 Poster: A snowHead
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| foxtrotzulu wrote: |
@PaulC1984, I’m fascinated by the idea of changing skis because you don’t like the colour anymore. I guess we are all different, but to me that would be like buying a new screwdriver because you don’t like the colour of the old one. |
You have clearly never seen PaulC1984 (Mr Ortovox) on the slopes...& yes, I suspect that he would buy a new set of screwdrivers if/when he redecorates his house...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It depends. My first pair of skis I kept for far too long, about 8 years, and they were noodly and knackered by the time I got rid of them. Usually I keep them for 3 or 4 years then hanker for a new pair in the misguided belief they'll make me a better skier!
One great tip I was given - buy skis for the terrain and conditions you actually ski, not for the terrain and conditions you think you want to ski.
I would imagine there's not much difference financially, especially if you buy top of the range, but it's nice to have your own kit.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The last pair I retired, 2010 Volkl Mantras, had done 6 seasons and thus about 360 days (give or take a few days when I was on something silly).
I was well happy with that - they still skied fine but the edges and bases were too thin to go through the machine (no comments about hand services please).
I reckon kit (at least: boot liners, skis) manages 120-180 days although ski technology may have moved on since I formed that opinion in the early '90s.
Quality also helps. Mantras of that vintage had a particularly robust construction.
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| johnE wrote: |
Unlike @Dave of the Marmottes, I only get about 100 days out of mine. After that they seem to loose their bounce.
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Hey you buy rockered skis and they've been pre-knackered so no bounce to lose. 
I've had 70+ days out of skis that were sold to me as rock skis only. I've also been given the tour of locals only stashes based on conversation started over my beat up but "interesting"skis and been given the heads up by patrol on rope drops on the basis that "tourists don't ski on skis like that" so there is some intangible value over rental skis on occasion.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I did have the attitude that new kit = less money to go skiing with and there is some truth in that after I have paid maintenance for three kids and their horses, but, when I found that the reason that I was struggling to get edge grip on my 10 yr old skis and 20 yr old boots was that I could lean the boot over by 20' without the ski moving!
New skis and boots have cost me the price of a week in the mountains but the time I am in the mountains is much better!
Even with my new boots & skis, there is still a little bit of play in the rail mounted bindings which is something that I will consider when I buy skis again.
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I'm basically down to one pair of skis now, they do what I want a pair of skis to do. I can't imagine a pair of skis that will replace them, what they'd need to do for me to consider changing. So they are my skis, and probably will be my skis, for this season, were last season, and I expect at least next season and probably beyond.
If I get a really boilerplate day on the hill I might go and get a pair of slalom skis to get me around the pistes, but otherwise no reason to change, and they'll probably do 100 days of skiing before they are knackered, could do a lot more if I'm careful.
Ski technology isn't changing, don't believe the hype. Over 10 years it changes a bit, but seriously it isn't anywhere near quick enough that your average rental ski will ever outclass a ski 2-3 years old in my experience. Usually rental skis even at the top end are not as good as most of the skis I'd recommend anyone buys.
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@Digger the dinosaur, +1
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I have 2 piste skis....Atomic 11:20 and Atomic SL11. They are both in great nick. This year I hired some Head Magnums due to getting a very cheap deal...and much as I enjoyed them, they didn't have me wanting to bin my other skis.
I'm so delighted to be on something that isn't a 2m old school ski, that I really enjoy any modern carving shape....though I think for piste skiing, I prefer a full camber.
Off Piste I like all the help I can get....so bring on the tech.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Daughter is still using some Soloman 1080's that her Aunt gave her (about 20 yrs old now) as she thinks they are brilliant and loves them to bits. Skis everyday all season (has for last 5 years) so many many days.
Mind she could out ski me on some wooden blocks.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Digger the dinosaur, As someone who is also grappling with the pros/cons of ski ownership, I was interested by what appears to be a journey to find the ideal skis which presumably involved outlay on less than ideal ones.
maybe I can compare with bikes: when I first started commuting by bike I bought a full suspension because I thought I'd be out on the trails all the time once I got fit. I didn't, so I bought a hybrid which did the commuting job fine but was heavy and the riding position was poor and I couldn't climb with it in the Peaks, then it broke anyway. So I bought a lightweight alu climbing machine which is great except I don't do much climbing and on city roads it skitters all over the place, attracts punctures and the handling isn't great. So I bought a drop handlebar steel commuter which isn't too heavy, rides like a dream and can take a studded tyre in harsh winters, it's great and it's the only bike I need.
When people ask me how much it cost, I say about a grand but I suppose the real answer is, about 4 grand in total and tens of thousands of miles riding something unsuitable.
So the question is how to get from no skis to having the right skis without the expensive mistakes in between.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Penry, take a note of hire skis you like, borrow a friend’s for a few runs, and try out test skis.
