I get discounts on Rossy, Lange, and Salomon boots
Basically any of them.
Shoot me an email and I'll send you the username to login and see what you'd like: I typically advise people to go into a shop like surefoot and try on what they have in stock and see what fits best and what they suggest. The reason you want a professional fit is that the last thing you want is a custom boot w an insole that's too big. You want your boots to be soo snug you have NO movement once ratcheted shut. You legit don't want any flex under the footbed (2nd ratchet from bottom on a 4 ratchet boot) under the toes, or where the ankle and heel set (second ratchet from the top on a 4 ratchet boot). We all ski 1-2 Mondo sizes down from what we measure. So for instance, I measure a 26.5 but ski a 24.5 hard shell. You don't need to drop that far if you aren't super technical, but I'd suggest trying to drop 1 mondo if you can stomach it. And no a tight boot won't make you lose your toe nails… You lose toenails from boots that are too big. Why? Because the footbed doesn't sit flush and when you start to ski at a decent grade, the foot slides forward and puts pressure on the end on the toes at the end of the available toe bed. It's the constant pressure on the end of the toes that results in losing toe nails. If the boot is tight and there's no movement, your toes never shift and there's no pressure on the tips of the nail bed. Shin bang is the other thing big boots can create because the shin becomes the focal point where the ski carries weight. If you ever have sore shins or lose toe nails, you need to ski in a smaller mondo/insole combo.
If your toes go numb, that's a different issue entirely. That's from over tightening the top ratchet that goes around the calf. The major artery for blood blow goes behind the calf and down the leg, so you want that top ratchet right, but comfortable. You don't want it serving as a tourniquet around the calf because that's what cut off blood flow to the feet which makes them cold and crampy.
Boot Mechanics in Golden and Avon are great. They are top of the line in terms of knowledge and experience. Jock nailed it: boot fitting is an art and a science combined. One of my first managers from Charter is the proprietor of the Avon store.
The back of the envelope math for boots if I purchase them and you want a SF style custom setup is the following:
Buy the hard shells that come w factory liners, then either have the liners heated and shaved and the hardshell punched out where you need extra space in the footbed or keep the factory liners and have a set of custom liners made by SF etc for $469. The custom orthotics isn't included in the SF price that they provide online for the boot and liner combo. So if it shows $1150 or $1250 on SF add an extra $245 plus tax. You can also buy the custom orthotics without the custom liner (if you decide to just heat treat punch and shave the liner / hard shell - some of the best skier I know prefer this to an actual custom fitted liner)
So for example if you were going to get the Lange RS130 LVs you'd be looking at $325 + $465 + $245 = $1,035 plus tax = $1,122 (the custom orthotics are optional on this boot but I'd recommend them as they help set the footbed deeper and can help establish a non-factory forward lean etc). Most factory boots set you at a FL between 13-15%, most BC setups are around 11-12% while most DH setups are around 17%. If you have a personal preference on your FL, having a custom liner and orthotic is a must.
From SF that setup would be $1,510 + tax = $1,638
If you don't want the orthotic, youre all in around $857 after tax vs. $1,372. It's a solid deal if you know what you want
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get all the ski boot info out there because 99% of the time that's what makes people hate skiing and my boots are more comfortable than my everyday shoes. Once you find the mix that fits your body and ski style well, it's NIGHT and DAY. I ski 120+ days a year and I don't think I'd ski more than 10 on non-custom gear because I'd be in so much pain that I wouldn't be able to walk. I hate to push expensive gear, but it really does change the entire experience.
