One of the most impressive aspects is the reliability. Whether interacting with it briefly or return
The experience struck a balance between simplicity and depth, making it accessible while still offering layers of quality and thoughtfulness that became more apparent over time.
Greg went out of his way to help me get my skis and boots modified after a distracted driver ran red light and broadsided me on my motorcycle, fracturing my femur so bad it shortened leg inch and a half!
Determined to ski and not getting any help from other ski shops I was so excited to find CA Ski. Co and Greg Whitehouse! Greg and the guys really went the extra mile to help me out and got my skis modified to accommodate my needs. I’ll never forget the courtesy and respect they showed me and the professionalism of everyone on the team!!
Hats off to Greg and the Guys! Great work and reasonable prices!! I’ll be back!!
No review? Could you please explain in further detail?
Kevin C2025.11.13
since they asked: got fitted for a 26.5 rental my first time skiing in years by an older asian lady and had a miserable ski experience that weekend i felt like i was skiing in buckets (i found out later when i had a proper fitting, i’m a 25.5)
No review? I’m sorry we disappointed you in some way.
Negin Falahati2025.10.13
We had such a great experience at California Ski Company thanks to Haig! He helped us with a ski boot fitting and was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and detail-oriented throughout the whole process. You can tell he really knows his stuff — he took the time to explain every adjustment, made sure the fit was just right, and never rushed us. Ski boots can be tricky to get right, but Haig made the experience comfortable and even fun. We left feeling totally confident and excited to hit the slopes. Couldn’t recommend him or the shop more!
I had an incredible custom boot fitting experience with John Oshima and can't recommend him enough. From the moment I walked in, it was clear I was working with someone who has deep expertise and a true passion for what he does.
John took the time to ask really thoughtful and detailed questions, not just about my skiing level and style, but also about the shape of my foot, previous boot issues, and what I was hoping to get out of the fitting. He inspected multiple boot options with me, explaining the nuances of each in relation to my anatomy and preferences.
Once we landed on the right boot, he didn’t stop there. John custom molded the insoles and liners, and did detailed shell molding to make sure everything fit just right, creating space exactly where I needed it for maximum comfort without sacrificing performance. Every step of the process was intentional and personalized.
Beyond his technical skill, John was just a great person to spend time with, welcoming, patient, and full of great conversation. You can tell he genuinely cares about getting it right for each individual skier.
If you're serious about getting the perfect boot fit, go see John. He's the real deal.
I spent $1000 on ski boots here -- and was treated like a nuisance the moment I needed help.
The next day, one boot didn't fit properly. I went back expecting a quick adjustment, but was told by the front desk that I needed an appointment... two weeks out. No one mentioned anything about needing an appointment when they were taking my money the day before.
I asked to speak to the boot fitter who had helped me -- his name is Bob. The man at the counter (white beard, silver-white glasses) went upstairs to get him. I don't know what was said, but Bob came down already dismissive. He didn't ask what was wrong -- just told me he was busy and that he could maybe help, but if his 1pm appointment showed up, he'd drop me immediately.
That's how this place handles post-sale service. Cold. Rude. Unapologetic. I'd just spent a thousand dollars there -- and I was made to feel like I was interrupting their day.
To his credit, Bob did fix the boot, and the fit is better now. But the way I was treated -- both by him and the man at the front desk -- was unacceptable. Zero customer care, zero accountability.
I was planning on here to bring my kid but instead took him to the shop in Tahoe Palisades and wow what a godly service.
If you're considering this shop, ask yourself what kind of support you'll get once your card is swiped. In my case, the answer was: none.
Dear Nick,
I’m sorry you feel that you were disrespected in any way. We try to go to any lengths to ensure our customers are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. We realize you are making a large investment when you come to us for a custom boot fitting which is why we allocate 2 1/2 hours for the appointment . As you now know, we do all our fittings and adjustments by appointment. We try and make sure our customers are informed of this before during and after the fitting process. This is detailed on our website. We feel confident in our work and back it up with our fit guarantee. We are often fully booked up during the day and respect our clients time when they make an appointment. Unfortunately you arrived on a busy day without an appointment and as explained, all our boot-fitters were previously booked. However, I personally decided to skip my lunch to help you. I thought I had helped you with the aforementioned courtesy and respect and completed your adjustment to your satisfaction. We are grateful for your business and would look forward to working with you again if you so choose.
