Winter 2012/13

Guest2

Guest2

Guest2

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Its that time of year again and I am looking at renting skis for my holiday in January

I have always paid about 100 euros for either 'performance' or 'excellence' for 6 days without insurance

Is it worth buying your own skis if you only go once a year?

I am thinking about getting something like these -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROSSIGNOL...rtsLeisure_Skiing_Skis_JN&hash=item337dbe7f25

They would pay for themselves after a couple of trips but would need to carry them also pay carrage - about £30 I think but not certain
 
As somebody who has owned many sets of skis, I would say that if you are only going once a year you are better off renting. Not only do you get the latest skis available you also don't have to worry about wear and tear or carriage. Trust me the extra hastle of getting them to and from the resort (assuming you aren't able to drive) more than offsets the hastle saved of just renting them when you get to the resort.

One thing though, I would strongly recommend you take insurance on any skis you rent. If your travel insurance covers you then fine but one way or the other you should make sure that if you damage the ski you dont have to cover the cost. I wrecked a snowboard through no fault of my own last year and the replacement cost would have been north of 500 Euros. A friend broke a ski a couple of years ago and they made him pay over £300.
 
It depends on a few things I think. Where and how often you go, how you get there etc.

I normally go back to our place, so having skis there waiting is ideal for me and it costs me nothing to get them there.

If you're paying 25quid for EasyJet to take them out there and 25quid back, you're half way to your rental costs and you don't have to worry about servicing etc you can just give them back. Depends how good you are as well, as the better you get I think it's more applicable to have your own. Same with boots.

Saying that, I love having my own. Have 3 sets now and would love to pick another up this year. Ski addiction.
 
If you don't have your own boots I would invest in them first. If you only go once a year then £200+ on some boots is better than the £200+ you'll spend on Skis.
 
Noble-Kebab said:
If you don't have your own boots I would invest in them first. If you only go once a year then £200+ on some boots is better than the £200+ you'll spend on Skis.
Click to expand...

This; if you just skiing a week a year then buy a new pair of boots every few years and just hire skis. If you hire you can swap the skis during the week, if you get a big powder day you can get a pair to suit and if you just piste skiing all week then you can get a pair for that. Otherwise you need to own a few pairs (unless you stick to one type of skiing) which is an option, but expensive and your not going to be taking multiple pairs with you for a week.

New, good quality, well fitted boots are a great investment, buy a style and shape of shell to suit you then get a custom liner made to fit your foot, it will be warmer, more comfortable and improve your skiing.
 
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I am a once a year (normally) skiier as well and decided to fork out on some skis finally.

I found the issue with hire skiis is that despite paying a fairly high amount they will not necessarily be that good. You can pay a little more to have the option to switched them, but thats more hastle to go through plus of course another set to get used to.

Last few years I have hired and my other half has used her skiis, I would say that whilst skiing is a bit like learning to ride a bike in that you can get back on and be up to speed fairly quickly its also like the bike in that if your used to a BMX moving to a racing bike feels different, even moving from one BMX to another is different...

So last year after the season I setout to buy a full set of equipment, i got some used once (claimed but seems fair) salomon boots, which are worth about £250 for £30, they have custom liners and are remouldabale more than once.
I got some Salomon Enduro skiis which new were about £600 for under £200, they were used (claimed) for about 3 weeks and have some scrapes etc on the tops but the bottoms looked good. I may get them serviced in resort this time.

If your willing to go second hand, and take your time to find the bargains you can pick up some great stuff. The boots were from a skiier who had purchased from too far up the range to suit their skiing ability, the skiis were from a guy who had 3 sets and had just bought another set so needed to make room.

My view is I bet I can sell either of those items for practically what I paid for it after this year if I am not happy with the performance of either/both item(s)

Carriage with Crystal is £35 for bothways so no biggie, similar amount with most carriers.

I would agree that boots are the first thing to buy yourself, after the first year skiing i bought boots then stopped for a while. On returning to skiing I just got into the habit of renting. The great thing owning your own is you can spend a few hours in them before you go getting yourself used to them again.

Ski insurance is a risky one if you rely on your normal ski insurance via your normal travel policy, I think mine was limited to about £175 for skiis last time (owned or rented) and most ski shops are likely to want more like £300 a pair if you lose/break one.

I think finding somewhere to store the skiis is a bigger issue for some than actually owning them!
 
