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Bootfitters by Region -USA - Eastern, Central, Mid-Atlantic

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Does anyone know of a good bootfitter in the Philly area?

If you can get up to Blue Mountain, ask for JD. He's good, but you want to call and make sure he's there because his staff, though lovely, are not as skilled.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Jen... not Philly, but 1.5 hrs north near Jack Frost is Alpina Ski Shop and Dieter. He's great, or at least @vanhoskier, @Olesya Chornoguz and I have always had really good experiences there. I originally went there on @vanhoskier 's recommendation. I know @SallyCat did not have such a good experience there, though. After years of boot flex issues, he was finally able to work out what the real issue was with me and boot flex.

https://www.940boards.com/
 

Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Jen... not Philly, but 1.5 hrs north near Jack Frost is Alpina Ski Shop and Dieter. He's great, or at least @vanhoskier, @Olesya Chornoguz and I have always had really good experiences there. I originally went there on @vanhoskier 's recommendation. I know @SallyCat did not have such a good experience there, though. After years of boot flex issues, he was finally able to work out what the real issue was with me and boot flex.

https://www.940boards.com/
I fully agree with @tinymoose ! I had the best boot fitting experience withe Dieter! I have some minor alignment issues and he the first bootfitter that fixed it. He also picked best-fitting boots that fit me great out of the box! I highly recommend him!
 

vanhoskier

Angel Diva
I did not, but to be fair to Alpina, my issue involved ski tuning, not boot fitting.
I can tell you with a good amount of confidence that your issue was that a Dieter was dealing with a pair of Ramp Jailbirds....a crappy ski with a concave base.....which would explain his unwillingness to base grind it....That ski also had a bizarre side cut, inhibiting it’s ability to imitate a turn well, hence his solution of a forward mount.

Dieter was the first boot fitter (after visiting 4 others) who got me into the right boot. And he regularly puts a race tune on skis for me for the ice rink that is Blue Mountain’s race course. I’ve spent hours with him back in his tuning room....and I’ve learned pretty well how his mind works.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Actually, he ground the J Birds for me. My issue was with my Soul Riders; refusing to grind them was annoying, but I had to have the bindings remounted because of the weird forward position he put them in, and that cost me money and lost time.

I'm not disputing anyone else's experience, just reporting mine.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Actually, he ground the J Birds for me. My issue was with my Soul Riders; refusing to grind them was annoying, but I had to have the bindings remounted because of the weird forward position he put them in, and that cost me money and lost time.

I'm not disputing anyone else's experience, just reporting mine.

I'm curious where he mounted them vs. where they were remounted later. I took a pair of Kastle XX75 junior twin tips to him for bindings/mounting that were symmetrical twin tips. I had read online that they could be mounted behind the center point and still ski great, but Dieter disagreed with that and in the end I just returned the skis. I was disappointed, but it's also possible that he saved me the trouble of a ski and situation I would end up regretting.

I guess I was wondering if it was a situation similar to mine since I see the Soul Riders are a twin twip, that while not symmetrical, are pretty darn close. Dieter was very adamant to me about not mounting the twin tips behind their center point as it would make the turns weird as my foot wouldn't be over the narrowest part of the side-cut. I was requesting the bindings be placed behind the center point only because I really didn't like the idea of so little tip to my skis, what with the bindings so far forward (centered). In the end, I just decided maybe a symmetrical twin tip was not for me.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm curious where he mounted them vs. where they were remounted later. I took a pair of Kastle XX75 junior twin tips to him for bindings/mounting that were symmetrical twin tips. I had read online that they could be mounted behind the center point and still ski great, but Dieter disagreed with that and in the end I just returned the skis. I was disappointed, but it's also possible that he saved me the trouble of a ski and situation I would end up regretting.

