Frequent yelper, first time reviewer... I normally just like to read what everyone else has to say because I am generally too lazy to form an opinion of my own and then inform others of it so to actually sit down and write something out means this place stood out enough for me to want to share my experience.
I came into Bootworks in desperate need of some TLC for my sore feet after skiing a couple of days in some new Dalbello Krypton Pros. As bright and shiny as those puppies were on the outside, on the inside my foot was going thru the nine circles of hell. After going to two separate boot fitters in two separate ski areas in two separate states and leaving in each instance with no relief I was ready to leave alpine skiing and their uncomfortable boots altogether for my shiny new and always loving mistress tele skiing and her magical boots made of fluffy bedroom slippers. Well it's a good thing I came across Matt and Bootworks because I was about to make the biggest mistake ever and commit to an exclusive relationship to tele. Phew. That was close.
I came in and explained all of the problems I was having with my Krypton's - mainly a numb forefoot and instep in both feet but worse on the left foot (imagine not being able to feel your foot at all and trying to turn a ski - doesn't work so well). Matt listened and asked great questions to understand the real issues that were going on. After shell sizing me and assessing the situation he noted that the cuff of the boot along the inside of my ankle and navicular bone was too narrow for my foot and was restricting blood flow to my feet causing the numbness. Unfortunately, the construction of the 3 piece Krypton made it difficult to impossible to effectively "fix" the issue so we had to switch me out of the Krypton's into something different. He didn't necessarily want to switch me out of a brand new pair of boots with less than 8 hours of skiing on them, but he really felt there wasn't anything that could be done to make it better for me. And, I believed him, which brings me to my next point...His approach to the problem is important for three main reasons:
One, Matt wasn't trying to sell me on a new boot or something different. He was trying to make sure I had the best boot for my foot. He was blunt and straight with the situation and I appreciated that. And I firmly believe that if I had asked to "fix" the existing boots he would have made every effort to do what he could. In the end I trusted in his expertise and that was the right call to make.
Two, Matt looked past the pain point and symptom to actually diagnose what was causing the problem... while the problem manifested itself in numb toes and forefeet, it didn't actually have anything to do with the toe box or forefoot of the boots. Rather it was the cuff of the boot that was the real culprit (It's worth noting that every other shop focused only on solving for the pain point in the place the pain was happening.
And three, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, yes kids, you also get an anatomy lesson from the pros at Bootworks because I'll be damned if I knew what the hell a navicular bone was prior to going to Bootworks. Not only did my feet get some lovin my brain got smarter so my noggin was more than just a hat rack. Think about that next time you are in need of some new boots... really think about it.
But I digress, back to the boots. At this point Matt did some more measurements and got me into some nice new Lange's because not only do I apparently have a natural "Lange foot" but he could also manipulate the cuff to give me the breathing room I so desperately needed to keep the blood flowing to my 10 toes and forefoot. In simpler terms, no more numb feet and nine circles of hell. Matt got me fitted on some proper footbeds, got me aligned, and sent me on my way in some shiny new kicks. And, much to my delight, after the previous day in which I was only able to finish three and a halfs runs because I was in boot purgatory, today I skied all day with nary a concern. The boots fit like a glove... or a sock... or insert witty comment here. It was like my feet were floating on a cloud of unicorns and rainbows. It was that good. Seriously. Mind blown.
So the moral of the story, before you get rid of your main gal (alpine skiing) for that shiny new piece on the side (tele skiing or whatever else you would rather be doing than being miserable in ill fitting ski boots) do yourself a favor and go in and see the Matt and boys at Bootworks to set you up straight. You won't regret it.
Thanks to Matt and Bootworks for getting me set-up properly so I can stop complaining about my sore and numb feet. My friends are thankful for this too... trust me.
And as an aside, if you're lucky, John might even give you some of his sandwich... but probably not. He's pretty protective of his sandwiches. Especially when he is plotting an evil plan to try and sneak one into a Sundance film screening. read more