 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Its quite an interesting thread.
I am with the people who find buying cheaper than hiring. The other factor is that if you have kids you really don't have a lot of time on the first day of a holiday to find out the best skis to hire. You have to get their skis boots helmets etc, get lift passes, find out ski school meeting places, unpack, buy your food for the weekend, cook the first meal and then collapse with a gin 'cos you’ve been spending the last week desperately trying not to leave too many loose ends at work during the holiday season.
It is a bit of a departure though from what was often said 'All the gear and no idea'. I usually try and buy equipment in any sport that provides value and does not have features beyond those that I can use. If the experts here think that upping my equipment level will up my skiing ability though I am definitely willing to give it a try.
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brian
brian
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Last year I did both.
Economics wise - ski carriage plus ski rack on hire car plus servicing cost means that these days I doubt owning has much value, certainly not for short trips.
For Scotland I have to have my own skis, so that kind of makes it a non-decision.
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brian, I haven't paid for ski carriage in years, or for a ski rack on a hire car!
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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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Wear The Fox Hat, i agree with that!
Usually book early and fly cheaply on BA so no charge for carriage and we can usually cram the skis in the car with us and all our kit to get to resort. Rest of the week we leave one seat down and chuck the skis in the back......
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Looks like ski carriage is becoming more prevalent for UK based skiers though I have usually avoided it so far. I generally plan on staying slightly out of the resort or visit other resorts so I need a car to take my skis anyway. Certainly for me the economics are generally on the buying side though it may change, in Scotland it depends abit on what the advertised conditions are like as to whether I bring old skis or newer ones. The queues at Glencoe last year for the rental hut for my kids skis were shocking.
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here you go then, classify me -
Haven't taken a lesson since I was 14, learned on dry slope at Gloucester.
Not keen on double black, but will give it a go - albeit agriculturally
Speed is good - try a Yamaha R1 turbo if you dare!!!!
Spend most of my time upside down off of pipe
Ski every fortnight on dry, 3 x a year on snow
A
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adam_button, and what age/weight/height are you now?
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| T Bar wrote: |
Its quite an interesting thread.
I am with the people who find buying cheaper than hiring. The other factor is that if you have kids you really don't have a lot of time on the first day of a holiday to find out the best skis to hire. You have to get their skis boots helmets etc, get lift passes, find out ski school meeting places, unpack, buy your food for the weekend, cook the first meal and then collapse with a gin 'cos you’ve been spending the last week desperately trying not to leave too many loose ends at work during the holiday season. |
You want to try a chalet holiday... let them book the ski school, organise lift passes, do all the shopping, all the cooking & all the other chores. Leaving you to calmly sort out the kids skis. The only thing you'll have to worry about is which piste to ski...
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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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parlor,
I could but wont rant about chalets, on the whole I think they are often a great idea but for various reasons not least price during school holidays they are not suitable for us as a family.
Apart from the first day I find self catering relaxing. With tour operator chalets I frequently remember arriving in resort well after the shops had closed so no real improvement there.
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parlor, Fine if the chalet is owner operated and not one of the big TOs - not a good idea to rent through the biggies though for reasons already discussed many times.
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You know it makes sense.
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easiski, T Bar, just spamming 
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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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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| flicksta wrote: |
| Skis are essentially a bad investment for the holiday skier or punter (a group in which I am included). Whilst I ski 3-4 weeks a year, at the top end of punter skiing but the low-middle end of proper skiing, skis are still a bad return. |
I disagree. Provided you buy and sell them, they are a great investment. I am a holiday skiier too, and certainly my last 6 pairs of skis have saved me money over renting.
Just worked it out...
I've had my Head skis for 5 weeks of skiing. If I don't sell them, that means right now they have cost me £34 per ski week.
My Pistols work out at £57 per ski week
My PEs have only done 1 week, so have cost about £250 per week! 
By the end of next season, I expect my Heads to have cost under £20 a week, and the Pistols around £40.
I may well change the Heads for the following season, which means I'll sell them, and use the cash to go towards buying the next pair. (that's how I did it the last time)
I've yet to see anywhere offering me a 1 week rental for £20. |
My skis total £1150. I've skied 5 weeks since I bought the current two pairs. That's no great investment and to get them down to £20 per week I need to ski a total of 58 weeks, which will take me a further 12 years. Out of my timescale I'm afraid. You must be skiing a lot more than me to make those numbers work. They will be replaced next season. Still, it's not about that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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£1150? My current 3 pairs cost me <£1000, and then I had a pair I sold, so the current 3 pairs actual cost was £800.
Did you have skis before them? What did you do with the old ones? What are you planning to do with these ones when you change?
I try to get in at least 4 weeks a year. I work out the weekly rate based on whether I take the skis with me on a trip or not, because I may well switch skis at lunch time, depending on conditions, etc. So if you've taken two pairs on 5 weeks of trips, that 10 ski weeks to me.
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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've had a few pairs before that as well, the most recent being pair of K2 Enemy's (the original red ones) in a 183cm that cost $200 (canadian) plus bindings, so approx £100 in total. Then a pair of Salomon Crossmax8 that cost $100 canadian and I stuck the same bindings on. Total cost £40. Both pairs brand new, turkey sale deals bought by a friend living in Whistler. Sold them on ebay for combined £250. Taking into account the 8 weeks or so on those, total cost is about a grand, with ten weeks skied (on the harsh count) so £100 a week. Well worth it b ythat reckoning, due to the two cheap deals.
Still, it's not what I buy them for.
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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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I have a pair of Rossi Axium 170's that I skied for a season (3 years ago) before being seduced by the B2's. I thought I'd keep them as 'spares' or to lend to boyfriends of 3 female Axsettes if required.
