 Poster: A snowHead
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I've returned from a ski trip to Davos - and feel i ought to post my experience having boots fitted by Heierling...
http://www.heierling.ch/
Short review would be that i wished i took a couple of pairs of my golf shoes along to have foot beds made by them.....
Anyway... start at beginning - i first skied more than 20 years ago, stopped for some time and restarted when rear entry boots and ski's that towered over your head had disappeared. Restarted in Val d'Isere with a very good instructor Woody (http://www.progressionski.com/about.php?id=3) and decided to buy my own boots for comfort,fit and ease of future ski trips. I'd already experienced discomfort previously with ski boots - so knew my feet were in some way not 'standard' or didn't appreciate boots off the rack (rentals).
Fitted for a pair of Salomon X-wave 9's - and with a custom footbed.
Good, but quickly had issues - especially with the left foot, and feeling of 'crow' foot where i got discomfort under the foot pad just below the next to little toe... they blew the boot out in that area - but never got rid of that ache, even when i had a fitter in Mt Tremblant (Canada) look at it......
Some time later, on a return trip to Val D'Isere, decided i'd try Surefoot - or else, i'd have to stop skiing and go for comfy boots and snow boarding 
Same issues after a few days (made worse by buying the boots after a couple of days in the Salomons - so my feet were already sore and swollen....).
well..... did try Woodies snowboard, but meh.
Boots were comfy though 
So.....
this year the Usual Skiing Partners were off to Davos..... hmmmm.
Had considered making a trip to UK to visit Profeet but googling turned up a reference to Heierling - and the website, seemed to care about the right things.... (i live in Bangkok, Thailand - so not too many ski boot fitters out here).
SO - HEIERLING
Made an appointment and turned up 9am (from Davos Dorf station, as you exit the platform to the street, turn right and walk along the street - railway lines on your right - and you'll see a big mural on a building across the tracks to the right. Cross the tracks at first crossing and take that right hand road to the building...)
Feet measured and 'felt up' and a decent discussion on how much i skied, level and preferences etc.
I mentioned the left foot problem - and that i get the exact same discomfort when golfing (while walking) at some point during the round....
If you visit their website, then i can tell you that they will use that gear with you - not just the race Pro's etc (apparently they fit the Atomic ski team worldwide)... more to the point, the lasers and pressure beds are connected to computers - so my fitter (Christophe) set me up on the pressure sensitive plates (barefoot) and had me stand and flex my knees slightly up/down for approx 10 sec to see how i stand/centre of gravity moves etc....
turns out almost all my left foot pressure is on the outside left edge of my foot (so blowing out a boot to make room was never going to fix the actual problem) - and other issues with my stiff/inflexible hips and a slight 'gimp' in them etc. So they WILL check your posture, setup and your feet - far more than Surefoot or anyone else ever did. So footbeds were made to deal with this and my pronation, high arch .....
Boots were discussed - looked at some Salomons and Atomic Hawx (they worked on the development of these).... checked out the shell size for me. Atomics were chosen (Salomon's were wider in forefoot, but Atmoics still had enough room for me)... and foamed away.... except a far better foaming then i'd had with Surefoot.
Firstly, they'll stick extra thin pads (on outside of your sock) on any bony protrusion they'll feel on your feet to give that area a little relief once foamed. Also the guys (one guy for each foot) have you flex and rotate the leg/knees while initial foaming to ensure the foam works its way evenly into the liner - the top clips are NOT done up while you do this, but once ready they'll clip up the boots (to the settings they've already checked beforehand) and let the foam expand/set. Wait, wince, wince etc etc.
After all that - they really do check your posture and canting - and grind the boot to suit.
Skied that afternoon - and only very slight left foot old discomfort feeling, was quite different skiing, as old compensations were no longer necessary (even caught an outside edge which is a rarity for me)...
Next day - skied all morning, stopped for a G & T (was going to be a beer but saw the bottle of Hendricks), and realised i had had NO pain/discomfort at all, even with my left foot. I felt no desperate need to even unclip the boots for lunch. A first.
So, it continued. 4 1/2 days skiing without ANY of that left foot issue at all - extraordinary.
So, for the footbeds alone - hallelujah.
The Atomic Hawx flexy forefoot thing is odd, but seems fine (easier walking) -
To say i'm pleased and relieved is a massive understatement - as i mentioned, just hope i can find someone to make as good footbeds for my golf shoes.
Cost was approx 50% more than the boots off the rack (ie standard inner etc and no footbeds and, well, no fitting (worth the name) i'd expect) and was well, well worth it. If i'd done it earlier, i'd have saved weeks of discomfort and cost of the other boots......
Coops
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Coops,
good to hear you had a great experience, i wouldn't expect anything less from those guys.....
i will pick holes in 1 part of their website, they claim to have invented and designed the Hawx boots for atomic.... the original design was by Sven Coomer (the guy behind zip fit) he then took the idea to them to commercialize it in partnership with Atomic, i may even be able to find pictures of some of Svens original design prototypes from back in the early 90's
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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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I realize that this thread is a few years old, but I'd like to give props to the Heierling folks for the super job that they did on my boots. I have a pair of Tecnica Cochise 120's that are two years old. They've got a 100+ days on them and the question was do I go for the new an improved 2014/2015 version of the boot or keep the shells and invest in a new footbed and liner? I went the upgrade route and went to Heierling (I just happened to be in Davos a few weeks back) to get the job done. They did all the prefit analysis, checking my feet, getting a computer image of what happens to my feet when ankles and knees start to flex, and looking at my overall skeletal structure. A bit of weirdness but nothing too severe. They built a new custom footbed (my old ones were 15+ years old and weren't quite up to snuff) and then foamed a new pair of lace up touring liners (their design). After the process was over, I put the boots on and went back to get all the fore/aft and lateral stance/balance issues checked by laser to make sure that I was perfectly aligned. I've spent a good part of my life working in ski shops and have had boots fit by many ski industry boot gurus in the US. These guys blow them away. They offer different foam liners for different kinds of skiing, and they use different densities of foam to match up with your kind of skiing. For example, my foam was firmer than the foam they used on a skier with more foot issues (floppier, less stable, flatter foot) than I had, but nowhere near as firm as what they'd use on a top level racer. Lots of skill and experience involved here. Foamed liners done poorly are a disaster. Foam liners done right are beyond compare.
If you own your own ski boots and want to make them fit better, and, more important, ski better, you would be very wise to pay a visit to the Heierling shop in Davos. If you go the foam liner and footbed route, you will end up spending as much or more than you paid for the boots in the first place, but you'll have boots that will last for years, be more comfortable, and ski better than anything you could buy at any price. If you're looking for new boots, they can fit you in the correct model and shell size (they carry many of the popular brands) and do the same process. It will cost you about double what just buying the just boot would be, but the end product is so much better than the stock equipment.
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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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Once again resurrecting an old thread but has anyone a more recent review? In Davos this weekend and need some work done on my Maestrales. Seems like these are the guys to go to.
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