Warmest regards,
Bob
Yuhuan Tang2025.04.18
I went in to get new ski boots which were long overdue. When I got my last ski boots, I was literally in pain for 1.5 seasons, and after another 1.5 seasons, my boots started to get way too loose. I was terrified that I had to go through the same all over again. But not any more with California Ski Company!!
John, my boot fitter, is really knowledgeable, and chose what’s best for me based on what I enjoyed doing - off piste, trees, bumps, and that I care about comfort. I was surprised that he didn’t sell me boots with very hard flex just because I’ve been skiing for a while, and he picked boots that are really easy to put on and off. Instead of making the boots very tight, he made sure that the ankle area fits well and there’s plenty of room for my toes and the area in front of my ankles (it felt tight initially and John listened and adjusted). Also, the custom footbed is god send! So stable and I could see myself standing in a better position immediately.
Fast forward, I nervously brought my boots to ski trips, and surprisingly I didn’t need ANY time to warm up to the boots. They performed a million times better than any of my old boots, and so comfortable!! I felt that I skied better in my boots, my friends commented on it, and they were amazed by how fast I put boots on and off now compared to before LOL
All in all, I think the knowledge and experience of John as a boot fitter made the world of difference to me. It was not cheap (about $1000 all in), but it’s worth it if you care about better skiing experience and improving your skiing. Thank you, John!!
John is an amazing bootfitter. In fact he is a toe-whisperer. I never imagined I could wear ski boots for 8+ hours comfortably. Plus he has some great stories. Thank you very much John.
Been coming here for the last 6 years. This is the best place in the bay for skiers. They do great work on skis. Mounts and tunes are always on point. They spend a lot of time on the bootfitting but it’s worth it. Recently brought my skis in as the binding was trashed and broken and they replaced it for $50 instead of selling me new binding and remounting which is what I thought I had to do.
TLDR: the below is a series of reviews left over the last 4 seasons during which I've become increasingly unhappy with the rental process.
California Ski Company is a mom and pop-type place with good prices. Roger helped me get skis, boots, poles, and helmet rental for the weekend. He was super nice, even when I was annoyingly telling him to keep scrolling in the user system to find my name because I had spelled it wrong. I will definitely be coming back unless a ski breaks or something. (I wrote this part of the review in 2021).
I knocked a star off because despite renting the exact same gear for four seasons and booking an appointment every time, it's often a process that takes 30-45 mins, just me, with no one else in line, even though I rent the exact same thing every time. Only one person knows or remembers how to use the computers.
I don't understand the response below. If I book an appointment and note I'm renting the same gear as before, look up what I've rented and pull it. I'm not sure why that should take extra time and care.
Luckily the one person who knows how to rent skis out, Kimberly, was there today. When she's not, it's chaos. When she is, she's overwhelmed because she has no help. Someone messed up the accounts in the computer system, so I couldn't pay for my rentals this time because of some glitch. I loved you guys, but I've lost patience with the disorganization and may try Sports Basement next season (they even deliver to your house for free!).
Thank you for the kind review Pamela! We hope you have a great time skiing!
Our rental team pride themselves in a job well done. We really want you in gear that will set you up for success. It can be a slow process and we appreciate our clients patience. We think it is worth it!
Denys Nevozhai2025.03.22
I’m shocked this company is top rated and people recommend it.
I came for their expertise to choose the best boots for my feet. During the painful thermo fitting procedure I told many times it feels wrong and too narrow. They told me “hang on, I know what I’m doing, you have super narrow feet and we have only one boot model that will fit you right”. I had no choice but to trust and paid more than $1000. Every time I wear these boots, I tell myself I’m switching back to a snowboard. My feet get numb as soon as I put the boots on even without buckling up. After a dozen of painful rides I returned and they did another fitting of the same boots. It didn’t help.
Now I’m sitting in a ski rental with amazing comfortable boots on my feet and think how much I hate California Ski Company for ripping me off and creating so many problems and waste of time.
