Sturtevant's

I've been shopping at Sturtevant's for snowboard gear for years. I just went back recently for boots, bindings, and a helmet and was helped by a really friendly guy that really knew a lot about the gear. Not only about what gear was good for what style of riding, but also how to fit it (I learned a lot about how boots should really fit). Also, the prices are about the same as you would find online. more

This past weekend I was on a hunt to find some new ski boots. I thought I was hitting the sales appropriately but quickly realized that most of the decent outfitters were low on inventory. I started first at REI and had excellent service despite being very busy. The sales woman was very knowledgeable and even wrote down the styles she felt would be best for my foot that they didn't carry or had run out of. I next hit Fiorini's which was completely sold out of my size-although they were very helpful. I begrudgingly crossed I-90 (520 was closed) and went to Sturtevant's. They had plenty of inventory in my size so I was able to find a pair of boots I was happy with but the sales person was only moderately helpful. He really couldn't tell me what the boots should feel like and kept defering to me saying "it's really up to you". I was looking for him to give me parameters to better make my decision (let's face it, ski boots aren't comfortable in general right?). Anyway, despite finding a boot that fit, I gave them a 3 rating based on service. more

If you are buying skis there are a couple of good shops in town like Fiorini's and thank goodness most are local. My favorite though are the folks at Sturtevant's in Bellevue. They really care about skiing. Martin who is the bootfitter is probably one of the most remarkable folks there. Go on a day when he is not busy in the morning preferably on a lousy ski day as I did last year and you'll be treated like a king. Or maybe more precisely like Warren Miller, who actually gets his boots fitted with them. They really do know skis well. They have a discount outlet call Ski Mart (I'd review it, but I can't find it in Judy's Book. Arrggh). That is the place to find things if you just want to pay say $300 for a package and are a casual intermediate. But if you really want to get great skis, then go to the Sturtevant demo days at Crystal or Stevens and try the skis. Read Skiing magazine. Then wait for their progressive sale, they discount in the spring 10, 20, 30 and finally 50%. Great service too and tuning. It is a busy shop given it is not at a resort. more