 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi guys,
i have read different threads about who can do bootfitting in UK, but not really about the value that you get about what you pay for.
Im a Intermediate skier since 1997, since i have always have problems with boots. Partial reason is because i used to live in parts of Europe that did not have much skiing equipment and dident have a clue reagarding boot fitting....
Anyways since i am in London i really wanna get a pair of boots that would once and forever solve my issue.
I was reading you thread and did a little bit of research and bassically a bootfitting would be anywhere from 150-250 depending if i get the foot beds, profeet and solutions4feet....
Today i visited Ellis Brigham mountain sports shop in highkensington they mesured my foot and told me that the Head edge 100 or 90, are right for me ( i have wide foot of 104-105 mm, high arch as well), after i tried them i told them that i have some pressure points on the sides and on the big finger of my foot, they told me that if i decide to buy them they will put them in the oven, and start shapeing them to my needs FOR FREE! and a pair of foot beds costume made would cost 65 pounds. They call it SUREfit....
I would appriciate peoples experiences with them if they had any so far? Please describe if you had problems in the past with bootfitting (because some feet just do not need any bootfitting) ?
The reason why i am asking is because i am thinking of buying a pair of boots but on top of 360 for boots and footbed for a bootfitting i would have to pay 160 which looks to expensive.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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i just got some boots done at snow and rock on kensington hi - the service was really really great. the guy did all the classic checks, and we tried on about 4 pairs and he was able to address all my p;roblems, also knowing what the problems were. the boots are comfortable and fit great, i got the custom footbeds and everything. though i haven't skied on them yet, hope they remain comfortable as ever!
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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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£160 sounds like a bargain if it would solve years of persistent boot problems in one hit. EB is likely to be very hit or miss depending on the skill and experience of the person who you happen to see. I'd rather pay the £160 and get it done by someone I know for sure would do the best job possible eg. solutions4feet.
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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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videoman22, not sure where charges £160 for fitting a new pair of ski boots.
The most I ever spend on ski boots was about £750! This was because I had made a bad decision by buying boots from Snow and Rock in Bristol (£350) and then a good decision by buying the right boots from solutions4feet for £400. With hindsight I probably should have skipped the first purchase but even so 3 years down the line I am very happy.
BTW in my experience Ellis Brigham is a great ski shop but when buying ski boots I would rather see a recommended individual than a chain of stores.
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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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Elston,
what do you meen 400 with the fitting and modification process included?
what was the boot price if that would be the total cost?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That was for everything included ie boots, custom footbeds & fitting the boots to my feet. And to be honest £400 was probably an over estimate it was probably more like £350 in total.
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Why not save yourself a packet on the boots themselves, and spend the money on fitting? If you talk to a good boot fitter after seeing your feet, they can probably reccommend something from last season's range as easily as something from this season. Then get on Google and find the product they reccomend, hell you can try ebay and get some that have only done 5 days skiing for £50 if you take your time. Then take reccomended boots to the boot fitter and spend £160 on making them fit perfectly.
That, if I couldn't afford to do it properly, is probably what I would do. Having bought a pair of boots in Snow & Rock 3 years ago, and still skiing in them quite happily now, with no discomfort and only now after 3 years and about 6 weeks of skiing, I am getting a little bit of heel lift. I have similarly weird wide feet to you, and need every mm of the 104mm in my boots. But I'd say there was a lot of luck involved in finding the right boots this way - it certainly wasn't the skill of the bootfitter.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sun 13-11-11 1:26; edited 1 time in total
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If you have problems with feet and/or boots, I say spend the money on good boot fitting. So what if it costs 50 more than bad bootfitting? My ski vacations probably cost best part of a grand each all in (certainly 700+), and the cost of those boots can be attributed to many vacations. I'd happily spend the price of 2 beers per holiday on having boots that fit and are comfortable, than the same boots that don't (and are probably the wrong size).
Really don't recall the breakdown of costs to get mine fitted, but they came to about £400ish all in (also at solutions4feet). Boots, footbeds, fitting, liners moulded, shells (and liners?) in the oven, ... etc.
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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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| andy wrote: |
If you have problems with feet and/or boots, I say spend the money on good boot fitting. So what if it costs 50 more than bad bootfitting? My ski vacations probably cost best part of a grand each all in (certainly 700+), and the cost of those boots can be attributed to many vacations. I'd happily spend the price of 2 beers per holiday on having boots that fit and are comfortable, than the same boots that don't (and are probably the wrong size).
Really don't recall the breakdown of costs to get mine fitted, but they came to about £400ish all in (also at solutions4feet). Boots, footbeds, fitting, liners moulded, shells (and liners?) in the oven, ... etc. |
Monium,
thanks mate. that is helpfull. I assumed that when i go to soutions4feet they will only accept buying the boots from them, and they would push for the expensive ones. I am really low on budget, but if they would recommend a boot to me im sure i can find it cheaper i really dont care which season it is.
Andy,
i think that what you are sayin is true, i alraedy changed 4 pair of boots now and i only sold them due to problems of not fitting well. How much does solutions4feet ussually charge and what services do they offer?
