How I chose my best Whistler boot fitter

by Julian Craddock

I have written this article in an attempt to help people find their best Whistler boot fitter. I have found mine but I made several mistakes along the way that resulted in sore feet, poor skiing, and interpersonal discord. I would like others to learn from my mistakes, hence the blog post.

Buying alpine ski boots is one the most important purchases that a skier makes. Choose correctly, and you will enjoy many days skiing your best,  relatively pain free.  Choose incorrectly, and you will suffer (here is a reason why professional ski racers guard their favourite boots with their lives).

First, a disclaimer. I am a peripheral member of the Whistler/Blackcomb ski industry. I have been lucky enough to be employed as both a volunteer and as a part time employee. I have worked most recently as a part time ski instructor and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not supported in any way by any ski manufacturer, or ski store. However, I often ask for, and get, discounts on ski equipment. I am not a member of, nor do I benefit from,  the Whistler Ski School referral program.

Second, this is about my best Whistler boot fitter. Yours may be different. Finding a good boot fitter is hard.  Its like getting married. Getting it wrong is painful.  However, my soul mate is unlikely to be yours. The intent of this blog is to help you find your soul mate.

Third, if you wish to skip my long winded run up, you can skip straight to the Conclusion at the end of the blog.

Fourth, this is a tale of two Whistler boot fitters. I am using my experiences with both of them to illustrate what you might expect and not expect to find when  fitting a pair of ski boots. I bear neither one any ill will.

Whistler Boot Fitter: A tale of two fitters

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was time to get new ski boots. Like many devoted skiers I know how hard it is to find a pair of boots that provide the level of performance that I desire without turning my feet into bruised, bleeding, stumps. My current boots were a pair of Lange RS 140s with custom foam liners and custom foot beds. I had purchased them from SureFoot in Whistler  B.C. and they had been fitted by Sam, the store manager. I was very happy with the fit but the boots were showing signs of age. The buckles were bent. The cuff was cracking on the right boot. The liners were packing out and my feet were starting to move about. It had also been three years since I purchased them and ski boot technology had changed. It was time.

The Best of Times

I spoke with a number of the best Whistler Boot Fitters, including Sam at Surefoot, and the consensus was that my feet and my skiing would benefit from a new pair of Atomic Redster WC 130s. Unfortunately, Sam, despite his recommendation, was unable to provide the boots as they were not carried by Surefoot. When it came time to purchase the boots, my second boot fitter choice (Brian Campbell at topshelf) had moved on, so I started asking colleagues and friends who they would recommend. The overwhelming choice was a new boot fitter called Barry who was working out of Whistler Sports. Barry is a very accomplished skier and has worked as a ski instructor at the highest level possible in the Canadian ski industry.

I went to see to see Barry and told him that I was looking for a new pair of boots and why. I told him what others had recommended and asked him for his opinion. He took a look at my existing boots and my feet (a very good sign by the way – if the boot fitter you are talking to doesn’t look at your nude toes, run far, run fast). He told me that he would not recommend the WC model as they would require too much work on his part to make them fit. He recommended that I purchase a pair of the PRO model instead which are slightly wider in the forefoot than the WC model.

Spoiler alert: my spidy sense should have tingled and it didn’t. Barry’s opinion was an outlier and ‘too much work’ is not a good reason for not fitting a pair of boots.

Barry told me that he would guarantee the fit but only if I also purchased new foot beds. We settled on a price of just over 1,000$ Canadian, boots (significantly discounted by Whistler Sports – many thanks), beds, and fitting all in. Barry measured my feet, marked the boots, made the foot beds and told be to come back in a few days.

So far I thought I had done everything right. I had a guaranteed fit from a recommended boot fitter. The Redster red looked way better with my jacket than the Lange blue.

The Worst of Times

When I picked up the boots I was pretty pumped. New boots are expensive and, for me anyway, they are not an everyday purchase. I also knew from past experience that they were unlikely to work immediately and that Barry and I would have to work together to fine tune them. Out I went. A great day but after a few more days I noticed that my feet were moving more and more in the boots. Back to Barry. Padding added. Hmmm, still moving. Back to Barry. More padding added. Ouch, now the boots hurt. After several visits and patient fiddling by Barry it became clear that the boots didn’t work. They were too big and no matter how much padding was put in my feet still moved. Furthermore the stock liners were, after only two weeks, starting to tear at the toes. Not what one would hope for.

Barry was no longer happy to see me in the shop. He was busy. He told me that my only hope was a pair of custom foam liners. I would have to pay for these above and beyond what I had already paid. If you have ever owned a boat (as I have), you will be familiar with the saying “throwing money into a hole in the water”. My boots, were becoming boats. I was concerned that the foam liners would not fix the problem and that the boots were simply too wide and too soft. I was also annoyed that the promise of guaranteed fit was an illusion and that they only way out was to spend more money. Despite my misgivings I agreed to the purchase of a pair of foam liners to the tune of 400$ Canadian. The liners were not, to the best of my knowledge, discounted.

