Custom ski boot fitting - Central London or Ashford, Kent area

A snowHead

Hi, help please

I want to get some new ski boots (old ones I got as a beginner some 7 years ago)

Last ones I got from Ellis Brigham (Yorkshire) and work takes me to Covent Garden every week, so both EB and Snow & Rock are easy options for me, however having read numerous reports I am concerned it is pot luck whether I get a good or bad boot fitter in these large chains.

Therefore can any snowheads recommend a more personal/specialist shop (Colin, solutions4feet in Bicester sounds perfect, but just not practical to get there for me from Ashford) in London or very South East or are there any recommendations for individuals in either EB or S&R in Covent garden ?

Thanks

A snowHead

Its a long running debate but I would buy early in the week in resort - you can then ski in them and go directly to the shop and have them refitted in the safe knowledge that you have been using them for what they are designed - not just wandering around a shop

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I got mine in Captains Cabin at Canterbury, worth calling and arranging an appointment, took about an hour and a half between measuring/trying on/footbeds/heating liners etc and wear loose fitting trousers you can pull up past your knees as well as thinnest ski socks you have. I've had problem free boots for 3 years now.

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Perhaps if looking for a individual or location information the british bootfitters association has a list with some contacts.
Check out BSBA on google.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Profeet on Fulham Road in London - just a few mins walk from either Parsons Green or Putney Bridge tube stations on the District line. They work by appointment only.

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chocksaway, +1

Do you have any grossly weird feet?...
If you can go out to tesco's and find a pair of shoes that fit you could apply that thought to a selection of different makes of boot. If you can't get your foot in it then it isn't a good fit. If you can get your foot in it and there is still room to slip a small kebab down the side, then it is too big. If you put them on and they feel tight and your foot is locked in but you wouldn't want to wear them as slippers then they are most probably a pretty good fit... but if you put a pair on and then see a small penguin wandering around, dressed as a chicken, holding a remote control then I would suggest they are the wrong boots.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

flangesax, or right boots/wrong drugs? Very Happy

After all it is free

Resort, just like the UK, standards are rising and have a fast track to success. No one wants to sell ski boots "OLD Skool" Bootfitting is almost now standard, there are probably more enthusicastic and capable bootfitters in every resort than In Britain alone. Took a while, but then so did everything worth waiting for. Job vacancies for "BOOTfitteres" are now one of the most common place in resort. Training and environment is available.

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CEM, surely it depends on what you label as a boot 'fitter'.
You are a well qualified and experienced craftsman within the trade.
But I would not label you as just boot fitter. You seem to focus more on 'custom' fittings and moldings etc.. etc.. for people that need it due to strangely shaped feet.
Now, if you take an average joe (which I am sure there are millions of otherwise boot brands wouldn't make them in the shape they make them) and then train somebody to be able to recognise different 'standard' foot widths and shapes and sizes and have them stand on the heat sensitive pads to look at the sole of the foot. Then this trained person then chooses the most suitable boots available for this shape, producing a small selection.
IMO that is 'boot fitting'. And judging by the massive market out here in Austria, that is all that the majority of boot purchasers really need.
So all in all a resort should be able to employ and train enough boot fitters to keep up with demand.
Of course some willknow the products available better than others... but make sure you go to more than 1 shop!

snow reports

flangesax, having the skills and tools to make these adjustments for people with strangely shaped feet does not make that the only work we do, that is a small part of our market.... if all that the general skier needs is someone with the ability to select the correct size and shape Why does it go so badly wrong in so many cases.

your description is not boot fitting it is merely enhanced selling as opposed to the base level of the customer asking to try X model in Y size, in a recent meeting with one of the top guys from Atomic's boot division he commented that the standard of general boot fitting in the UK was far better than in Austria, and he only wished that the Austrians would eventually see the light and change the way they sell boots...sure there are some good shops and some worse shops out there and the same applies for every country.

personally i believe some of the fault lies with the manufacturers for making modern boots so big to size so that they feel great in the store and fit like a bucket after a week of skiing, and some with the shop owners who "as they have being doing it for 10 or 20 or more years" do not see the need to get educated or send staff on courses and these courses cost money which they think they don't need to spend. look at all the top fitters world wide and you will see that they all have one thing in common, they never stop learning, they attend courses, conferences in biomechanics, they teach these courses, they work with the manufacturers helping to develop product, they experiment on sample product to see what can be done and what works best. they constantly evolve the way they work to get the best results with the products that become available to them, it can be a career but unfortunately boot fitting is seen as a gap year job by too many, and spending too much money on training someone to a very high level who is off in 5 months time just doesn't work for most businesses

You know it makes sense.

flangesax, I know what Your saying, but the issue lies I feel as CEM said with the perception and also in a lot of cases the reality of the industry.

