 Poster: A snowHead
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By the time I've finished with this season I will have spent well over £200 hiring skis just for me.
In Meribel last summer I could have bought a pair of ex-hire Saloman X-Screams for €150.
Now, I've resisted buying skis for three main reasons, which are:
1. Hassle at the airport checking in and collecting them. Hassle carrying them in car etc.
2. You get nice new state-of-the-art skis if you hire.
3. I've no idea what I'd want anyway.
If I spot a late season bargain, or get an offer on my Easter hire skis, what are the pros and cons? Will ex-hire skis be knackered (Not a rude word, censor!). Or out of date?
Any thoughts?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Do the maths, if you ski enough weeks buying could be cheaper. Xscreams are great for going fast on 'difficult' snow, if that's what you do most. Mind that they are also rather heavy to transport.
Hired skis take more beating than most. Put them down on a flat floor (boots in), check if they're straight and both have the same amount of spring in them. Superficial scratches don't have a huge effect on performance, though they indicate how much use the skis endured.
Martin (not an expert!)
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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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Chris Bish, depends where you ski as well. The majority of the ski rental shops I've seen don't carry state of the art stuff. So if you want decent gear, take your own.
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marc is right choose the rental shop carefully some I know get in new skis every year wheras others ...... let us say that their equipment has seen better days
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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.
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You might get lucky, but another way of getting skis cheap is from ski club sales, don't know how it works in the UK, but in France you can pick up some real bargains. Club racers usually change their skis once a year. The pros include the fact that usually they have been really taken care of, regularly waxed, and if it's a race pair, hardly used. Cons? Check out they still have edges after a season of regular sharpening!
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Personally I wouldn't touch ex-hire skis. Apart from the fact they get a lot of use over the season, you wouldn't believe the abuse some people give them (skiing across roads, etc.).
You should be able to get a good deal on new skis at the ned of the season (especially if you go to a shop in the main valley rather than the resort). Only buy if you know you like the skis (having tried them previously), not just becuase they are cheap and someone else has reccommended them.
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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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Good point,Red Dave, . My third point was that I wouldn't know what I wanted!
I tend to find there is more variation in my performance/attitude/confidence than I can detect in skis.
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Buying rental skis negates one of the best reason for buying your own skis. Namely not having big heavy rental bindings on. They weigh a ton.
You can buy a brand new pair of skis at the begining of the season, ski on them for three weeks, saving approximatley 240 quid in hire charges. then sell them at the end of the season for 200-250 quid on e-bay.
Most hire shops I've seen (especially in smaller resorts) are still hiring out last years skis. Meaning they've been skied on for up 4 months.
Its worth it even if you only go a couple of times a year.
I've had zero hassle transporting ski's. There in your hands for no more than 15 minutes.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
check if they're straight and both have the same amount of spring in them.
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Can you explain what difference this should make - I'm a rental user and I noticed my skis last time had quite a gap when you put them together. It didn't make it easy to carry them but they were nice to ski on!
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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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That gap is pretty important. Its the camber of the ski!
If you lie a ski flat on your living room floor you'll notice that only the tips and tails will be in contact with the floor.
If you tip the ski on its edge and apply downwards pressure on the middle of the ski you will notice that now the whole length of the ski is in contact with the floor and the edge now prescribes an arc.
This is why when carving you turn even though your not applying any rotary forces to the ski.
If the tail of the ski exactly follows the tip thats a pure carve. otherwise its a skid.
The older a ski is, the more it loses its spring. Or in other words it loses its ability to return to its proper shape and the ski becomes lifeless.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks all of you. I think I need to cough up for some new skis of my own or go on hiring. (I always seem to get new or tip-top condition skis.)
I'm still left with the big question of "What do I want?"
I have done 11 weeks since 1997. Mid 50s, overweight not very fit. I like reds and hard predictable piste. I think I go quite fast but skid a lot and get overtaken by kids.
This year I skied on Atomic C9 and was so-so about them.
Liked the Bandits I had at Mottaret, but are they stiff enough?
Any suggestions?
