Welcome to DCSki.
I got my last pair of boots at Pro-Fit in Leesburg, and they do a great job at fitting. I worked with Brian Deely, the Owner, and he knows his stuff. He spent about an hour working with me and making minor adjustments to ensure the best fit. I don't have firsthand experience with Ski Center, so can't compare/contrast the two, but I can definitely recommend Pro-Fit based on my personal experience.
I haven't worked with Brian at Pro-Fit but have a few friends who live in the DC area who have been very happy working with him.
If your boots are 10+ years old, well worth starting over. Not only have ski materials and design kept evolving, boots in 2023 aren't the same as 10-15 years ago either.
So many good boot fitters named Brian :-)
You'd have to double check me as it's been a few years, but at Gaithersburg Ski Center there is Brian Beaumont, and at Alpine Ski Shop in Fairfax there is Brian Eardley. These guys have decades of experience.
JimK wrote:
So many good boot fitters named Brian :-)
and at Alpine Ski Shop in Fairfax there is Brian Eardley. These guys have decades of experience.
I second Brian Eardley at Alpine in Fairfax. Really knowledgeable. I don't think he works weekends and you should call ahead and make an appointment.
Nellie wrote:
I have had boots fitted by Brian Eardley and Brian Deely, and I have talked a long time with Brian Beaumont about boots. They all do a great job, but you may have to wait quite a while to get on their schedules in season. My current boots have a heat moldable shell, and I highly recommend this feature unless you have an easy foot to fit. I think that the heat-molded shells allow you to get a really great fit without an expert boot fitter.
Do they take appointments? I couldn’t tell from the websites…
(And thanks all for the helpful replies!)
JPM22 wrote:
Do they take appointments? I couldn’t tell from the websites…
(And thanks all for the helpful replies!)
My impression is that any ski shop with very experienced boot fitters make appointments . . . the old fashioned way. Meaning make a phone call and talk to someone. I saw recommendations to make an appointment for boot fitting 20 years ago when smart phones and WiFi weren't everywhere. ;-)
As a reminder about the boot fitting process (or for people reading who have never spent a few hours with a boot fitter):
I have experiences with boot buying at both Pro Fit and Ski Center Ltd and would recommend Ski Center Ltd over Pro Fit.
Here’s the long story on why:
I started skiing about 6 years ago. Year two, I decided to stop wasting money on rentals and got skis and boots. The instructors at Liberty Mountain recommended I buy boots from Pro Fit. So I went to Pro Fit. Someone else working there (not the owner) fit my boots. I didn’t know what I was doing, but they felt alright in the shop and trusted the staff to get me in the right boots. However, when I went skiing in the new boots, my feet kept cramping. I went back 1.5 months later to Pro Fit to see if they could figure out why this was happening. They could not. They suggested upgrading the footbeds, so I bought nicer (not custom) foot beds at $75. This helped marginally.
Did some googling on my feet cramping problems as I was learning the sport more over the next few years. I began to get a little frustrated, so I decided to go back to Pro Fit in Winter 2022 to see if they could figure out anything more about what was going on and/or if there was maybe a better boot out there for me. Someone at Pro Fit looked at my boots and sized me and determined I was skiing in boots that were a size too large. My narrow, low volume feet and legs were sloshing around trying to grasp onto the boot. They told me they didn’t have any low volume boots in my new smaller size available but offered to put in a shim and some padding around my ankle area in my existing boots to take up some of the extra volume until I could come back to get new boots in the fall. They charged me almost $100 for these adjustment.
I returned that Fall to Pro Fit to find boots that fit my low volume feet and legs properly, but they still didn’t have anything suitable for me. It turns out my feet are even more narrow and low volume than the standard “narrow/low volume” boots. Pro Fit was unwilling to let me buy more narrow race boots as they didn’t want to spend the time making the necessary adjustments make fit my feet as a I was “only a recreational skier”. They had no other recommendations for me either, and suggested I call it “good enough” and buy the most narrow boot that they carried in my size. They didn’t offer any sort of discount on the boot, either, even though the only reason why I was buying a new boot was because they improperly sized me on my old boots.
