# East Coast Alpine



## snowmonster (Jun 9, 2010)

I was passing by the old Ski Market store on Comm Ave in Boston and saw signs in the window that East Coast Alpine will be opening in that location in September. While I'm happy to see that a ski store will be opening at that location again, does anybody have any feedback on this shop? Their website says that they're based in Danvers, MA.

http://www.eastcoastalpine.com/index.html


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## meff (Jun 9, 2010)

I hit one of the stores in Danvers up this past spring when I was kinda sorta looking for boots.  I currently wear 27.5s and their 'master fitter' said I was too small and needed more room like a 28.5.  Now on the other hand I have a bit more than 2 fingers in a shell fit which is almost too much room.  Needless to say I didn't stay there long looking at boots.  Price wise in late March they were much higher than places up around Sunday.


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## frozencorn (Jun 10, 2010)

Know nothing about them, but heard yesterday they, along with Eastern Boarder, are the primary retail folks this year at the Boston ski show.


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## foofy (Jun 10, 2010)

I bought new boots from them last year - they had to be special ordered after they sized me up.  They failed to order the liner I had specifically requested.  Start to finish, took close to two months to get a boot that should have taken one week to get.

The boots ended up being too big - too big to the extent that I had a minor ankle sprain from my foot swishing around in the oversized boot.  Before coming to the "too big" conclusion, I had major issues getting time with their staff for bootfitting - they seemed to be understaffed or too busy to deal with me.  Not sure if this had to do with ironing out kinks having the new second store up in Danvers or what.  In the end, I did manage to get a couple visits of bootfitting time from them - BUT - they were very distracted - more interested in keeping an eye on potential shoplifters than servicing me or other customers.

In the end, I had to buy a completely new pair of boots - full size smaller, and fit like a glove.  East Coast Alpine would not return my phone calls or messages left from personal visits.  They fit me into the too-large boot - they should have rectified the issue.

Very bitter taste left from my experience with them, along with a lightly used pair of expensive high end boots I can't use.


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## snowmonster (Jun 10, 2010)

Thanks for the responses. Looks like they're not the place for bootwork. It's an old saying in bootfitting that you can make a small boot bigger but you can't make a big boot smaller. It also seems that they are in the same mold as SkiMarket -- beginner to intermediate friendly, overpriced and present at the Boston ski expo. Despite that, I hope that they succeed at their new location. The old SkiMarket location is an easy walk from my office and it was easy for me to get my ski fix -- and find other people to talk skiing with in August.


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## wa-loaf (Jun 10, 2010)

Is Wilderness House still there? They used to have a good boot fitter.


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## riverc0il (Jun 10, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> Is Wilderness House still there? They used to have a good boot fitter.


He's gone if you are referring to the same guy that did my boot work 6-7 years ago.


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## snowmonster (Jun 10, 2010)

^ Seems that way although the Wilderness House is still in the same spot up the street. They used to be affiliated with Joe Jones then Bob Smith (or was it the other way around). Now, it's just Wilderness House but they have a branches near Sunday River, the Loaf and Scarborough. http://www.wildernesshouse.com/


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## Geoff (Jun 10, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> Is Wilderness House still there? They used to have a good boot fitter.



Gordon Hay used to work for them.   He used to be the best boot fitter at Killington before his love life relocated him down to metro-Boston.   He now has a sports orthotic business called ALine.   http://www.aline.com/


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## snowmonster (Jun 11, 2010)

I passed by Wilderness House yesterday. It was shut and there was a sign in the window saying they were "temporarily closed for retocking" (sic). There was stuff in the store but not much. I really hope it's temporary.


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## meff (Jun 11, 2010)

Not a good sign for Wilderness house - their facebook page has someone complaining that they haven't been paid in 52 days after being told paychecks would be delayed a few days. 

It sucks cause there are not a lot of good stores in the Boston area, and Ski Market did fill a void even if they had crappy service.  EastCoast will, I just hope their service level goes up from what I saw in Danvers.


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## snowmonster (Jun 11, 2010)

Not a good sign at all. I used to go in there all the time to chat with one of the shop guys -- and have skis mounted. He said that he and a bunch of the guys working there bought the place from Joe Jones and were running it themselves. The place didn't have much stuff then (this was early this year) and I was asking him if they were going to carry AT stuff. He was saying they would be gearing up for this season and would have more stuff in. He was talking about some difficulty with stocking Black Diamond products because of BD policies. The impression I got was that credit was tight. I hope they get their house in order and open up.

