Surefoot, shazaam or scam? talk me into it..........or out of it

[gASSyrOBOt]

More bootfit questions………………..YES I SEARCHED, fucking Jong police.

I have a cork footbed, which I had made with a set of Zipfits from 2001.
The liner’s ankle pocket is starting to look like a saggy teat.

I have been VERY HAPPY with the performace, however my major complaint is how COLD my feet are in them.

I am looking to get a set of boots, and ended up at a surefoot store to check out some FT’s.
So the guy measured me, and the size shell I asked for matched, and was in stock.
I felt good in the FT, with my cork bed; however, that would pose a ‘guarantee’ problem as my foot measured out of the 98mm last width/range of the FT (and sans surefoot footbed).
The guy/tech seemed knowledgeable, but wanted to put me into a Superblaster (lange boot) due to my wide 102 and 104mm forefoot.
With the full meal deal (shell, custom/inject liner and footbed), the price was over $1400..........FUCK ME!!
I can justify paying >1K on boots “IF” I get 200-300 days on them, but feel that kind of scratch may be out of my price range for boots.
I may simply buy the footbed ~$200, and then get the boots (as they come stock with an Intuition liner).
My logic, is that I could upgrade a injected liner next season, and afford to actually ski with the extra $500+ in my pocket.
The downside is likely no fit guarantee.

I would love to go to Larry in Boulder, but I want to be able to have my stuff tweaked slopeside.............cause I'm high maintenance that way

I hear the new liner is AWESOME
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...efoot+footbeds

How COLD are they? I could not buckle my T1's last Sat @ Keystone, and had to swap gear after 4 runs.

Not really into paying 500 for something I cannot ski in the cold.

I was curious about the quality of their footbed, which I would need to get with a pair of boots and stock liner for bootfit guarantee.
Who has them, who hates them, who thinks they are worth EVERY penny.
Someone talk me out of the full custom insanity………….or into it.


Thoughts on quality of staff in Keystone, the Beav, or Vail.

Thanks.

[mntlion]

surefoot likes doing a bigger shell fit, and filling the extra with foam. And they have a great deal with Lange, so like to sell them.
I prefer to find a good (tighter) shell fit, and use foam if needed to fill spaces, but have less space to fill in the first place...
As with most stores, it is the staff, not the location that is key. I'd hunt around, and try to find a smaller, local, less chain store, with some guy that has been doing this for a few years. This might lead you back to SF, but odds are it will not...

Foam is less cold then it was, but for a better then stock fit, and warmer, I'd go intuition plug.

just my $.02

[L7]

I forget the guy's name in keystone. Small shop, one man show. The money may still be up there but 1400 for boots is dear. Each surefoot is likely to have 1 or 2 decent guys and then a bunch of deadbeats. One man show is what it is. (I keep thinking Jeff something)

[millfiger]

A foam liner inside of a super blaster sounds horrible - one of those boots may weigh as much as the entire pair of FT's w/ Intuitions - it would be a complete travesty to spend that much $$ and end up in a Super Blaster shell, just sayin'. The width of the shell @ forefoot may be the easiest part of the boot to alter (make wider) - the FT is a wide 98mm at that, FT could be doable for you, depends on the rest of your foot. DONT DO IT, foam liners are only beautiful and successful for the people that REALLY want them, and the folks that want them... wtf? Liners in boots have come a long way, and most high performance alpine boots these days have fairly badass liners in them. Surefoot footbeds are certainly better than average, a safe bet, is how I would describe that investment.

[matt]

I forget the guy's name in keystone. Small shop, one man show. The money may still be up there but 1400 for boots is dear. Each surefoot is likely to have 1 or 2 decent guys and then a bunch of deadbeats. One man show is what it is. (I keep thinking Jeff something)

Keystone shop was run by a guy named Tyler. I think he is now in NYC. I had great luck with a pair he did for me many years ago. The guy who took over is Allan (I think) and he did mine from last year. They have ~60 days on them and I love them. The new liners are much warmer and more comfortable compaired to the old and I feel the performance is the same.