I decided I wanted to get a boot that actually fit me properly and didn’t want to call it “good enough” and end up in a similar place to where I started.
I decided to try Ski Center Ltd instead. The staff at Ski Center Ltd listened to my story about the previous boots, sized me, and agreed I needed a smaller, more low volume fit. They found a very low volume boot that fit me properly. They were willing to make the adjustments needed to make a different boot fit properly and were willing to tweak the boot further for free a few months later. I saw a few different people who worked there and all of them were incredibly knowledgeable about boot fitting and about feet in general (they pointed out to one person there that their running shoes were too large based on what they learned about that person’s feet sizing them for ski boots). I appreciate that they made adjustments and even put shims in my boots for free. They explained to me why they were recommending everything they did, which I appreciated. Ski Center Ltd also has a wider variety of boot brands and models in my experience than Pro Fit as well.
To sum up my long story, given my experience I recommend you go to Ski Center Ltd to purchase boots in this area.
Also, Ski Center Ltd takes boot fitting appointments on their website: https://www.picktime.com/skicenterltd
The current boot liners generally conform well to different types of feet if you find the right fit, right off the shelf. However trying to cram / make fit a foot into a boot that isn't right for you, is absolutely doing you no favors. I see/hear it all the time, painful toes, calves, shins, arches, yet they paid $600 and arent sure why they are in pain. If you go to a boot shop and you get a boot that feels like 1. you are in a cloud and 2. it was made for your foot, that's the right boot. If not, walk away and dont try to make something work that isn't. I almost fell into that pitfall recently (literally 2 weeks ago) buying boots once again for myself from Willis. I have very large calves and the people there were trying to convince me to get these crappy head boots that fit my calves but no other part of my foot. "Oh well as long as it isnt tight we can make adjustments". No thank you. I eventually asked for Salomon boots after a third time, being told once again they wont fit my calves, tried on a pair and they fit like a freaking glove. We had to adjust the uppers a notch to cram my freakish calves in there, but once in they didnt pinch or hurt and my foot felt so so secure and comfortable. No adjustments needed what so ever and I expect if I really wanted I could heat the shell and liner for a bit more customization although I think half of that is just marketing voodoo that makes people want a boot that can do that.
Just my 2 cents. If there are custom liners and boot shells that are going to fit someone better, and you are skiing like 40 times a year out west, hey go spend $2k on boots. But if you are skiing the mid atlantic on 400' verts, 10 times a year, and you can find something that fits YOUR foot in a good price, I see no reason for a pricey boot fitting theater.
JPM22 wrote:
Hi all - I’m new to the forum and to skiing in the DC area.Bumping a topic I’ve seen partially covered on some old threads: does anyone have thoughts on a good boot place? I’m coming back to skiing after 7 or so years off (acl, kids, work, etc.). I did a little bit of club racing in college & have my boots from back then. But after skiing a few days over the holidays, I realized I don’t really want or need that kind of fit anymore.I’m not sure if the solution is new liners, new boots, or working on my existing boots. So I want to find someone who really knows their stuff & is good to work with.It looks like people recommend pro-fit in Leesburg or the ski center in Gaithersburg. Any thoughts as between those two? On other places to go?Thanks!JP
Not in DMV, but at Snowshoe. If you truly want the best.....
Grumpy dad wrote:
The current boot liners generally conform well to different types of feet if you find the right fit, right off the shelf..... If you go to a boot shop and you get a boot that feels like 1. you are in a cloud and 2. it was made for your foot, that's the right boot.
Respectfully, this is absolutely the wrong advice if you want any kind of precision in your skiing. SOME (lucky) people might have the kind of feet where no boot work is needed, but they are rare. If the boot feels great right off the shelf, you are probably in a boot that is too big and as soon as the liner packs out your feet will be swimming with very little ability to control your skis.
I learned this the expensive way by buying several pairs of oversized boots over several years. Then I found Brian Eardley at the original ski center who modified the shells & liners until the boots fit. I had the boots for 15 years.
