Question about the best time to get fitted for my first tour boots

[AZskibum]

Skiing on Panterras now, but I just picked up some Shift's and will need boots with inserts for next season avy-classes/beginner tours etc.

I'm in Phoenix AZ, which isn't ideal.

My question: Looking at all these boot sales... will they last a while? I'd like to buy from a fitter in person, and I could drive up to SLC to see a fitter there. With COVID-19 I don't think it's a great time to be fitted :P

Thanks!

[AZskibum]

Oh, follwo up question. My Panterra 120s usually feel pretty responsive early in the day, but sloppier later. Is that a sign I may want to do a 130 flex boot instead when I get a tour boot? I'm prioritizing downhill, I think? I'm 150lbs.

[gregL]

QUESTION ABOUT THE BEST TIME TO GET FITTED FOR MY FIRST TOUR BOOTS

Two months ago would have been perfect. Right now your chances of getting a good bootfit in Phoenix are about the same as Salt Lake.

Prices will probably get better, not worse, but who knows when bootfitters will go back to work or if existing shops will even re-open. A boot that gets sloppier with use is usually a sign you are in too big (or too high volume) a boot. Many people don't apply the same performance standards to touring gear as alpine gear, however.

[sierra_cement]

The best time to get fitted for touring boots is after you finish an all day tour and know where all your problem spots are.

It's probably a wash either way to buy now online at heavily discounted clearance prices, and then spend another couple hundred bucks over the course of a season to get a fitting, foot beds, and spot punches here and there, vs. buying from a bootfitter at full retail and getting the follow up boot tweaks for free.

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[old goat]

Your feet are smaller in the morning--best time to get a snug fit.

[RShea]

You may not find any sporting goods stores open or at least doing anything other than online orders and shipping or pickup at the store with all this going on. State by State determines if essential and even allowed to be opened or not. Sporting Goods (other than some allow gun shops to be open) are closed in some states. Hard to do 6 foot social distancing with the fitter, since they have to be working with you taking a look at the areas of discomfort, etc.

As for the time of the day- foot swells as you are on your feet throughout the day. And some shops will be transitioned into other things like bikes or scuba or golf and have their skiing merchandise in the warehouse, some boot fitter only in the store 8 or so months with a few months before ski season and they are off doing some other job in end of the resort season the spring and summer...

[AZskibum]

Bummer if the Panterra's I've been in (and had a bunch of fitting work done to) are too big. I have about 40-50 days in them, one of the ID liners is falling apart and is due for warranty. They feel super snug with thin socks. Maybe an intuition liner could help?

Do the boot shops keep their sale prices into the late summer/early fall when the fitter's come back in SLC?

I don't want to be that guy that buys boots online and sends them back if they are wrong (not even sure if I could tell if they were besides a finger test).

Appreciate your time and patience, i'm learning a lot still.

[sierra_cement]

I've usually seen full retail pricing starting in sept, since all the new season stuff is coming in. And there's pent up demand for the start of ski season. But we're a long way from "usual" these days, so your guess is as good as mine. [emoji2369]

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[galibier_numero_un]

All bets are off in terms of how long discounts will run as well as availability of popular sizes. I know of one smaller shop that sells a good deal of their overstock to places like Sierra Trading Post at the end of the year, but again ... we're writing new rules this year and we're all guessing.

... Thom

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I don't want to be that guy that buys boots online and sends them back if they are wrong (not even sure if I could tell if they were besides a finger test).

Not sure why you'd be worried about this? If you roughly know what you want it's absolutely fine to buy a few from an online retailer and return what's not working for you. With all the sales/discounts going on right now just double-check you can return whatever it is you buy.

[gregL]

Not sure why you'd be worried about this? It's absolutely fine to buy a few from an online retailer and return what's not working for you. With all the sales/discounts going on right now just double-check you can return whatever it is you buy.

It's not just the physical act of returning them, the retailer expects that. Most people can sort of figure out if the length is right, but very few are able to accurately assess volume, think beyond the fit "out of the box," or know what problems can be fixed by a bootfitter.

