 Poster: A snowHead
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After being handed a comedy pair of rear-entry rentals two years ago, I finally bought boots before last season. The difference is unbelievable, just as everyone said it would be. I got to thinking at the weekend: does one get the same boost when buying skis versus taking rentals? I always rent the highest grade of ski (Atomic, Volkl, etc.), so buying my own would be far from cheap, not to mention transport and maintenance costs. Given that I really only one do one type of skiing - on piste, preferably sunny - the advantage to me of a quiver of skis applies less.
Your thoughts and experiences would be very welcome!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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If you can always get the type/length/quality of skis you you are looking for, find that they are always well tuned and don't ski more than a week or two a year, then hiring makes more sense.
If you insist on a particular model that is hard to find in a hire shop and like the consistency of skiing on the same ski every holiday, then you might prefer your own. It also helps if you can service your own and don't pay ski carriage ie. drive.
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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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In short, no. There is no real performance benefit to buying skis other than the advantage of always having the right ski for you. That said, it will make a real difference if you have particular alignment needs that can be taken care of by modifying bindings e.g. canting or shimming the toepiece.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@magriggs, I had my own skis I the early 90's because lower level rental skis were inconsistent. Then when I got better, I started renting as the cost of renting for a week a year was massively cheaper than buying skis. The whole carving ski revolution meant I stayed with rentals, but that was until I discovered off-piste, and I had to buy the skis I wanted as they were never available for rent.
There shouldn't be any difference in terms of performance between a top end rental and purchased ski (other than the binding). So if you only ski a week a year, and don't have any problems renting your choice of ski, the increased cost and inconvenience of travelling with your own skis probably isn't worth it.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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They don't give a performance boost but they can give a confidence boost.
I'm sure you've found when hiring that while they are all just planks of 'wood' with a slippy bit on the bottom and some metal bits down the side you can hire a pair one week and hate them but hire a different pair the next week and love them. Often this is just because one pair gives you confidence that the edges will grip that the others don't so you commit forward on one pair, making them grip while you sit back slightly on the others, stopping them gripping.
With you own skis you know what you've got before you even make that first turn and have that historic confidence in them from previous trips - and the knowledge that if they aren't working it's almost certainly you, not them 
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Don't underestimate the value of consistency. Hiring skis can be a bit of a crapshoot with lots of variables: ski type, length, stiffness, age and then the quality of the tune/wax.
It is good to test different types of skis to work out what suits you, although this can be difficult from one year to the next because of the time gap. Once you have found something you like, you don't then have to work out their performance limitations every time, you can just get on with skiing. You can also control the quality of the servicing, especially if you do it yourself.
As above, if you want anything a bit more specialist like fat skis, purchasing is your best option as the rental choice can be very limited. For standard piste/all mountain skis, they don't have to be expensive if you pick your moment and buy at the end of the season.
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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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Nice not to have to visit a ski hire shop, I don't miss the pong of well fermented used ski boots. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The thing I like best about having our skis is that you can just go straight to the lift (even better if you can charge a lift card before you arrive). No messing around in ski hire shops. We ski enough to justify buying skis, but even if I could only ski once or twice a year I may consider owning for that reason alone.
The past few trips I've actually hired through:
UCPA - included in the price and was flying same evening as I'd skied, so limited time to dry skis and avoid rusting the edges of my own skis. Plus the ski collection is in the UCPA centre. Got some Rossi sky 7s for offpiste.
Austria family trip - planned to take our own, but Lufthansa was full for skis. Waited around forever in the hire shop, but got some Atomic Vantage 90 for all mountain.
Killington weekend - hire shop was open till 10pm and got some Atomic Vantage 83 for the hard pack groomers.
If you explain to the hire shop what you want, they usually produce something suitable, but you may pay a little premium. Flex the ski, look at the bases and edges. As mentioned above, familiarity is nice and I probably would have preferred my own skis (Line SFB) in these cases, apart from in Killington which was purely piste and bumps. It takes me a few runs to get the feel for different skis.
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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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No physical boost. That is assuming your hire the right kit in the right size & tune (this is often an unsurmountable challenge). Probably a psychological boost as you know you're on something good and therefore your job becomes getting the best out of what you have rather than fretting over whether you've rented the wrong thing. (Until you build a quiver when you spend all morning thinking would ski X have been better today  )
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The other reason is if you're cruising europe and see a slope or two you fancy skiing then there's nothing stopping you. Often there's no ski hire places in these tiny resorts who don't even call themselves a resort!
We found some nice slopes in Poland for example.
We carry our skis in our motorhome
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You know it makes sense.
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@magriggs, If you are going to mega-resorts renting is a great option. I definitely covet skis, but still rent. For one or two weeks a year owning isn't quiet justifiable, and my taste in skis has changed as I've improved, especially over the last three years.
Also, if - like me - you are going to get hooked on the whole ski thing despite only managing one or two weeks a year, my best advice would be to get a bit geeky about skis too. In my view, this is more important for renting than buying (I've even got a list of what I've tried).
Understanding what you've skied on, and would like to ski on, you'll be able to pick / discuss your skis confidently with the rental shop and figure out enough consistency between trips to get exactly what you want.
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