Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Testing Skis

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
From another thread ... the advice is always to test skis, but what is the best way to do this? In resorts I rarely,if ever see test centres, and in a ski hire situation it is hard enough to get the skis you ask for, let alone a selection.

I have come to a conclusion that all mountain skis have moved on some in the last five years, and having hired a range of skis this year I have ascertained what I don’t want, mainly to do with weight, power and width.

So if I get to a short list of say three skis, what is the best way to try before I buy?
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Go for a weekend at the start of next season to one of these resorts. http://www.rockonsnowboardtour.com/
snow report
 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?
@DavidYacht, It may depend on where you are skiing. Since i’ve had my own skis I haven’t paid that much attention to rental shops, but I used to see every shop with a range of test skis outside which you could try. Also when renting, if you select the top end packages, you can often change skis every day, to try something new.

If you are really lucky, one of the manufacturers will be holding a test session on the mountain, where you can swap skis without even taking your boots off.
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
@DavidYacht, very much down to where you are going? And it may mean hiring from multiple shops.

Were limited in our ski tests of last year (although not to a meaningful degree) by the intention to buy from the brother in law's shop, as that would mean mates rates. And they specialise in high end more off than on piste kit. So while I didn't get to try the Nordica/Kastle/Crows equivalents, we had about 4 options to play with in the range we were interested in (Mantra replacements).

In Cham, you would be able to find almost anything that you might be looking for, not always from the same shop.

Smaller resorts, maybe not so much.
latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@DavidYacht, a little trip to the Oktober Test? http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=52715
There are always loads of skis to test at the EoSB as well, and bargains to be had.
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I have to say, that in the absence of real world alternatives, snow domes are rather too limiting, vs open pistes.

That's not to diss the Oktobertest in and of itself(s). A whole heap better than nothing and I am sure, rather sociable snowHead snowHead
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@under a new name, I don’t think you an establish what you want to buy at Oktobertest, but you can certainly tell basic characteristics of skis and create a shortlist to try on the mountain. Plus you can discount ones that you really dislike.

There’s one pair of skis that I loved when skiing then inside (both years that I tried them) but don’t want to buy until I’ve given them a crack on a normal skiing day.
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Will probably look to do some testing in the 3V's next year; will try and find out who stocks what and see if any stock Blizzard/Atomic/Nordica or if anything else comes through that fits my criterea.
ski holidays
 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.
DavidYacht wrote:
From another thread ... the advice is always to test skis, but what is the best way to do this? In resorts I rarely,if ever see test centres, and in a ski hire situation it is hard enough to get the skis you ask for, let alone a selection.

Have you have discovered the "try before you buy" mantra isn't as easy as it sounds in practicality.

DavidYacht wrote:
I have come to a conclusion that all mountain skis have moved on some in the last five years

Would agree. I was skiing on Rossignol Bandits for a number of years having moved on from skinnies. When my last pair died I hired some Cham 87's and then bought some Cham 97's. The waist/width of ski's you can get now that can still hold their own on piste is much greater.

For me when I hired the 87's the guy saw what I'd been skiing and I told him what I skied, how I skied, what my level was. And he picked out the 87's. They were great and so I looked to buy some. At which point my research turned up that 97's would be even better for what I wanted. I did once buy a pair of Movements off the cuff that I hated - so I figured I had the experience of getting something that was wrong. How right the 97's are is open to question. I think they are great and I don't have the opportunity or time to try lots of ski's.

DavidYacht wrote:
So if I get to a short list of say three skis, what is the best way to try before I buy?

Back to my first comment. It's not easy. You can try getting on them in resort.
snow conditions
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I have always just e-mailed the manufacturer or distributor directly and said I was interested buying such and such a model, and did they have any demo skis available that lined up with my holiday dates. Has worked for me. Although I wouldn't expect such a service from somebody like Head or Rossignol whose operations are clearly just too big to bother with those sorts of requests.
ski holidays
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@SnoodlesMcFlude, I don't even think you can do that. Mind you, the only time I have skied in a fridge, and EB had some test skis, I was on their rental boots. I wouldn't have been able to tell you whether I was on skis or water skis.
snow report
 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.
I find it almost impossible to test skis (or at least the ones I want to test) in resort. There is one shop in resort, but prices are not at all competitive and stock is quite limited. Very occasionally I've been able to try skis at a manufacturer demo in resort, but again never on skis that I was actually considering.

So I just rely on reading many reviews and then try to work out what might work for me. As it happens most skis these days are really very good, so it's hard to go far wrong unless you really don't know what you want. I've only ever been disappointed once with a ski I've bought like this and even then it wasn't a total disaster. Just not quite what I'd expected from it and I'd taken a bit of a gamble anyway as there were very few reviews.
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@under a new name, having been to Oktobertest, and created a shortlist, I'm saying that you can do that NehNeh
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@SnoodlesMcFlude, not on Braehead’s rental boots you can’t.
snow conditions
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@uktrailmonster, where do you ski that has only one shop?

Or is it a secret?
snow conditions
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@SnoodlesMcFlude, @under a new name, you would appear to have found a middle ground that cannot be settled until @admin launches a Scotoberfest Smile
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Tubaski, why would I want to voyage from the Alps to Braehead to ski in crappy boots indoors?
latest report
 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?
@SnoodlesMcFlude, I can't. I thought I could, as there were some skis I liked when I tried them in the dome, and others that I didn't. For example, I tried a pair of Head Magnums at Hemel, and really didn't like them.

Then a few months later I accidentally ended up renting some in Andermatt. It took some persuading for me to even actually take them out because I already "knew" I didn't like them, but I did, whereupon I discovered that I loved them.

Like the OP, I find actually testing the models I want to test difficult. I have actually planned a trip to Chamonix in a couple of weeks partly because it's somewhere I can actually get to test skis.
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I enjoyed the Oktobertest, but the reality is it's pretty limiting. I hated anything over 110 ( no surprise in a dome) but when in proper powder the other week the Bent Chettlers at 117 or whatever were perfect. All the piste based skis skied well. I went back to free ski later on my dome skis which I'd recently serviced to 1,3 edge, they were as good as anything, ( a 5 year old pair of Salomon something or other)
latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
under a new name wrote:
@uktrailmonster, where do you ski that has only one shop?

Or is it a secret?


Big White, BC. Only 1 ski shop in the village. Obviously plenty of shops in downtown Kelowna, but that's a 2 hour round trip and they don't seem to have any presence on the hill (maybe not allowed to compete with the "official" resort shop). The only time I get to demo skis is when various manufacturers show up, which is not that often.
snow conditions
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@uktrailmonster, ah.
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy