Ski Boot Buying in London?

Hi peeps

Sorry for asking the same question that has been posted over and over again but need help in a bit of a hurry.

I live in Jersey and there is no where here to buy boots. I am coming over to the big rock (London in particular) on Wednesday and was looking for advice on wear to buy boots. I have very limited time, a few days, and cannot leave London.

I would like to buy a pair of boots that really fit.

I am unsure whether to stump up the £119 fitting charge for profeet or to buy from snow and rock/ellis brigham in Covent garden. I am going to get custom footbeds anyway as they seem very important for correct fit.

So the real question is Snow and Rock, Ellis Brigham or Profeet?

Please help getting worried I am not going to make the right decision.

tima wrote:Hi peeps


So the real question is Snow and Rock, Ellis Brigham or Profeet?

Please help getting worried I am not going to make the right decision.

I would say of the options you present Profeet is the most likely to do a reasonable job. I have had a fitting there, and I was unhappy and will not return, but many other folks have been satisfied with their work.
I do see one problem for you. If you need further work on the boots, it's simply not practical for you to travel over.

Profeet IIRC work only from appointments, can you get an appointment at short notice?

Where are you planning to ski? It might be more convenient to get a fitting early on the first day of your holiday. That way you can go back to the shop to tweak the fit over the rest of your holiday? You would probably want to call ahead and book an appointment at a reputable shop at the resort also.

Personally, i have little to no time for ProFeet, it seems to be £119 for a footbed and cuff allignment combined with endless useless printouts and gimic analysis (just my opinion), I simply do not believe that anyone stands like they ski when asked to do so, nor do computers take into account the change in posture and body when that standard skiing terror sets in.

If you are after a one off, proper fit then can i suggest you make a short trip out to oxfordshire to Solutions 4 feet, sure a few here will agree.

Still wont be cheap though, my advice however would be to get a fairly cheap, off the shelf footbed, get the cuff allignment done for next to nothing, ski on them for a day or two then take them to a shop in resort (once you have an idea of any problems) and get them to do it (may find you need very little doing).

dulcamara wrote:Personally, i have little to no time for ProFeet, it seems to be £119 for a footbed and cuff allignment combined with endless useless printouts and gimic analysis (just my opinion), I simply do not believe that anyone stands like they ski when asked to do so, nor do computers take into account the change in posture and body when that standard skiing terror sets in.

If you are after a one off, proper fit then can i suggest you make a short trip out to oxfordshire to Solutions 4 feet, sure a few here will agree.

Still wont be cheap though, my advice however would be to get a fairly cheap, off the shelf footbed, get the cuff allignment done for next to nothing, ski on them for a day or two then take them to a shop in resort (once you have an idea of any problems) and get them to do it (may find you need very little doing).

Never tried Pro feet but sounds like sensible advice from dulcamara. The best boot fitters are regular skiiers with good communication skills. Getting a good fit can be an itterative process, you need to ski to try out the fit, then make minor adjustments, then repeat until satisfied.

Without the Profeet pressure analysis *I would never had discovered that when I stand in a ski stance there is no weight on one heel. There are very sound medical reasons for this, but I had no inkling of the size of the problem. It's now been corrected with wedges inside my boot.

Actually, the best bootfitters are trained to fit boots, and should tell a customer which boot and the size required, at a consultation. I'm a regular skier and I'd like to think I have good communication skills, but I would not have a clue how to fit a ski boot :lol:

* cem also does this, but prefers to use pressure sensitive paper, not a computer program.

bandit wrote:

Actually, the best bootfitters are trained to fit boots, and should tell a customer which boot and the size required, at a consultation. I'm a regular skier and I'd like to think I have good communication skills, but I would not have a clue how to fit a ski boot :lol:

Fair comment. To clarify - I once got boots fitted by somebody (not profeet) who, in hindsight, did not listen to what I was saying - it was a costly disaster. Good communication skills are a minimum requirement. Being a regular skiier helps with this. Everything else is a plus. I think fitters can get carried away with the science - as CEM put it on another thread:

Cem wrote: whatever the solution the key is the assessment of the foot in the first place, simple things can cause major problems and often simple problems need nothing more than simple solutions, i see countless client who have been sold a rack of different footbeds and had major modifications done to boots when all they really needed was a heel lift and to do some calf stretches

If you were staying in West London then I would suggest Bartletts, Uxbridge Road Hayes and get 'Old Terry' to fit you. The only problems being that if they have to be tweaked im not sure what you will do.
Bartletts is not the cheapest for equipment but the after service and especially Terry are top notch.