 Poster: A snowHead
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Afternoon All
I've had loads of trouble with my current boots, Salomon X-wave 8's. Ive had them altered dozens of times and had new liners, heel lifts, punched out, ground, re-buckled in fact everything. To date I reckon theyve cost me £1,000!
I've got wide feet and calves but narrow ankles. The boots are sloppy if not tightened too much but if they are tight enough to do away with the slop then I get cramps in the arches and in the calves making skiing impossible for more than 5 minutes at a time
I'm a level 8 skier on the 1-10 scale.
Bottom line is, they are just not right and I've been told that they probably never will be, I need the right boot to start with.
At the moment I've been advised to go to Profeet in London and see one of their guys.
1 has anyone been there and are they any good.
2 Are there any other very good bootfitters in the UK.
I live near Manchester but don't mind travelling and paying whatever to get the right boot this time!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Profeet have a solid reputation on here. I have an appointment with them for mid Nov. Lockwoods in Leamington Spa also have a good name for boot fitting, but I did hear that their fitter has now left to work for himself, so double check.
Welcome to 
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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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Anything Technical at Kendal have a good reputation in the industry, and have always sorted me out.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Jack Hallam,
If you really don't mind travelling then what about combining a holiday with a trip to a good bootfitter in the Alps? That way at the end of each day's skiing you can go back to the bootfitter for minor adjustments that need to be made. I got mine at Footworks in Chamonix, can thoroughly recommend them. Also I believe Precision in Val d'Isere are meant to be good.
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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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...and the guys in precision (Val D'isere) recommend Lockwoods in Leamington Spa-they said that it is the best place in the UK to get boots fitted-a statement which i have heard echoed elsewhere-handy as i live 10 mins away from the shop and i got some new boots (Salomon x-wave 10's) fitted a couple of weeks ago-the service was excellent and it took around 2 hours for them to do the job-thoroughly recommended Jack....
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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definitely would recomend lockwoods - they did a great job getting things just right for me for a pair of race boots - and were very nice about it taking 6 hours and staying open late to get it done!
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I can most certainly recommend Profeet in London after duff fittings at both EB's & S&R. AFAIK, Profeet are the only place in the UK with stance pressure testing equipment. The guys there are also qualified in bio-mechanics.
They also use a Skier's Edge machine as a fitting aid.
Lockwoods have a good reputation but they sold someone I know too stiff a boot last year which she just couldn't flex.
I've medium/wide feet & narrowish heels & I'm in Tecnica Diablo Fire's. Both EB's & S&R tried to get me in X-Wave 8's & 9's respectively which I now know (after going to Profeet) are too narrow & would have needed extensive blowing.
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My vote goes to Precision in Val d'Isere, excellent all round IMO.
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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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| Jack Hallam wrote: |
Afternoon All
I've had loads of trouble with my current boots, Salomon X-wave 8's. Ive had them altered dozens of times and had new liners, heel lifts, punched out, ground, re-buckled in fact everything. To date I reckon theyve cost me £1,000!
I've got wide feet and calves but narrow ankles. The boots are sloppy if not tightened too much but if they are tight enough to do away with the slop then I get cramps in the arches and in the calves making skiing impossible for more than 5 minutes at a time
I'm a level 8 skier on the 1-10 scale.
Bottom line is, they are just not right and I've been told that they probably never will be, I need the right boot to start with.
At the moment I've been advised to go to Profeet in London and see one of their guys.
1 has anyone been there and are they any good.
2 Are there any other very good bootfitters in the UK.
I live near Manchester but don't mind travelling and paying whatever to get the right boot this time! |
Lockwoods have it nailed. They may wish to see you more than once, but boots that fit in one fitting ARE too big. 
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| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| Lockwoods have it nailed.... |
As I said above they have a very good reputation but I was skiing last year with a woman who had a great fitting pair of boots from Lockwoods but she just couldn't flex them. She was just almost linking parallel turns & pretty short/light, maybe just about 5'/110lbs max. I can't remember which boots she was in but they were very high end. That's maybe not as bad as ill fitting boots but almost.