You're right. Boston needs a good ski store. judging from what I've read here, EC Alpine has to step up big time. The stories here about their bootfitter are troubling. If Widerness goes under, only REI and EMS are left in the city. Not much of a choice.


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## riverc0il (Jun 11, 2010)

snowmonster said:


> The impression I got was that credit was tight. I hope they get their house in order and open up.
> 
> You're right. Boston needs a good ski store. judging from what I've read here, EC Alpine has to step up big time. The stories here about their bootfitter are troubling. If Widerness goes under, only REI and EMS are left in the city. Not much of a choice.


Why does Boston need a good ski store? The reason why ski shops keep closing is that everyone is ordering online. If Boston really needed a good ski shop, there would be demand for one and one would be profitable. While I am no longer from the Boston area, I can certainly vouch for not supporting my local shops with gear purchases. But when we as consumers only visit shops for service, it is not entirely appropriate for us to be disappointed when they go out of business. And I use the collective "we" to mean the majority of skiers, not any one in particular. But I would be surprised if any regular contributor to this forum has not purchased gear online.

It is a tough time to be a small business, especially retail, especially retail in which your merchandise is very expensive and only sells during certain times of the year. That usually entails a small business loan to pay vendors on their terms (typically 30 days from the invoice). Don't pay the bills, you don't get any more gear and get sent to collections. Hard to pay the bills if you can not obtain a small business loan to do so, especially when banks have tightened up on small businesses in tough markets.

If East Coast Alpine is the same shop that I went to when I lived on the North Shore, they did not seem to be much of a step up from Ski Market (which is ironic considering they were right down the road from one). I only went to the shop once to have a pair of 8000s mounted. I came in when they were closing and they mounted them for me in five minutes while I waited. I received good service but I have read from others that have not. Who knows.


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## snowmonster (Jun 12, 2010)

riverc0il said:


> Why does Boston need a good ski store?


Good question. Conventional wisdom suggests that stores in metro areas are terrible and you're better off getting services at slopeside/access road shops and gear from online stores. This is true. But, specialized ski shops in metro areas do provide one good service to the sport: getting beginners and intermediates into skiing. From organizing bus trips to selling cheap intro gear to providing tuning and other maintenance services, these stores make it easier for the ordinary city dweller to participate in the sport (and hopefully move up a level and become an avid skier).

I realize that it's hard to put a number on this and it can be argued that the same benefits can be derived from having a well-stocked and staffed ski department at REI or City Sports (But there's really no incentive for them to push skiing over basketball, is there?). The fact that ski stores in Boston keep closing shows that it is not economically feasible. But, in an ideal world, you'd like to have a ski store in a huge population area to feed people into the sport. Perhaps the model should be a brick and mortar ski store with an online presence. I don't know how profitable Evogear is but my understanding is that they have both a store in Seattle and sell a lot of gear online.


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## wa-loaf (Jun 12, 2010)

Downtown used to have Bob Smiths right in the financial district. I worked there for a year and was the ski tech. They did a pretty good business and had a few of the big bank officers as regular customers. Not sure why they closed. Maybe taking over Wilderness House did them in? Sounds like no one has much luck in that location.


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## dl (Jun 14, 2010)

Wilderness House is done. Ba-bye. My understanding is that they were under capitalized and that's not a good way to start off. One bad winter (or no inventory when people are ready to buy) and the situation only gets worse. I think Ski Market's demise was years of mis-management (not closing poor performing locations, paying a lot to the family who owned it but weren't necessarily doing the work, not adapting to the changing marketplace, no internet componnent, etc) and finally the creditors said enough. 

I still think there is a place for a specialty store inside of 128 or in the city IF done right (see Ski Market and Wilderness House issues above). There are enough skiers to make things work both on the retail and service side and there is still a feeling that if you wait to get to the mountain to buy what you want/need, you'll pay too much. The question is - is there anyone out there who can do it right and has access to the necessary capital?


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## dl (Jun 14, 2010)

Wilderness House is done. Ba-bye. My understanding is that they were under capitalized and that's not a good way to start off. One bad winter (or no inventory when people are ready to buy) and the situation only gets worse. I think Ski Market's demise was years of mis-management (not closing poor performing locations, paying a lot to the family who owned it but weren't necessarily doing the work, not adapting to the changing marketplace, no internet componnent, etc) and finally the creditors said enough. 

I still think there is a place for a specialty store inside of 128 or in the city IF done right (see Ski Market and Wilderness House issues above). There are enough skiers to make things work both on the retail and service side and there is still a feeling that if you wait to get to the mountain to buy what you want/need, you'll pay too much. The question is - is there anyone out there who can do it right and has access to the necessary capital?


