Boot Fitting Service Introduction

Please note - Important notes about our boot fitting

Boot Fitting is by appointment. This is so that we can allocate enough time to ensure you get our full attention during the boot fitting process. Do allow around 2 hours for a boot fit. Some are quicker, some take a little longer, it really is down to your feet! When you come for a ski boot fitting please note the following:

• Make sure you are wearing loose fitting legwear that will roll above the knee
• Please bring your usual ski socks with you. If you do not have any, we can advise on the correct socks to wear, and have a demo stock of socks available
• If you own skis please bring these with you so after the ski boot fitting we can adjust your bindings if required

We have a brand new boot fitting and custom footbed centre in our new premises. This allows us to offer a full range of services to ensure that your boots fit you correctly, so that you will have the best performance from this vital link to your skis or board, and also have the comfort that a day on the mountain demands!

What is a boot fitting?

Well, first of all a boot fitting is not a 15 minute job,where you select the colour and graphics you like the most and then someone in a busy shop measures your foot size, 'fits' your boots in a few minutes (whilst usually answering the odd question from colleagues) and then takes your money! No comfort guarantee will undo a poor fitting like this, which we ourselves have experienced!  For many people, when they visit us for a fitting, often the only experience they have had is of having hire boots. The fitting process for your own ski boots compared to hire boots is VERY different. And so it should be; you are spending a lot of money to get a ski boot that will ultimately improve your skiing and give you more comfort on the mountain.

So what IS a GOOD boot fitting?

When you have a boot fitting with us, we allocate TIME to do this. Some boot fittings can take 30 minutes, most take longer. If you are having a boot fitting with a custom foot bed you should normally allow 1 hour, sometimes 2 if you have 11 toes, or a specific requirement.

Here is the general process we go through with you:

Step 1 - Interview

We make a nice cup of tea or coffee, and talk about YOU. What kind of skier or boarder are you? Do you have any issues with your feet cure, or your knees, legs, lower back etc. The feet have a lot to cope with, and it doesn't take much for problems at your feet to translate further up your body. Now we have a basic understanding about you, we move on to the next step.

Step 2 - Analysis

We have some great equipment to help us with the next steps, our eyes being the best ones! We tried fancy electronic balance systems but decided not to install this and be more hands on instead. (don't get us wrong, they do work). We analyse your feet on what we call a Podoscope, which fires a nice blue light under your feet, and you can see for yourself what is going on. We also have a thermal plate that draws the outline of your foot so you can take a closer inspection.

We then look at your stance, to determine any bowing or canting of your legs, and particularly look at this in relation to your knees and hips, as we want this all working together as one.

From this, we have a profile of your foot, the width of your foot, the length of your foot, and the kind of volume of boot (taking into account calves too) that we should be fitting. We have NOT chosen based on brand or colour!

Step 3 - Fitting

We now try a few boots out until we find the one that best fits your foot profile and your personal requirements. We haven't looked at budget at this point. This isn't because we only pick expensive boots (although with boots you really do get what you pay for) as sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised and find that a lower price boot is the best one for you.

If you have opted to have custom footbeds at the same time - and we cannot recommend this enough, we will set up the Sidas moulding equipment. This is great fun; your feet are moulded in a silicone bed, which we remove air from to give us your foot profile. We then create footbeds (insoles) specifically for your feet, making adjustments as a result of the step one interview and then these are finished to fit your foot perfectly.

These are then popped into the boots we have worked together to select, and you are given another cup of tea or coffee and the freedom of the showroom to walk around for about 5-10 minutes to see if the boots feel right.

Any issues pointed out to us (e.g., ankle rubbing a little, big toe aching) are noted, the boots whisked into the workshop, and all manner of strange looking tools are used to modify the shape we want for the boot shell.

We then refit, recheck, and if necessary repeat. When it is all done, we have a great fitting boot and your legs pointing in the right direction. A great fitting boot also improves your skiing or boarding, as you will have more control and balance.

Step 4 - Finished?

Now you have your shiny new boots and maybe custom footbeds, it's time to say farewell. But we may see you again! We encourage you to walk around in your boots A LOT before your holiday. We find doing the ironing with them on works well; in fact it makes chores more fun! If you have access to a snowdome, these can be fantastic for boot testing, as a drag lift always reveals any issues.

So if after this you identify any problems, get in touch and we will book you back in for a refit. Even if we have to start from scratch there will be NO CHARGE for this, it's part of our service.

So we hope that you will consider us for your boot fitting. With the combination of a relaxed environment, flexible appointments (we do early mornings and late nights 7 days a week) and a dedication to the best levels of service, we look forward to making your next trip on the pistes a comfortable and precise one!

Pricing

We do not charge fees for boot fitting, you simply pay for the price of the boot.

As stated above, we strongly recommend the fitting of a custom footbed at the same time as fitting a new boot:

Standard Footbed & Boot Fitting: £60.00 (£70 insole only)
The standard footbed is a customised footbed with a plain base. This was the most common footbed until recent additions to the custom footbed line. This is still the best option for the purist or for those wanting a race style fit.

PRO Footbed & Boot Fitting: £70.00 (£80 insole only)
This footbed includes several advantages over the standard footbed. It has an Alacantra forefoot which allows easier entry into the boot, and double reinforcement at the heel cup for stability.

PREMIUM Footbed & Boot Fitting: £80.00 (£90 insole only)
This new footbed is the top-of-the-line. Designed for maximum comfort it has a full reinforced (Transflux) base, a mid length additional support, and "Poron" heel cup for maximum comfort.

Want nice warm feet too?

We can fit a Therm-ic heating element to your footbed for £28 so that you can combine your custom footbed with a Therm-ic battery boot heating system (see our accessories department).