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Off the beaten path ski shops

Philpug

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"Was" being the operative word, since they have been absorbed into the Buckmans universe. Seems they're quickly becoming the only game in town for a lot of people in the SE PA area
Correct. When I was at my previous shop in SE PA, many of the costumers liked coming there because we weren't Buckmans, now that shop has also been absorbed.
 

Saintsman

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This one that I stumbled on in Brighton England was a surprise.

View attachment 108217 View attachment 108218
Believe it or not, Snow & Rock is a UK chain - there's 16 of them in total, and only 2 are co-located with indoor slopes. There's another UK chain, Ellis Brigham, and there's all manner of independents. My personal favourite is Snowtrax near Christchurch - they have a stupendous range of stock and a seriously good workshop
 

James

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"Was" being the operative word, since they have been absorbed into the Buckmans universe. Seems they're quickly becoming the only game in town for a lot of people in the SE PA area
Bleh, Salters. Was not a fan, but that was mid-late 90’s. Went there late season, possibly the last weekend they were open for the season. Skis- over priced weird stuff. My initial impression was a very odd shop.
Took my girlfriend there from nyc to get boots, based on a ski mag article. Really should not have bothered and should’ve just gone to Scandanavian ski shop on 57th st which still existed then. Would’ve been so much better for everyone.

So at Salter’s we bought a pair, plus footbeds. There were major problems that showed up next season. She skied probably only 5 days. So getting back down there for major work that needed to be done- it didn’t happen till ironically the next year same closing weekend. It’s tough to arrange a trip to nowhere with people working weekends.

George basically accused her of lying about the boots. Like it was some scam. He was pretty miserable. It’s not like the place was busy, pretty much no one else there. We weren’t happy but had to get through to some conclusion as I was never returning. I can’t remember what happened, I think she got a different pair. Probably just as bad.

The whole thing was sad. He had that special gizmo he’d built to stand in boots at an angle, like on a slope. I think it was used for canting. Could barely get him to talk about it. Pretty sure that was in the magazine article.
Might’ve been the time of season, or just he was really done with the business at that stage. I can’t remember what the skis were, but they were the oddest things I’d seen for a shop to sell.
A shop in Windham some years later was almost as strange. They had big name brands, good skis, but they were selling them for new prices and the skis were 3 years old.
 

johnnyvw

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I think you can have a bad experience at nearly any shop, no matter how vaunted it is. My wife had work done at the US Orthotic lab in NY, then at the Green Mountain Orthotics place at Stratton. Even after all that, she always had to ski one run, then go inside and loosen her boots because her feet hurt. Last year she got new boots, with a regular aftermarket footbed (not even molded). She had her best days in ski boots ever! Turns out her old boots just really didn't fit her feet well, which neither of the afore-mentioned places picked up on. A lot of money and time wasted when a different pair of boots was the fix.
 

LiquidFeet

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@johnnyvw, I had the same experience at the Stratton Green Mountain Orthotics shop some years back. The boots I was sold were too short. But the fitter told me that the discomfort was normal for a performance fit and to "ski it out." My previous boots were indeed too long, so I believed him that these shorter boots were just the right thing for me. He came highly recommended. This was several years back.

As a result of skiing those new boots all season (with two punches in the toe box by this guy), both of my big toes developed ingrown toenails. That Stratton bootfitter did not want to continue to work with me after those two punches, and left me with the impression he thought I was the problem. I had to walk off the job a few days in the spring because of intense pain. I had to have the toe nails surgically cut once the intense inflammation went down. Don't ever get yourself in that situation; the pain of the "digital block" is more than anything I've dealt with ever.

And I bought yet another pair of new boots the next fall from a new bootfitter over in New Hampshire. This new bootfitter ended up giving me the right boots with a performance fit. I am so thankful I finally found the right guy.
 

johnnyvw

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Unfortunately sometimes you have to suffer a bit to learn this, but it's usually a matter of "if it doesn't seem right...it probably isn't". Been there, done that...
 

SKI-3PO

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A couple of clarifications on the Salters discussion above.

George passed away and the shop continued after he was gone.
The shop was not sold to Buckmans. The shop burned down. Buckmans did obtain the customer list.
 

johnnyvw

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Interesting turn of events. But the bottom line is that salters is gone, and their customers basically have to go to the nearby Buckmans, correct? Are there any other shops nearby?
 

SKI-3PO

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Correct - closest non-Buckmans is probably Ski Bum in Glen Mills.
 

James

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Anyone been to Sitzmark near Ascutney, Vt?
At this point, very out of the way.

F43454C1-108D-4BBA-BAD9-94671C4413DB.jpeg
 
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crgildart

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