Adjustments: Boots NOT Bought at Larry's or More than 5 Years Ago

Do you have existing boots that were acquired elsewhere, or boots that were bought more than one year ago from Larry's Bootfitting that need adjustments made to them? Then this is the appointment slot for you. This is one-hour long appointment. Note, this is different from the "Ski Boot Adjustment with Custom Footbed" appointment slot. This can be a complicated category and is probably the category that creates the most "spirited conversations", so grab a cup of coffee or something stronger and read on so we're on the same page.

Examples of problems that can be worked on in one hour include:

• A hot spot or pain point somewhere on the foot or lower leg.
• Need a little extra width or length
• Need to snug up the boot a bit
• Minor shin pain (major shin bang is very difficult to fix, usually requiring a new boot or liner)

We'd usually recommend some sort of footbed, but we're cognizant that custom footbeds are beyond the budget for some skiers. However, for the following problems, we will insist on a footbed, as 90% of the time these problems are caused by a lack of foot support. They are very footbed-specific. These include:

1. Inside ankle pain
2. Outside pinky toe pain
3. Arch cramping
4. Any sort of plastic punching

In addition to custom footbeds, we do sell a quality drop-in footbed that costs $60. We're happy to work on above problems as long as the boot has some sort of arch support. While not as supportive as a custom footbed, the drop-in footbed will work well and once it's in the boot we can address problems #1-4 well. We're not insisting on a footbed to just take your money and make you pay more. On the contrary, it usually ends up costing more money to dip and dunk various problems when a footbed will often just clear those problems up. Inserting a drop-in footbed into a boot takes less than five minutes (customs footbeds take 30-45 minutes), so this appointment category is perfect for these scenarios.

Another tool we use to fix existing boot problems is a new liner. New liners are awesome and can do a lot to extend the life of an otherwise properly fitting ski boot. We offer a number of liners and they do cost money, generally in the $150 to $275 range depending on what liner you get. An exception to this is the ZipFit liners which cost north of $400, and are generally needed by more experienced skiers demanding ultimate performance. Liners are generally the right solution when the boot has more than 100 days of use, or the foot/boot interface required more pliability that we can get out of stock liner.

Sometimes we'll recommend a new liner, but because of cost concerns customers would prefer us to try and fix the boot using other methods first. We're happy to do this, but it doesn't always work. For us, our focus is on getting the boot working right. We're just as happy if that's a $30 solution as we are with a $250 solution. What we don't like doing is double dipping. Charging you $100 to glue foam and then charging another $250 for a liner that would have fixed the solution in the first place feels stupid, so we ask that if we give you a recommendation you take it into strong consideration. Otherwise, we risk wasting all of our time and your money. Molding a liner takes about 30 minutes, so often this requires booking a 2nd hour.

One hour may seem like a lot of time but it can go quickly. If you have one or two problems with the boot we can probably get it done in one hour. However, if the problems are extensive, we would strongly recommend booking two of these appointment slots, preferably in a row, as extensive problems require extensive work. When your appointment slot time is up a new customer will arrive and we'll have to dedicate our attention to them. Please evaluate how bad the problem is. The following scale is a good indicator of how long something will take. The pain/irritation level is on a 1-10 scale, one being the lowest pain, ten the highest.

Pain level 1-3: The pain bugs me, but I can ski with it. We can usually accomodate two of these type problems in a one hour slot.

Pain level 4-6: It bugs me to the point I can ski with it, but it's severely limiting my enjoyment and the length of time I can go skiing. Usually we can accommodate one of these problems in a one-hour boot fit, sometimes two if they are exact same problem on different feet.

Pain level 7-9: I can't really ski with this boot. These get tricky. Often, the problem is the boot is simply not the right boot for the foot. This is also when things get expensive, where customer drop hundreds of boots into an existing boot when it would be better to invest that money into a new boot. That said, we've had many of these pain-type situations where we've made the boot skiable and relatively enjoyable. We love a good challenge, but we don't love being kamikaze pilots.

