 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I have a lovely pair of Head skis to which I am very attached (!) but unfortunately I'm flying from Gatwick with BA who now charge skis as luggage, i.e. £40 each way. I'm really wondering whether it is worth the hassle of taking them, other than the value of being able to pack lots of kit around them as my case will be full of ski boots and helmet. What are others doing these days?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Taking skis as their hold luggage. No brained.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@pandora205, I gave up hauling skis a while back when ski rental became top notch and relatively inexpensive. Depends where you are going though. I find big Intersport places in Austria have a superb selection of skis and they are always in perfect condition. In France I've had very variable quality and they don't care too much about prepping the skis each rent. In the Dolomites it was like Austria. I book though Alpinresorts or SkiSet or just turn up and ask if they'll match the price (which they always do).
£40 each way isn't a mile off what you'd pay in rental though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
@pandora205, I am sure you are allowed then as your one item of hold luggage and that's my plan
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@pandora205, if you have booked a standard fare, not hand luggage only, you can take ski bag instead of suitcase plus hand luggage for definate. Done it loads and doing it again in March with ba.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
With Easyjet adding small sports equipment ( skis come into this category ) to the booking for £30 each way increases baggage allowance from 20kg to 40kg and the 40kg can be split between your 2 bags however you like. The typical 20kg can be a tough ask given the weight of ski gear unless you want to travel like Michelin man. So yes worth the hassle .....no point in having your own skis and not using them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi, Living up north, it's very easy to find a flight that isn't BA, this is one of the reasons I've stopped using them. When taking skis on Monarch & Easyjet, I've always managed to get 2 sets in the bag, as the weight limit was 20kg, this basically halves the cost of carriage.
I know this isn't always possible, but a good tip anyway. Having skis fitted with Quiver Killers, it's possible to get 3 sets in a single ski bag.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@pandora205, skis and all your clothes in double ski bag (watch your weight limit), boots, helmet and essentials in hand luggage.
sorted.
Mind you at £80 return for skis plus having to take care of them, and a week's rental with even a good French shop of around €100/week I'd be questioning the value.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
You also have the faff of having to go to hire shop which can be really busy especially on a Sunday morning. I always take mine (sometimes two pairs) and I'm ready to go as soon as I arrive in resort.
I don't mind carrying them about airports, train stations etc plus you can put clothes etc in bag too. I've never understood why people walk about airports with one set of skis (and nothing else) in bag. Such a waste of space.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@pandora205, I think the short answer is 'no'. I stopped taking skis with me about five years ago. There is little / no financial advantage to taking your own skis, and they can be a hassle. I've even stopped taking boots with me too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Or of course depending on the destination you can use airlines like Lufthansa or Swiss (owned by Lufthansa), who still have free ski carriage. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Quote: |
I've even stopped taking boots with me too
|
Joking, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. He or she wears them on the plane.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@foxtrotzulu, so how do you find the hire boots? I think I'd be back to hire shop a few times. It took me long enough getting my own boots to fit properly. I dread to think what I'd be like with hire boots.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Thanks for all the replies. I had no choice over airline as it's a SCGB holiday to Italy. I couldn't believe how expensive it is with BA. I could go for the all in one bag but I think I'll just hire in resort. The leader organises it and its local, so not much hassle. Now to see how to fit boots, helmet and all my kit in a suitcase!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
@pandora205, helmet can be attached to your ruck sack for hand luggage. Just be careful of dimensions!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@pandora205, easy. Just stuff your boots and helmet with clothing
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| pandora205 wrote: |
| Thanks for all the replies. I had no choice over airline as it's a SCGB holiday to Italy. I couldn't believe how expensive it is with BA. I could go for the all in one bag but I think I'll just hire in resort. The leader organises it and its local, so not much hassle. Now to see how to fit boots, helmet and all my kit in a suitcase! |
Use a holdall rather than a suitcase - much easier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
We manage to fit everything in to one double K2 ski bag, a normal hold bag and two boot bags, which are our carry-ons.
Surprisingly, the two pairs of skis and poles and the ski bag come to 17kgs, but we pad the skis out with ski pants/jackets and fleeces and it still comes in at 20kgs. Base layers and underwear go inside and around the boots, gloves and goggles inside the helmets, and 'normal' clothes, helmets etc, toiletries and food (we self cater so take a couple of curries and a chilli, tea bags and a few other bits) go in the main bag. We tend to buy shower gel, toothpaste and other everyday toiletries in resort, since it's cheaper to do that than to pay for even 3kgs of excess luggage.
Sorted. :0)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
@pandora205, Another alternative if you're flying BA is to pay for a Club class upgrade on the outbound flight only. This allows you to take 2 hold bags (one of which can be your skis) on both parts of your journey (outbound and return) and may not work out much more expensive than paying the £40 each way which you'd have to pay for ski carriage in standard class. Also of course it lets you use the airport lounge with free drinks and snacks. I've not done this myself but I know several snowHeads who regularly do this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Are BA not the best at this only behind Swiss?