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## snowmonster (Jun 14, 2010)

Sad to hear that about Wilderness House. From their website, it seemed that they had branches in Maine. I wonder if those were affected too. From my random conversations with one of the guys that worked there, he talked about how he and a few guys bought the shop from Joe Jones. He did say that money was short but that they were getting ready to make a big run of things for this season. One observation about the Ski Market and Wilderness House was that they had a lot of floor space in those shops. Perhaps cutting down significantly on their floor space would have made the margins more bearable.


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## dl (Jun 16, 2010)

my understanding is that all wilderness house operations are gone. the company was being run out of ME.


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## urban07sti (Oct 15, 2010)

Are there any other options for shops that are open now to check out ski boots in the Boston area?


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## Black Phantom (Oct 15, 2010)

urban07sti said:


> Are there any other options for shops that are open now to check out ski boots in the Boston area?



Check out http://www.eastcoastalpine.com and http://skihaus.com/


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## snowmonster (Oct 15, 2010)

In Boston? REI in the Fenway. I don't know if East Coast Alpine on Comm Ave. is already open.


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## urban07sti (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks!  Yea, wasn't sure if East Coast was open yet.  I've been to that REI a few times for other stuff, but never for boots/fitting, any experience?


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## Black Phantom (Oct 15, 2010)

*Rei*



urban07sti said:


> Thanks!  Yea, wasn't sure if East Coast was open yet.  I've been to that *REI* a few times for other stuff, but never for boots/fitting, any experience?



Yeah. You walk in and look at the selection of beginner to intermediate level boots that they have available. Select what you would like to try on and ask the pimply kid to run and get them for you.


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## snowmonster (Oct 15, 2010)

urban, I've never bought boots from REI and they have a very limited selection at the store. Like what Black Phantom says, their staff does not inspire me with confidence. If you have access to a car, I suggest heading out of Boston. If all you want to do is gawk at boots, I was recently at Zimmerman's in Nashua and they've got a good selection going.


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## Black Phantom (Oct 15, 2010)

snowmonster said:


> urban, I've never bought boots from REI and they have a very limited selection at the store. Like what Black Phantom says, their staff does not inspire me with confidence. If you have access to a car, I suggest heading out of Boston. If all you want to do is gawk at boots, I was recently at Zimmerman's in Nashua and they've got a good selection going.



As far as killing some time in the Fenway area, having a few beers, and trying some boots on, REI is not a bad take. If you are looking for serious gear, obviously head north. You can get an idea what is available. And enjoy some beers in a cool area while you are at it.

REI does surprisingly have some gear worth buying. Head to the basement of the store (Boston). There is usually all types of crap lying around in bins. You might get lucky. I have purchased bindings for $100 just by asking if there is anything lying around. They tend to have old inventory in the backrooms that they are willing to part with for short $.


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## urban07sti (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions, I understand heading up North to a real shop is the way to go, I'm more just window browsing and getting prices so the girlfriend can grab some new boots this season (I may also pick up new liners as mine are a bit packed).

The REI in Fenway is pretty good, but never too impressed with the boot selection, didn't know if I was missing another place to go.


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## gostan (Oct 17, 2010)

Check out SummitSki on Route 9 in Framingham.  See Geoff or Teddy for boot fitting.  And, with Mike deSantis, you get the very best ski tuning available at SkiMD.

http://www.summitskishop.com/

The folks from Danvers originally got their start in a quasi-partnership with Summit Ski owner, but that did not last too long.  The best ski shop in the Boston area remains and is Summit Ski in Framingham.

Stan


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## Geoff (Oct 17, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> Is Wilderness House still there? They used to have a good boot fitter.



That would have been Gordon Hay.   He used to be the best boot guy in town at Killington before he got into a personal relationship that moved him to Boston.  He did a footbed company in Marblehead called A-Line.


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## skimawk (Oct 17, 2010)

*Expand your world outside of Boston for gear & service*



urban07sti said:


> Are there any other options for shops that are open now to check out ski boots in the Boston area?



Expand your world for gear outside of the Metro Boston Area.  You travel up north to do most of your skiing.  Travel out to Central Mass to get some great products and service.

Head to Worcester and Strands Ski Shop.  Been in business longer then most of the people posting on this forum been skiing.  Great boot fitters, huge inventory of equipment, plenty of stories of back in the day.

