and never turns
Oh weeeellllll drink a drink a drink to lilly the pink the pink the pink...
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| keshvane wrote: |
| ........I now have boots more comfortable than my slippers........ |
They'll be too big then.
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You know it makes sense.
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At this point I feel obliged to say that I bought my boots in a sale seven seasons ago, have never had anything done to them, am still skiing in them, and they are still (as they have ever been) as comfortable as slippers. So there.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Lizzard, but presumably you have webbed feet?
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Poster: A snowHead
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spyderjon,
Yeah I was gonna say - my boots feel great when I ski in them, but not so great when out of skis - i certainly wouldn't say they fitted like slippers!! More like a glove. Mine were fitted at Footworks in Chamonix.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Hurtle, I'm here in Chamonix Skiing and working in our new shop. 
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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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Think the point worth remembering in this post is that finding a bootfitter is critical, resort or otherwise, many pros to having boots done in resort, but in the end you guys decide where and when you spend your money and time. I clearly see the benefits of doing the job in resort having done it both in the UK and abroad, I think in that respect I'm alone.
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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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SMALLZOOKEEPER, I would certainly opt for resort, just because I've never had boots fitted where i've not needed to go back a second time for adjustments. If i had to wait until i got back to the UK, it would ruin my holiday, and i wouldn't want to go and pay some random boot fitter you will then go too far with the adjustments.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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beanie1, profeet have a deal with Freeride in Meribel and if you need any work done in resort the local guys do it FOC. seems a nice solution to me. get em done at home, break em in and if any probs they get swiftly sorted in resort. Myself i wouldnt want to be in brand new boots for a week away nor sit in a bootfitters chair when im on hols...
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skimottaret, that sounds like a good set up.
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skimottaret, beanie1, I must admit that does seem an excellent idea - perhaps one that some more of the UK might consider as an idea - it certainly sounds the best of both worlds.
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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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Wherever you have it done you need to be prepared to spend loads of time and as much money as it takes. And be in a position to go back to the same fitter for further tweaking as necessary - and have not only a professional fitter you trust but one with whom you share a common language to a high level of subtlety. For some people that will mean in the UK, for others in a resort. My current boots (from CEM in Bicester) are a full size smaller than any I've had before, which tells its own story, really.
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For sure, I'm sure we would offer that with Colin, have done with Lockwoods in the past.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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for a touring gearhead like me, there is no choice but to buy abroad because all the UK shops are about 2 seasons behind. pros and cons to both but buying and initial fitting from SMALLZOOKEEPER and getting the odd tweak out of season from CEM has served me pretty well
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I would have thought professional fitting in the UK is the best option for most people. But it's a risky business if you can't try the boots before heading off to the mountains. Last time I had a pair fitted in the UK I broke them in at the Snowdome and all was fine. But I had my current pair fitted in resort, but with the proviso a) I know the shop and fitter well b) I ski in the same resort regularly c) I was there long enough to afford a day off skiing to get them fitted properly. If I was heading to resort X for a week of skiing I certainly wouldn't consider going through the boot fitting process while out there.
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You know it makes sense.
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As no two feet are the same, therefore combinations of feet shapes and shells are near on infinite there is no way i could be as precise as I can be in the UK. Falling on the side of too precise is only possible with you here in resort, back in the UK you have to edge on the side of caution as to not ruin somebody's holiday. Having fitted boots both in resort and in the Uk and seen the difference in my work and the happiness of my clients I am certain the job is best seen in resort, not every resort, not by every bootfitter fo sho'.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I agreed with skimottaret about that method. I went to Surefoot in Verbier, got the full heat/foam treatment thingy, tok them out on the hill and went back about 3 times for tweaks, now they fit like very well fitting ski boots (not slippers, you need some feedback). There are Lange Fluids, 4 years now and never a problem apart from a bit if shin bang on the first day of a new season, but that's no bad thing because it reminds me to keep my technique as true as possible.
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