The SRs have two mount points: center and all- mountain, which is a bit further back. I asked for the standard all-mountain location. He actually mounted them *forward* of the center mount point because of the "women's center of gravity" theory. I measured: he put me five centimeters forward of the AM hash mark. They skied horribly, obviously, because that is a bonkers place to mount twin-tips. Now that they've been adjusted, they are my favorite skis.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Btw, center-mount twin tips can be really fun, but I agree with Dieter that you don't want to mess with the recommened mount point.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I do want to emphasize again, apropos of @Jen 's question, that I have never been to Alpina for bootfitting. I am also definitely not invalidating or diminishing anyone's positive experience with Dieter. I'm glad to hear that so many Divas have well-fitting boots thanks to him; I know how difficult that process can sometimes be and how important a good fitter is.

I simply had a bad experience with a ski mounting issue. Perhaps that experience was an anomaly, but unfortunately it was my experience, and it has disinclined me to visit that shop again. I now use the Loft in Tannersville for ski tuning and mounting, and JD at Blue mountain and/or The Boot Pro in Ludlow, VT for boot-related issues. I've been very happy with all three shops.
 

JennyNCski

Diva in Training
With SkiDiva's permission, I have taken the information from this thread:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/list-of-bootfitters-across-the-world.6375/
and organized it according to region. I excluded any recommendation that did not include personal experience. The original thread is still fully intact and includes all that information.

A bootfitting is not the same as "trying on boots." It is both a science and an art. To understand this better, go here:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/why-you-yes-you-need-a-boot-fitting.2075/

The purpose of this thread is to provide an easy reference for women looking for a qualified bootfitter in a particular area. I have referenced the diva(s) who recommended a particular bootfitter. For further information, you can send them a private message. There are a few bootfitters listed from the original posting. I believe that information came originally from Epic and is trustworthy.

If there are great bootfitters with whom you have had personal experience, please add them here using this format:
Bootfitter's Name:
Name of Shop:
Address of Shop:
Phone Number:
Website:
Email:

Additional Comments:

Mike Tambling
Southern Ski
1671 Lake Murray Blvd.
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 556-4949
www.southernski.com
[email protected]

Certified Master Bootfitter
Charter Member of America's Best Bootfitters
Board Certified Pedorthist

He makes custom footbeds/orthotics for every type of shoe, not just ski boots. I highly recommend him. I had an excellent experience with him and will never trust anyone else with my boots again.
 

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gingerskis

Diva in Training
Mike Tambling
Southern Ski
1671 Lake Murray Blvd.
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 556-4949
www.southernski.com
[email protected]

Certified Master Bootfitter
Charter Member of America's Best Bootfitters
Board Certified Pedorthist

He makes custom footbeds/orthotics for every type of shoe, not just ski boots. I highly recommend him. I had an excellent experience with him and will never trust anyone else with my boots again.

I'm new on here but I want to second this recommendation for Mike! He seriously knows everything there is to know about boots and genuinely cares about getting you the best fit for your feet and skiing style. He put me in the vacuum fit Fischer RC4's with custom footbeds and I did some of the best skiing of my life when I took them out to Copper this past weekend. Just like you @JennyNCski I won't trust anyone with my boots again!
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Welcome, @gingerskis and thanks for the recommendation! I never would have thought to look for a bootfitter in Columbia, but that's great that he's there!
 

Acadia07

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Bootfitter's Name: Larry
Name of Shop: Ski Haus Brewster
Address of Shop: 1611 Route 22, Brewster, NY
Phone Number: 1-845-279-3100
Website: https://www.skihausonline.com/
Email: [email protected]

Larry is one of a couple older guys here that know ski boots in and out. I brought in my old ill-fitting boots, explained my issues, and Larry examined my boots then measured my feet and knew instantly I needed a smaller size and much smaller last. He brought out a few options, and guessing which one would feel the best, he saved it for last and had me try a few others to get the feel of what *wasn’t* right. The process was reassuring and my new boots are like night and day from my old ones. I can finally feel my skis!
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I know this is probably a stretch, but anyone have a rec for the Columbus, OH area or near Mad River Mountain? My friend is getting into skiing and she still needs boots, and I have no idea about the very few shops in that area.
 

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