Strand's Ski Shop Inc

I recently called Strands to see about getting a boot fitting performed on a pair of boots I bought up at Stowe Mountain over the summer. Stowe was unable to perform the fitting since the main shop was closed for the summer but they highly recommended Strands.\r \r After explaining my situation the boot fitter he was extremely rude to me to the point of dropping an F-bomb on the phone as he informed me that he wouldn't consider performing a boot fitting because the boots were purchased someplace else. His exact terms were that someone else got all of the ""money"" since I purchased my boots someplace else and all he would get out of the deal was ""crumbs"". I even tried to point out to the individual that their website states ""If you currently have a ski boot that is giving you problems, bring it in and we will analyze your foot and the boot and give you an estimate on what we can do to make the boot fit you better or work on getting you into a new boot that fits your foot. Custom ski boot fitting takes time, so plan on spending some time so that our boot fitting specialists can make sure that you leave feeling like you can ski all day and not worry about quitting part of the way through a day of skiing because your foot is in pain."" Still he would not even budge on his refusal to consider the job and frankly I wouldn't want to give someone like that any of my or my family's business. Their loss. more

Strand?s found a ski racing boot that properly fit my son, after he had pain from a new pair of race boots bought in NH. He couldn?t ski with his high school race team because of the pain. Leif and Mark looked at the new boots we had and saw the boot cuff material was too stiff for his size, and the boot was one size too large. They tried five different race boots on him, until they found a pair that he could flex and that felt good (Dalbello Scorpion). They also took an off-the-shelf boot insole and heat molded it to his foot for the new boot. The whole process took over two hours, so plan for at least two hours when you go in for a boot fit. Try to go at a quieter time. We went on a Friday late afternoon but I would probably avoid mid-day Saturday for a boot fitting. I was impressed with the boot inventory they had, as pair after pair came out in my son?s size. That said, great expertise in boot fitting isn?t free. The boots were comparably priced to what you?d find elsewhere, but not discounted. Also, don?t be turned off by the aged appearance of the shop, as knowledge, skill, and honesty is what you should come to Strand?s for? but it does not look like a ski shop you would find at a fancy resort. Our older daughter still uses a pair of boots Strand?s fitted her for ten years ago for a race team, and she says they still feel great. We also got a race helmet and helmet guard upstairs, and they had a good inventory in brands and sizes. We?ll be back when anyone in the family needs new boots, skis or other gear. more