- Joined
- Feb 8, 2018
- Posts
- 56
@PaulE , where did you get this done? I live in Norway, as well..
They are sold without peddles.And as a Bikefitter, I wish bikes were sold without saddles, cranks, handlebars and stems. I do see why the sales guys would hate that though
No, that happened out of sight in another room. From what I recall, I doubt the heating time was much beyond 5 minutes. While boothorns were not used, my feet were in plastic bags which probably served the same purpose in terms of reducing friction and avoiding creating any folds in the process of ingress and egress.Interesting read, thank you. You didn’t notice how your liner got cooked by any chance? Heating method, time and such would be great to hear about.
No, that happened out of sight in another room. From what I recall, I doubt the heating time was much beyond 5 minutes. While boothorns were not used, my feet were in plastic bags which probably served the same purpose in terms of reducing friction and avoiding creating any folds in the process of ingress and egress.
sorry, i dont understand the area you are telling me.... i have the hawx S model.shell overlap flaps high in the ankle area
I'd like to give some product experience from one product person to another.Hi Paul,
A Mimic liner will require our process and tools to get the job done in order to prevent any fit or quality issues from arising. The fitting process itself is pretty straight forward, but rather specific in order to give you the best results. If our process isn't followed or the wrong tools are used, then it can lead to issues (which is true for basically any high-end liner customization process). Our oven will need to be used at the temperature & duration we specify- normal heat stacks or hot air blowers aren't good enough because they heat from the inside out and the real Mimic material is near the outside. We make toe caps, liner socks, and a shoe horn to make the liner installation and you stepping into the boot go as smoothly & as possible. Without them (or exact substitutes) there will be risks during the fitting process. So if shops don't have the right tools for the job, then it will most likely lead to a sub-par result and you'll be pretty bummed about that. We've done a lot of training for retailers that have brought Mimic in, so at least you'll know that the shops which have the tools will do it right and you'll have an awesome fitting boot when it's all said and done.
Sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience with those stores. While I indeed share your frustration, like you said we put a lot of time & energy into creating these products, this is unfortunately a reality we will always encounter at retail. Atomic doesn't own these shops. We don't and can't control what they choose to learn or how they go about fitting ski boots. Each boot fitter is a bit of a rogue force and they often think they know better than a brand. We offer lots of opportunities to train boot fitters and retail staff, but again we can't force them to attend such trainings or force them to do it our way. And to add further complication to it all, retailers have new employees year after year. We often train employees one year and they leave the store the next year. It's a bit of a sh*t show to be honest, but until Atomic creates "own stores" or gets more retailers to step up their commitment to being better partners, this is going to be a reality we have to navigate. We are working on making customization information more public so that everyone can have more access to understanding how and what to do. This doesn't mean you will be able to do it at home (there are still tools you will not have) but it does mean the information will be more readily available.I'd like to give some product experience from one product person to another.
Both my wife and I have have bought boots with Mimic Liners this year. She from REI and myself from EVO.
Neither retailer followed the "Mimic Process" - there were no spoons or toe caps, hers were heated on a normal heat stack. I had also called around to other shops (Front Range of Colorado) and no one was familiar with a particular Mimic process, but all were willing to let me pay them to mold my liners. Because of this I chose to have our liners molded at the respective retailers.
Given the time and effort that you have invested into the product and the continued resolve that molding is only able to accomplished by a trained shop, there really needs to be better management of the retail experience.
To be honest, I could have personally done a better job and I'm quite disappointed with the experience at Atomic retailers. I understand that you need to toe the company line. However, either the messaging, the shops, or the process needs to change to improve the experience.
shock horror, skier goes into generalist store and expects high level boot fittingI'd like to give some product experience from one product person to another.
Both my wife and I have have bought boots with Mimic Liners this year. She from REI and myself from EVO.
Neither retailer followed the "Mimic Process" - there were no spoons or toe caps, hers were heated on a normal heat stack. I had also called around to other shops (Front Range of Colorado) and no one was familiar with a particular Mimic process, but all were willing to let me pay them to mold my liners. Because of this I chose to have our liners molded at the respective retailers.
Given the time and effort that you have invested into the product and the continued resolve that molding is only able to accomplished by a trained shop, there really needs to be better management of the retail experience.
To be honest, I could have personally done a better job and I'm quite disappointed with the experience at Atomic retailers. I understand that you need to toe the company line. However, either the messaging, the shops, or the process needs to change to improve the experience.
Thanks for sharing and it is an honest appraisal of the industry. I always always enjoyed the company training sessions and they made me a better boot fitter. In several of the shops I worked it was common practice for me to have to fix the mistakes of my coworkers. The customer response was a good feeling when they came back and shared how well the fit worked when they were skiing.Sorry you had a less-than-stellar experience with those stores. While I indeed share your frustration, like you said we put a lot of time & energy into creating these products, this is unfortunately a reality we will always encounter at retail. Atomic doesn't own these shops. We don't and can't control what they choose to learn or how they go about fitting ski boots. Each boot fitter is a bit of a rogue force and they often think they know better than a brand. We offer lots of opportunities to train boot fitters and retail staff, but again we can't force them to attend such trainings or force them to do it our way. And to add further complication to it all, retailers have new employees year after year. We often train employees one year and they leave the store the next year. It's a bit of a sh*t show to be honest, but until Atomic creates "own stores" or gets more retailers to step up their commitment to being better partners, this is going to be a reality we have to navigate. We are working on making customization information more public so that everyone can have more access to understanding how and what to do. This doesn't mean you will be able to do it at home (there are still tools you will not have) but it does mean the information will be more readily available.
To better prevent this from happening again, when you speak with a shop about customizing your ski boots, ask to speak with the main fitter. The average employee at REI or EVO is not going to be an experienced boot fitter. They are mainly boot sellers, and there is a big difference. EVO sometimes has really good fitters on staff, but not REI. The larger/more generalist retailers often don't have great boot fitters. You should look for a more specialist shop that focuses on ski boots and boot fitting. Find the main fitter and book an appointment with them, not the average employee. Even the best shops have fitters who are more experienced than others, and push to have an appointment with the most experienced ones. If you just walk in and ask to be fit, they will most likely hand you off to a less experienced employee. Booking an appointment with a trained fitter is currently the best guard against things going the wrong way.