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| .....They may wish to see you more than once, but boots that fit in one fitting ARE too big. |
Are you saying that every person should expect to have to revisit a store at least once to get properly fitting boots? For people wanting a high level of perforamce v comfort that may be true but many people just don't need/want that level of fit. And what about people who don't have 'problem' feet, surely they shoud be able to get fitted by a competent person in a two hour sitting?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| spyderjon wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| Lockwoods have it nailed.... |
As I said above they have a very good reputation but I was skiing last year with a woman who had a great fitting pair of boots from Lockwoods but she just couldn't flex them. She was just almost linking parallel turns & pretty short/light, maybe just about 5'/110lbs max. I can't remember which boots she was in but they were very high end. That's maybe not as bad as ill fitting boots but almost.
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| .....They may wish to see you more than once, but boots that fit in one fitting ARE too big. |
Are you saying that every person should expect to have to revisit a store at least once to get properly fitting boots? For people wanting a high level of perforamce v comfort that may be true but many people just don't need/want that level of fit. And what about people who don't have 'problem' feet, surely they shoud be able to get fitted by a competent person in a two hour sitting? |
I'll try quickly to answer this.
1) Everyboby should have well fitting boots, it's not a question of needs, they attatch you to the skis. So they need to be priecise in order to have control, i'm sure that is important however well you ski. More than half of re-fitting issuses in our shop are as a result of boots being sold to big to lower level skiers. It is here the greasest level of progression is found. People then find their boots too big, therefore over tighten. Its often where the problems start.
2) I haven't seem many feet that don't have problems, or at least signs of problems developing. Find a good bootfitter and they'll be able to pick this up. Maybe later saving you from a serious problem.
This i feel is part of our environment and how we are adapting to it i.e. feet flatening, after all most of us only ever wall on a flat surface.
3) It is therefore my opinion we should be a little more careful. For me it's more a question of the frequencey we ski which could be seen as the point here. Don't rely too much on liners to offer long term support if you ski say more than a week a year.
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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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| spyderjon wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| Lockwoods have it nailed.... |
As I said above they have a very good reputation but I was skiing last year with a woman who had a great fitting pair of boots from Lockwoods but she just couldn't flex them. She was just almost linking parallel turns & pretty short/light, maybe just about 5'/110lbs max. I can't remember which boots she was in but they were very high end. That's maybe not as bad as ill fitting boots but almost. |
I can't bend my boots. I don't want to bend them, I want to bend my skis. Maybe the description of her skiing style and level that she gave to the bootfitter suggested that boot.
| spyderjon wrote: |
| SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote: |
| .....They may wish to see you more than once, but boots that fit in one fitting ARE too big. |
Are you saying that every person should expect to have to revisit a store at least once to get properly fitting boots? For people wanting a high level of perforamce v comfort that may be true but many people just don't need/want that level of fit. And what about people who don't have 'problem' feet, surely they shoud be able to get fitted by a competent person in a two hour sitting? |
SMALLZOOKEEPER described the process in another thread. You only feel the most uncomfortable spot on your foot, once that has been fixed you may notice something else, you may need to ski in the boots or let your foot recover for the second problem to appear.
As an example, here is the process I went through to get my current boots fitted. I have very narrow feet so did not need very much work done.
1) Went to shop. Asked for the specific model I bought, but they still checked shell shape and size. This was the first week of the season that the boot was announced and mine were the first pair that they had fitted so I got a fair bit of attention in the shop.
2) Cut out two spots on the footbeds around the top of the little toes so that the footbeds would lie flat around the heel. The right boot was fine from this point.
Worked out for myself that the footbeds were not totally flat when in the boot so gradually shaved down the width of the front part of the footbeds. Also shaved away some of the support under the instep so that the footbed would sit better against the shell.
3) Got left boot stretched slightly around "6th toe". Cleaned up the instep modifications I had done to the footbeds.
4) Final session. By this time, I knew what to ask for and was able to just mark on the left boot the two spots that needed stretching and leave them to it. The boots have been fine ever since.
