HuntersEmma57
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Short Answer: Unequivocally, yes. Daleboots are truly custom (not a commercially available boot shell that is retrofitted for you). Daleboot has been in business since 1969 and makes the boots in the USA in SLC, Utah. They have a storefront in Kitzbüel, Austria (forgive the spelling) and multiple and growing number of locations in the US. Go to their website for locations. These boots are particularly well-suited for people who have boot fit problems that have not been amenable to other boot fitter's magic.
Long answer: Custom boot fitting is time-consuming and inconvenient. It's a minimum of 2 appointments for Daleboots. The first is for very detailed measurements and an interview about how you ski and what your boot fit challenges and preferences are. This is when you select the boot type with guidance from the bootfitters and send the specs to the factory for building. This process can take up to 2+ hours.
Spouse and I went very early season to Mill Creek HQ in SLC (90 mile round trip). Bonus: Lotsa great restaurants and shopping nearby. It's not a fancy place and there were several new staff.
Mistakes were made. Both of our pairs of boots came back way too big! How on earth can that happen from a custom fitter?
We spoke to the National Sales Manager who made it right, but we never got an true explanation. It appears it may have been a training problem. I was demoralized and suspicious. We were refunded some $ for our trouble, and they would have absolutely refunded all our $ if we chose not to give them a second chance.
We started over completely fresh from the beginning. First change: They decided I was better suited to an upgraded VFF Pro to get the higher performance snugger fit I prefer. They expedited our new boot build.
We came back 10 days later and spent 2.5 hours on the fitting starting with the liner and a custom footbed. Then came the "micro" adjustments. Their boots come with designed-just-for-Daleboot Intuition liners (in different thicknesses and one with a tongue, the rest are wrap liners) that are heat molded onsite. For an upcharge, a ZipFit liner is available.
Canting is a critical and major focus and is accomplished with a unique heel design. And many checks and rechecks.
Buckles and bales were also swapped out to assure there are enough, but not too many or too few, adjustments. All in all, we were super-pleased with Boots 2.0 and excited to put 'em in some skis.
Longer Answer - WE WERE NOT DONE YET: Between us, we have 6 pairs of alpine skis and the bindings all had to be adjusted to handle this thicker boot and the change in length. Daleboot does not do this work (and we were aware of that) so we took our skis and killer new boots to Level 9 in Ogden, UT nearby us. Shortly after dropping them off, we got a deeply dismaying call from the lead ski technician. Five of six of our ski bindings would not fully engage with the boot. No, I'm not kidding or exaggerating.
Partial Explanation: Daleboot has variable flex mechanism on most of their boots where the amount of flex (softer to firmer) can be adjusted by the customer. This is accomplished by turning a screw that lengthens or shortens 2 springs that are in closed channels on the back and inside of the boot. (Works great!!) This mechanism takes up space and requires flipping up the walk/ski lever on the back of the boot. Turned out that lever was too long and prevented the full seating of the boot into the binding.
Daleboot was very responsive and worked very closely and collegially with L9 (and us) to get this rectified. Again, not without trial and error. All 6 pairs of skis have one of the most common and well-regarded bindings in the industry, Marker Griffons. My skis are of varying ages and so too are the bindings which have very minor changes from year-to-year.
Daleboot picked up our boots and took them to their manufacturing facility where levers were ground down, freshly powder coated, and delivered back to L9. And then discovered that my oldest pair of skis still did not fully engage the binding.
The ski manufacturing industry has a plethora of standards that address binding, boots, and skis and yet somehow, this still happened. We never got a satisfactory explanation for this either. However, the General Manager for Daleboot stepped in personally to transport our skis and boots and they paid the entire tab at L9. It's all good to go now.
Moral of this last part of the story: Take your skis with you to pick up your boots to make sure they will fully engage with your bindings. I'd say any brand boots after this because the last thing you want is to discover this when you step onto the snow and try to click in.
So, would I do it again and why or why not?
See above. Unequivocally yes, but don't we always wish we knew then what we know now? By posting this, you'll know what to look for and be prepared.
