Looking for boots, what should the shop guy ask?

Okay, I’ve been on the road for the past week and a half, and have spent some time shopping for new boots. I’ll relate my experiences a bit later, but want to know what you experts think:

Well, what should the shop dudes ask me? And what should they ask that they normally don’t ask?

Price range? Riding style? # of days on snow? Size? Bindings you use? Previous boots you’ve used?

They may not ask price range that you want to spend, but I think that a GOOD shop guy would.
Riding style - I would think that a KNOWLEDGEABLE shop guy - one who knows their product line, would ask you this question. If not they would atleast ask you if you prefer a softer or stiffer boot. Any boot can be used for any type of riding. So, though a ‘park’ boot may typically have a softer flex, it may be what a rider wants, who never hits the park, ya know.
Size - most definately this is mandatory.
Bindings? Hmmm, I think it would be ideal to have your board and bindings with you because it has happened over the years that sometimes the boot and binding dont match, or dont fit, or maybe the binding needs to be readjusted with strap length etc. A shop guy (or girl) should show attention to detail and customer service by suggesting that the customer bring in the board and binding to make sure everything fits. You dont want to find that out on the hill and have your day off to a bad start.
Previous boots? I agree to this one, but I dont think that many would ask.

I would also think to ask about what your likes and dislikes were abuot previous boots you have owned. There are so many lacing options these days and that in itself can really narrow down the options that one would choose from.
I think that asking about previous boots they have owned is a good way to assess what boot company they may like to buy, if not I would ask directly what company would they prefer and list the ones that this shop carried.

I dont work at a shop, and technically I never have.
I used to “work” for the shop owner (I promoted his shop, while on the hill) and would spend a lot of time in the shop (early season and on bad snowdays). During those days if there were any customer needs, I would do my best to tend to them.

There are a few shop guys on here and they may give a few other ideas.

Budget?

Riding style?

How many days do you ride per season?

Previous boots/ experience with them/ any problems etc..?

What features are you looking for? (speedzone, heat molding, BOA etc…)

What board/binding do you ride? (gives a good idea of riding style / preferred flex patterns etc…)

And of course just having a good chat with them to understand how they are riding and what they want to achieve with their new purchases.

What’s even more important is a proper assessment of their feet, and a good explanation of how the boots should feel on their feet. It’s also super important to try on several boots at least. This is a time consuming process, but worth the effort.

Have you read the boot fitting article I wrote? That will give you an idea of the explanation I am talking about. I usually explain most of, if not all of what I have written in the article to someone I sell boots to.

https://www.boardworld.com.au/content/category/boot-fitting/

Hi
Ive been working in snowboard shops for 4 years now. The questions above all apply when bootfitting. The most important thing is that the bootfitter measures your foot in the length and the width, and also lets you try on a number of different options, even though they may already know what the best boot option for you is.
If the bootfitter seems knowledgeable and you find a boot that is really comfortable (make sure you ave tried both feet for at least 10 mins) then BUY IT, don’t keep shopping around, you will forget what that first boot felt like, waste your time and the shops time.

Hope this helps

Potential boot buyers PLEASE i repeat PLEASE don’t be bias and only want a certain brand of boot. Your foot structure is unique to you and that means some companies won’t work well with your foot shape.
Now when it comes to getting some fresh boots knowing what you want out of a boot or how you ride will help.

Price - how much you are willing to spend. They are a key piece of equipment so be prepared to spend over $300 anything under is general a very basic boot. Unless they are on sale.

Lacing Style - Be open to this as your foot shape may not work well with certain speed lacing systems.

Riding style/preference - Why is this important? Because we all ride different and want our gear to respond different. If you are an aggressive rider you will go through equipment quicker than a not so aggressive rider.

Weight - Why weight? The heavier you are the quicker something will break down. Now this is not a necessary question but if you are a bigger build particularly for you foot size or height, this will influence how your boots work. Smaller boots work really good for smaller people where as bigger boots for bigger guys. If your small but heavier maybe consider a stiffer boot for longer life and a more responsive ride.

Previous Boots - Yes because it gives insight into what you have had before. What has work, what hasn’t, problems you had or how they were as a boot.

Setup - The set up you ride is also important as some boots are a big fitting shell so they may not even fit into your binding. Particularly bindings like the ride contraband which need to be set up in a certain manner to get optimal performance.

Most importantly though is to make sure that the boot you are getting feels as good as possible in the shop. A good shop will back up the service of the boots too. Any problem that you have they should fix no charge. You will sometimes have problems with boots the only way it can be definite is time on the mountain.

