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I need the best boot fitter in the northeast!

Peppermint

Trying to Improve
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Boston area
Long story short, I’ve been skiing with painful feet for 30 years. I’m always the guy that is a buzzkill because he has to go inside to take off his boots to let his feet stop hurting. Been through many pairs of boots. I have wide feet and they’ve always been an issue for me.

At 36 years old I made the decision last year to try to put the issue to bed for good. Went to Surefoot in Killington, VT. Dropped a LOT of coin on their boots. They measured me up in some Lange’s and went through their whole custom fit process. They seemed like they knew what they were doing? After a few return trips all the way up there for adjustments (I’m in the Boston area) and they’re still not right. Had to quit after 3 runs at Wildcat in NH because my foot cramping and numbness was unbearable. Heard similar stories from others that tried Surefoot. I don’t want to waste time going back up there for adjustment after adjustment. The whole point was going once to trust their “no break in period” guarantee. I might just cut my losses with them.

Is there any other better option around? Does anyone know a specific person somewhere in the northeast, either in the Boston area or the North Conway NH area that can fit a boot based off the symptoms you have, and knows what they’re doing? I’ll try anything at this point to try to get boots that allow me to ski pain free. We ski in the Conway area. One recommendation I had was Stan and Dan’s. There’s another guy named Tink who works at Sport Thoma by Attitash that I’ve heard is good. Open to any recommendations for someone who knows the anatomy of the foot and how to fit it to a boot well. Thanks!
Another vote for Tim at SkiMD.
 

Vivid Black

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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6
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New Hampshire
Long story short, I’ve been skiing with painful feet for 30 years. I’m always the guy that is a buzzkill because he has to go inside to take off his boots to let his feet stop hurting. Been through many pairs of boots. I have wide feet and they’ve always been an issue for me.

At 36 years old I made the decision last year to try to put the issue to bed for good. Went to Surefoot in Killington, VT. Dropped a LOT of coin on their boots. They measured me up in some Lange’s and went through their whole custom fit process. They seemed like they knew what they were doing? After a few return trips all the way up there for adjustments (I’m in the Boston area) and they’re still not right. Had to quit after 3 runs at Wildcat in NH because my foot cramping and numbness was unbearable. Heard similar stories from others that tried Surefoot. I don’t want to waste time going back up there for adjustment after adjustment. The whole point was going once to trust their “no break in period” guarantee. I might just cut my losses with them.

Is there any other better option around? Does anyone know a specific person somewhere in the northeast, either in the Boston area or the North Conway NH area that can fit a boot based off the symptoms you have, and knows what they’re doing? I’ll try anything at this point to try to get boots that allow me to ski pain free. We ski in the Conway area. One recommendation I had was Stan and Dan’s. There’s another guy named Tink who works at Sport Thoma by Attitash that I’ve heard is good. Open to any recommendations for someone who knows the anatomy of the foot and how to fit it to a boot well. Thanks!
You want to see Matt Madden who fits Strolz Custom Boots He ski’s at Attitash his office is in North Conway. After he fits the shell then after the custom footbed he puts your foot into a liner and pressure injects liquid foam. Your foot issues will be over. Great support also You’ll like Matt I ski with his dad Butch
 

cem

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Typical retail sales. Take your best salesman/fitter and make him/her a manager. Most salesman/fitters are that because they like doing that, they are not always the best managers. So, this usually leaves you without your best salesperson/fitter and a marginal manager, a lose/lose.
amen to that
 

Jb.schulte

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New Hampshire
I have been to a lot of boot fitters in the NE over the years and I recommend going to Rogers in Lincoln NH.
Ill begetting my boots looked at this fall and will likely be in Lincoln, NH got that. I’ve heard good things about both Rogers and Sport Thoma where Adam seems to be highly regarded. If I end up at Rogers, is there any fitter there that is highly regarded or is it the kind of shop where you get whoever is available?
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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or is it the kind of shop where you get whoever is available?
With most shops, if you walk in or call in cold, without an appointment with a specific person, you will get whomever is available. It's really on you to push the issue well before your visit and say something polite that amounts to, "This sale of services is entirely dependent on my working with Peppermint Patty." Obviously you will phrase it more diplomatically than that. The only exceptions I know of are shops where there is only one boot fitter. In those cases you MAY be safe. It would still be good to use the person's name just to be sure.

Sorry I don't have a specific name to give you, but I'm sure someone will.
 

