What Makes a Good Bootfitter?

A good bootfitter is someone that asks the key questions to help select a boot that meets the customer’s needs.

These include:

• How regularly do they ski?
• How aggressively are they skiing?
• Have they got any injuries that we should be aware of?
• What problems did they have, if any, in their previous boots?

A good bootfitter is…
A good bootfitter is someone able to analyse the foot and recognise potential fit issues.

This includes:

• Checking flexibility of the foot and ankle and being aware of any restrictions
• Looking for obvious bone spurs that will need stretching or grinding
• Looking under the foot and checking pressure distribution and how a custom footbed may need to be adapted to help this
• Looking at leg shape and size and whether the boot will need to be adapted for this
• Being aware of instep height and heel width to find the best last to fit their foot
• Looking at their natural alignment and seeing how we may need to adjust the boot to compensate for this.

All of this information allows the bootfitter to create a plan on how they will need to adapt the boot to give the optimum fit and prevent potential problems.

A good bootfitter will…
A good bootfitter will always shell check the customer in every boot to ensure it’s the correct length, width and height for the foot.

This involves placing the foot inside the shell without the liner.  This tells us how much work will be involved for that boot to fit the foot.

A good bootfitter always listens to the customer’s needs and their feedback is key in giving them the fit they desire.

The majority of customers don’t understand what they should be feeling in a new boot, so it is important to educate them on what we want them to feel at that point.

They should then explain how the customisation process will change and improve that fit.  Not only is it essential to educate them on how the boot should feel, but also the correct socks, maintenance of the boot, upgrades available to them such as boot heaters to help maximise comfort.