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@Penry, the answer to that is, don't listen to those who tell you that an all-mountain ski doesn't do anything properly and that what you need is a quiver/horses for courses etc. Just look for the best possible all-mountain ski. It might not be perfect but, by analogy with your bike, it might be pretty damn good. Good luck!
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You know it makes sense.
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The other downside of owning your own skis is that many airlines will charge you the price of a decent rental pair to get yours there.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@cameronphillips2000, airline charges certainly are significant. That said, Ryanair charge £40 each way - so £80 return. What's the rental price of good skis at somewhere like Tignes? I haven't hired for a long time, so I really don't know.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
| The other downside of owning your own skis is that many airlines will charge you the price of a decent rental pair to get yours there. |
Possibly in Eastern Europe, but the cost of ski carriage in the Alps will get you the most basic planks. Hire of "decent" skis is more like £150/ week.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I think the financial argument is very tight but for me i would not consider renting skis. Generally i fly either BA or lufthansa so ski carriage cost is not a problem. The biggest thing in buying ski's is finding the rite ones, i have bought a few white elephants before finding a pair I really connected with and i have bought two nice shinny pairs since which are still in the wrappers, someday i will use them!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Till am bored/fancy something new
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
So the question is how to get from no skis to having the right skis without the expensive mistakes in between
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| achilles wrote: |
| @Penry, take a note of hire skis you like, borrow a friend’s for a few runs, and try out test skis. |
| Hurtle wrote: |
| Just look for the best possible all-mountain ski. It might not be perfect but, by analogy with your bike, it might be pretty damn good. Good luck! |
I've used Hurtle's approach on bikes. I liked the first one I purchased. Later ones are all "improvements" to the perfectly fine basic model, when my cycling addiction worsen.
I now have 4 bikes, all of them I like. I also bike about 4-5 days a week between commuting during work week and century rides on weekends, plus some off-road single track fun. I would have been quite happy with the first one (except the mountain biking). The rest are all just luxury.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Penry wrote: |
So the question is how to get from no skis to having the right skis without the expensive mistakes in between. |
Go to the Snowheads ski test!
I've bought a lemon pair of skis before without demoing them - too long, stiff and wide for me (ooo-er I'm back in the ski innuendo thread).
On the flipside, I did demo some skis in soft conditions and loved them so I bought them - however it turned out they weren't so great on rock hard pistes.
I'm pretty happy with the ones I've got now, although I suspect they're a tiny bit too soft for me.
I think my ideal skis might be Volkl Flair 81s, but who knows?
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Getting back to the OP question. Should I buy or rent? Well I cannot comment on renting as I've always bought. I have no regrets. No. None at all? Well maybe. Some of my older skis are still perfectly useable but...binding indemnity. After a few years the manufacturer will no longer indemnify maintainers like spyderjon against failure of the bindings..meaning they will NOT work on them. Too much liability to carry.
This tends to happen sooner with skis sold with 'rail' bindings which have short production period than those which are used for several years in basically the same formula such as Marker dukes,etc. As these tend to be fitted to higher end skis this is good as they last longer - not because they are better or safer but because of ongoing feedback the OEM can better gauge when they are obsolete rather than say 'no feedback = no useage therefore no indemnity'. A case in point, I have some Atomice SX11s with a special adjustable - centre position fore and aft to tune twitchiness - SX binding..out of indemnity. Similar NEOX bindings of the same age are still fully indemnified.
The point?
If you are knowledgeable about what your buying or have trustworthy advice then buy with confidence otherwise just go with the rental flow and get the best you can afford and be a VERY demanding customer whichever way you go.
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@mcspreader, interesting, didn't know that about bindings.
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Whether or not you have indemnity on your ancient bindings does not preclude your own binding test prior to using a pair of skis which are either rental or your own 16 + year skis with original bindings. Such binding tests can be done on the ski slope every time you use the skis.
A link to some self testing advice for bindings
www.bobski.com/safety/french_binding_system_self_test.pdf
New rental bindings can fail just as easily as well looked after ancient bindings. It is to do with how well you take care of the components, as well as the original manufacture. For example would you trust a 16 year old car which you have recently cleaned and inspected the brakes for rust, compared to an almost new rental car which has crunching brakes when you put them on? (this is a question I ask from experience, my answer was to return the rental car due to an illegal tread on one tyre and get one with no brake problems)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It's a good point to consider the bindings. I had a failure on some Rossignol B2's. Maybe the bindings themselves were cheapish and I am a big heavyish bloke but age may have also played a part.
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@achilles, b]@Hurtle[/b], @abc, many thanks, so I suppose hiring comes under the banner of research. What I've got lined up for Feb half term allows me to take out different skis each day so that should throw up some more answers.
@HoneyBunny, 'Go to the Snowheads ski test!' - I did! And it was great. It was really good for deciding what I didn't like but at 6 or 7 pairs every October its a slow winnowing out process, I didn't even realise there were any Volkls there until afterwards.
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