Northern Ski Works — Local services in Ludlow

Purchased boots last March from this location. It was an older man that helped me get fitted. Process went fine enough. Came back after skiing the boots 2 days and the same man waited on me. When I was walked in at about 4pm on Saturday, he was already upset at something and projected it in my experience by being rude and inpatient. As I was having a lot of pain in my boots I reluctantly had him make adjustment to the boots for me.

Fast forward to last week. I wasn't really in the area and drove an extra 1.5 hours round trip to this store. I visited the store on a Saturday at 5:50pm (they close at 7). The same man waited on me. I told him I skied14 days on these boots and my foot was numb and in pain and I'd like to get them adjusted. Again, he seemed to be already upset at something , rolled his eyes and asked what I wanted because he gets off in 10 minutes. Again rude! I didn't want to be rushed in this process and frankly don't deserve to be treated this way. sS I told him I didn't want to hold him up. He tried to be "helpful" and repeatedly said "it's fine it's fine I'll help you". I told him I'll visit their other store. Got to the car and called the Killington store to make sure they had a boot fitter who would be available to be helpful. Chris invited me down. Drove another 1.25 hours round trip. Eric was helpful in the Killington store spent at least an hour making adjustment to my boot.

Never going back to the Ludlow store if I...

I've been skiing for over 40 years. For me, skiing is much more than a winter activity, a sport or even a lifestyle... its in my DNA. As someone who comes from the powdery trails of British Columbia and lives in ski boots, I have chewed through many pairs, and in that time, I have not met a boot-fitter as thorough and knowledgeable as Tom Favro of Northern. Tom wants you to be comfortable and to be able to perform when you need to send it - he won't sell you something that is inappropriate for your skiing ability and needs. He has customized two pairs for boots better than any other boot-fitter who has serviced my cantankerous feet. He also hooked up my wife - she too is very happy.

Schedule a meeting with Tom (or any of the other great boot-fitters that work there) and discuss with them your needs (be sure to be truthful about your abilities) - and listen carefully. You also need to be patient: don't expect the boots to fit like your slippers the first day. Ski a few days, then go back have Tom and Northern work their magic... once you know where your hotspots are, they can bake them or do whatever is necessary to make them fit and perform. You might need another visit, and they will do all this at no extra charge. The level bespoke tailoring is better than you get from a Saville Row suit!

I have also used their Killington location - the fitters there are amazing.

Do yourself a favor and buy your boots from...

(Edited to fix my review)

The service was awesome! Everyone answered the many questions I had and recommended the right gear for what I wanted to do. Their team knows so much about equipment they could tell you the history of how it has changed over the years. They have great machinery to upgrade and maintain your equipment as well, unlike other operations I've seen that won't even bother to install fume extraction. Northern ski rentals is definitely a place I would recommend.

I've been using rental equipment my whole life up until now and I can definitely notice the difference.. Where I normally would have some trouble on the double black diamond trails I was able to just go straight at it on my first try after a four year break.

If you factor in the cost of rentals and lift tickets, unless you only go once a year, you really should own and maintain your equipment, and get a lift pass, you will save an enormous amount of time and money after it's all set up.

Thanks for helping me out this last...