Home > Expert Advice > Buying guide - Ski Boots
Step 1: Ability Level
Choosing a pair of ski boots can be a daunting prospect so below we have made this process as easy as possible.
Below there are ten levels of performance to help you select your skiing ability. These ten levels have then been separated into three simple categories: recreational, advanced and expert. Once you have established your ability level, you will find a corresponding category and performance rating on the description of each boot.
Recreational
- You’ve never skied before and are brand new to this exciting and challenging sport.
- You are able to stop on the nursery slopes using the ‘snowplough’, and you may be able to make some direction changes, but you have not fully mastered this yet.
- You are now able to comfortably link left and right ‘snowplough’ turns and stop on green runs. You may be exploring some of the easier blue runs on the mountain.
- Your skiing is becoming more fluid, as you are now able to make controlled turns on all blue runs. Your ‘snowplough’ is noticeably smaller and you are able to finish turns with your skis in a parallel position.
Advanced
- You have begun to venture onto some of the easier red runs on the mountain and, while your turns are getting better and better with every run, you are still using a very small ‘snowplough’ to initiate the turn. This may be frustrating you so if you’ve not taken a lesson for a while then this is the time to invest in further professional instruction.
- You are growing in confidence and now appreciate the speed and excitement of skiing. You’ve been back for instruction and are practising hard to perfect your parallel technique on the smoother pisted red runs. You may be venturing onto black runs with moguls or checking out the un-pisted terrain at the side of the slope for more of a challenge.
- You are now able to link confident parallel turns and are comfortable skiing on most black runs. Steeper and icy slopes may cause you to lose a little of your style, but you are still able to get to the bottom in one piece. You have now started to get the feeling of ‘carving’ your turns and this has brought a whole new dimension to your skiing.
Expert
- You are now able to ski all the pisted runs on the mountain with a good degree of technique and style. You have mastered the steeps, moguls and icy race pistes and are looking for a new challenge - off piste skiing. You’ve watched all the ski movies and want a bit of the action! You’ll start off by spending more time falling over than skiing, but this is perfectly normal so stick with it. It will take time, to master but it’s well worth it!
- Off piste is no longer a struggle, and you really have the feel for carving turns of all sizes on all pistes and enjoy the thrill that it gives you. At this stage you may be considering some professional coaching, whether it be race, off piste or instructor training to further improve your technique.
- You are a top-level skier who can ski the mountain in all terrain and conditions with great style and technique. You may hold a professional instructors qualification or be an ex-racer.
Step 2: 3D Fit Profile
Our 3-D Profile will quickly help you to identify which boots are suited to your foot shape. Prior to selecting our ski boots’ range, we tried and tested every pair to identify the three most important factors that determine the fit.
Step 3: The Right Size
Boot Fitting
It is our aim at Snow+Rock to provide you with the largest and most comprehensive range of ski boots you could possibly find in one place. To complement the range of nearly sixty models of boots from U.K size 1 - 15 including a huge range for women, we offer an extensive range of additional products to improve the fit, comfort and performance of your boots. Supportive custom moulded and pre-moulded insoles, custom foam injected liners, custom fit liners and boot heaters are all available to make your feet more comfortable and improve your skiing performance.
We continue to invest in training our staff to a high level of expertise in boot fitting, and with your accurate feedback and communication we believe we can provide you with a great fit, regardless of your feet’s shape or size. Make sure you try at least two different types of boots to make sure you get the perfect fit. Often it can take two hours or more for you to select, try on and make any final adjustments to your new boots. Please devote enough time; you will be thankful when you reach the slopes!
Please think ahead about any problems you may have encountered with previous boots you have owned or rented, and make sure that you bring a pair of technical ski socks and your supportive foot-beds with you if you already have them. Alternatively, we will be happy to recommend some to you when you arrive. An appointment service is also available at all stores if you feel that you need specific help.
We offer a free re-fitting service to adjust or modify your boots should you have any problems prior to, or after, skiing. This service is also available to anyone who has purchased boots elsewhere for a nominal cost of £15 per hour plus materials.
This size chart can be used to convert your English shoe size to the equivalent US, Continental or Mondo Point size.