I'm shocked this company is top rated and people recommend it.
I came for their expertise to choose the best boots for my feet. During the painful thermo fitting procedure I told many times it feels wrong and too narrow. They told me "hang on, I know what I'm doing, you have super narrow feet and we have only one boot model that will fit you right". I had no choice but to trust and paid more than $1000. Every time I wear these boots, I tell myself I'm switching back to a snowboard. My feet get numb as soon as I put the boots on even without buckling up. After a dozen of painful rides I returned and they did another fitting of the same boots. It didn't help.
Now I'm sitting in a ski rental with amazing comfortable boots on my feet and think how much I hate California Ski Company for ripping me off and creating so many problems and waste of time.
Denys,
Super sorry your first experience was rough. Bring them back in! We give you a comfort guarantee. You look like you have Fischer boots that we can easily make wider. Get your feet happy!
Rick2025.03.20
Ultra professional boot fitters. Greg and company can certainly match you up with the right skis and bindings too. I have had great results with this shop for more than 15 years.
Rick that is very nice of you to put this out there. We certainly appreciate your business!
Keon2025.03.15
Went and got custom boots + insoles fitted about 2 years ago towards the end of the season, they fit really poorly and while getting fitted it felt like every time I complained about a pain point the guy always had an excuse "it will go away over time and use". I thought the whole point of getting custom boots is to mitigate a lot of that pain compared to off the shelf boots. Tried to ski on them multiple times that season and they were excruciating. The next season I tried them again and they still felt terrible, went back in to see if they could adjust them which they charged over $100 for and they still are unusable. I just went skiing last week and had to use rental boots which were much more comfortable. I really wish my experience was as good as so many of the other reviews on here but that just wasn't my experience. Being a college student strapped with cash, it looks like I'll be using rentals for the foreseeable future as I cant afford to keep going in there and paying for them to fix it. $1000+ down the tube.
Keon,
You bought the boots 1/2/2022. If you only came back once more than a season later you have given up to easily. Please make an appointment for an adjustment and we will work on them for free. We will stand behind our product.
EV Ellington2025.03.05
Didn’t have the best experience here. Staff was not friendly at all. Ended up going elsewhere
Went here a couple years ago to get fitted boots. I think my sales person's name was John. The experience overall was fun (in stark contrast to competing ski shops elsewhere) and I ended up with boots I still love 2 years later
I unfortunately felt milked for as much cash as possible at this overall quality shop with somewhat high prices but quality products. I always get my skis tuned here. I have skis , but not boots, so as i picked up my skis after a $150 tune up. I rented their nicer boots for the weekend, which was $120. Pricey, but fine support local businesses. They then charged me $40 to put the boots on the bindings, a cost they had not mentioned until after it was done. I’ve rented boots at the mountain a couple times and never heard of this. Even the rep checking me out seemed to question it, but the owner came up front and confirmed he was going to have to milk me for another $40 and a $180 weekend boot rental. Dropping off my boots will be my last trip to the shop. Hope it was worth the $40 bub. Update: and after all that the boots were medieval torture devices to boot. Pun intended and their advice was they should be tight and suggested I stick with these though I could only buckle the very last buckle on every buckle.
John,
Any shop needs to do a functional test on a binding they are sending out with one of their rental ski. It is not optional. Sorry you felt like we/I was "milking you" but I was not. I also wish that your boots were more comfortable. Our Performance boots are much higher quality than a standard rental boot. Comfort is tough in any rental boot situation...
Mike Emery2025.02.12
During October 2018 I had my two best lifetime experiences at the time regarding ski equipment, and they were both with The California Ski Company. Erik Peterson punched and ground older racing boots that were never comfortable until then. Greg Whitehouse and Erik P. answered my questions regarding modern skis as my Volkl were 10 years old. They recommended a pair of all-mountain carving skis, the Stockli Laser AX @ 175cm. (These are now the Montero AX at 173cm or 178cm with 80mm vs. 78mm underfoot). These would satisfy my interest in carving on hard pack while offering some versatility. CA Ski Company provided outstanding customer service. I have since purchased two pair of Leki Griffin gloves, which have never disappointed. They also perform superlative tuning services.
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