I'm buying new ski boots

Ally, good luck with your boots. I am sure that correct fitting boots are possibly the most important component in skiing. Once you have found the right ones then you have cracked it (forgive the pun) When I first started skiing I used to dread putting on those awful hire boots. Having stood in line and asked my shoe size and then accepted whatever was passed my way. I know for a fact, after the event, that I have skied in boots that were two sizes to big for me :shock: It was not a graceful site to behold :lol:

Your own boots...Best thing you can buy!

Don't be rushed, you can expect to spend 2 or 3 hours in the shop. once you've found the pair you like walk around the shop for 15mins. The boot fitter shouldn't rush you....It's your feet that will suffer not his/hers!

Good luck

H.

Thanks Huard and Alistair :D

I am hoping for a big improvement in my ski-ing, once I have my new boots. It would be great if my problem with foot/ski turning on the top of moguls was down to badly fitting hired boots.

I do have very narrow feet (I always used to be a B width size when Clarks measured my feet as a child), but other than that I think my feet are okay - I haven't got flat feet, bunnions or anything else that I can think of.

The damage to my big toe that happened during my last ski holiday was under the toenail, not on the end of the toe. Which is interesting, because it looks as though the point of trauma was above my foot, i.e. my foot must have travelled up vertically in my boot (presumably during one of my many falls) and whacked my big toe hard enough to break it and create a haematoma under the nail (which was lanced by the doctor in Casualty).

Anyway, it will be interesting to hear what the boot fitters say about my feet. I think they also test the biomechanics of the ankle joint etc. so maybe they will find a problem here as well.

I will write a full report up about my experience when I get back, so everyone can judge for themselves whether they think the £150 for the specialist boot fitting is worth it or not.

Ally

You'll ski so much better with your own boots.

Hi Tony,
Thanks :D
that's what I was hoping as well.

But what really pushed me into going to all this trouble and expense to buy new boots and cart them about is because of my toe. I mean, I very carefully picked the best fitting boot in the hire shop, so my foot shouldn't have been able to move enough in the boot to hurt my toe like that.

I was back and fore to my surgery twice a week to get the toe cleaned and dressed for four weeks, and after that I had to continue dressing it myself. And now, yesterday, the whole toenail fell off. And the nurse has warned me that the nail may never recover properly - I may have one of those horrible-looking thick or bent toe-nails, and have to spend the rest of my life going to the chiropodist - or else buy the tools and do it myself, like Ian with his ski maintenance :lol:

It is a very good thing that I am only a cleaner and landlady by occupation, and not a model, or a danser or anything :lol:

I am hoping now that they can still do a boot fitting minus one of of my toe-nails. I might give them a ring on Monday to check. I am going to London anyway, on family business, and I was hoping to get the boot fitting done at the same time.

Ally

AllyG wrote:Hi Tony,
Thanks :D
that's what I was hoping as well.

But what really pushed me into going to all this trouble and expense to buy new boots and cart them about is because of my toe. I mean, I very carefully picked the best fitting boot in the hire shop, so my foot shouldn't have been able to move enough in the boot to hurt my toe like that.

I was back and fore to my surgery twice a week to get the toe cleaned and dressed for four weeks, and after that I had to continue dressing it myself. And now, yesterday, the whole toenail fell off. And the nurse has warned me that the nail may never recover properly - I may have one of those horrible-looking thick or bent toe-nails, and have to spend the rest of my life going to the chiropodist - or else buy the tools and do it myself, like Ian with his ski maintenance :lol:

It is a very good thing that I am only a cleaner and landlady by occupation, and not a model, or a danser or anything :lol:

I am hoping now that they can still do a boot fitting minus one of of my toe-nails. I might give them a ring on Monday to check. I am going to London anyway, on family business, and I was hoping to get the boot fitting done at the same time.

Ally

Hi AllyG good luck with the fitting I will be interested to know if you thought paying £150 was worth it, speaking as some one with flat feet, one bunnion, dodgy right knee etc, etc )

I think you are definitely doing the right thing Ally. My boot fitting cost me £150 on top of the cost of the boots too and I cannot stress enough that it was money well spent. Fortunately I was in France and it was the first day of my holiday so I had a week of skiing to make sure they were perfect. My boot fitter was excellent he did study the biomechanics of the ankle joint etc and noticed a slight problem with my left one (I'm not sure what the problem is because their was a bit of a language barrier but he did try to explain by demonstrating on a foot and ankle skeleton). For the last 10 years or so my left knee would swell up within a couple of hours of skiing. I don't know what he did to the boot but I've not had to wear a knee support since and I believe this is a result of having the boots adjusted to address the ankle problem.

Enjoy your day with the boot fitter! :D

Thanks Snowbandit and Eggman,
I hope I get there okay and it's a great success. I will let everyone know.

Snowbandit - that is very interesting about your knee. I think there is something a bit odd about the way I walk - one of my shoes always gets worn a bit one-sided and I can balance on one leg much better on my left than my right, so I will wait and see if they pick anything up during the fitting. They have an arrangement with a ski shop in Courchevel so if I have a problem during my holiday there I can go and get it sorted.

Eggman - I thought you had your bunion removed? Have you got another one on your other foot, or what? Are you happy with your present boots? I'm not sure about the £150 for the fitting, it sounds an awful lot of money to me, but Bandit recommended this place and she has always impressed me as someone who knows what she's talking about :D

Ally