whats up guys. long story short i need some new boots and im in the uk. currently in sheffield and need to find a shop with people who actually know how to fit a boot. please let me know if you know anywhere in the uk.
Nov 8 2015 11:29PM
Nov 9 2015 11:00AM
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?
Nov 9 2015 11:08AM
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?
Nov 9 2015 11:50AM
Nov 9 2015 12:39PM
Nov 9 2015 2:12PM
Nov 9 2015 6:34PM
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.
Nov 9 2015 7:57PM
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.
Nov 10 2015 5:35AM
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.).
Nov 10 2015 12:27PM
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.
Nov 11 2015 11:21AM
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?
Nov 11 2015 12:29PM
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.
Nov 24 2015 4:31PM
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.