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videoman22,
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and they would push for the expensive ones
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Not going to happen,
Colin would choose the boots that FIT
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but if they would recommend a boot to me im sure i can find it cheaper
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But very unlikely that it will fit 'off the shelf'
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i alraedy changed 4 pair of boots
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So you have wasted a huge amount of time and cash already, you have probabaly also affected your enjoyment and technique due to badly fitted boots
We all want to save cash but not using an expert bootfitter is false ecomomy as your boot history clearly shows
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think it very much depends on your feet. I bought boots and had them professionally heat fitted and it didn't cost anything over the price of the boots (I already had footbeds from my previous boots). But, and it's a very big but, i didn't need any modifications to my boots over and above the heat fitting process. If you need modifications, and many people do, you should expect to pay for that expertise.
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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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queen bodecia, Boot price is all we charge, plus footbed, any modifications or spares, repairs are always free. To my knowledge this is how most boot people work. 
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I'm not sure that you should expect to pay more for modifications, many places don't charge. In fact I took my 4 year old boots back to Lockwood's last year as I was having a few problems, no charge for the adjustments they made.
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You know it makes sense.
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All said and done this line of business is expensive, for us at least, since the last 4 years I have demanded that the Supermarket come to my house and cook the food I buy, they don't, w@nkers!
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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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| videoman22 wrote: |
Monium,
thanks mate. that is helpfull. I assumed that when i go to soutions4feet they will only accept buying the boots from them, and they would push for the expensive ones. I am really low on budget, but if they would recommend a boot to me im sure i can find it cheaper i really dont care which season it is.
Andy,
i think that what you are sayin is true, i alraedy changed 4 pair of boots now and i only sold them due to problems of not fitting well. How much does solutions4feet ussually charge and what services do they offer? |
Have you tried calling him and talking about it? Much as they are happy to have lots of rich customers coming through their door and spending thousands with them, I am fairly sure that they will do their best to help someone who has a tight budget but still wants to get a good fit. You may find that the fitting costs a bit more (and you should be prepared for that) because they aren't going to make any money from the boots, but unless you try and come in on the busiest day of the year I'd be surprised if they're not interested in trying to help you out for a fair price.
If, of course, the recommended fitters aren't interested and turn the business down, then just go to Ellis Brigham and take your chances. But it might work out more expensive in the end, as you've seen going through 4 pairs of boots.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Buy Cheap
Buy Twice
Simple.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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in very simple terms it is laid out below
consultation £30 this covers measurement, biomechanical assessment, fitting, boot set up & all modifications (with the exclusion of performance adjustments like sole planing or lifter plates) this can be same season or in the future.
why do we charge this consultation fee, simple i spend several thousand pounds every year on education keeping my biomechanics knowledge up to date and learning new fitting techniques...some people don't want to pay this charge, that is up to them and there are plenty of other places to buy ski boots.
footbeds £35-£50 for off the shelf products or £70-£110 for custom made, what one we use depends on the outcome of your assessment, there are 5 different off the shelf products and 6 custom products one of which is infinitely adjustable in terms of stiffness depending on your foot
boots £260-£360 for non race £350-£500 for race boots(less for junior) if we have something left from last season that will fit then we will offer a deal on that first (2 reasons 1 customers like deals 2 i want them to not be cluttering up my stock room) if we are dealing with in line boots, tell me your budget i will always try to work within it where possible, and if it is not possible to do it exactly then i will explain why. if we don't have a boot suitable i will send you off to get something from another dealer if needs be. if you don't mention budget i am not going to even consider it, i will select the best boot for your foot shape and ability/body weight & biomechanics
hope that outlines most things, any questions just ask
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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 would like to thank you all for your contribution to this thread which has been very important. Because of this thread i am sure that now i want to spend less on boots but definitively see a boot-fitter ( which after i visit the boot-fitter i will make a detail thread of my experience , and of course another one during sking with the new boots).
CEM,
Thanks for all the info. I have been doing a lot of research since i came to UK, and definitively been recommended by all.
I have a couple of boots back home. Last season i got the Salomon SPK Pro's and i wore them only twice, i want to get them out of my closet and i was hoping to make some money on them since i bought them at a very high price.
I was thinking of spending in total 300 and i was hoping to get custom footbeds... thats my current budget.... maybe i will have to postpone it for next year though....
I am converting to powder skiing this year but i will also do sometimes piste skiing, but never race. My self analysis of my feet, are to wide, high arch....
thanks once more keep it up....
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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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If you either have boot problems or aspire to be a performance skier (of any flavour), frankly, paying to see a proper bootfitter is a no brainer. I'll admit not so important if you're a once a year holiday skier who's always been happy in whichever boot you've pulled on and who has no great desire to ski at a higher level. I'm an improvement junkie and as part of my quest for higher performance had boots done by Colin at www.solutions4feet.com and boot balancing by Andi McCann http://www.mccannix.com/ (who is also on the Board of BASI and a BASI Trainer) who often works with him. No hesitation in saying best thing I've ever done boot-wise and that it had a clear and direct effect on my ability to ski better.
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FAQ