While I was waiting for the foam liners to arrive my relationship with Barry tanked. We need couple counselling and neither one of was invested enough in the relationship to go.  Barry didn’t want to have anything to do with me and once the foam liners arrived it was determined that it would be for the best if I went elsewhere to have them foamed. All mention of a guaranteed fit was long gone. I, to be honest, didn’t want anything to do with him. The boat had sunk, it was the season of darkness. I had spent almost 1500$ and had nothing to show for it.

The epoch of incredulity

With no where else to turn I went to Sam at SureFoot and explained that my brand new boots needed foam liners. I also told him that while I had the liners I needed someone to foam them. Sam asked me why I had purchased the PRO model when he had told me not to. I looked at my toes and did the only thing possible – shuffled. Graciously putting me out of misery, Sam told me to bring the boots and liners over and he would foam them free of charge. Yahoo. I was going direct to heaven!

On my way over to pick up the boots and foam liners I was feeling as if I had been saved from total disaster. Not great, but not awful. When I went to the desk at Whistler Sports the manager was there. I had enjoyed dealing with Whistler Sports in the past and had purchased several pairs of skis and many bits and pieces. As the manager handed me the boots he asked me if there was anything else he could do.  He had no idea what was coming. I blurted out my tale of woe and he asked me what I wanted. “My money?”, he asked because he would gladly give it to me. I said yes and he instantly refunded everything that I had spent. I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t have to do it. I wasn’t expecting it. Was I ever grateful. Want me to recommend a ski shop in Whistler for upfront service? Whistler Village Sports is it.

I returned to Sam and told him that his services would not be required after all. I then went into every shop in Whistler looking for a pair of World Cup Redsters but there none to found. I had missed the critical window in which a good choice of decent boots were available. Ouch. I learnt the hard way that ski shops, for the most part, do not stock high performance boots as they don’t sell enough of them to make it worth their while. Many shops offered to order in boots for me but none would guarantee the fit and none would bring them in for a boot fitter to check.

It also turned out that I had burned some bridges other than the one with Barry. A senior member of the ski school (Mr. X), and representative of one of the major ski manufactures accosted me and accused me of behaving inappropriately with regards to my boat, I mean boot, fiasco. Turns out Barry was a friend and his personal boot fitter.  Whoops.

Needless to say Mr. X refused to help me with obtaining a new pair of boots. Amongst other things Mr. X told me that 1500$ was not an unreasonable price to pay for a pair of custom boots and that Whistler Village Sports is a great store (I’ll leave out the rest of the truly egregious things he shared with me). I agree with the latter. If you revise the former to “pay for a pair of custom boots that fit”, I would agree with that as well.

The Spring of Hope

By chance I ran into Sam who asked me if I had found a pair of boots. I told him that sadly I had not. He asked me to come by the store so that he could patch up my boots for the rest of the season. He then told me that he recommended a pair of Nordicas. He would order them for next season, fit them, and guarantee the fit, no questions asked. If I didn’t like them, all I had to do was bring them back and Sam would refund my money. He told me that he wouldn’t have to because he knew they were the right boot for me.

Conclusion

Sam, at Surefoot in Whistler, B.C., is hands down, my best Whistler boot fitter. He isn’t the best because he is very skilled at what he does (he is). He isn’t the best because he goes beyond the call of duty (he does). He is the best because he actually gives a damn about my feet.

I do not have personal boot fitting experience with any other boot fitters in Whistler. There are lots of them and there are lots of people who are happy to recommend their best Whister boot fitter. I learnt a number of things during my most recent boot fitting experience. To summarize:

1. Ask lots of people, including boot fitters, about boots, your feet, and what you want. When people start avoiding you, you have almost talked about your feet enough.
2. Trust your spidy sense. You know your own feet and you know whether or not your own judgement can be trusted. If you get an outlier opinion, be a good statistician and either get more data, or ignore it as spurious.
3. The foot beds and liners that came with the Atomic Redsters that I purchased were in my opinion of poor quality. In general the expectation appears to be that the foot beds are throw aways and that you will need custom or semi-custom beds. It may be that liners are moving in that direction as well.
4. Getting boots that fit takes a lot of time and patience. Find a fitter that is willing take that time and at least pretends to be patient.
5. Ski shops stock what sells. If you need boots that aren’t “mainstream” where you ski, they are going to be tough to find.
6. Custom fitted ski boots are expensive. If they don’t come with a guaranteed fit, you wasted your money.
7. Good boot fitters are busy. Don’t go during peak time and expect (for the most part) their full undivided attention.
8. Whistler Village Sports is a great store. Many thanks for all your service in the past and for so graciously resolving a very difficult situation.
9. Sam at Surefoot is my best Whistler B.C.  boot fitter.
10. Even if your Mom does still buy your boots, get yourself a pair of boot guards and use them. That way you won’t have to replace them.
11. Colour isn’t really important. No one looks at your feet when you ski and colour blocking is what its all about.

Happy feet, and good skiing. If you have any comments, or a favourite boot fitter that you want the world to know about, leave a comment.

Ski Naked or Die

My apologies to Dickens.