[XXX-er]

This ^^ you Ideally need to buy a boot from a guy who can say if a boot is right for your foot, a boot that was cheap but doesnt fit is of no use and in the end just costs money to fuck with in so many ways and of course pain

there will be some smoking hot deals but when it comes to returning anything I think the new normal is to not expect a retailer to be there cuz it may have gone under

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Maybe I read his sentence wrong, but it read to me like OP thought there was some unwritten rule he shouldn't buy/return boots online. I'm just letting him know that's not the case. Of course, you should know what boots/sizes work for you before going this route

[XXX-er]

if you know that a boot fits you really well you can ask others hey what fits like this ?

I got super lucky buying the Mercury on line which requires no punches and then a few years later doubling down with the Vulcan but i don't think its the best way to buy boots unless you really know what will fit you cuz then you gotta pay extra for fitting

I don't mind paying list for a boot that fits

[mall walker]

I don't mind paying list for a boot that fits

ya same... it's about the only thing I don't mind paying list for

[XXX-er]

it used to be fairly typical for someone to write in about buying a boot on-line cheap, fuck around spend money at the fitter and sell the boot on gearswap, repeat the next season and the next season

whereas it would have cost the same $, less pain to just buy a boot and pay the man

[gregL]

if you know that a boot fits you really well you can ask others hey what fits like this ?

Plenty of people think their boots fit really well simply because they don't hurt and they can ski OK in them. They MAY be right, but it's relatively rare.

[sillybunt2]

Why is it relatively rare that if my boots don't hurt and I ski OK that they don't fit my feet really well? Must my feet hurt and I ski like shit to have my boots fit?

[galibier_numero_un]

Why is it relatively rare that if my boots don't hurt and I ski OK that they don't fit my feet really well? Must my feet hurt and I ski like shit to have my boots fit?

Plenty of people think their boots fit really well simply because they don't hurt and they can ski OK in them. They MAY be right, but it's relatively rare.

Heed Greg's words.

The point is that you don't know better until you experience it. You may have the perfect boots, but lack of pain isn't the only criterion for this.

I have a neighbor who swears his 28.5s are perfect for him. While this may well be the case, I'll lay dollars to donuts that he's one shell size smaller. Of course, he's a typical REI shopper.

... Thom

[sillybunt2]

I was poking fun at the "relatively rare" implication, i.e. very few people have boots that fit well. I understand what Greg was saying as I've experienced both the joys of a good fitting boot and the pitfalls of poor boot fit. Its the classic dilemma of agonizing about price for the best tool for the job, making a compromise based on price (possibly ignoring good advice from an experienced source) and then learning yourself the hard way that the cheaper route ends up sucking. Ultimately, you end up getting the correct tool and wasting more time and effort and money compared to just getting the correct gear in the first place. Sometimes that's the price of admission if you have no cash and limited options in your area.

[gregL]

Why is it relatively rare that if my boots don't hurt and I ski OK that they don't fit my feet really well? Must my feet hurt and I ski like shit to have my boots fit?

Because people don't realize what can be done with a boot to make it fit better, they don't have a full knowledge of what fit options are available, and they've never experienced how much better they can ski when their boots fit optimally. To be honest, there are plenty of bootfitters who don't know these things either, but that's another discussion.

[AZskibum]

Because people don't realize what can be done with a boot to make it fit better, they don't have a full knowledge of what fit options are available, and they've never experienced how much better they can ski when their boots fit optimally. To be honest, there are plenty of bootfitters who don't know these things either, but that's another discussion.

I can attest to the last part. I had no idea side to side foot movement shell only check was a thing until reading last night. I can comfortably move my foot left and right in my Panterra shell when I center my foot in it. No boot fitter tried that.

[XXX-er]

if a boot doesnt hurt it could either fit OR it could be too big so how would you know what you have never known ?

An ex GF was in size 26 garmont tele boot, she ended up liking my size 24 T-3's and still has them so she was in a boot 2 full sizes too big linking recoveries

1 size too big is pretty normal, even 2 sizes too big is not that unusual