Sammy S.

Thanks to Sammy and her questions, she was able to best cultivate a set of gear for me that I have been struggling to research for the past 5 months! Thankfully she had patience with me and walked me through each step of the process with help from her experience and expertise. I appreciate her and her outstanding service as it did take me over an hour to make my decision on what skis and gear to purchase. Thanks Sammy for the help!

This is a tough review to write, so bear with me. My initial interactions with Sammy were awesome! I loved the vibe I was getting from her and really appreciated her ability to connect with me virtually. She was also incredibly responsive. Unfortunately, my initial impression shifted dramatically as our interaction unfolded and ultimately led to my lower rating. So here goes: Going into the Curated quiz, I was pretty settled on a specific ski...and I was assuming that ski might pop up as a suggestion from the quiz. The quiz didn't work quite the way I thought it was going to (with a list in my inbox)...and I found myself connected to Sammy! She confirmed that ski would be a good one based on my quiz answers and a bit more info I offered after we started chatting. From there, we got into bindings and ultimately boots--neither of which had been on my mind going into the quiz. The binding convo was great and led to recs for a separate touring setup--all good :-) The thing that rubbed me wrong had to do with boots. I already had an in-person boot fitting scheduled when I took the quiz, which I mentioned to Sammy. Since we'd gone over a lot of other gear at that point and I was feeling confident I'd purchase at least that initial ski through her, I asked if she had any tips to offer. At that point she (somewhat understandably) reminded me that the Curated model doesn't work very well if the expert knows their advice isn't likely to lead to a direct sale. I have weird feet, so buying boots has been much more overwhelming than any other aspect of my kit...and I couldn't imagine how an online-only boot fitting could be successful for me. Sammy and I happened to be in the same geographical area when we were talking, so on the off-chance that Curated had a way of doing in-person boot fittings, I asked if the process remained virtual. She confirmed that it did. It's clear that approach works just fine for plenty of people, but it felt scary to me. I named my concern, but Sammy reassured me that if I went through her, she'd be able to fit me as well as anyone in the business. I felt a little uneasy about the end of that conversation, so I took a while to think on the interaction after we talked. I ultimately circled back with Sammy to let her know I'd concluded I wanted to be able to interact with someone in person but reiterated that I'd really loved working with her--I didn't think it was worth going into detail about the boot piece of our interaction since I'd made my decision and didn't want to waste any more of her time. Her response, unfortunately, confirmed for me that I'd made the right choice... In addition to making Curated sound like it's objectively superior to all other outdoor gear retailers (an attitude that squarely contradicts the one I've felt from the vast majority of folks at Curated's competitors), she tossed in "boots are boots haha."I'd honestly felt so good about my conversations with Sammy before we broached the boot topic, and I was even feeling fine as I sent off that last message to her letting her know where I'd landed. But her response really made it seem like I had, at the end of the day, just been another prospective sale...and not really the human being behind it. So yeah. Tough to sum up the whole experience because my emotions throughout ran the gamut. I really do think Sammy is super knowledgeable about the gear and fabulous at the technical aspects of her job. If that's what you're looking for, I bet she'll be a great fit for you! UPDATE: Sammy reached out after reading my review to apologize for her part in my experience. Not everyone would do that, and she deserves credit for being someone who will. I have increased my overall rating to reflect my gratitude. Thanks, Sammy :)

I had the pleasure of working with Sammy when purchasing new skis and bindings, and I couldn't be happier with the experience. Sammy was incredibly nice, knowledgeable, and extremely approachable. She patiently answered all my questions, provided valuable insights, and helped me find the perfect gear for my needs. Her expertise made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. I highly recommend seeking out Sammy's assistance for anyone in the market for ski equipment.

As a long time demo ski renter, I’ve been wanting to buy my own pair but felt overwhelmed by the options. I don’t live in a place where I can easily go test skis myself, and I had read a bunch of ski reviews without really feeling confident any of them were a match. I stumbled on Curated while searching for skis and was quickly blown away by Sammy’s attentiveness and specificity. She asked in-depth questions about my ski style, where I like to ski, and gave great recommendations for skis, bindings, and poles, as well as products and tips for at home ski care that I needed. I’m really excited for my gear, and feel more confident about caring for them as a first time ski owner. Will absolutely ask Sammy for ski gear recs in the future.

Sammy was amazing. I’m just getting back into skiing after a long hiatus. Since things have changed I asked Kelly questions about some specific skis based on my skill set, research I did, and budget. Sammy offer a customized, and very informative, video with her opinion on all the skis I was interested in. While I didn’t purchase the skis on Curated (I rec’d a bigger deal somewhere else) I will def be back to discuss future questions I have around skiing with Sammy.

It had been about 20 years since I bought any gear and I didn’t know where to begin. Sammy walked me through everything and gave me lots of different options—and it was just nice to have someone so knowledgeable be able to tell me about each product. She had personal experience with all the gear she shared with me which was amazing. You don’t always get that at REI or other ski shops. She was super responsive and sweet—not annoying, not overbearing, didn’t put pressure…but stayed available and answered sooooo many of my questions. Highly recommend working with her!!!

Sammy was a huge help! The experience was super personalized, helpful, and low pressure. I loved the curation video with an explanation of all the recommendations. I felt like it was just as personal as an in-store experience. 10/10 would recommend this service… Sammy has my full endorsement!

She answered every question I had. Recommendations were solid and she was able to back them up with her own experience. Every message was answered promptly and by her answers I could tell she had carefully considered what I needed before making the recommendation. I would absolutely recommend Sammy. I really appreciate the help and for being so eager to answer my many questions.

Super knowledgeable on the gear and so friendly! She wasn’t just a voice on a phone but a real person! I felt like I make a good choice and I couldn’t have done it without her!

My overwhelming feeling getting started was "I don't know what to buy," as I'm sure many people feel. Sammy not only made extremely specific recommendations based on my skill and interests, but she also sent everything to me in the size that I need and confirmed the boots/bindings/skis are all compatible. There was a killer black friday sale that Sammy helped me take advantage of. I plan to exclusively buy from Curated in the future because this was a great experience.