Release date: 3/18/2016
Contact: Steve Cohen, Masterfit at scohen@masterfitinc.com or 914-944-9038
Solitude, UT—The world’s largest Alpine ski boot test will be held at Solitude Mountain Resort, Utah April 1-8. Operated by Masterfit Enterprises’ America’s Best Bootfitters division in partnership with Ski and Skiing Magazines, more than 300 boots from 20 brands will be put to the test by more than 50 professional skiers. The results of the test will appear next fall in Ski and Skiing Magazines and on www.bootfitters.com, the America’s Best Bootfitters website.
After more than 25 season operating the test at Mt. Bachelor, OR, the move to Solitude is a big change but one that was necessary, says Masterfit CEO Steve Cohen. “Utah is a capital of America skiing,” says Cohen, “It offers unparalleled drive and fly access from the entire U.S.—and overseas. That’s vital for us. The great late season conditions and facilities at Solitude clinched it as our new host location.”
The test is coordinated by a team of elite instructors who teach bootfitting at Masterfit University, the snowsports industry’s training center. They are joined by expert bootfitters from America’s Best Bootfitters member shops, experienced ski instructors and patrollers, former racers and other elite skiers with testing backgrounds and an understanding of how a boot should fit and perform.
The test has also developed grown into a must-attend session for brand managers from every major label and many of their European factory executives. They come to make sure all their boots are in tip-top shape but also use the test to benchmark their work against their competitors. With more ski boot brands and models available for testing at Solitude than at any other single location in the world, it is often the only opportunity brand execs have to ski rival products.
Thor Verdonk, Technical Product Manager at Park City-based Rossignol and Lange, will attend this year’s test with a group of company executives from Europe. “As boot developers,” says Verdonk, “we find the Masterfit boot test incredibly important. The test is exceptionally well run and produces great information for the skiing public. It’s a true road map to the current ski boot market.”
PARTICIPATING BRANDS
Alpina, Apex, Atomic, Dalbello, DaleBoot, Dynafit, First Degree, Fischer, Head, Full Tilt, K2, Lange, Nordica, Roxa, Rossignol, Salomon, Scarpa, Scott, Tecnica and Zay.
JOURNALIST NOTE: If you are interested in joining Masterfit to experience a day of boot testing, contact Masterfit CEO Steve Cohen at scohen@masterfitinc.com or (914) 944-9038.
Masterfit Enterprises is a global leader in footwear fitting. It operates Masterfit University, the teaching centers for boot and shoe fitting; America’s Best Bootfitters, an organization of top ski and snowboard shops that specialize in bootfitting; and manufactures and distributes aftermarket insoles for sports and everyday footwear under the Masterfit brand.
