Comfiest Ski Boots
Discussion
I used to be a decent black run, moguls, off piste skier. About 5 years ago had a freak football accident resulting in 4 screws and a plate in my ankle and two screws in my foot and haven’t skied since. I can no longer do any contact sports involving running but can do cycling rowing etc. I want to get back into skiing next winter so wandering if anyone has recommendations for boots or a shop who are particularly good at fitting. Comfort is the priority.
Located in leeds but travel around the country regularly.
Located in leeds but travel around the country regularly.
I am an average blue-red run skier, so take this with the appropriate seasoning….
A pal (also not a black run ace!) raves about the fitting experience at https://www.ellis-brigham.com/bootlab, & I recall hearing good stuff about them some years ago.
A few fitting stores, including Xscape in Castleford
Might be worth a look!
A pal (also not a black run ace!) raves about the fitting experience at https://www.ellis-brigham.com/bootlab, & I recall hearing good stuff about them some years ago.
A few fitting stores, including Xscape in Castleford
Might be worth a look!
Personally I would go to a good resort in Austria Switzerland or Canada, find out in advance which is the best shop for boot fitting, go there and explain your surgery.
Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
BlackWidow13 said:
Personally I would go to a good resort in Austria Switzerland or Canada, find out in advance which is the best shop for boot fitting, go there and explain your surgery.
Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
That could work if you KNOW someone very capable in those…but you could spend time+money waiting…..why not try a local specialist first!Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
Google plus snowheads should give the OP plenty of knowledge of bootfitters in any given resort. The potential issue with a local fitter is that it is difficult to give the boots a proper shakedown/run in over a period of days after purchase; more so to bring them back for fine tuning and then test that fine tuning.
If the OP is nonetheless looking for a solution without going abroad, in the south of England I’d suggest Ski Bartlett in Uxbridge.
If the OP is nonetheless looking for a solution without going abroad, in the south of England I’d suggest Ski Bartlett in Uxbridge.
I’ve had my last couple of pairs fitted at Ellis Brigham in castleford, tied in with a day on the indoor slope to bed them in and back to the shop to tweak the fitting. Before this Covid nonsense affected travel I used to ski in excess of 60 days per year so it is important that my boots are comfortable. If they aren’t quite right many resorts will have a shop with a boot fitter who can adjust them. I usually get two years out of a pair of boots before the inners are packed out but that’s 20 years of holidays for most people.
BlackWidow13 said:
Personally I would go to a good resort in Austria Switzerland or Canada, find out in advance which is the best shop for boot fitting, go there and explain your surgery.
Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
Excellent adviceGet fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
crusty said:
BlackWidow13 said:
Personally I would go to a good resort in Austria Switzerland or Canada, find out in advance which is the best shop for boot fitting, go there and explain your surgery.
Get fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
Excellent adviceGet fitted, ski a bit, go back, get the boots tweaked, repeat until you’re happy.
By the sound of it you may need custom footbeds and a lot of punching of the shell. Maybe custom liners.
Given your foot will compress a bit after a few days in the boots and fitting is unlikely to be done fully at the first attempt, I would not use a fitter based in England.
Good luck OP, hope you manage to get back on those slopes
Talk to Phil or Tom at Backcountry UK
Just up the road from you in Otley. They'll book you in and 1:1 fitting will take up to 2 hours. People travel from all over the UK for their service and they look after a great number of guides and ski pros.
Try out at Castleford. They'll tweak until they get them right.
They tend to stock boots with pin binding fittings but these can be pretty stiff these days if that's what you want.
Just up the road from you in Otley. They'll book you in and 1:1 fitting will take up to 2 hours. People travel from all over the UK for their service and they look after a great number of guides and ski pros.
Try out at Castleford. They'll tweak until they get them right.
They tend to stock boots with pin binding fittings but these can be pretty stiff these days if that's what you want.
fuzzyyo said:
.... Comfort is the priority.
Located in leeds but travel around the country regularly.
I use Strolz boots which come from Lech in Austria which I think might be suitable for you. http://www.strolzboots.com/Located in leeds but travel around the country regularly.
It uses an injection foam process to create a custom liner, which is then matched to components to create a custom shell, fitted to your foot and your skiing requirements.
They have a whole team of boot fitting experts who specialise in the Strolz boot. One version they offer has a shell made in three pieces, which is both very comfortable to put on and ski with, which might be suitable.
For the full experience, you can visit the Strolz store in Lech - this is ideal as they have everything on hand - and as others have said, you can then try the boots, ski a bit, make any adjustments etc. But you can also get Strolz boots fitted at Glide and Slide which is also in Otley. Ally is the owner and does the Strolz boot fittings, and he is very good. The only downside is not being able to try them on the slope once they have been made, which might justify the trip to Austria.
Edited by EddieSteadyGo on Wednesday 20th April 10:35
Call Ski Bartlett talk to Sally Bartlett.
They have been the biggest supplier of specialist ski equipment in the country for years. They do the fittings most of the top ski racers in the country. I used to get my bespoke inners done by them as the factory inner even in the word cup spec boots are rubbish.
They started in racing but if you are into top level free style, mountaineering etc they have everything you need. Even do the stuff for the nuts guys going for speed records at over 100mph.
If you explain your injury they will know how to deal with it. My only warning would be that if allowed it get very expensive. I was partially sponsored and still forking out 800 quid.