I agree with mntlion, on the oversized shell ect. A lot of surefoots business stems from rich tourist who have poor fitting boots and a lot of pain coming off the mountain feeling like their expensive ski trip will be reuined unless they find a comfortable boot and they are willing to pay any amount of money and buy into any advertising to get back on the mountain. This is where the newb employees come in and just foam away to get production. Each store usually has a few employees who know what they are doing and will take the time to work with you.

I personally love my surefoot boots and they work great for me. This is my second pair and I will likely get a 3rd when these wear out. But I have also heard and witness a lot of horror stories so make sure you have a good comfort level with the boot fitter.

PS: I know the keystone Surefoot runs a sale each Oct where everything is 20% off, I know its late for this season, but if you can hold out til next year it might be worth it.

[XtrPickels]

Or just go to Larry's

[hutash]

I agree with most ofthe above. Mtnlion is spot on. Surefoot is good if you are a rich bastard but aren't really a performance set up, unless you happen to fit a Lange well.

Personally I would go to somebody you trust for major work, and maybe do so local tweaks on the hill. Paying the extra for on hill tweaks will still be way less then surefoot. I prefer my cork beds and am not convinced about surefoot rubber beds.

[gASSyrOBOt]

thanks Mags..............exactly the information I was looking for.

[thin cover]

Spent almost that money at the sure foot at squaw 7 or 8 years ago, biggest waist of money ever, never were comfortable and took them to another fitter and they confirmed they were at least a half size too small. I must have got the 99% in that shop.

although I do love my foot beds that i had made in 2000 at surefoot in killington and still use them today. Thats the only reason I went for the full boat on the boots, so be wary of individual fitter indeed

[waxman]

I would not get a Blaster foamed (and I sell Lange), as mentioned the forefoot is the easiest to stretch, try the RX Wide it seems be fitting a wider range of foot than a 100mm shell would suggest.
Foaming just to fill space is no way to go.

[L7]

Keystone shop was run by a guy named Tyler. I think he is now in NYC. I had great luck with a pair he did for me many years ago. The guy who took over is Allan (I think) and he did mine from last year. They have ~60 days on them and I love them. The new liners are much warmer and more comfortable compaired to the old and I feel the performance is the same.

I wasn't thinking of who ran the Keystone surefoot. I was thinking of a guy that ran/runs a small shop on his own that I think was in Keystone. He got pretty prominent in the bootfitting world but I forget his name and name of his shop now.

[Flexon Phil]

The P.F. Changs of boot fitting.

[gASSyrOBOt]

The P.F. Changs of boot fitting.

like, trendy and NOT good...............sweet

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I would not get a Blaster foamed (and I sell Lange), as mentioned the forefoot is the easiest to stretch, try the RX Wide it seems be fitting a wider range of foot than a 100mm shell would suggest.
Foaming just to fill space is no way to go.

Couldn't agree more. I would add the the Super Blaster is a sloppy noodle of a boot even if it does fit you which it probably doesn't. The RX is an excellent product.

[rod9301]

I would not go to them.they have a lot of turnover in their people, many are not well trained. I had foam boots for 20 years, ski a 100 days a year and im very picky. Would not get foam anymore, standard liners are good now, or intuition.
The boots they foamed for me a couple of years ago were wrong size, shape and botched the foam job. I had to go back so many times, I finallygave up and bought boots from another shop.

[gASSyrOBOt]

Krypton Pros…………. From LARRY’S

IME, the absolute best ski shop I have personally EVER been in.
Reminds me of Gorsuch in BC, but no need to be uber wealthy.
CLEARLY more interested in taking care of you, than just taking your money.
Second time in there, and I just cannot say enough positives about what a great operation Larry has there (BTW, they have moved, but are open 7 days now).

thanks again for the info and setting me straight.