Hmmm

First of all,

Anyone whos ever owned a terrible pair of boots before or has bought a bad fitting pair of boots should have learned from this experience.. boots are the most important part of your set up, essentially.
Theyre the main hardgood thats in direct contact to your feet, important stuff.
So that being said, price shouldnt be a huge factor, because a majority of the people are not gunna murder a pair of boots in one season, their feet will be happy ( ), and they will be able to spend their days shredding worrying about a trick they cant land, or why the hell their goggles keep fogging up when they know for sure they havent been touching the inside of the lense, haha and not worrying about their feet.

so heres (in a nut shell ) how id help someone pick a solid pair of boots.

first i like to ask what type of riding they mainly do, so i can eliminate either the really stiff or really soft boots from the wall in my mind.

then i ask what boots they rode before, and what they did and did not like about them.

Usually after that id show them what might be suitable for there interests.

Then the shoes come off, could get ugly… haha

Id either take a good look at the shape of the foot or ask them what they know about their foot(feet), is it wide, slim, high arch?, flat foot? its good to kinda let them hear it out loud as well, makes it a bit easier on the fitter.

then combinding the information they given , what they liked and didnt about the old boots, what they ride, and i guess how often, and then most important, the shape of the feet, the fitter should be able to asses this situation and provide the boots they carry that would be most suiting for the customer. once they start tryin the boots on, its good to let them keep the boots on for a while, like louise stated up there. Let them warm up and loosen up so they can make an impression on the feet, because no matter what when you do get the boots that are right for you, the most uncomfortable they should be is the first time you put them on. Fresh unmolded stiff foam.

I sometimes feel like you have to tell people what they want when it comes to boots. I mean how can someone who has no idea, just walk up to a wall and point out the boot that is going to do them the most justice when riding. But i guess thats why the salesmen are there, to have that overall knowledge of the product and be able to provide the most suiting product for the customers needs, and if they cant do that then then they arent doing there job.

Anyways thats my 2 cents, i hope i didnt miss anything that came out like word vomit.

stay up people

peace.

Shop guy’s should ask
what type of riding do you do
what level of riding are you at and where do you see yourself in the future
have you had experience with previous boots- have you owned or rented before.
whats your weight
what bindings do you use- soft , stiff etc
from there they should look at length, width, volume, bow leg, knock kneed, whether you pronate etc
explain the different liners and points about that particuliar boot and its functions- boa,laces etc

Okay, so I bought a new pair of boots to replace my two-year old pair. After comparing prices, trying on numerous pairs and brands, and spending a fair amount of time in several stores, I spent a grand total of $160 USD on last year’s 32 TM-2 boots. I was basically down to a decision between this season’s Burton Ions and last year’s TM-2 boots. At the end the price was the deciding factor. The Ions were really comfortable and an ideal stiffness, but I couldn’t justify the price and didn’t want to wait until the end of the season. The TM-2’s were nearly as comfortable, and I was familiar with the fit of 32 boots. I tried some several brands, though mostly Burton and 32, which seem to be the two dominant bootmakers in the business these days. I also tried on one pair of Nikes, and two pairs of Nitro boots.

Given that I got some excellent responses on this thread, here are my observations and comments.

My previous pair- 2007-08 32 Lashed, size 8. Broken down, way too soft, and smell like a dead animal. I sized down on them, but apparently too much, so bad judgement call on my part. I’ve had a tendency to size down way too much and have had bruised toenails for the past few seasons, so I wanted to do this right.

What I was looking for: a somewhat stiffer boot at the right price, and was looking at what was left of the 2008-09 boots, but also was open to this year’s models.

I went to the following stores- Shoreline (S. Lake Tahoe, Nevada), Wave Rave (Mammoth), Burton Store (L.A.), Val Surf (L.A.), Surfside Sports (O.C.). Overall, these are recommended shops with excellent reputations, and for the most part, I received generally good service in them. The employees were pretty qualified, and I went during quiet periods when they were able to spend time and help out.

I highly recommend each of the shops, although I ended up buying from one of them.

Only one shop measured my foot- this turned out to be larger than what actually fit me. The rest relied on the size I gave them of my previous pair and that I probably needed something one half size up from that. With the Burton boots I was quite surprised how inconsistent the sizing was, the different liners meant that I might take a different size in Ozones vs. Ions.

What’s your riding style, park, freeride, everything? All of them asked.

Riding level? One of them asked whether I was comfortable on black diamonds or at a different level.

Do you want a softer or stiffer boot? All of them asked.

None of them asked about bindings or board that I use.

None of them did a cursory inspection of my feet- mine are slightly wide at the front, but not especially so.

Number of days per season? I think two places asked me this question. Most said that boots are pretty much done within 40-50 days.

Lacing style (speedzone, traditional, Boa, other). This question came up at one of the shops which featured boots with Boa lacing. I ended up not trying anything on with the Boa system.

Weight? Nobody asked about this.

Three of them provided socks to try the boots with (I was wearing sandals since it’s 39 degrees here).

Three of them asked what socks I use when riding.

So there you go, I love to hear what you guys have to say. Overall, this was a pretty good experience, I spent more time doing boot shopping than before, and hopefully it will pay off with a comfortable ride on the hill. I will see in a few months once the flakes start falling.