Buckles & Boards Ski & Surf

Purchased a NIDECKER MEGALIGHT SNOWBOARD on-​line (an elusive brand in the US), after speaking to very friendly and knowledgeable sales staff. Fair price and quick shipping. They packed it up and FedEx out the same day.

When I «under grew» my clothes, I had several gardening and house chore outfits, but nothing appropriate for casual outings. A trip to Buckles and Boards solved that problem. Next a dressy occasion arose. Eileen knew best what was needed, but presented many options for me to try. I ended up taking Eileen’s advice and did not regret it. For Christmas my husband purchased a beautiful sweater there for which I continue to receive compliments. Eileen will also accommodate special requests. Another advantage, in my option, is that you are not apt to see the outfit you are wearing at the same occasion. I hope you will consider Buckles and Boards when shopping for clothes in the future.

we went here for seasonal rentals after a recommendation from a friend. the woman was not at all peasant to deal with. they had very little left (after telling us they had plenty ftp choose from and this was in December!) the boots they «fit» my daughter too were terrible, she had issues with them all year. The ones for my son had a broken buckle that they «fixes» but kept popping off anyway. AND they never put poles in my daughters package requiring another trip there! I would definitely not rent from them again. Also, refused a return on full price merchandise literally 8 days after we bought it (receipt said 7) and this was the first week of january!

We have shopped Buckles and Boards for various items over the years (clothing, helmets, had them tune up skis) and this year tried renting skis for the season, thinking it would less expensive than on the mountain. When I called last week, they said there was plenty of available rentals. Tonight when visiting the store to rent, they said they no longer rent for the season (since it’s February– even though their seasonal rentals run until May). I discussed returning during the week to purchase skis, since I am in the market and they are having a sale, which I fully intended to do and they would have made a very nice sale.
Despite the problem with now renting by the day, I still thought we could avoid rental lines by picking them up now. I paid for the rentals and took my 11 year old son to get measured for boots. The sizes they had available did not fit– either too big or too small. They were also thrashed. He is a good skier and knows how boots should fit, but the guy fitting him said «Do you want them for walking or for skiing? They’ll be fine for skiing.» Um, What? There still is a certain amount of walking involved when wearing ski boots, it’s unavoidable. But my son was trying to make them work and we couldn’t get this guy to listen to him, and thought maybe they would somehow be alright. Plus, there was still the bonus of taking them with us and avoid hassles at the slopes. But then we found out we could not take them. We couldn’t even return and pick them up before closing at 8pm and were told to come back at store opening the next morning. Not so convenient, especially when we will be getting ready to drive to Vermont at that time and it will be a 40 minute round trip to pick up the skis.
After some discussion on the drive home from the store, I decided the ill fitting boots and the now highly inconvenient pick up wasn’t worth it. I called when reaching home and said it would be best not to rent. I was dealt with by a rabid, RABID woman who insisted everything was non-​refundable, these skis were put aside for us during a busy weekend, (I did not reserve them in advance, but just stopped in) they were taken out of circulation, they had been adjusted just for us, etc. I told her we had just left the store and no adjustments had been made to anything, we just had our feet measured which should not an irreversible act. She continued to say the skis had been fully prepared for us– I again told her that wasn’t possible since the skis were not going to be ready until the next day. She started to yell at me «Do you want to pick them up this evening or tomorrow morning? You could have taken them tonight! You could have taken them tonight, but you didn’t want to wait!» I told her that was completely untrue and was not my decision in the slightest to delay pick up until the next day, and was quite a bother. And that my son had continuously told the attendant the boots did not feel right. This went on back and forth for several minutes until she shrieked angrily «Why did you pay for them if you weren’t happy with them?» I told her you have to fill out the paperwork and pay first. You think she would know that, working in the store. I told her I absolutely did not want the equipment, if it was such a busy week then put them back into circulation and make them available for someone else. Her final response was «Fine– than I’m just voiding this!». Like it was a punishment. I told her that would be great. I also told myself I would be voiding them from any future business. I left a message that I needed a return call verifying the transaction would indeed be voided, and that I needed a name of whoever I had spoken with. I have not heard from them as of yet. Great job losing business on their part.

ive been going to buckles & boards for years & gotten great service & advice. there rentals are way better than the stuff you get close to the slopes. extremely knowledgeable staff also. i love em!

buckles and boards is great, I have bought many clothing items and also a snowboard from them, I always buy something because they stock great equiptment. The people and the store are great, I first shopped here ten years ago, it is the first place i go if i need ski jackets, pants, goggles, helmets, layers, scarves, skis, boards, bindings and boots.

We’ve been renting ski/​boards at Buckles and Boards for years, their pricing and the condition of the rentals is better then typical mountain rentals and more convenient then waiting at the mountain rental shop. I recently bought some twin tip skis from them at 70% off for a last years model, they we’re mounted on time and I was pleased with their service. The staff is knowledgeable and accommodating.

I think people either like small local shop like Buckles & Boards or hate it. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised based on the other review. We purchased a snow board package for our younger daughter. She used for one lesson and had such a bad experience after one hour we rented skis at the mountain. She took to skiing and never looked back. I was completely honest about our experience and B&B gave us full credit towards a ski package in exchange for the snowboard. I also purchased my skis and boots from B&B. I felt the boots were a bit tight and wore them around my house on and off for a week. Something just didn’t feel right so I returned for another fitting. I’m happy to say I was able to exchange the boots for a much more comfortable fit prior to leaving for NH. My bindings were adjusted to fit the new boots on the spot before we left for NH. We are new skiers and B&B has helped make us huge fans of the sport. The only drawback I could see would be the limited inventory they may carry (hence 4 starts instead of 5). For example, if you are woman who only wears a Salomon boot you will have to shop elsewhere. Other small ski shops could have a similar problem though. Any old merchandise I saw was greatly reduced in price. The boots and skis we purchased as a family were current models.

This is the worst ski shop on the South Shore! I have lived in the area for years and keep giving them a chance to get my ski/​snowboard business and they always blow it. Not only are they the most overpriced ski shop but they buy outdated skis/​snopwboards and try to pass them off as current. Today, I brought my 10 year old in for a new snowboard, the owner held up a board that was way too small. I knew what size he needed but wanted to test the guy to see if he would sell me anything and that’s exactly what happened. When I asked him if that board was too small for his weight he said «no» and I replied «you didn’t ask how much he weighs» Then he handed me the board and the weight listed was in killigrams… he clearly had no idea how to convert to lbs. My son needed a board that was about 20 centimeters bigger. blew it there. When I switched to boots, he told me he had a pair of size 5 boots for him and I told him that my son was a 6.5 and he told me they would be fine. He was just out to sell me anything. This was the very last time I will ever go to Buckles and Boards and felt compelled to share on Unilocal my experiences there. Go somewhere else…