Pain level 10: We're reserving this category for those of you who have "situations." You know who you are. You have a medical condition, a previous injury or something with your physiology that makes you rip through inexperienced bootfitters like a feller buncher rips through old growth forests. Honestly, the clock is off for you folks. It's going to take how long it takes, and we're going to examine all option. You come to our shop because we're good at handling these situations and were going to give you the same attention we'd give Mikaela Shiffrin. You'll probably be working with one of our most experienced fitters, likely the owners themselves. But, this level of service costs money, nothing unfair, but what you'd expect.

Moving on. Most of the time we'll get you in and out of the shop, boots in hand, on the same day, but there are situations where this is not the case. With cases where we need to do plastic work - punching and grinding, etc., we'll check the boot in and get it back to you as soon as we can. Typically turn turnaround time is about a week. Please plan accordingly. If you do have a big trip or objective planned for the winter, get in here early so we can do it right with time to spare.

Other repairs that often take longer than the allotted one-hour slot are situations where screws are stripped. Stripped screws can turn a 5-minute long buckle or sole replacement into a 45 minute long process. If your home futzing with screws on your boots and don't have bootfitting experience, STOP! A stripped screw costs you money, and that's not a fun way to spend it. Rivets are another time suck. If the repair requires drilling out a rivet, it's going to cost more money.

We occasionally run into situations where boots are so poorly sized that there isn't much we can do to help. If a boot is two sizes or more too big (or small, although this is much less common) there isn't much we can do to ensure the boot is comfortable. We're good boot-fitters, but until somebody invents a microwave boot shrinker machine, we can't work miracles. And because there is a deposit fee to make this appointment, we want you to be aware of this reality beforehand. In situations where we quickly evaluate the boot is the wrong boot and you want to make a New Boot appointment, we'll work with you. It's impossible to outline every potential scenario here.

There is a $100 deposit fee for this appointment. This fee will first be applied to labor and then parts and supplies, including footbeds and liners. With relatively straightforward adjustments this often is all it will cost. While not an exhaustive list, here are some of standard labor and parts costs:

• Heat Mold (includes labor): $75 + any additional materials
• Punch (includes labor): $40 per punch*
• Grind (includes labor): $40/ish per inch
• Buckle Replace (includes labor): $50 +parts
• Booster Install (includes labor): $60
• Boot Heater Install (includes labor): $60
• Miscallaneous labor outside these categories $100/hr
• Custom Footbed (including labor): $275
• Stock footbed (including labor to install): $60
• Liners - varies from $150 to $400. (including labor)
• *Some plastics are harder to punch and will incur a surcharge
• **All boot labor costs estimated and may be different upon completion

If you no-show your appointment we will not refund the $100 fee. However, you can reschedule your appointment using the email confirmation you received up to 24 hours before your scheduled appointment for no cost. There is no fee to change your appointment time. Cancellations up to 24 hours before appointment will be refunded the full $100 minus a $5 fee the scheduling website charges us per transaction. Cancellations within 24 hours of the appointment will not be refunded, so plan ahead. There is no fee to change your appointment time. You can change your appointment time online. To cancel email us at larrysbootfitting@gmail.com.

An exception to all of this is sickness. We have an extremely small staff and if any of us catch a cold it could literally close the shop. This happened numerous times last year. We're extremely strict when staff members get sick - nobody is allowed to work with so much as a sore throat. We ask the same of you. If you wake up the morning of your appointment we will move your appointment free of charge to a better time. Email us at larrysbootfitting@gmail.com. Please do not come to our shop sick. We realize this loophole in the 24 hour policy opens us up to abuse, but we believe the mountains are not entirely benevolent, and evil behavior like lying about being sick to your friendly (or occasionally surly-but-really-skilled) bootfitter will be dealt with in time by the mountains. The mountains claim many lives every year...that's why there are so many ravens