Richelson's Feet First

My orthotics have been a game changer for me. I like to golf, play basketball, and generally walk a good amount. Prior to getting my 1st pair of orthotics, I was having ankle and foot pain fairly consistently. Since being fitted in 2019, I wear the orthotics in all my shoes daily and my ankle/foot pain has almost completely subsided. Go see Paul and his team, they will take great care of you and help your quality of life!

I have been a customer of Richelson Feet First for several years. I have many challenges with walking due to a chronic neurological disorder. The excellent professionals have at various times recommended shoes for me to purchase (not from them), stretched boots and shoes to better fit my crazy feet and made me custom orthotics. Thanks to the excellent staff at Richelson I am walking, hiking and even skiing. Can not thank them enough for keeping me walking!

I was on my way to having knee surgery, but getting proper orthotics made for me was a big game changer. I cannot say enough about Richelson's expertise, care and professionalism. I got to skip the knee surgery and have had no pain since wearing your orthotics and recommended footwear. Thank you guys! You are the best!

Dear Paul,
This note is to express my sincere gratitude for the work that you do. Perhaps my story will inspire others to embrace your hand-crafted personalized orthotics for skiing. How well I remember the hours you invested. The Plumb Bob test to ensure perfect of alignment of knee to the center of the foot is memorable.
We met nearly thirty years ago. I had learned to ski at 29 and wanted to improve performance. There was a marked improvement using the custom crafted orthotics. My right foot has quite a flat arch, as you know. The rigid orthotics were somewhat uncomfortable. I switched to Dr. Scholl’s “Custom Fit” as they were softer. A decade ago I become a regular at Montana SnowBowl, the most difficult mountain I had ever experienced. All went well until 5 years ago. After having my skis tuned before season opening I was shocked to find I was not able to turn left! The problem was a weak right leg, not a problematic ski. Intensive physical therapy did improve turning somewhat. Moving from wide to a more narrow ski made getting onto edges easier. Switching to a softer boot with a forward tilt offered another increment to control.
Now 82, perhaps I should just settle on gentle slopes. Several weeks ago I remembered the orthotic you fitted to me. The first run down amazed. Getting onto my right inner edge was effortless. There was noticeable ease in my right knee. I felt no weakness in my right upper leg nor in the right buttock. No longer did it feel like my hip joint was being pulled apart! My weaker right leg reacted as well as the left! With the orthotic in place I am already planning the 2024 season.

The orthotics are uncomfortable upon boot entry, especially the right. By the third run there is no discomfort whatsoever. Your work decades ago has become even more valuable as years have passed. Keep up the superb work.

Warm regards,

Fabulous! Forget the hard plastic-based orthotics from a podiatrist. With Feet First you get a custom footbed that is adjustable, getting a fit to match your gate.

Paul and John are magicians with what they do. They actually listen to what the problem is in detail and then work to ameliorate the problem. I am continually thankful for them fixing whatever problem I have with my feet. You will be very happy with the outcome when you pay them a visit.

Thank you Paul and the good people at Richelson’s Feet First from a happy customer of over 23 years! I am a high school track coach and I would highly recommend Richelson’s Feet First to anyone who is experiencing; foot, knee or hip pain while walking or running. Not only are orthotics and good shoes cheaper than new joints, they are faster fixes. I first became a client of Richelson’s many years ago when I was a 3 sport high school athlete playing football, basketball and track. My chronic shin splints were so bad that I could not walk without pain, let alone run. I went to doctors and tried generic foot insoles but none of them worked. Then I showed up at Richelson’s and Paul worked his magic! He created a pair of custom orthotics for me that have lasted more than 23 years. I will say that again for emphasis, I have been wearing the same pair of orthotics everyday for the past 23 years. I have worn them through high school athletics and college. I have worn them hiking in the Alps, Appalachia, and out West. I currently put about 20,000 steps a day on them. Using that as my average, I would have put approximately 168,000,000 steps or over 90,000 miles so far! That is almost 4 times around Earth in the same pair of Custom Orthotics. I have only had to “re-top” the orthotics a few times as I eventually wear through the flexible cushioned sole with the unending pounding. After each “re-topping”, it is like they are brand new again! Paul also educated me on which shoes I should buy to help support my feet best. I am not exaggerating when I say that Richelson’s Feet First has changed my life. I am not the only client that feels this way. The shop is full of similar stories from appreciative customers including professional, semi-pro and retired athletes.
Of course Richelson’s expertise is not limited to just shoe orthotics; they have years of experience honing the craft of custom ski boot fitting going back to the 1970’s when my own father was one of the first people doing this at his ski shops.
I am not affiliated with the shop and in no way have been paid or compensated by them, other than the years of rich experiences that I would have never had without their orthotics. If I could give them more stars, I would!

Changed my life. These guys really know what they are doing . I have seen four doctors have had various forms of treatment, and have gotten no relief . No one had ever spent as much time talking to me about my feet ! They were very thorough . I had to cut back my hours at work because my feet were becoming such a problem . I am able to walk and stand like I haven’t been able to in many years. I never thought I could feel almost no pain at all!!

Amazing service and custom inserts. My son and I both have had great experiences with John. Would give more stars if I could! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fantastic boot fitter. I'd give more stars if possible. Paul is a nice guy also.

They are meticulous in their feet assessment! I couldn't be happier with the results!

Reading these reviews makes me feel better about this business. A few years back I went there to get dialed in. My boots were not bad but you know they can always be better. Most of my skiing was in beer leagues and anyplace that had gate training. I heard good things about these guys so I went. I was given a trainee and then the boss. The results were horrible. Completely out of balance and painful. It took 2 days. On the first day I paid in full since they had a good rep from what I was told The boots were unusable. After they said they were done they tried to give me the bums rush. I said I can’t ski in these. They said you’ll be fine. I wanted some $ crack ...no way. I’m not going to small claims over this but very disappointed. I tore their work out and did some work myself. I had them back to where they were to start. Maybe I was too greedy to have them more dialed in but I was so disappointed. I hope they are better at their craft now. As always buyer beware.