Buying ski boots - UK or at Resort?

[palacemonkey]

I am going skiing for Christmas and then again in Jaunary and my v. generous FIL has offered to buy me some ski boots to save on the rental (he figures they would pay for themselves in a couple of trips).
My question is - is it cheaper to buy them in the UK or should we wait until we are in France? I'm thinking the Pound is bad at the moment, so the exchage rate won't do us any favours... but I just wanted to check... what do you all think?

TIA

I think you are better buying when you will be able to test them out and have them adjusted. Once you've bought here you are stuck with them. Many resort hire shops will offer you a try and buy service, where you can buy rental boots at the end of the week at a discount.

That's what I thought, but quite a lot of people have said buy them here, so that they can be returned if necessary... argh! I don't know what to do!

I definitely wouldn't buy them in a resport - resort shops generally have less stock and are more expensive. You may have a bit of a language barrier and you won;t have the opportunity to wear them round the house before you ski in them. it's also a waste of your holiday time that you could be spending out on the slopes. go to a good shop in the UK that fits them properly - expect to spend an hour or more trying them. make sure you can wear them round the house and then return them if they're not right (they should, in fact tell you to do this). and that you can return them after your holiday if they've not been fitted properly. You can also get some that have some heated lining system that moulds around your foot.

If you usually have no problems with hired boots then should be fine to get ones in resort. If, however, hired boots are a nightmare then you night need a better fitting service and that is best done in the UK. I have a nightmare with my flexibility and large calves so I needed a specialist fitting from here. They were brilliant and can't recommend them enough.

Buy them here if you have tricky feet. I have bunions & a torn ligament and found these people fantastic. They are more expensive as they mould the inner of the boot to your foot but skiing with their boots instead of rented ones last year was a revelation

Buy them here and spend some time at home wearing them in. Allow about two hours for proper fitting (especially if you decide you need a moulded footbed). And don't expect that the ones you like the look of will necessarily fit you!Surefoot is good for specialised fitting but any decent ski store will spend time on making sure you get the right boots.

I would highly recommend you get them in the UK from a reputable ski boot fitter such as those

here at Snow + Rock

Helpful in the extreme.

Thank you all so much - I'm going to Bristol this weekend, so will got to the Snow + Rock store there.

Thanks again - I knew MN wouldn't let me down!

1. Personally I would (and do) buy in a resort so that I can have them tweaked after a couple of days on the piste.

2. Walking around the house is absolutely not comparable to skiing - unless of course you have a terrible skiing position or cannot ski - in which case I refer you to point 4.

3. I am absolutely astounded that anyone would buy ex-rentals.

4. If you are of the frame of mind that "cheapest is best" and you don't have a clue what you're buying, just get some off ebay - don't bother with anything else.

buy here but plan a couple of trips to a slope in the uk - dry slope or snow slope - to break them in. certainly at tamworth there is a shop at the entrance, and they have offers like'hour skiing refunded if you buy our skis/boot'. that would be a good compromise, and you could try before you buy, and maybe get them tweaked. i have bought boots in resort (whistler) and the range was actuallt great because it is a great big resort with tonnes of shops. unlike cheshire (where i live) where a ski shop is somewhat unusual and tends to be small....

I'm sorry, that was really harsh of me. Buy your boots wherever you fancy.

but it is an honest opinion, which is sometimes what is needed. i don't think it was too harsh. i nearly bought a pair of ex-rentals because they fitted me lovely all week, and i didn't need/want anything too expensive (so it was a specific pair rather than a general boot)

I was thinking more that as op is going very soon , rental boots could be new stock for the season. If she explains she may want to buy at the end of the week then they will take a bit more trouble with fit etc. Unless the resort is particularly remote I doubt language would be a real problem. Can see soem advantages to buying in UK too but if you find they don't fit well when you start to ski you will have to pay for any adjustments.

I was recommended to iron in my new boots to help break them in, as you are flexing whilst you iron!

I just bought my very first pair of ski boots having previously rented or borrowed from big sis. I spent almost 3 hours in the store trying on different brands (and that was just 3 pairs of boots) before finally settling on the perfect pair. I had the footbeds and cuffs moulded and took them for a trial run on an indoor slope last weekend. They are perfect.

I would say buying them here in the UK, if you have enough time to spare, would be the best idea. There will be no language barriers and you will feel less under pressure to buy than if you are in resort and feeling like you just have to have them, iyswim.