For anyone with a high instep and/or high arch, I'm confident there's no better boot out there. Or if you're someone whose feet are two different sizes or really pronounced bunions or pronation/supination. I can step into this boot like putting on a pair of winter snow boots. And then they lock and load for literally the best boot to ski performance I've ever experienced. This (for me) is a taller boot that engages well with the strength of my calf and helps me drive the ski harder and with instant response.
Even the performance fit is comfortable (after the 1st run or two). They feel impossibly tight at first and then settle in for a pain free day and warm toes day. I was skiing in single digit temps with my very thinnest pair of wool socks. They leave just enough room in the rounded toe cap for a pocket of warm air to live. Perfection.
The cost ($1000-$1300) is justifiable because these boots have an exceptionally long lifecycle. (Comparison: My last custom boots were made in Canada and lasted 10 seasons and they were worth the $1500 I paid back in 2013).
Daleboots are a bargain comparatively. All the moving parts and boot soles for the canting can be readily replaced. I met several customers there who were in for tune-ups and refreshes with 15+ yr old boots that were made to look new again and all sang the praises of the Daleboots. Not all of it is at no cost for parts, but all at reasonable and transparent costs. They stock liners and can make new footbeds right then and there. Bonus: Keeps worn out ski boots out of landfills.
I also want to sing the praises of the the variable flex function. I thought it a tad gimmicky, but this boot flex is far superior to any boots spouse and I have ever worn. I'm an advanced/expert off piste skied blessed to ski on soft powder nearly all season. But when things firm up and for early season thin cover groomers or I'm skiing steeps, I want 'em racing firm so I can drive (my usually too big for groomer) skis hard. I had my skinniest skis - Blizzard Black Pearl 97s on rails ao groomers at Aspen. I didn't even know I could get that fat of a skis on their edges like that!
The one upgrade (besides the custom footbed) is to have them install Booster Straps which take away shin bang. Daleboot didn't have any in stock yet, so we brought our own in. Booster Straps are thicker and have a tiny bit of give/stretch. Fixed straps feel as if they're cutting into my calf and my blood supply.
Final assessment: I'm giddy happy enough with these boots that I can let go the process flaws and headaches. What I got is as close to perfection as I can ever imagine getting.
Long answer: Custom boot fitting is time-consuming and inconvenient. It's a minimum of 2 appointments for Daleboots. The first is for very detailed measurements and an interview about how you ski and what your boot fit challenges and preferences are. This is when you select the boot type with guidance from the bootfitters and send the specs to the factory for building. This process can take up to 2+ hours.
Spouse and I went very early season to Mill Creek HQ in SLC (90 mile round trip). Bonus: Lotsa great restaurants and shopping nearby. It's not a fancy place and there were several new staff.
Mistakes were made. Both of our pairs of boots came back way too big! How on earth can that happen from a custom fitter?
We spoke to the National Sales Manager who made it right, but we never got an true explanation. It appears it may have been a training problem. I was demoralized and suspicious. We were refunded some $ for our trouble, and they would have absolutely refunded all our $ if we chose not to give them a second chance.
We started over completely fresh from the beginning. First change: They decided I was better suited to an upgraded VFF Pro to get the higher performance snugger fit I prefer. They expedited our new boot build.
We came back 10 days later and spent 2.5 hours on the fitting starting with the liner and a custom footbed. Then came the "micro" adjustments. Their boots come with designed-just-for-Daleboot Intuition liners (in different thicknesses and one with a tongue, the rest are wrap liners) that are heat molded onsite. For an upcharge, a ZipFit liner is available.
Canting is a critical and major focus and is accomplished with a unique heel design. And many checks and rechecks.
Buckles and bales were also swapped out to assure there are enough, but not too many or too few, adjustments. All in all, we were super-pleased with Boots 2.0 and excited to put 'em in some skis.
