Over the years I have made many trips to Dumont for boots, alignment, lessons, camps etc. but I haven't been there for boots in several years. This season I have been skiing in an old pair of white translucent Head Raptor 150 RD boots (several seasons ago equivalent of the Raptor B2). They are great boots. But when I was 12-15 lbs heavier I did quite a bit of grinding to them. Now that I am lighter my feet have shrunk and although this boot is still quite skiable (and way better than anything else I have sitting in my garage/closets etc), they are far from a perfect glove like fit. So I made the trek to Dumont (its not terrible from Norcal) and spent the day with Diana getting into new boots (Head Raptor B2's which we already knew were the right boots) and fixing an issue or two with my old white 150 RDs. I have had boot work done at a variety of places and I have gotten myself into new boots on occasion where I didn't want to make the trip to Dumont and I would ship my boots to HSS to have them put the correct alignment plates (and get the punching and grinding done at my local shop). This makes me very well versed in what level of knowledge and service one gets elsewhere. In my 6.5 hours at the HSS shop with Diana I was reminded of what a different level of knowledge, care and service that customers get at HSS. Diana spent 6.5 hours with dialing in my boots and she wasn't going to let me leave until they were perfect. You will never get this kind of time and focus anywhere, PERIOD. It just isn't cost effective for a ski shop to have anyone spend 6.5 hours on a pair of boots that they get $800 for, of which maybe $300 is profit and that's why it will never happen anywhere else. They will spend a couple of hours with you (maybe 3-4 including finding the right boot but never 6.5 hours on just bootwork), get you reasonably close and figure when you have problems you will be back. Even worse they will put you in a boot that won't cause you any pain because its a shell size too large.
Now I am the first to admit that getting a race plug dialed in requires a different level of attention and usually a lot more grinding and punching. But a true recreational non PMTS skier was there that day and getting a new pair of boots. And they easily spent 4 hours with her (maybe more because I left before she was done).
Lastly Diana is a great bootfitter and she does the best and most accurate grinds and punches I have ever had done. Walker is also a brilliant bootfitter and boot technician. He did some great work on my two pairs of boots increasing the Forward Lean.
I know its a broken record but I just wanted to again say that most are making a mistake not making the trek to get the full soup to nuts boot set up at HSS. (and yes I fully understand why its difficult or impossible for some to get there).
I am seriously pumped about my new boots. I have a perfect glove like fit which I haven't really had in 3 seasons (when I went into the Raptor RS 140 (when I was heavier).