Average Joe walks into Snow & Brigham, looks at a nice new boot on the shelf and says to 21 year shop assistant nee boot fitter, I'd like a pair of those red ones please as they will go with my Degree 7 fartbag. Assistant will then take a couple of approaches in my experience.

1. "what size sir?", he then brings out the size asked for and Average Joe tries them on and says I'll take them, assistant then trys to up sell some custom footbeds or potentially liners.

or

2. "Let me measure your feet Sir", he then brings out the size he beleives is right and then the story follows as per 1.

Now who's at fault, well certainly Average Joe is because he hasn't utilised the possible knowledge of the potentially experienced sales person/fitter, and certainly the assistant is because rather than actually try to understand what the customer needs he just supplies what the customer wants. That's selling for you.

I have never had a major chain bootfitter tell me "oh no sir they are completely the wrong boots for your ability, funny feet.

That's the difference I found with CEM and I am sure others who post here and perform a similar service.

Now of course the cynical view may be that CEM and the likes are actually peddling a nonsense dark art and charging a premium for it. My personal experience is different. I spent 3 hours in the shop with CEM and the first 30 minutes were spent understanding my skiing and looking at my feet and mobility. There was then a worried few minutes because he wasn't sure he has something that would work. In the end I got a very nice pair thank you very much. Cheap No sir. Incidentally my previous pair od Snow and Brigham boots with custom footbeds were a size 28.5 shell and my new one were a size 26.5 - Go figure my feet have shrunk in intervening years. And yes I was option 1 when I bought them.

Perhaps they should hide all of the boot in a shop out of sight so people don't get drawn into the I want those red ones with the white buckles mentality.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

So here are the first couple of POV's, both coming straight from the fitted boots mouth.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I'm sure I haven't got a point; I'm not that excited yet!

It's all boots to me; I just appreciate that getting boots 'fitted' is not a necessity and there are plenty of people that will fit a boot 'off the shelf'. Boots are designed to last longer than prviously mentioned and do too. Infact, I may go boot shopping this winter as mine are 3 seasons in (I did adjust the canting a little and bought some thermo foot beds... all by myself!)
As I mentioned earlier it just seems so weighted on this forum that all boots have to be 'fitted' in this manor. The guys who help out on here get fab reviews from fellow SH's as they are obviously excellent at what they do (although I have heard a few mentions to the negative) but this level of service is not a necessity.

I've never seen steak on skis before and I am still looking for a Berni aprés restaurant. Got new winter tyres fitted though, but they are made by Nokian so probably don't count. I popped out to the shops earlier. I Austria they don't give out free carrier-bags for your groceries so I popped along to the Louis Vuitton shop to grab myself a bag. It cost £938 and I can take my shopping home in it too.... Must be good!

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flangesax, do you have and/or wear a helmet? Very Happy

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

flangesax, find me a post when i have said that all people need having the boots precision fitted, they should have the right to a pair of boots the correct size and the problem i see is that many of your countrymen (not sure if you are austrian or just live there) feel the need to put joe average in a boot two sizes bigger than are required...if you want boots for dancing on tables at 2am then fine, personally i feel the clue is in the name..SKI boot they are a tool, they "should" be fitted to the foot, do you need to have boots fitted hell no, but if you have never experienced a proper fitting (which i am guessing that you have not) then how do you know

for what it is worth i am not in the habit of ramming my services down peoples throats, i cant think of a single post in over 7 years posting here that has said come and see ME rolling eyes

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anyway i didnt think anyone has at anytime said don't buy boots off the shelf, but like a lot of things getting them from a bespoke tailor can with years of knowledge, experience and training has to be a sensible plan if you can find someone you trust and afford.

right, back to the wine (red by the way)

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Unbelievable sitting back and watching the posts, flangesax, I didn't want your opinion on whether I should get custom fit boots, I asked a question of where I should get them custom fit

have I got 'grossly weird feet' perhaps I must have, because like most of the people I know they find boots uncomfortable and custom fit takes away some or most of the pain

Thanks to all posts so far, still hope I can get some recommendations for boot fitters in the south east, captains cabin in Canterbury a possibility, but only the one positive so far

After all it is free

ribblevalleyblue, as spyderjon said, profeet are excellent and are based on the Fulham rd.