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You know it makes sense.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER,
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3) It is therefore my opinion we should be a little more careful. For me it's more a question of the frequencey we ski which could be seen as the point here. Don't rely too much on liners to offer long term support if you ski say more than a week a year.
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I am curious as to how long I should expect my boots/ liners to last and if it is worth doing anything about them at this stage?
I bought my boots(Lange L10 I think) in 2000 and have done a little over 30 weeks skiing on them Initially I was getting pain under the arch of my feet which improved when I took out the conformables and put in the standard footbeds which I have used ever since they are now generallycomfortable except under the arches at the end of a long day and occasionallly on the shin.
The boots are generally OK except they are getting a little worn at the heel and on the front base. How long can you use them before the wear makes the binding unsafe? How much longer can the Inner boot be expected to last and is it worth replacing?
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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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| T Bar wrote: |
SMALLZOOKEEPER,
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3) It is therefore my opinion we should be a little more careful. For me it's more a question of the frequencey we ski which could be seen as the point here. Don't rely too much on liners to offer long term support if you ski say more than a week a year.
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I am curious as to how long I should expect my boots/ liners to last and if it is worth doing anything about them at this stage?
I bought my boots(Lange L10 I think) in 2000 and have done a little over 30 weeks skiing on them Initially I was getting pain under the arch of my feet which improved when I took out the conformables and put in the standard footbeds which I have used ever since they are now generallycomfortable except under the arches at the end of a long day and occasionallly on the shin.
The boots are generally OK except they are getting a little worn at the heel and on the front base. How long can you use them before the wear makes the binding unsafe? How much longer can the Inner boot be expected to last and is it worth replacing? |
1) 5-9 WEEKS
2) You need a footbed, but made well. A badly made footbed is an evil of it's own, plus it costs around 80 of your Engish 'Quids'.
3a) Get your, Ski Tech, or Rental Guy to check if unsure.
3b) Try a custom liner/inner, but only if the shell will last as the life of the inner/liner.
Over-use.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
2) You need a footbed, but made well. A badly made footbed is an evil of it's own, plus it costs around 80 of your Engish 'Quids'.
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Thanks for the answers. Can you transfer a footbed from boot to boot? If it costs £80 and my boots may not last long it does not seem worth it.
Does this mean I have outgrown them 
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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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I went to Profeet last year. I have only good things to say.
I had a fairly firm idea of what boot I wanted based on reviews etc. I also had a strong conception that my feet "don't fit Salomon".
Wrong!
The guy looked at my feet, measured them in all sorts of ways, watched me walk around, got me to stand on the pressure-pad thing.
He went away and came back with 3 different boots, none of them the ones I "wanted".
Net result was heat-molded liner and custom footbed in Salomon X-Wave 8.
Fantastic boots!
Great all around feel, good flex, a feeling of connectiveness to the skis that I never had with my old Technica Explosion (orange) boots ("I like stiff boots"....wrong!).
Ditto experience for my wife who has had a history of bad boots....a revelation for her.
Profeet tell you what boots you can have, you have to be willing to trust the "pro" in Profeet.
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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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How much do Profeet charge for their fitting service?
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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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| bucking bronco wrote: |
| How much do Profeet charge for their fitting service? |
£99 I seem to recall, which includes a custom footbed.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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SMALLZOOKEEPER, are you serious in saying boots only last 5-9 weeks - what do you think people are doing with them or are you just trying to flog more boots?
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| waitingforwinter wrote: |
| [b]SMALLZOOKEEPER, are you serious in saying boots only last 5-9 weeks - what do you think people are doing with them or are you just trying to flog more boots? |
[/b
No, stock liners last between 5-9weeks. Thats the average as given by the manufacturers. This is how long its takes for the foam to pack out. This also why i belive you should buy tight and initally painfol boots. That way when you pack them to a comfortable level they last and fit longer. I want you to have to buy boots less often, but buy them right. Personally i don't care if you buy boots from us, just belive you should get them fitted properly.
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