How We Test

The job is just as fun but the decision making is getting tougher every year. Boots continue to improve and the middle ground is deeper than ever. We tested our boots on both sides of the continent this year. In late March we set up our main camp at the East’s largest resort, Killington, VT. In early May a smaller group assembled at one of the world’s great late-season testing grounds, Mt. Bachelor, OR. There, we skied boots that had limited sample sizing or weren’t quite finished in time for our Killington run-through.

What a contrast between our two test sites! Our Eastern test lab at Killington was in a place where nearly drained Buds and Heinekens usually litter the landscape. Neatly lined up across rows of tables in Killington’s humongous Mahogany Ridge Pub were 337 pairs of brand spanking new ski boots. Five weeks later we did follow-up testing out West, we headquartered in the Day Care center at Mt. Bachelor among doll houses, Tonka trucks and time-out mats (most welcome for stretching sessions to work out back kinks!).

At both sites we attracted curiosity seekers. At Killington, some were ticked off that we commandeered their favorite watering hole but most peeked their heads in to ask what the heck we were doing with all those boots.

Is this a boot sale? (No, it’s a boot test.)

What would be a good boot for me? (Hard to tell without examining your feet but we hope the information contained in these pages will help you narrow your choices.)

How come they don’t make rear entry boots anymore? (For the same reason they don’t make dial telephones. New technology works more efficiently and comfortably).

We hope all your remaining questions are answered in our reviews. All our testers use their personal skis when testing boots and they are fitted with Instaprint custom footbeds that they use in all boots.
Testers take at least three runs on each boot (about 5,000 vertical feet) which provides them time to settle in and discover its nuances.

Testers study an information ‘bible’ we assemble, containing manufacturer’s technical and marketing literature, to familiarize themselves with the products. Our team of master boot techs ensures that all standard fit and performance adjustments on the boots are properly set. We score the boots on a 1-10 scale for various performance and operational characteristics, analyze the fit and record our impressions. After that, we crunch the data and review the comments to determine the winners.