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Worth buying skis?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Iaink, For your boots please check out Ebay..................

Rossignol Squad Sensor 90........... BNIB............ £130 plus postage.

SALOMON IMPACT 100 Ski Boots 2012 NOW ONLY £175 WAS £270 VARIOUS SIZES

SALOMON MISSION RS7 Ski Boots 2012 NOW ONLY £130 WAS £200 VARIOUS SIZES

NORDICA MEN'S SPORTMACHINE 90 ............. £120

Atomic Live Fit 90 Ski Boots 2012 Model NOW ONLY £160 WAS £250 VARIOUS SIZES


The list goes on!! Some decent boots for a progressing skier. Do your homework on foot width, last type, flex, etc............. you could get a real bargain post season.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
do you happen to be Bob Spalding? if so am I right in thinking a 28.5 is actually a 10-11? I'm a 10.5 (usually buy size 10 shoes as 10.5s dont really exist and I prefer a tad tight to a tad loose) and I'm really interested in the 'Rossignol Squad Sensor 90' in 28.5 (which I think is the right size according to: http://www.skibootsizingcharts.com/ and I think that's the size I usually end up hiring (they try and shove much bigger ones on me but I insist I want smaller ones)

ie. is the '28.5' correct? I'll buy them if they're 28.5
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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?
Even if it's cheaper, buying boots off ebay based off approximate shoe sizes just sounds like disaster to me. I reckon the majority of people here will agree.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
DannyB01 wrote:
Even if it's cheaper, buying boots off ebay based off approximate shoe sizes just sounds like disaster to me. I reckon the majority of people here will agree.


That's exactly the point of going to a ski shop first!! Actually know what fits before ebaying.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
theskibob wrote:
DannyB01 wrote:
Even if it's cheaper, buying boots off ebay based off approximate shoe sizes just sounds like disaster to me. I reckon the majority of people here will agree.


That's exactly the point of going to a ski shop first!! Actually know what fits before ebaying.


That should help keep your local ski shop going rolling eyes

Boots are about the only thing I'd never buy off ebay.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Iaink, if you do that, the fitter is liable to tell you that you've got the wrong boots. Partly because you could well end up with the wrong boots if you do it that way.

I don't think you will get a professionally fitted boot for £2-300. Most of the boots on the market are £300 alone, with no work to improve the fit etc. With that budget, you may as well go round the big retailers when they've got their sales on (that will be now onwards) and try and get the best fit you can after doing lots of research and finding the best person you can in the store to help. You will almost inevitably end up with a boot that is slightly too big, but it would probably do. Some of the big retailers don't charge for fitting, and their "fitters" aren't as bad as people make out.

A boot fitter can try and help if you do it this way, but there isn't a vast amount they can do if you get it badly wrong. Plus because they don't make a margin on the boot, they need to charge you full whack for the work they do to the boot, which could easily add up to quite a bit if the boot is a long way off.

In short, you might be able to spend £300 and get a boot which is perfectly ok for the next couple of seasons. You might also waste £300 on a boot which is useless after a week, and you might get lucky and find just the right boot and get it right in the store. Or you could spend probably £500 and get a bootfitter involved. You could always go and see them over the summer, when they are unlikely to have significant stock in the shop, and they tell you what boot to buy (assuming they don't have it in stock) and you can buy the thing on the internet and then go back to them for tweaking.

Where are you based? There might well be a shop which can help within budget, or a fitter that is local enough to take a quick look and give you an opinion.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Mosha Marc wrote:
That should help keep your local ski shop going rolling eyes


It will keep the ski shop going, when they have to go in for five different sessions trying to get them to fit, putting some footbeds in, and then ultimately realising that they are the wrong size and buying a new pair Smile