James

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IMG_1304.jpeg

Hmmm….your ski boots will need lots of work.
 

Jb.schulte

Booting up
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Throwing this out there again as I will likely be heading over to Rogers in Lincoln this weekend for them to take a look at my boots. I’m in the Hawk Ultra 130s with the Pro liner. The boot has seemed loose since I had them fit elsewhere even after getting the thicker tongue and yes they are the right size and I prefer a firm fit over anything comfy. So does anyone have a name of a good fitter at Rogers in Lincoln?
 

dbostedo

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The boot has seemed loose since I had them fit elsewhere even after getting the thicker tongue

That seems at odds with this:

yes they are the right size

How do you know they are the right size?

It's very hard to make a boot smaller, but much easier to make it larger. If they're loose, there's not nearly as many things you can do - thicker tongues are a small-ish change for most people. You might ultimately need a different/smaller boot.

I also don't have a name to provide at Rogers... perhaps someone else here will.
 

cem

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a gridlocked town in middle England
Throwing this out there again as I will likely be heading over to Rogers in Lincoln this weekend for them to take a look at my boots. I’m in the Hawk Ultra 130s with the Pro liner. The boot has seemed loose since I had them fit elsewhere even after getting the thicker tongue and yes they are the right size and I prefer a firm fit over anything comfy. So does anyone have a name of a good fitter at Rogers in Lincoln?


did they heat the shell? that's the #1 way to give a new boot too much volume if the foot doesn't need it heated

the ultra is fairly low volume for a non race boot, when people say they have space in there i can't help but think that one of 4 things is happening
1 they have a SUPER skinny foot
2 the boot is simply a size too big
3 there is inadequate support in the boot allowing the foot to roll around
4 it was heated and the foot pushing against the liner in the warm shell has just made too much space
 

Jb.schulte

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New Hampshire
did they heat the shell? that's the #1 way to give a new boot too much volume if the foot doesn't need it heated

the ultra is fairly low volume for a non race boot, when people say they have space in there i can't help but think that one of 4 things is happening
1 they have a SUPER skinny foot
2 the boot is simply a size too big
3 there is inadequate support in the boot allowing the foot to roll around
4 it was heated and the foot pushing against the liner in the warm shell has just made too much space
I don’t really have a super skinny foot and maybe “loose” is the wrong word. I would like the fit to be like a really firm handshake that does not cut off circulation. What I have is more of a firm handshake. What I have in terms of fit is good enough, but I’m looking for better than that. Yes, the shell was heat molded and I probably did not need that. Likely just spot heated in parts of the toe box. And if I was to do it again, I’d have had more foam added to the Professional liner. I’ve heard from a couple of shops that doing so is fairly common.
maybe I just need to see Adam at Sport Thoma.
 

Jb.schulte

Booting up
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New Hampshire
did they heat the shell? that's the #1 way to give a new boot too much volume if the foot doesn't need it heated

the ultra is fairly low volume for a non race boot, when people say they have space in there i can't help but think that one of 4 things is happening
1 they have a SUPER skinny foot
2 the boot is simply a size too big
3 there is inadequate support in the boot allowing the foot to roll around
4 it was heated and the foot pushing against the liner in the warm shell
As some recommended above, I did see Adam. He pretty quickly noted I have a low instep and the ultra, while narrow, is not really low volume over the instep. 26.5 is the right length for me unless I was looking for a true race fit. I don’t need that, but now I’m looking for a boot with a lower than average instep height.
 

Tricia

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We had a good experience at Roger’s in Lincoln, NH. John fit my daughter in boots and me in mimic professional liners. Daughter had similar problems as you with her previous boots (which were fit by another boot fitter who had a previous stellar rep). Two things that I especially liked about the shop: they fit a lot of racers and have a big stock of boots especially in narrower widths; many of their employees were somewhat older and more experienced than many shops I have been in.

A lot of good recommendations in this thread. My two cents: educate yourself on what a good fit is and what that might mean for your foot, and listen to your gut when getting fitted and being told things that don’t feel correct.
I was coming here to mention that you had struggles in the past and found a good fit for you and your daughter...finally.
 

no edge

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May 17, 2017
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Took a road trip to West Dover (Mt Snow) yesterday to see Nick Blaylock. I brought a new pair of Lange RS 120 - lv with me.

I can't say enough about Nick... he is masterful and he understands what is required to make a boot fit and perform well. I was so impressed!
 

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