Getting ski boots that fit

snowplough wrote:Well, I asked for advice so I guess I should follow through and do what the experts suggest!
Flying visit to Bicester now scheduled to let Cem strut his stuff.....

Your feet will thank you for ever!

Good luck - though Ive never used him persoanlly its obvious from forum comments both by him and about him that Cem knows his onions (or boots in this case)and is always happy to help people out on here

Thats what a community forum is all about and I'm glad you're embracing it!

Well, flight from Edinburgh to Bimingham, car hire to Bicester and an hour with Colin.......still no boots that fit!
Colin refferred me to James who has measured everything and ordered a pair of Daleboots that will hopefully be delivered by Jan 3rd!
Tight calves are my problem...not wide or webbed after all.

PS Colin refused to charge me a fee for his time....great service......thanks!

just remember a fitter can't make boots smaller but it is possible to do wonders enlarging them in sensitive areas. We have all bought comfortable boots when we started and then found they were too big as as you started to ski more agressively. Try them on without the inner and check the clearance is not too much them ski in them for a bit and then go to a a good in resort fitter and get them customised. I always use footworks in Chamonix.

DAVEDICKINSON44@GMAIL.COM wrote:
Try them on without the inner and check the clearance is not too much them ski in them for a bit and then go to a a good in resort fitter and get them customised. I always use footworks in Chamonix.

is this in the past or recently, the footworks team has changed recently, the originals are at Sanglard sports, and the team from 5-6 years ago now have Sole

snowplough wrote:Well, flight from Edinburgh to Bimingham, car hire to Bicester and an hour with Colin.......still no boots that fit!
Colin refferred me to James who has measured everything and ordered a pair of Daleboots that will hopefully be delivered by Jan 3rd!
Tight calves are my problem...not wide or webbed after all.

I have, over time, directed a number of people towards CEM. One of them, the son of a friend, ignored my suggestion, and ended up putting the result on ebay. He came back to me, and I repeated the advice. (I had already referred he guys wife to CEM, with a great result.)

This time, he did go to CEM. CEM could not supply a boot that would meet the needs of the particular footshape, referred him on, and, of course he had a good result.

re fitting..I am sure a recommended fitter at a decent outlet in resort, will do a good job of customising your boots...If you buy from a good outlet they will guarantee to get them right . If they will not guarantee to do so , go elsewhere.I only know 1 person who has bought boots that didn't need modification to get them perfect.

DAVEDICKINSON44@GMAIL.COM wrote:re fitting..I am sure a recommended fitter at a decent outlet in resort, will do a good job of customising your boots...If you buy from a good outlet they will guarantee to get them right . If they will not guarantee to do so , go elsewhere.I only know 1 person who has bought boots that didn't need modification to get them perfect.

I have known of two in resort cases, (not a high proportion, of hundreds) where the boot fit was bad. In one case, they changed the boots with no issues.
I am not sure that is the real issue. You advise, if the guarantee is not right, go elsewhere. In resort, I respectfully suggest that people have neither the time nor inclination to do so. Many also have lift passes, ski school, ski hire to address.

I bought my boots in the UK, in June, and wore them in the shop for 4 hours. They fitted like slippers, and 25 years later, they still do. Bandit asked one lady an interesting question ~ how often has the lady changed her boots? (She had intimated she had had to change them)

If I had had a problem with my boots, I would have taken them back to be dealt with, even 3,4,5 years later. How can that be done, buying abroad, especially if you choose to ski a different resort each year.
I don't see this purely as a competence question, more of a logistics question.