I see now that I will never ski them again, and current crop of boyfriends are snowboarders. If I were to advertise them on ebay any ideas on what I should ask? I kinda feel that less than £75 is not worth the hassle, but much more than that is unrealistic?
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AxsMan, ask for £150... Take what they'll offer.
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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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| AxsMan wrote: |
I have a pair of Rossi Axium 170's that I skied for a season (3 years ago) before being seduced by the B2's. I thought I'd keep them as 'spares' or to lend to boyfriends of 3 female Axsettes if required.
I see now that I will never ski them again, and current crop of boyfriends are snowboarders. If I were to advertise them on ebay any ideas on what I should ask? I kinda feel that less than £75 is not worth the hassle, but much more than that is unrealistic? |
I ebayed both pairs of mine with no reserve. One went for £80 (183cm twintips, you need to be good or big or both to ski them) and the other for £170 (170cm piste skis, anyone could use them realistically). As long as you ask the buyer to pay for postage, just let the market determine it. Just bear in mind, the market for skis in August won't be strong. Try December.
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Now I'm living in Switzerland I've decided that buying skis makes sense. I got a pair of 2006 161cm Völkl Allstars for Euro 320 from eBay Germany for the girlfriend and I'm now looking for 168cm for myself. Considering how much we spent on rental skis last season, the eBay prices are a bargain.
And following up on SZK comments on going for the 'advanced' and 'expert' skis, I have to agreee. I've only been skiing for 1 week a year for 4 seasons and stepped up to 2 weeks this year, so I'd say I'm an intermediate at best. When we were in Whistler this year, I wanted to test the Völkl Allstar, but was genuinely scared that it would be way too much ski for my ability. All I can say is, wow! I've never had such a big smile on my face after blasting down the piste at my fastest ever speed (while hopefully doing some approximation of carving)!
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Wear The Fox Hat, flicksta, Thanks guys. Will give it a go in December and see what happens. (like I said, I'd be happy with £75, the skis are doing me any good standing in the bedroom!).
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What a load of condescending advice.
At 40+ I'm quite happy at intermediate. I consider I ski reasonably well, but don't want to throw myself of the sides of mountains. As a beginner I started off with atomic c9s and last season I bought a pair of rossi b1s, which you can all poo-poo, BUT they've given me a lot of confidence and I can now ski any hard packed red run that I choose. They feel very stable. I've also managed to pick up a lot more speed. As for lessons, I've had 8 weeks worth (mostly private). Some of you need to realise that when you start to ski later in life, it isn't quite so easy. If you think my skis are rubbish, please say so - and suggest a pair that will be better.
The only thing I struggle with at the moment is when it snows and I can't see. Plus - the off piste thing - it seems to me that it is a lot of hard practice and I keep hurting myself!!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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erica2004, B1's are nice skis. I used to have a pair of the old bandit x that were great on most runs.
For off piste though, fatter means easier.
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erica2004, The B1 is a pretty beefy piste ski! Nice one. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Sage wrote: |
| I own my own skis, not to save money but just because I want to ski on the same ski each season, and I can take them out and look at them during the summer. |
Give that man a cigar!
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You know it makes sense.
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I've put pictures of mine and HappyMouffe's skis on Flickr so we can look at them whenever we want... thing is, in most company that would be considered a bit abnormal, on snowHeads I can imagine several people going "Hey, that's a good idea"...
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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AxsMan, I too demo'd the B2 after only 4 days sking. They just worked for me so well that later in the year I bought a pair in the summer sale. I found them a fantastic ski for learning on, they let me work at the techniques and enabled me to venture off piste, play in the parks etc. Gave me enough confidence to get into the blacks in my second week so something was working. I am still a hell of a long way from outgrowing them, I reckon that I would really need to be driving into the corners before I felt that I was in need of another ski.
I am fairly light though so do not find them to soft.
Oh - and I service them myself so I can always touch them up during a hol - hire skis are often not the sharpest.
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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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But this year I had a go on a pair of slalom race skis, WOW!!! What a different feel, the turn radius was amazing (12). On the early morning icy pistes they flew, but I would have hated to have had to use them in April afternoon slush. Straight back on my old comfy B2s but with a tendency to lean a bit more and drive though the corners 
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Scarpa, Yes I demoed a pair of slalom race skis at Alpe D'huez for a morning. Couldn't get on with them at all after my B2's so swapped back at lunchtime. Fancy trying some B3's next to feel the difference, and maybe some other 'fatties' as I don't think I'll ever be a race skier!
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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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Scarpa, You had Hannah's (junior) skis I tink!
AxsMan, That explains it - slalom skis after B2s - no wonder you had a problem. GS would have been better, but you definitely "jumped" several levels on that occasion!!!
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I would quite like a reliable, tough, all mountain ski that can put up with abuse from my 100kg body......
Does anyone have any reliable information who manufactures the Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Swiss, and the UK military services skis? I would guess they would be pretty good bits of kit?
Yes, not the lightest, or prettiest, but probably among the best General Purpose skis in the world?
Comments, flames INFO!
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Bryan, have you ever seen those things close up? i've seen what the French army use and they must be hard wearing because they look about 20 years old (or at least are built according to 20 year-old designs). And fitted with non-releasable Silvretta touring bindings. I'd avoid them if I were you
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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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easiski, Yup - very quick turning they were too. Great fun though (apart from the bruised bum).
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FAQ
(Actually it wasn't - they felt awful. I'm going to Cas on Saturday, could you suggest a ski for me to demo that would be less of a leap - happy to try anything ! 