Skis go as normal baggage so no extra fee. With BA it's a cert to take own skis. Ski bag is your hold bag and gets filled with all normal stuff together with skis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I think it really depends if you would hire top of the range skis. I bought a pair of good Salomons in 2011 which cost €650 and since then kept a spreadsheet (sad I know). I've used them for about 5 trips in total and by offsetting the cost to fly them ( I have also driven a couple of times) against what it would have cost to rent and also added in £20 an hour for skiing time I would have lost when I've been on the slopes and my mates have been in the hire shop, they owe me about £100. I service them myself and they still are great skis with years left in them. If I can buy a pair if skis I love I would always do that. If I couldn't find a pair that suited me then i would probably go back to renting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Legend., Klm and air France let you take ski bag instead of suitcase too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I think it depends on the sort of skier you are, and the sort of ski you want to ski on. I generally take my fat skis, because I've yet to come across a rental shop that actually has skis over 100mm once it snows... And I'll undoubtedly continue to own, and take, this sort of ski. Largely because that type of skiing is the bit I love the most, and so when it snows I want my skis on my feet, not some unknown quantity.
But I don't really see the point in lugging a GS type ski, or really an 85ish all mountain type ski, to the alps. That type of ski can be rented from any shop you walk in to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Personally I think if you have skis and you like them and you can take them as your baggage item it's nuts to not take them and endure the rental rip off/rigmarole just for the sake of being able to carry more hair products/apres outfits but each to their own (of course your amount of hair may differ).
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@Dave of the Marmottes, 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| speachmaus wrote: |
| @foxtrotzulu, so how do you find the hire boots? I think I'd be back to hire shop a few times. It took me long enough getting my own boots to fit properly. I dread to think what I'd be like with hire boots. |
Hire boots? No problem at all. Maybe I just have depressingly 'normal' feet, but typically the man in the hire shop asks my size, hands me a pair of boots and I walk out happy. I might have to try a second pair to get a good fit but not often. I do appreciate that if you want the perfect ski/boot/foot linkage then you need perfect boots. When I hire boots I find that i can get a fit that is both easily good enough for my standard of skiing and also comfortable enough to ski all day. What's not to like? Maybe I could improve my skiing by 2% or 5% with personally fitted boots but from personal experience and reading the plethora of threads on here I know that there is a high likelihood of great discomfort. All the people I ski with are either internmediate/advanced and all of them hire boots very happily. And no, our feet don't slop around inside the boots like carpet slippers!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| under a new name wrote: |
| Quote: |
I've even stopped taking boots with me too
|
Joking, right? |
Why would I be joking?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@foxtrotzulu, I have friends who are decent skiers yet rent boots. Like you, they just put them on and they seem to have zero issues.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
See thread:
Hire shop charges for damage
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| queen bodecia wrote: |
See thread:
FRENCH Hire shop charges for damage |
FIFY. I lost a whole ski in Hintertux in deep powder. Searched for an hour or so and eventually had to go back to the Intersport and sheepishly own up to having lost a brand new ski. The guy could not have been more pleasant about it and there was no question of being charged. He assumed it would turn up end of the season (or maybe never).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
@Pruman, fair point. I've never had anything other than exemplary service from the ski shops in Ski Amadé. But what made me decide to buy my own skis were the frankly rubbish hire skis I had in Courmayeur.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@Pruman, for your value of "decent"
I know no decent skiers who don't have their own boots.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
The other thing with boots is that they cost less and last ages plus you don't pay to carry them.
My alpine boots must have 20-25 weeks on them at a cost of (so far) £15 per week. It's a bit of a no brainer really.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
So, @jedster, just about time for a new pair? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@under a new name,
| Quote: |
I know no decent skiers who don't have their own boots. |
Of course, it depends what you define as 'decent'. When I mentioned this I was thinking of friends who ski 1-2 weeks per annum and can happily ski any black run. They are mostly people, like me, who used to own their own boots but never replaced them when all the baggage charges came in.
@jedster, I'm not really arguing against owning ones own boots, just pointing out that it's not essential. They do cost less and they do last a lot longer, but ....
I think most people would replace boots every 10 years. Let's say that the average pair of boots costs £250 and you ski one week a year, then that's £25 per week. No different from the rental cost. Obviously if you ski three weeks a year the cost comes down, but then again you might spend £600 on buying the boots. I agree you don't pay to carry the boots, but if you start off with a 20kg luggage allowance, deduct 4kg for the suitcase, 6kg for the boots, 1kg for helmet and goggles then you are left with 9kg for everything else. For some (including MrsFZ) that's a problem, for others it isn't.
@queen bodecia,
| Quote: |
See thread:
Hire shop charges for damage |
And if you owned your own skis then you would still end up paying for a new pair anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@MadMountainMan, Only one set of boots? Shirley not? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@foxtrotzulu, unless you are personal friends with the shop staff hiring is a complete lottery, never mind the time spend queueing and fitting, for both boots and skis. If hire boots fit you first time every time you're not just lucky but a freak of nature. Good luck to you. The oft trotted out reason for hiring skis is "you always get the latest technology". Couple of things wrong with that statement. Firstly you only get the latest skis if you get for the platinum super-dooper range (or whatever they're called), and pay through the nose for the privilege. Secondly the statement assumes ski technology changes appreciably every season, and it just doesn't. Skis improve gradually, not radically, and it's a myth put about by the hire companies that you'll get the best of the best each time you hire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