They have been the biggest supplier of specialist ski equipment in the country for years. They do the fittings most of the top ski racers in the country. I used to get my bespoke inners done by them as the factory inner even in the word cup spec boots are rubbish.
They started in racing but if you are into top level free style, mountaineering etc they have everything you need. Even do the stuff for the nuts guys going for speed records at over 100mph.
If you explain your injury they will know how to deal with it. My only warning would be that if allowed it get very expensive. I was partially sponsored and still forking out 800 quid.
Hands down go to http://www.rivingtonalpine.co.uk/ Easily accessible from Leeds.
My wife, a podiatrist who specialises in bio-mechanics of the legs and feet, and her sister, a surgeon, got their boots fitted by Graham earlier this year after a recommendation on here. They were both staggered by Graham's detailed medical knowledge along with his ski knowledge and both would highly recommend him, they love their new boots.
The problem with places like Ellis Brigham (and I got my boots fitted at Ellis Brigham) is that it's totally dependant on the person you see on the day. If you do go somewhere, go to see a recommended person, not the store.
My wife, a podiatrist who specialises in bio-mechanics of the legs and feet, and her sister, a surgeon, got their boots fitted by Graham earlier this year after a recommendation on here. They were both staggered by Graham's detailed medical knowledge along with his ski knowledge and both would highly recommend him, they love their new boots.
The problem with places like Ellis Brigham (and I got my boots fitted at Ellis Brigham) is that it's totally dependant on the person you see on the day. If you do go somewhere, go to see a recommended person, not the store.
I have terrible trouble with my ski boots, so following with interest. My best boots have all come from resort boot fitters when I've been able to go back to them over a period of a few days of wearing the boots in.
I'm currently erm between boots so am renting various brands and using my own custom footbeds in the rental boots to try and figure out which brands and sizes are closest to good, I just don't think you can get an idea of fit in a two hour fitting. Will then buy a set of whatever works best in an appropriate flex etc and get them modded in resort.
I'm currently erm between boots so am renting various brands and using my own custom footbeds in the rental boots to try and figure out which brands and sizes are closest to good, I just don't think you can get an idea of fit in a two hour fitting. Will then buy a set of whatever works best in an appropriate flex etc and get them modded in resort.
shalmaneser said:
...
I'm currently erm between boots so am renting various brands and using my own custom footbeds in the rental boots to try and figure out which brands and sizes are closest to good, I just don't think you can get an idea of fit in a two hour fitting. Will then buy a set of whatever works best in an appropriate flex etc and get them modded in resort.
Not really any of my business, but I think you are making a lot of work for yourself. Most rental boots models are chosen to accommodate the wide variety of foot sizes, and you will also often get given a bigger shell than is necessary. They don't really aim to get a close match in terms of the shell size. And the liner will often already have been heavily used, so it isn't really that representative of a properly fitted boot imo.I'm currently erm between boots so am renting various brands and using my own custom footbeds in the rental boots to try and figure out which brands and sizes are closest to good, I just don't think you can get an idea of fit in a two hour fitting. Will then buy a set of whatever works best in an appropriate flex etc and get them modded in resort.
In terms of a solution, there are already plenty of options mentioned in this thread where an experienced fitter will be able to get a good shell and make the necessary adjustments to the liner. Or go for a custom liner, ideally using the injection foam method, if you want to reduce the chance of a mistake.
ntiz said:
Call Ski Bartlett talk to Sally Bartlett.
They have been the biggest supplier of specialist ski equipment in the country for years. They do the fittings most of the top ski racers in the country. I used to get my bespoke inners done by them as the factory inner even in the word cup spec boots are rubbish.
They started in racing but if you are into top level free style, mountaineering etc they have everything you need. Even do the stuff for the nuts guys going for speed records at over 100mph.
If you explain your injury they will know how to deal with it. My only warning would be that if allowed it get very expensive. I was partially sponsored and still forking out 800 quid.
Since my second post above - also recommending Ski Bartlett - I followed in my daughter’s footsteps (haha) and went there myself for some boots, then took them to Hemel for a shake down. They have been the biggest supplier of specialist ski equipment in the country for years. They do the fittings most of the top ski racers in the country. I used to get my bespoke inners done by them as the factory inner even in the word cup spec boots are rubbish.
They started in racing but if you are into top level free style, mountaineering etc they have everything you need. Even do the stuff for the nuts guys going for speed records at over 100mph.
If you explain your injury they will know how to deal with it. My only warning would be that if allowed it get very expensive. I was partially sponsored and still forking out 800 quid.
In a word, excellent. As you might expect, the more you put into the process the more you get out of it: if you have a clear idea of what you want and don’t want from your boots, are honest about your ability, and have enough experience of boots to have a fair idea of how they way they feel in the shop will translate to the way they feel skiing, you’re going to get the most from the process.
Can't actually contribute about ski boots (as I'm a boarder), but would whole heartedly agree with the comments regarding Ski Bartlett, their knowledge and heritage. The staff aren't ski bums flogging kit. They are a family business, with incredible knowledge and experience. Decades of experience in that shop.
I've used them for many, many years. Advice on boots especially, has been spot on. I think I'm on my 3rd pair of boots from them and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else.
I've used them for many, many years. Advice on boots especially, has been spot on. I think I'm on my 3rd pair of boots from them and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff