 Poster: A snowHead
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Going on the annual lads long weekend to Cham in a couple of weeks. 4 lads (well lads might be pushing it - getting to be grumpy old farts is closer  ) all with skis. Renting a car from Geneva (as usual) but for some reason all the rental companies are wanting to charge 59CHF for a ski rack that carries 2 pairs of skis. Usually we rent from the French side but managed to get a good deal from the Swiss side this year (which has its advantages).
I am not sure if this is just the Swiss side taking the proverbial or if they all are now.
As 59CHF works out at around £40 at the moment and I can buy the same magnetic ski rack for £50 on fleabay.......but they weigh it an 4kg a set. Obviously we can just take the skis in the car and be a bit cramped but as it's Chamonix and we will drive to ski each day, wet skis in the car is not the best idea and no doubt the slightest damage to the car will be costly.
Anyway - looking for any bright ideas - probably clutching at straws a bit but thought it might be worth a quick post.
Cheers,
Dave.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Found exactly the same. An extra boogeration is that what they hire you are the nastiest cheepo rubbish types available. For the same money (just about) I could buy lockable ones. We have somewhere to leave them when we arrive, and as it's for transporting skis around the resort / town when we are there and not for transporting them to/from the airport, buying was a no-brainer.
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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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Could you not pay the £40 to get a slightly bigger car and carry them inside. I hired a magnetic one a few years back and using it in resort it got grit under the magnetic bases and scratched the paintwork. They charged me a fortune. There was nothing I could have done to avoid it. I've heard others report the same.
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To be honest @Ade57, we have a pretty decent sized car anyway (Octavia Estate - "or similar"  ) - getting the skis in there isn't a big issue it's the fact that we need to drive to each ski area each day so the skis would inevitably end up in the car at the end of a skiing day wet, AND have the potential to damage the car.
@jamesgurney, did you get the locking ones James? Any idea how much they weigh? The added issue I have is that all of us are travelling from different airports - Norway, London, Birmingham and Manchester so we can't spread the load between 4 of us - only 2 (one rack "set" each).
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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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Have you looked at a HandiRack? http://www.handiworld.com/handirack/handirack.html
We have one and it works well. We use it to get to the airport in the UK then deflate it and pack it in the end of a ski bag, re-inflate at Geneva and off we go. Last April we had two large
ski bags on the roof with 3 pairs of skis in each. I do put a strip of rug grip under each rack to stop any movement which I got from Tesco for £1 a roll.
It might solve the issue going to/from Geneva but not ideal if using daily.
I would just stick the skis in the car carefully when in resort (cheap plastic tarp ??) Take it you have somewhere to store the skis over night so its just at the end of the ski day that you would be transporting them wet.
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nemesys, In my car I have a big bag from B&Q designed to carry gardening waste and a small brush with plastic bristles. I get most of the snow off the skis with the brush then put the skis tips first into the bag pointing forwards to protect the car, the tails of the skis are in the boot.
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or as an off the wall suggestion, how about a really cheap sleeping bag. it would be pretty lightweight and pretty much guaranteed to be long enough, it will stop the skis scratching the inside of the car as well as giving the passengers something softer to lean on and will also absorb some of the moisture.
It's just a thought.
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So to sum up the real issue is the return trip in the car after each days skiing.
So could you not put one of the ski bags that opens up the most in the car have some towels wipe the skis down and wrap the bindings in the towels then place them on top of the inside of the ski bag. Not perfect but unless you are driving a long way you should not cause any damage to the interior as the towels will soak up the water.
Microfibre towels would be a good lightweight option that take up very little space and if each person took two large towels ( folded up about the size of a coke can each ) that should do the job, they also when rung out are reasonably dry for use again so wipe the skis then ring the towels out before wrapping them around the bindings.
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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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Honestly I wasn't expecting much from this thread but I am impressed! Thank you very much everyone. All great suggestions. I love the look of the Handirack and might just have to get one - loads of uses. I will have a look at the towels, sleeping bag and B&Q bag. I kind of like the sleeping bag idea, if I can get it dry every night, as it would also help protect skis while the baggage handlers chuck them around.... Maybe a combo brush, wipe with a towel and in to a sleeping bag 
Lots to think about - thanks again.
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@nemesys,
Sleeping bags are not waterproof till you get into serious gear and money and so water can leak through them also they will not be as absorbent as either a normal towel and especially microfibre towels which are very absorbent.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@speed098, Yep - realise that so I think maybe a brush down, wipe with microfibre towel then in to the bag might be the best bet. The issue with the towel is just one of protection to the car. To be honest I am not sure how big a Skoda Octavia Estate's boot is - it might be big enough for the protection part being a bit of a non-issue (might just need to have the towels strategically placed).
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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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@speed098, indeed they aren't, but was kind of suggesting that they would soak up the majority of moisture on a short drive and not leak into the car, obviously drying it out overnight would be key. As suggested as well as providing something softer for people to lean on it would also protect the car from scratches from the ski's and binding whilst in transit and also when putting the ski's in the car.
@nemesys, HTH, when we are not arguing about stuff or moaning about snow or somebody moaning about snow we can on occasions be a helpful bunch. 
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I'll second the handirack; I bought it for exactly the hire-ripoff reasons you mention and it gets good usage. Make sure you get the one with twin air bladders for each bar, in case you get a puncture.
However, if there's only 4 of you the easier option is to put the skis in the front passenger seat, 3 passengers in back seat and you're sorted. We did this for 2 weeks at Xmas/NY with no problems, and in a smaller car than you've got (Nissan Juke).
I wouldn't worry about wet skis in the car - brush off the worst of the snow, but apart from that it doesn't compare to the amount of moisture that ends up in there from wet ski boots etc.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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@nemesys, we had a similar thing with a pre-Christmas trip out of Geneva, 4 of us hiring a car. When we arrived we found they'd given us a big 7 seater (Grand C-Max, if I recall) and all our skis/boards fitted between the rear two seats. So no need for the ski rack, there was absolutely loads of room in the car for all our luggage and skis. The price of the 7 seater was almost as much as a regular estate.
The ski rack was just a magnetic device that they gave out at the desk, so it was easy to not take up the option (we didn't have to pre-pay for it at time of order).
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Poster: A snowHead
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I bought a handirack based on recommendations here. Used it (them?) for the first time last week. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Complete no brainer at the price.
We travelled out hand luggage only (all our gear at our flat) but needed a rack on the hire car to get to and from the lifts. Handirack fitted in my cabin baggage easily an works really well.
Only shortcoming is the woefully poor pump it comes with. But I just blew them up by mouth (easy if you do it before you strap them to the roof  )
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Octavia Estate has big boot but not as long as a mondeo. Needed ski hatch open for 1 time skis have been in iirc.
Has roof rails as standard so might affect fit of some racks
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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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EDIT: deleted
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@nemesys, Last Christmas we also hired an Octavia for our ski trip. We managed without the ski rack no problem, we simply dropped one of the rear seats and the skis (4 pairs) went in length ways. We were 4 adults going for the week and we still had room for all the luggage.
Similar to you we were driving out to resort each day. We only brushed the worst of the snow of but did not worry to much about the amount of snow getting in the car. And as long as you do not throw the skis into the car from a great distance you should not do any damage to the 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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@ansta1,
One last point re sleeping bags is the cheap ones do not compress down that small.
@nemesys,
I gather you are taking the skis in ski bags so why take loads of extra even if not heavy at least bulky items. The ski bag/s opened up should be more than enough to protect the car from scratches after wiping down the skis.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@scski, great info thanks. And thanks to everyone else too - this really has been very useful.
@speed098, if I went down the sleeping bag route I would put my skis in it in my ski bag for transport. However after @scski's post I think I will buy a Handirack as a backup (I will have plenty of uses for it another time), a microfibre towel and just put a seat down or use the front seat a la @snowdave.
Cheers,
Dave.
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Thanks @Hells Bells, same with free delivery - always good!
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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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@nemesys,
Check out T K Maxx and fleebay for the towels I have a Trekmates small towel from T K Maxx and a couple of Lifeventure large towels from fleebay all for around half price new.
There are also those microfibre towels with piste maps on them
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Thanks @speed098, will do.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@nemesys, currently in chatel on a similar trip, we got an a3 with split rears and just drop the small side and bung the skis in the back
It's a rental car after all - so what if it gets some snow in the back?
Took a rental back to Baltimore I early jan on year - rental rep looked in askance about why we had sand in the back of it, but when we explained we'd road tripped to Miami he seemed to get it
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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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As randomsabreur says, the Octavia's boot is pretty big. I'd be very surprised if you can't fit the skis in (I've always managed in mine - though my skis are only 170s) with a seat down (or the ski hatch, if it has one). That and microfibre towels = sorted. A rack is just adding complexity, IMO.
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You know it makes sense.
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@nemesys, We get 3 pairs of skis through the ski hatch in the middle of the back seat in our octy estate scout, longest are 186cm, in ski bags. The boot in an octavia is huge, at least as big than my a6 estate in depth with the back seats up.
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FAQ
I found a pair of old socks (I used old ones from a kilt outfit but football socks would be about as good, they need to be long) very effective at avoiding any scratches. Seat belt round the bindings so they don't move. Stick the sock over the front part of the skis and stick them in front first. Backs are in the boot, you can clear out the bindings where most snow accumulates but this way you can get away with doing the fronts only, much easier than cleaning the back bindings. More portable than a sleeping bag but you might get a few odd looks 