Good boot fitters in the UK

Get across to ellis Brigham at castleford if you can. Those guys will sort you out.

tomPietrowskiGet across to ellis Brigham at castleford if you can. Those guys will sort you out.

i went there the other week. from what i could tell they didnt know anything. no shell fitting, didnt seem to know what i meant by boot work and just kept going on about footbeds...?
similar experience or different?

baggis123i went there the other week. from what i could tell they didnt know anything. no shell fitting, didnt seem to know what i meant by boot work and just kept going on about footbeds...?
similar experience or different?

Interesting. I have not worked there in quite a few years but it used to be one of the very best places in the uk. I would be surprised if they did not do shell check etc but it's good they are talking about footbeds a lot. who was it you spoke too?

I work at brighams in Castleford. Who did you speak to about boots? We can help with most things

.Roockley.We can help with most things

And most things non skiing related.

He's definitely not close to you, but if you ever make your way down towards London go see Colin Martin at Solutions 4 Feet in Bicester. He only does boot-fitting & ski boots and works by appointment only. If nothing in your area works out, go see him.

baggis123i went there the other week. from what i could tell they didnt know anything. no shell fitting, didnt seem to know what i meant by boot work and just kept going on about footbeds...?
similar experience or different?

Ellis Brigham have been very hit and miss based on my exp of their stores and boot fittings in various ones. Some are excellent, some have no idea at all and just re regurgitate the marketing spiel. To be honest its put me off ever using a big brand store again as unless you know of have feedback of a specific fitter (such as Tom) then its really a lot of money to risk.

Because of this I now use stores where I know whos going to do it. Shona and Ali at Blues in Edinburgh do a bloody good job, Theres Colin Martin as the others have said and Alain Baxter Sports in Stirling. I'm off to see Alain to have my liners done next week.

LamafamaEllis Brigham have been very hit and miss based on my exp of their stores and boot fittings in various ones. Some are excellent, some have no idea at all and just re regurgitate the marketing spiel. To be honest its put me off ever using a big brand store again as unless you know of have feedback of a specific fitter (such as Tom) then its really a lot of money to risk.

Because of this I now use stores where I know whos going to do it. Shona and Ali at Blues in Edinburgh do a bloody good job, Theres Colin Martin as the others have said and Alain Baxter Sports in Stirling. I'm off to see Alain to have my liners done next week.

Baxter the ex racer? That is cool.

An an yeah I totally get what you mean about the bigger stores and shows perfectly that infact looking for a good fitter is te most important.

Speaking to to people at brighams no one is at cas from when I wa there so unfortunatly it seems things may be slipping but I know for sure tere are still a few good guys working you just have to hunt them out.

tomPietrowskiBaxter the ex racer? That is cool.

An an yeah I totally get what you mean about the bigger stores and shows perfectly that infact looking for a good fitter is te most important.

Speaking to to people at brighams no one is at cas from when I wa there so unfortunatly it seems things may be slipping but I know for sure tere are still a few good guys working you just have to hunt them out.

Yeah Alains the Head rep for Scotland now and has a similar set up to Solutions for feet, hes got a very impressive boot workshop set up and a lot of the racers from Scotland I know now use Alain instead of the drive down to Solutions for Feet as you can image its a bit a of a costly trek for them. He will do the lot and is the only place in Scotland as far as I know with all the soul grinding equipment for the FIS boots.

Brighams need to make more of a showcase of the decent boot fitters they have to attract people IMO. I only know of you through NS and when you did my mate Alex's boots in London the other year (I went to MK and wasn't too impressed with the end result and Brighams gave me a new set of boots in the end.).

tomPietrowskiBaxter the ex racer? That is cool.

An an yeah I totally get what you mean about the bigger stores and shows perfectly that infact looking for a good fitter is te most important.

Speaking to to people at brighams no one is at cas from when I wa there so unfortunatly it seems things may be slipping but I know for sure tere are still a few good guys working you just have to hunt them out.

do you have any names i could ask for in brighhams in cas? because if there are genuinly decent guys there it would be the best location for me.

LamafamaEllis Brigham have been very hit and miss based on my exp of their stores and boot fittings in various ones. Some are excellent, some have no idea at all and just re regurgitate the marketing spiel. To be honest its put me off ever using a big brand store again as unless you know of have feedback of a specific fitter (such as Tom) then its really a lot of money to risk.

Because of this I now use stores where I know whos going to do it. Shona and Ali at Blues in Edinburgh do a bloody good job, Theres Colin Martin as the others have said and Alain Baxter Sports in Stirling. I'm off to see Alain to have my liners done next week.

Does Alain purely just do work to boots or does he sell and fit them as well?

(Sorry for double post) I'm currently in Glasgow and in need of a new pair of boots as mine are way too soft for me and are a bit done in in general.

Alistair.(Sorry for double post) I'm currently in Glasgow and in need of a new pair of boots as mine are way too soft for me and are a bit done in in general.

Alain will alter and fit anything you bring in (within reason) as he can't make something thats wrong magically fit, nobody can. He does have the ability to alter shells, do custom liners and foam liners as well. I'm bringing up my shells to have liners done.

A bump with a review of Alain Baxter Sports.

For those who don't know Alain is a legend of the ski racing world and now has one of if not the the best workshops in the UK if not Europe for boot fitting. This is not a place where you will be crammed into the 1st boot that is plucked off the shelf and deemed easiest to fit, nor will you be forced into a footbed and told thats how it feels... Alains set up is incredible, if your a ski racer then theres probably nowhere better in the UK, this is based on reviews from some of my chums who race on a pretty high level and thus aren't really member's of NS... However for the normal end user it translates to someone who knows all there is know about ski boots.

So In I went with my Atomic Tracker 130's. Alain took his time to explain the difference between all the methods he uses how he alters his approach depending on how you ski, he also ski tours a lot so has an understanding on a personal level of every end of the spectrum. I had been told by other shops that the only method of sorting my feet out would be foam injection liners with the attached cost, Alain sorted my boots out with some reworking of the sidas liners and adjusting my footbeds to give me more support, the end result, a small bill and perfect boots.