I have a good understanding with my local ski shop. I don't buy hardly anything there other than little bits and bobs. And they charge me full whack for servicing, tweaking boots, and anything else I want. So far they have got much more money out of me that way than focusing on the £20 profit they might actually walk away with after I've spent three hours buying a pair of new boots.
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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!
Monium, it was the idea that you should get that three hours of fitting done at the shop; then go and buy from ebay rather than the shop that impressed me.
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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.
My reason for thinking about ebaying is that every time I've hired boots they're always given me 2-3 sizes too big and I have to tell them to bring me smaller ones multiple times, but every pair of 28.5s I've had have been fine, I think my feet are pretty standard, would I not be okay just buying some 28.5s getting a custom footbed if I find that they're not comfortable?
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Iaink, different makes/models of boot have different shaped clogs (ie overall/forefoot width, heel width, toe width, instep height etc - I recall CEM saying there's about 40 different lasts in use in the market today) so length is only part of the equation. The longer the boot the bigger the other dimensions are so pretty much any shape clog will initially feel comfortable but once you get down the correct length (shell gap say 12-15mm) then the fit in the other areas is very important.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Fair enough,, I'll go try some on, midlands/wales/Bristol would be easiest, anywhere nearby? I've heard of on place in Bicester and one in Leamington Spa
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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.
Iaink, our very own CEM at Solutions4Feet in Bicester is ya man.
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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
Iaink, if every pair of 28.5s you've ever tried have been fine, you will probably find a boot fitter puts you into a 28 or 27.5, because they will get the right boot to actually fit the shape of your foot. Without knowing it, you have probably not been getting the best fit from the rentals you've had before.

spyderjon, the budget is apparently £2-300. Not sure if CEM is going to be able to fit a boot for that - no sign of end of season sale stickers and boots on the shelf for £150 when I was there.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
just measured my foot which is about 283mm which would lead me to think that 28.5 might even be too small :S

seems odd, I think I'll go and just try on tonnes of boots 'til I find one that feels right and then if need be I'll get them fitted professionally
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Iaink wrote:
I think I'll go and just try on tonnes of boots 'til I find one that feels right and then if need be I'll get them fitted professionally


I've got a quid says they'll be too big wink
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Iaink wrote:
just measured my foot which is about 283mm which would lead me to think that 28.5 might even be too small

My foot measures 266mm & I'm in a 26 mondo boot NehNeh

BTW, a 28 & 28.5 are the same shell. The .5 indicates a thinner liner to give a larger internal volume.

And just to add further complications, some makes/models are large v their stated size & some are small.

Iaink wrote:
......I think I'll go and just try on tonnes of boots 'til I find one that feels right and then if need be I'll get them fitted professionally

I guarantee that you'll choose too big a boot making a proper fit nigh on impossible.

Put all other expenditure on hold & get your boots right. Many on this board, including myself, have gone through a couple of boots until we got wise. And he benefit of this board is that it stops newcomers to the sport making the same expensive mistakes.

Buy once buy right!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I might have to wait until June/July then, will they have enough stock left by then?
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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?
Iaink wrote:
.....which I think is the right size according to: http://www.skibootsizingcharts.com/ ......

That chart is shoite & is for boot sellers not fitters. I take a euro 43 shoe so according to the chart I should be in a 28 rolling eyes
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Iaink wrote:
I might have to wait until June/July then, will they have enough stock left by then?


Yes. A boot fitter can advise what boot you need, even if they don't have it in stock, and over the summer they may not have it, but someone will. There is always someone who hasn't managed to shift last season's boots, and you could buy from them and then go back to the fitter if required.

But your try a load on and see what fits method does have some merit. I managed to get by for 4 seasons with boots fitted with almost exactly that method, the first two I was particularly happy. Mrs Monium managed less than one season with hers fitted the same way though - luckily they were very very cheap, and getting some better boots later in the same season wasn't a particularly painful process. It is a bit of a gamble, but if the boots are cheap enough, and performance isn't all that critical, you'll probably be ok for a season or two.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Iaink, Spyderjon is spot on. Get the boots right.

My only advice is to do your homework first. Check out the forefoot width and foot volume of the boots and go try on several boots. But also be aware that you will make mistakes (sadly so) on some purchases, just don't make them too expensive 'cos that impacts on your enjoyment and progress.

BTW, I was lucky with my recent Ebay purchase (BNIB Nordica Speedmachine 14 for £115 incl delivery, great boots btw), the seller started his auction too high and prolly did not know that his Buy-it-Now price was no guarantee of reserve price. I sniped last second or so but knew it was right sizing. Still it does need a slight "fitting" to get right which I'll do at my local shop. (Where I get my kit serviced, checked, buy a number of accessories, have a good ol' natter about ski-ing). As I know he frequents these boards I know he'll charge me top-dollar for his services! (Which are well worth it as he is very good!)
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