Ellis Brigham ski boot fitting

Ranchero_1979 wrote:"single clip rear entry boots" old school. Still were good enough for the legends in the fist ski movies I watched so why not :-)

Old school? My late ski buddy Mel and I used to have daily jokes that I would have completed two runs before he had fully clipped up his boots. However, he later made a salient point, I had not realised, that all the best Auslanders who taught in our ski school, all wore single clip boots.

Of course the late great Bill Johnson won Olympic Gold wearing the same model Raichle boots that were my first pair. Olympic Gold medalists are soooo old school.....

Then, of course there is a minor local Tirol village record, that of the Niederau day run record. This is the number of runs in a village in a day. In Niederau the first record was set, in 1948, by Toni Seelos, an Austrian international racer from Seefeld, who started a ski school for international racers in Niederau. There have been several other names added to the record list, as, over the years, the number of run counts has increased.

Of all the names that appear on the list, only one name, (cough, cough), appears twice. On each occasion, I was wearing single clip boots. Funnily enough, on both occasions, no one mentioned the boots.... Nor has anyone who has skied with me....

I would never, ever, again wear a multi-clip boot. Uncomfortable, and difficult to get on, and off. Awful, if you have bad knees.

And of course I would always be two runs up on Mell....





I am guessing that you have never worn a pair.

Dave Mac, I think it's difficult to argue that rear entry boots are not old school (I know that you can still buy them). But old school doesn't mean rubbish. Urban Dictionary definition of old school is something which is from an earlier era which is looked upon with respect. I remember seeing French grandparents teaching their grandson to ski in LDA, dressed in 1980s one piece ski suits and wearing rear entry boots. And they were a bit good on skis. And I have worn a couple of pairs of rear entry boots (a long time ago, though)

I concur. It's good to mix things up a bit. For example, I have an iPhone full of digital tunes and I also have a turntable and several hundred vinyl lps. :mrgreen:

I'm a bit surprised that so many skiers only consider comfort when buying ski boots, obviously they have to be comfortable, but what about performance, longevity and safety. Oversized boots aren't much of an issue if you're a complete beginner, but once you decide to buy your own surely you would want them to fit and function as well as possible.

Most recreational ski boots are sized according to the Mondopoint sizing system, which is defined in ISO 9407:1991. It's based on the mean foot length and width in millimetres, the inner length of the shoe/boot is supposed to be equivalent to the foot length plus 1 cm. Unfortunately the ski boot manufacturers don't stick to it, in the 1990s they started to make the boots longer than the marked size indicates so that they feel comfortable in the shop. On average they are 1-1.5 cm longer than they should be.

The Mondopoint system only covers length and width, the most important area of fit in a ski boot is around the instep.

If they aren't a good fit here they won't work very well and there is very little that can be done to modify the fit in this area. The manufacturers don't give any information about the sizing of this area so the only way to check the fit is to look at how the barefoot fits in the shell.

The design work on ski boots is mainly done at one size, usually size 26.5. The boot manufacturers then send resin models to the toolmaker who scans them into his CAM software and scales them up and down to get the range of sizes required. Humans don't scale like this, small feet and large feet have different proportions.

So without the aid of a reasonably competent boot fitter the odds of getting a pair of well fitting boots are slim, even if you don't have any issues with your feet. It's estimated that that over 75% of Alpine skiers buy ski boots that are between one and two sizes too big http://www.nordica.com/schweiz/stories/the-seven-most-common-mistakes-skiers-make-when-buying-new-boots/?backstage=1 it's pre-programmed by the manufacturers to drive sales.

This doesn't mean that your boots won't be comfortable if you don't go to a boot fitter. I skied in boots that were miles too big for years and never experienced any discomfort, they just won't work as well as they might. This might not be much of an issue if you only want to slide around a ski resort for a week or two a year, but if you want to progress well fitting ski boots are essential.

I have never paid anything for boot fitting. it's always been included in the price of the boots. In fact since I started buying them from a boot fitter I've saved money as I don't have to replace them as often.

Brucie, ski boot fitters aren't snake oil salesmen, but there are snake oil boot fitting systems such as the Fischer vacuum, Surefoot, Strolz, ErtlRenz and AquaNovo, which curiously involves standing in a tank water! Boot fitters generally try to repair the damage that the snake oil salesmen have caused. The real snake oil salesmen in the skiing equipment business are the sales and marketing people and people who do gear reviews, who for the most part haven't got a clue.

Hi guys, I have been recently looking at purchasing some new ski boots for the season. My location is a round London/Essex/Hertfordshire and was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a store that has a lot to offer choice wise and also fits a boot correctly.
Near by I have snow and rock in Hemel Hempstead (snow dome) and also the Romford snow and rock. I also have a Ellis Brigham store not to far by.

Any recommendations would be a great help

Go to Profeet in London. Book an appointment.

I can vouch for a Scottish lass in the Liverpool branch of Ellis Brigham called Cat. She certainly knew her stuff and was very thorough with her advice and the fitting of my new boots so I wouldn't hesitate using her again

Personally, I always buy in resort. Partly for the same reason in a comment on Page 1; several adjustments can be made in resort until the boot feels right. Secondly, your feet swell when you go up a mountain and also when you exercise. I always a couple of days skiing and at least 1/2 a day on the day I go to choose new boots. That way my feet are going to be as close as I can get them to their natural skiing dimensions.

Also, always go for the 'Conformables' as this will aid in preventing 'spreading' of the foot in the boot.