Andy's Sport Shop in Fitchburg.  Been in their exotic location for several generation.  Check out their website, www.andyssportshop.com. (Do a search with that address is off).  Their snowboard department "The Cave" is worth the trip.  The shop is just a few miles off of Route 2.  Ski Shop in the winter, Scuba Shop in the Summer.  Stop by for a visit, tell them Mark from Beaver Creek sent you.

Ski, Ride to the level of your smile!


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## thetrailboss (Oct 17, 2010)

foofy said:


> I bought new boots from them last year - they had to be special ordered after they sized me up. They failed to order the liner I had specifically requested. Start to finish, took close to two months to get a boot that should have taken one week to get.
> 
> The boots ended up being too big - too big to the extent that I had a minor ankle sprain from my foot swishing around in the oversized boot. Before coming to the "too big" conclusion, I had major issues getting time with their staff for bootfitting - they seemed to be understaffed or too busy to deal with me. Not sure if this had to do with ironing out kinks having the new second store up in Danvers or what. In the end, I did manage to get a couple visits of bootfitting time from them - BUT - they were very distracted - more interested in keeping an eye on potential shoplifters than servicing me or other customers.
> 
> ...


 
Sounds like only the name of the place has changed.....I was not impressed at all with the Ski Market when I lived in Boston.


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## thetrailboss (Oct 17, 2010)

skimawk said:


> Expand your world for gear outside of the Metro Boston Area. You travel up north to do most of your skiing. Travel out to Central Mass to get some great products and service.
> 
> Head to Worcester and Strands Ski Shop. Been in business longer then most of the people posting on this forum been skiing. Great boot fitters, huge inventory of equipment, plenty of stories of back in the day.


 
Another vote here for Strand's. Not as glitzy as other places and more down to earth (some may be turned off by how laid back it is). I bought my boots for them. They had good prices and great service. They also were there for me when I needed a repair done. They got it done. When I bought my boots, I needed to have the ski bindings readjusted and they did it for free. 

Strand's is the place. Good brands, discount tickets, good service.  They are a SKI shop, compared to a SKIING LIFESTYLE shop.


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## snowmonster (Oct 28, 2010)

I dropped by the East Coast Alpine store on Comm Ave in Boston. They've been open for the past two weeks but they're still in the process of setting up. The ski repair/tuning service will be open in about two weeks so, for now, all repairs are being done at their Danvers location. The shop prices they quoted to me are pretty reasonable. Let's hope they don't jack them up once they realize what SkiMarket used to charge.

They have a very good ski selection. Lots of fat, off-piste skis (Line, Armada, Volkl, Rossi, Salomon, Armada, etc.). If anybody is in the market for a 188 S7 or S3, they have them in stock. They also have carvers but they don't dominate the place like they used to at SkiMarket.

The salespeople I've talked to seem knowledgeable and friendly. The owner/manager was in there last night and he was friendly and enthusiastic. I saw one of the shop guys on the train this morning and all we could talk about was the upcoming season. Last week when skiing SR, a Stowe skier from the North Shore said that East Coast Alpine does good work and that the owners gets it. I hope this shop does well. I know that Boston is not close to any big mountain but it's a huge population center and one way you can channel participants into the sport is by having ski shops in the city to remind people that there's sking to be done.


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## Geoff (Oct 28, 2010)

snowmonster said:


> They have a very good ski selection. Lots of fat, off-piste skis (Line, Armada, Volkl, Rossi, Salomon, Armada, etc.). If anybody is in the market for a 188 S7 or S3, they have them in stock. They also have carvers but they don't dominate the place like they used to at SkiMarket.



Oh goodie.   All the intermediates are going to be skidding around on 100mm+ waist rockered skis this year.   

I remember back in the day when they all came into the shop demanding to buy Olin Mark IV Comps.  At the time, they were the absolute worst possible ski for average New England conditions.   I remember skidding down an intermediate trail at the Stratton trade fair for a run.  The ski would wobble uncontrollably at any kind of speed.  We were told to just smile and sell 'em.   If asked our opinion, we were told to say "They are a well marketed product."


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## tcsurfer (Dec 6, 2010)

Hi all,

Yes my first post...

I have been working in ski and snowboard shops for the better part of 12years.  I worked at both Ski Market back in the day and most recently at Wilderness House (for the past 4years).

Ski Market demise:
Ski Market hadn't really changed their business plan for 15years.  Over extended themselves every year.  Their demise was speculated about every year for the past 10years. The profits from the Ski Expo saved them every year, until last year when they were already too far behind on payments and couldn't dig themselves out.

