4 years ago
If you're trying to outfit your family with gear, ...
If you're trying to outfit your family with gear, this is hands down the best deal we've found in Colorado - and we've done Christy's for several years and REI before that. As far as service goes, we felt it nothing short of spectacular. Elliot and his team took great care of us (our fitters were Charles, Malcolm, Brendan, and Dale) and each took ample time with our kids to determine both the correct boot and ski size. This was not an easy task: my kids are 8, 6, 4 1/2, and almost 3. Strong willed, stubborn, and easily bored. And let's be honest, getting fitted for ski boots isn't fun no matter how old you are. These guys were extremely patient and went out of their way to make sure the kids "had fun" while going through the process of trying on multiple boots. At one point (actually quite a few) my darling son decided it a great idea to rip apart every boot box he could find. Seriously, just kept ripping boxes despite all pleas and threats to stop. The he started grabbing random goggles out of boxes while we're fighting the 2 year old to get her boots on - trust me, this wasn't how you wanted to start a Saturday. I'm only including these details because the guys we worked with handled the situation like pros. Elliot and his team were up to the challenge, and when you have an experience that far exceeds expectations, you want to share these "hacks" with other parents. Strongly recommend. Plus given that I can return these next year for a 50% credit (if we need to), and walked out with 3 sets of new and 1 set of used for 800 bucks, this was the deal of the century.
I will add for context, not everyone will have the same experience we did. After 3 years of waiting until Oct/Nov to rent skis (holy epic waste of money) and knowing we needed 4 sets of all new equipment, we decided to be proactive. I also checked in with the store ahead of time to ask when the absolute "best" time to bring the kids in would be. I'm guessing based on past experiences the waiting will get longer - they even said, later in the season it's usually one fitter per family rather than one fitter per kid. That doesn't detract from the simple fact these guys knew what they were doing, were extremely helpful, and went out of their way to make our experience an excellent one (probably a good idea since we have 6 skiers in the family and have basically become a lifetime annuity).
For a final note, my service experience was equally fantastic when I went to pick the sticks up. While I was prepared with 4 ski straps and a boot bag, Dan insisted on helping me out and carrying the skis. I only mention it because that doesn't happen often - there was simply not a single thing these guys could have done to improve my experience, except maybe given me an IPA.
Thanks Boulder Ski Deals - you guys really get it.