Edge locking? What does this mean

[JohnMoore]

The other issue is the lack of professional boot fitters who recognize alignment to be very crucial part of the boot setup. If any of you guys know or recommend any pro boot fitters in the UK please let me know.

I don't think it's quite as simple as that. For example, Colin Martin at Solutions 4 Feet in Bicester has a good reputation and would definitely say that alignment is a crucial part of the boot setup. But his views on what to do about it, and what constitutes good alignment, would almost certainly be rather at odds with Harald's. The difficulty - maybe impossibility in fact - is finding anyone over here to do things the PMTS way. Your best bet is probably to head over to the place I mentioned, http://www.portesduski.nl/. They can sort you out for alignment. They don't seem that email-responsive, though, so your best bet may be ringing them.

[h.harb]

Very well said, although others do alignment, there is so much more involved. Without seeing you ski, watching your movements, flexibility etc. the result will be different from what we do. Unfortunately, in some cases even worst than what you have. Jasper and Guus, at Portes du Ski are probably your best bet in Europe.

[nipper]

I had my boots fitted at Solutions and was very happy with the fitting process and the service. However the footbeds that they provide are of the rigid type that are at odds with Harald's ideas. They do provide an alignment service using the SBS (Sports Balance System) whereby alignment is adjusted from assessment balancing on one leg on an inclined board. Alignment is by way of rubber shims placed inside of the boot. I was told at camp that internal adjustment gives a different result to the external method used by Harald. The facts of the matter are that there are no short cuts. Once you start on the PMTS path you quickly realise that it is the only sensible path to follow and that an on snow assessment is the only way to properly carry out the assessment. If you go to camp your alignment may be tweaked several times during the camp and may also need to be tweaked if you attend further camps. There is no way that the same results can be achieved by static testing. I did suggest to Diana that a new e video on understanding and correcting alignment issues might be a good subject but might only have limited appeal. She did seem receptive to the idea and thought that it might have a greater appeal than I had thought. Whether it is a practical proposition and comes to fruition we will have to wait and see.

[h.harb]

Shimming inside the boot is not only not the same, as alignment, but you might as well throw out the footbed, with the changes of in boot shimming it produces a dis-functional balance in the footbed, as well. That is of course if they actually had you in balance with the footbed to begin with.