ribblevalleyblue, snowlab at knockhatch, speak to Anja or Ed

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Another vote for Profeet in Fulham. The Dalbello (not a brand I'd even heard of) boots they fitted for me (including complimentary refit/tinker after I'd skied them for a week) are an absolute joy. The fitting took a while, but was comprehensive, and the results are really good. Wish I'd done this years ago...

snow reports

Surefoot in Fulham, just off the New Kings Road....brilliant Very Happy

ribblevalleyblue, Profeet in fulham! Never had a problem with any boot, rental or owned(off the shelf, probably too big), never had sore feet but decided to treat myself and hey presto, transformed my skiing. Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

Profeet in Fulham.

The liners they fitted me with a couple of years ago enabled me to continue using my 15-year-old shells.

At the end of this year's season, using my heart instead of my head, I rashly bought a pair of luvverly light Dalbellos, got them home and after a week stomping round the house realised they simply were not going to fit no matter how much I imagined they did (Dalbello's are apparently notoriously narrow boots).

Profeet took them back and refunded my money no questions asked.

So I can't praise their customer service enough.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I have never felt the need to have custom fitted boots but am now wondering if it would be worth taking my barely-used new ski boots to a boot fitter and having an assessment? I would not have considered this normally, but I will be skiing after an ACL reconstruction this season and am wondering if this means it is now something I should be doing?

Gosh. Just looked at the Profeet assessment - 160 quid Shocked

A snowHead

ribblevalleyblue,

Captains Cabin in Sevenoaks (Ask for Pasq) or Snowlab in Knockhatch - (Ask for Ed)

Surefoot if you believe in good marketing and enjoy paying over the odds and go to Solutions 4 Feet (Colin) if you want the best service. A middle choice would be Ski Exchange Cambridge (ask for Simon)

Buy in resort if you like your boots too big.....

New boots normally ache a little for a day or two when fitted properly as the liners need to break in, but you can wear them at home, go to a indoor snow or plastic slope to help speed up the process and re-visit the shop before or after your holiday if you need to!

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

+1 for Profeet. Used them twice and when I get my touring boots (need to get the money first !) I will be straight back there. That sort of service is not cheap but I can't put a price of pain-free skiing.

I, like most people on this topic can see both sides of the coin. Without custom fitted boots skiing for me is painful bordering on excrutiating. However my wife's boots just just needed custom footbeds to get rid of some slight discomfort and then there's my three girls who seem to be able to wear almost anything out of a shop and just go skiing (but then they don't exactly push themselves but that's another argument)

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miranda,

yeah, it ain't cheap and for that reason I avoided it for quite a few years but was still curious.
But now when I'm skiing, every morning I put on my boots I say, "Thank you Profeet". And I repeat that in the evening when I take them off!

Although I admit there's a bit of an age thing going on for me too - I'm less inclined and/or able to put up with the discomfort as I used to. And I'll take any advantage I can to keep up my standard of skiing.

I like to think that precisely fitted boots have improved my skiing too.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I think it's worthwhile making the point about the varying levels here, I am sure one of the more qualified will come along and correct my simplistic statements.

Off the shelf fitting - hopefully the right size at the very least
Custom liners
Custom footbeds
Expert and considered fitting - The right boot for your foot, in the right size
Fully customized - Stretched, cut, dremelled.

My boots were, after a detailed foot assessment selected because they were the most appropriate for my shape and size of feet, my (reported at least) skiing level. I had no other work other than custom footbeds and they have not been adjusted or played with since purchase, with the exception of me removing or replacing the stiffener plate (probably not the correct term).

I think when some people say they have custom fitted boots, there is an assumption that hours of work with a dremel or stretching and moulding has gone in to it. Do I consider my boots customised for me? Well apart from the custom footbeds the boots are off the shelf, so no.

But were my boots selected based on my particular requirements, then yes, it's this point where a good bootfitter comes in to play, whether you are lucky enough to have a normal retail outlet with a good fitter and not just a salesperson who also fits boots or you go to a specialised bootfitter.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Surefoot doesn't work equally well for everyone. There are many people swearing by them and for many they are 'Sorefoot'. But the service is superb and you can get your money back. If you get them in UK, definitely ski on idoors slope before taking them to resort if resort doesn't have Surefoot shop - the regular bootfiter won't touch them and you don't want it anyway as it may void the warranty.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

flangesax, +1

After all it is free

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Jimmythenose,
? Cool

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Custom ski boot fitting - Central London or Ashford, Kent area

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