Online snow sports equipment retailer?

[trusz]

Does anyone that skis or snowboards know of any decent online retailers for equipment? I have been learning to snowboard for the past couple of weeks and I'm now considered proficient (not so likely to kill other people) enough to go to the slope during recreation times I'd like to get some boots for Christmas because the hire boots don't fit very well and the padding tends to be pretty flat in them. Not comfortable.

Also, what brands would you reccomend I look at?

If you could recommend some places that are like Scan, Ebuyer, OcUK etc are to the computing related world, not somewhere like bobsmiscellaneouscomputerbitsshack or pcworld, that would be great.

[Fraz]

Originally Posted by trusz

I'd like to get some boots for Christmas because the hire boots don't fit very well and the padding tends to be pretty flat in them.

I REALLY wouldn't recommend buying some snowboarding boots off the internet, unless you've already tried them on somewhere and know they fit perfectly (and doing that is rather cheeky, IMO). I'd recommend going to as many shops as you can and actually trying on pairs of boots, and seeing how snug the fit around the heel is, etc. You really don't want any heel lift at all ideally, and it took me a lot of trying on pairs of boots until I found some made by Nitro that locked my skinny feet/ankles into the boots perfectly.

I'd also recommend reading up some stuff on the internet, or whatever, on how to choose a good fitting set of boots

[jimbouk]

I'll second Fraz on the try before you buy comment. See if you can find a bit outlet style ski shop near you.

[med2003]

Yep, I third that. Can't say enough that you MUST try them on in the shop and make sure the fit is right. In fact I'd try all the makes in your size at your budget on as the fit not the look is the most important thing. Any signifcant heel lift and you've wasted your money. Also not enough toe room and riding on your toe edge is painful.

As for brands well there are many good brands out there and it really does depend which boot fits you best, and what style of boot you prefer (plus if you ever wanna do any hardcore slalom carving on a snowboard then there the hard boots like ski boots). As you're starting out I concentrate on getting a pair of boots that fit properly and don't cost crazy money.

I've had a few boots now, but a few years ago Saloman released their Malamute boot, which fits me perfectly and I've now had a couple of pairs of. Both excellent.

[med2003]

BTW, your local snowboard/ski shops (not the big boys like Snow & Rock etc) are normally run by enthuasists like you, so support them as much as you can to keep them in your high street, plus talking to the peeps that run them normally offer a mine of information on things from the best gear to buy to places to go for boarding or skiing.

[Paulm@scan]

rivington alpine (sports & trek) - dedicated to ski, snowboard and ski touring. stocking atomic, salomon, o'neill, quiksilver, dakine, ortovox, fritchi diamir, tecnica, columbia, roxy, five seasons

Local shop near me very good rep

[Lee @ SCAN]

What about Decathlon - sporting goods,sports sale,sports shops,sports stores,camping equipment,exercise equipment,fitness equipment,golf equipment,soccer sports,sports sales,sports shop,sports shops,sports store,rugby - Select a sport and discover our product i ?

heard these were fairly good and cheap to boot. Sometimes they have boards etc, just depends really on their stock

[trusz]

There's one place of I know in Cowbridge, outside Cardiff, called Coyote or something. Apparently its quite expensive though \: There is a shop in town called City Surf but don't really specialise in snowboarding, more of a skate/surf shop. I'll have to have a chat with the guys at the slope I'm learning at and see where they go. Thanks for your advice guys.

[trusz]

Weee, just found this place Ski Lodge - The Biggest range of Ski and Snowboard Clothing & Equipment in South Wales - Homepage going to take a look on the weekend.