Longer Answer - WE WERE NOT DONE YET: Between us, we have 6 pairs of alpine skis and the bindings all had to be adjusted to handle this thicker boot and the change in length. Daleboot does not do this work (and we were aware of that) so we took our skis and killer new boots to Level 9 in Ogden, UT nearby us. Shortly after dropping them off, we got a deeply dismaying call from the lead ski technician. Five of six of our ski bindings would not fully engage with the boot. No, I'm not kidding or exaggerating.
Partial Explanation: Daleboot has variable flex mechanism on most of their boots where the amount of flex (softer to firmer) can be adjusted by the customer. This is accomplished by turning a screw that lengthens or shortens 2 springs that are in closed channels on the back and inside of the boot. (Works great!!) This mechanism takes up space and requires flipping up the walk/ski lever on the back of the boot. Turned out that lever was too long and prevented the full seating of the boot into the binding.
Daleboot was very responsive and worked very closely and collegially with L9 (and us) to get this rectified. Again, not without trial and error. All 6 pairs of skis have one of the most common and well-regarded bindings in the industry, Marker Griffons. My skis are of varying ages and so too are the bindings which have very minor changes from year-to-year.
Daleboot picked up our boots and took them to their manufacturing facility where levers were ground down, freshly powder coated, and delivered back to L9. And then discovered that my oldest pair of skis still did not fully engage the binding.
The ski manufacturing industry has a plethora of standards that address binding, boots, and skis and yet somehow, this still happened. We never got a satisfactory explanation for this either. However, the General Manager for Daleboot stepped in personally to transport our skis and boots and they paid the entire tab at L9. It's all good to go now.
Moral of this last part of the story: Take your skis with you to pick up your boots to make sure they will fully engage with your bindings. I'd say any brand boots after this because the last thing you want is to discover this when you step onto the snow and try to click in.
So, would I do it again and why or why not?
See above. Unequivocally yes, but don't we always wish we knew then what we know now? By posting this, you'll know what to look for and be prepared.
For anyone with a high instep and/or high arch, I'm confident there's no better boot out there. Or if you're someone whose feet are two different sizes or really pronounced bunions or pronation/supination. I can step into this boot like putting on a pair of winter snow boots. And then they lock and load for literally the best boot to ski performance I've ever experienced. This (for me) is a taller boot that engages well with the strength of my calf and helps me drive the ski harder and with instant response.
Even the performance fit is comfortable (after the 1st run or two). They feel impossibly tight at first and then settle in for a pain free day and warm toes day. I was skiing in single digit temps with my very thinnest pair of wool socks. They leave just enough room in the rounded toe cap for a pocket of warm air to live. Perfection.
The cost ($1000-$1300) is justifiable because these boots have an exceptionally long lifecycle. (Comparison: My last custom boots were made in Canada and lasted 10 seasons and they were worth the $1500 I paid back in 2013).
Daleboots are a bargain comparatively. All the moving parts and boot soles for the canting can be readily replaced. I met several customers there who were in for tune-ups and refreshes with 15+ yr old boots that were made to look new again and all sang the praises of the Daleboots. Not all of it is at no cost for parts, but all at reasonable and transparent costs. They stock liners and can make new footbeds right then and there. Bonus: Keeps worn out ski boots out of landfills.
I also want to sing the praises of the the variable flex function. I thought it a tad gimmicky, but this boot flex is far superior to any boots spouse and I have ever worn. I'm an advanced/expert off piste skied blessed to ski on soft powder nearly all season. But when things firm up and for early season thin cover groomers or I'm skiing steeps, I want 'em racing firm so I can drive (my usually too big for groomer) skis hard. I had my skinniest skis - Blizzard Black Pearl 97s on rails ao groomers at Aspen. I didn't even know I could get that fat of a skis on their edges like that!
The one upgrade (besides the custom footbed) is to have them install Booster Straps which take away shin bang. Daleboot didn't have any in stock yet, so we brought our own in. Booster Straps are thicker and have a tiny bit of give/stretch. Fixed straps feel as if they're cutting into my calf and my blood supply.
Final assessment: I'm giddy happy enough with these boots that I can let go the process flaws and headaches. What I got is as close to perfection as I can ever imagine getting.