Wilderness House demise:
First as "Bob Smiths Wilderness House"  the owners had the store on Comm ave and Downtown in the financial district and they were doing very well.  Unfortunately a water main broke a floor above the store downtown and flooded it.  The owners lost more than 1million in inventory then when they sued the landlord for damages they lost again.  Between the inventory loss and the legal fees they were unable to dig themselves out.  

They sold the business to Joe Jones turning the comm ave store into "Joe Jones Wilderness House."  With the purchase Joe Jones had over extended themselves and filed bankruptcy within a year.  They got some new investors and got things going again.  
Most of the staff from Bob Smiths days did stay on, i.e. the exceptional service.  But they had difficulties getting all the product lines they would have wanted.  Also Joe Jones did not always support the feelings and knowledge of the staff in the store.  Waining sales (due to lack of product) and stresses between comm ave employees and Joe Jones management stressed the operation and bankruptcy was considered again.

Joe Jones instead sold the Comm ave store and the Joe Jones in Portland to another private investor group.  New investors/owners had big plans but were short on cash.  They opened 2 new locations in Maine on a shoestring budget, at Sunday River and Sugarloaf.  Unfortunately again, more investment was needed and many promises were made but none came to fruition.  Subsequently the stores closed when the season ended and sales died off.


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## tcsurfer (Dec 6, 2010)

*Now for boot fitting*

If you liked the service at Wilderness House
Some people you may remember:

Alex is now at the new Ski Haus in Burlington Ma
Very competent, but limited to the tools that Ski Haus has

Dexter is now at EMS in downtown Newton Ma
Extremely competent but part time as it is his second job.

Jack is now working for Aline Footbed systems with Gordon Haye
Master Fitter, working at tradeshows for aline, if anyone has worked with him before and would like to get in touch let me know.

Tom (myself) is now working at Alpine Ski and Snowboard in Warwick RI
If people liked the way Gordon did boot fitting at Bob Smiths Wilderness House back in the day.  I have adopted his business model and do custom fitting on Wednesday nights in RI.  Drop in to custom footbeds, boot selection, stretch work, cuff alignment etc..


For other shops:
Their was a ski shop in Canton/Norwood down the road from Blue Hills that had great service but I recently heard they had closed.  Have not confirmed this myself.

Summit Ski and Snowboard in Framingham Ma, has some great fitters and I do believe they do some custom work.  (as someone else said)

Strands in Worcester have been around for 40+ years has great bootfitters and even do Strotlz custom boots.  (as others have said)

East Coast Alpine seem to be running a great operation but I am unfamiliar with their boot fitting work.




If anyone has any questions about getting any kind info regarding products, services or the Southern New England Ski industry feel free to send me an email, I will answer any RELEVANT questions.
tcasss@gmail.com

Tom


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## wa-loaf (Dec 6, 2010)

tcsurfer said:


> Wilderness House demise:
> First as "Bob Smiths Wilderness House"  the owners had the store on Comm ave and Downtown in the financial district and they were doing very well.  Unfortunately a water main broke a floor above the store downtown and flooded it.  The owners lost more than 1million in inventory then when they sued the landlord for damages they lost again.  Between the inventory loss and the legal fees they were unable to dig themselves out.



Always wondered what happened to that store. They did great business with the banking and financial folks there. Sold guns too which was interesting. 

I was the ski tech there for 96-97 season. The owners were pretty good people sorry to hear thing ended the way they did. They owned a sail shop in Cambridge near Cambridgeside at the time too.


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## bigbog (Dec 6, 2010)

foofy said:


> ......In the end, I had to buy a completely new pair of boots - full size smaller, and fit like a glove.  East Coast Alpine would not return my phone calls or messages left from personal visits.  They fit me into the too-large boot - they should have rectified the issue.
> 
> Very bitter taste left from my experience with them, along with a lightly used pair of expensive high end boots I can't use.


Never let a salesperson push you into anything....particularly skiboots.  You're the one who makes the choice...aggressively or passively.  Most of us have made a wrong choice at some point in time.....  Maybe I'm a little too gung ho about doing most of the shopping yourself...my heel, lower leg, ankle fit a #24 shell perfectly, but need various areas of volume.  
Lots of shops won't order a #24 unless a purchase is iminent = Just _Great_uke:...LOL...but the unending sagas teach what to look for in a boot....I think.....ie Atomic & other bootmakers don't even make certain models in a #24 shell...  Maybe they don't really make the boots!..y/n?, just market them.