I have my own skis, but quite often don't take them - eg if I got to Chamonix for a long weekend - its just not worth the hassle and the diff between renting and airline fees is minimal. Having said that I still feel I have got good value from my skiis, had them since 2006 (Apache Crossfire) and they still match up well with recent stuff (usually test a pair or two when training) but they are well looked after.

Always take my boots though.
 
One point to note is you need to be a light traveller if your taking your own boots, they are part of your weight allowance and can make quite a dent if you have large feet ;)

If you taking skiis its not really an issue, we get an extra 15Kgs allowance (per person) with ski carriage booked, so just pack some heavyish clothing in with the skiis and the boots in the cases or in boot bags.
 
My advice is that if you ski every year it is worth buying a set of ski's but purchase out of season (summer) as prices are seriously discounted.

The good thing also is when you get to the resort you can get your lift pass and go straight on the slopes :cool: (even better if you can get you lift pass on the transfer)
 
I would also recommend, if possible, to get your boots while there. Especially if you have wide/fat/long/ sort of feet. Anything other than "ordinary". I say this because if you have a tight fitting boot and then go up a mountain, your feet swell. It's the pressure, and in a tight boot this can be all the difference between bliss and OMFG CUT MY FOOT OFF!
 
Get your own boots. I wouldn't bother buying your own ski's. Use a reputable shop in the resort and go for the premium type ski. This normally will allow you to take them back so that you can swap them out if you don't like them. Plus this will also let you exchange them depending on where you are skiing for the day... powder, piste, snow park...

If you are an intermediate skier, then you will probably find that you won't really be able to spot a crap ski anyway.
 
Definitely own boots first. Made a world's difference... horrible horrible rental boots :(
I borrowed my friend's skis but I didn't find it too awkward carrying them.
I only go once a year as well but I'm looking to get my own twin tipped freestyle skis myself but probably won't get them until next year as I'm not going this year. :( I figured after 2/3 trips it'll start paying for itself. Doesn't matter if it's latest skis, there's not exactly going to be much different from 2012 to 2013 skis are they?
 
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Find out how many weeks they've been skied as the last second hand set I bought had no edges left. Bit sucky.
Boots will wear out. The padding goes past the point of bounceback with the sponge lining and the plastic of the boot only really has about 15-17weeks skiing in them, really.
 
Definitely get your own boots first. Good fitting and comfortable boots make a world of difference.

I do have my own ski's and have taken them out a couple of times. Carriage as has been said with most of the travel companies is around £30-35. Get a good ski bag though to protect them (and if you get a double one you can sometimes get 2 skis for the price of 1 on carriage if they go by bag - Easyjet do - got 3 sets of skis to London for the cost of 1 carriage that way).

I have certainly got the monies worth out of my skis but then I also use them in Scotland (generally not the good set but depends on conditions and now the binds are bust on the old ones I don't have much choice). Had the new ones for coming up for 3 years (K2 Kung Fujas) and the old ones for 6 (K2 Public Enemy). Old ones are beat up now so use them only on days without much snow (in Scotland or when doing urban). New ones are for good days in Scotland and the Alps/elsewhere.
 
I feel it is time for a new set but being back at Uni sort of debunks that thought. Keep looking at Atomic Bentchetlers/Armada JJ's or something similar but really don't need them, it is a money drain, although my Ski Club GB membership does reduce the damage a little. Will get them when I graduate (again)...
 
Should have probably given more detail initially -

I have been skiing since I was 15 (~13 years) so reasonably good. I can do (in a fashion!) any black and have done some double black runs. I usually venture off piste but not properly into the wilderness, one occasion I have climbed with skis so reach a peak for some fresh snow

I have owned my own Salomon boots, with custom liners for about 10 years. Still in great condition along with a helmet I have had for a couple of years. Hestra gloves (2 years), Oakley O frames since I have been 16 too.

Id say I am a good but not fantastic skiier - I like to push myself and a few times have pushed a bit too hard.

Ski shops used are the usual ones - Ski republic and Skiset. Cant remember which we used in Canada. Usually get Rossingnol and was thinking about buying some second hand Rossingnol Experience 83s for ~£250. I think I usually have 165s, maybe 170s (5' 9")
 
Bought some custom fit Salomon boots in February and they were incredibly uncomfortable. Had to take them off every couple of runs to reset pressure points on my feet. I will attempt to get em refitted before going again in January but moral of the story is what seems comfortable in the ski shop back home might be totally different to your experience on the slopes.

As for skis, I shall continue hiring. Seventh trip planned for January.
 
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