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## snowmonster (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks for the info, tcsurfer, and welcome to the boards. I'm glad to know that the crew at Wilderness House is getting back into the industry in different ways. Good luck to you all! You did fine work. Bought my first skis and boots at Wilderness House years ago. I still feel sad everytime I see that deserted shop on Comm Ave.

Glad to know too that Dexter is still in the neighborhood. He was a good guy. We talked a lot about backcountry skiing on slow nights. I was under the impression that a bunch of the guys in the shop took over/bought the WH from Joe Jones. Too bad things did not work out for the shop.


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## puckoach (Dec 7, 2010)

tcsurfer said:


> ,
> 
> For other shops:
> Their was a ski shop in Canton/Norwood down the road from Blue Hills that had great service but I recently heard they had closed.  Have not confirmed this myself.



I didn't go in, but I drove by this shop on Rt 138 in Canton a week ago.  Sign was up.  Head west on Rt 138, on right after the second light from Rt 128.

There is a shop in Norwood, on the Walpole line on Rt 1N.   Jacksons.  Seem to know the business, and have a reasonable level of product.   I found them to try hard to help you out, and admit it, if they couldn't.  Went there with my wife's fitting problem, and they were great.  Friend of mine was in there last week.  They spent over 30 minutes with him, and finally told him how/where to get what he wanted else where.  Character !

Great shop in Quincy, MA.  http://countryski.com/    Owner is a great guy, and I have had great luck there.  Quick turn around on a binding recall, on a binding not purchased there !  Very satisfied with a boot fitting, purchase.   Doesn't carry everything, but does have a very good selection.  IMHO, The best shop short of ski country.

There is also a service shop in Westwood called Ski Stop.  On Rt1A in Islington section of town.  Last commercial property on right heading towards Dedham.  Have had them do service in the past, and was satisfied with work and price.

There is also a shop, just off the highway in Raynham / Taunton.  Never got technical with them, but they seem nice.  The two times I went in, I was killing time.  They were doing a lot of board work.   Off Rt 24 south, take the Rt 44 exit towards Taunton.  Left at first light, in the plaza on your right.  http://skiandsportsonline.com/.    Good selection of soft goods, a little better than any I have listed above.

As stated in another post, my favorite at the moment is Pete at Rogers in Lincoln, NH.  Plus, it's fun to see the ski mechanic on the hill, and buy him a beer at the Bunyon !


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## foofy (Dec 7, 2010)

bigbog said:


> Never let a salesperson push you into anything....particularly skiboots.  You're the one who makes the choice...aggressively or passively.  Most of us have made a wrong choice at some point in time.....  Maybe I'm a little too gung ho about doing most of the shopping yourself...my heel, lower leg, ankle fit a #24 shell perfectly, but need various areas of volume.
> Lots of shops won't order a #24 unless a purchase is iminent = Just _Great_uke:...LOL...but the unending sagas teach what to look for in a boot....I think.....ie Atomic & other bootmakers don't even make certain models in a #24 shell...  Maybe they don't really make the boots!..y/n?, just market them.



I went in asking for a very particular boot.  My prior boot was a similar version, which they carried, from the same manufacturer.  They did try to push me into other boots they had in stock, which I can tell you did NOT fit correctly.  I remember one in particular that was way too low and loose around my lower leg and calf, but still, they were pushing it on me, presumably since it was a prior year model they wanted to liquidate.

After I determined that I did in fact want the boot I went in looking for, they shell fit me with the similar model, which has the same last.  After the whole debacle, I still ended up with the same boot I bought, just a size smaller, and I couldn't be happier.  To your point, I know that much more about shell sizing now and will not repeat that mistake.

I do hope my experience was a one-off, and that others, including those who have posted here, continue to have a good experience with them.


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## skimawk (Dec 7, 2010)

thetrailboss said:


> Another vote here for Strand's. Not as glitzy as other places and more down to earth (some may be turned off by how laid back it is). I bought my boots for them. They had good prices and great service. They also were there for me when I needed a repair done. They got it done. When I bought my boots, I needed to have the ski bindings readjusted and they did it for free.
> 
> *Strand's is the place. Good brands, discount tickets, good service.  They are a SKI shop, compared to a SKIING LIFESTYLE shop*.



Well said about a Ski Shop vs. a Skiing Lifestyle.


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## yeggous (Mar 10, 2016)

Bump. I saw these clowns are going out of business. Anyone been in lately? They have anything decent in stock. What are the prices like right now?


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