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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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Chris Bish, you seem to be edging towards Buying: forgive me if I put my spanner in. Buying skis must be a compromise. There are skis for on-piste, skis for off-piste, skis for powder (fat boys) and skis for fun (blades). You might even want to try boarding or joining the Telemark revival. Hire from a good shop and you can change your skis every day. Hiring is not about saving money. It is more expensive. Hiring is about less Travel Hassle and Variety.
It's the same for Women, but that's another story (Live life dangerously, and wear your scars with pride!)
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hmm. I'm just not that kind of guy. Been with the same woman for 30 years and never strayed. Far too old and knackered to try anything odd like telemark or boards. Consider it a species of miracle I can ski at all. If I could find the right skis I would stay faithful, but I just don't know what I want. I'm just a straight piste skiing guy. Which skis should I marry???? Yes I'm confused!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chris Bish, choose your skis same way you chose your lovely wife. Take them out a few times, get to know them, if its the right ski you'll know.
But remember: no bumps on the first date.
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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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| Jonpim wrote: |
Chris Bish, choose your skis same way you chose your lovely wife. Take them out a few times, get to know them, if its the right ski you'll know.
But remember: no bumps on the first date. |
One of my boards is a LibTech Emma Peel which leads to all the bad jokes, throw her down, jump on here and ride her hard etc...
I'll get me coat.....
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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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ise, Emma Peel - ah, now there was a lady. Respect! No place for bad jokes. You're a lucky man.
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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.
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What I want to know is how they come up with those names 
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They think of what you might want to have, or what would make you feel good.
If you have any ideas, I'm sure they would want to hear from you.
I imagine they're updating this one with Uma Thurman.
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<i>Buying skis must be a compromise. There are skis for on-piste, skis for off-piste, skis for powder (fat boys) and skis for fun (blades). You might even want to try boarding or joining the Telemark revival. Hire from a good shop and you can change your skis every day. Hiring is not about saving money. It is more expensive. Hiring is about less Travel Hassle and Variety. </i>
Why buy?
1. it saves you money if you keep them for at least 5 weeks. Don't believe the hype that its really important to have the very latest model. The 5 year old Atomic 9.22s that I have just replaced are still good skis
2. you learn how do get the most out of your skis. It takes a while to really get in sync with a pair of skis. There is a penalty to chopping and changing
3. You can get exactly the ski that you want. I just bought some Stockli Stormriders - tricky to find in hire shops.
4. when you arrive off the transfer at 2PM you can get straight out for a cheeky couple of hours while renters head to the hire shop. If you get away for a weekend, you get fuller days in without the need to collect and return skis. I just bought my wife skis mainly for these reasons.
Personally I don't find the counter arguments convincing. Skis are not that much hassle to transport (and point 4 alone offsets this). In practice, how many people change their hire skis a lot during a holiday? If it's dumping, the last place I want to be is in the hire shop. In any case I like feeling that I can handle all conditions with my trusty skis and I do this in the course of a single day - powder, windslab, groomers, bumps, icy patches can all exist on the mountain at the same time.
Just my thoughts,
J
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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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| jedster wrote: |
4. when you arrive off the transfer at 2PM you can get straight out for a cheeky couple of hours while renters head to the hire shop. If you get away for a weekend, you get fuller days in without the need to collect and return skis. I just bought my wife skis mainly for these reasons.
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This is the best reason to have your own....and the only benefit from getting up at some unearthly hour to be at the airport in time for the first flight out! We've had some of our best skiing in those few afternoons when you're up on the mountain and everyone else is stuck in the shops!!
Your best bet is to try and narrow down the list of which skis you might want before your next trip out - then go round the shops find one that stocks the range and ask to try them out. If you don't buy they'll charge you for a days hire and if you do then you won't have to pay up for borrowing them. Take your trial pair out on the mountain and try to find some really good and really bad snow conditions to see how you get on and then invest in the ones that you like best.
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homphomp,
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Your best bet is to try and narrow down the list of which skis you might want before your next trip out -
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I think this is what I should do. I've got the C9s and the Bandits on that list. Any other suggestions? I really don't have much idea!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you are trying C9s (which my wife loves) and B2s you should probably also try Atomic R9s which are pretty much equivalent to the B2
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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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I've moved this back up so Jane can look at it. I ended up buying some nice new Head C140s which suit me very well. I used them at Easter at Les Arcs and they are currently counting the days to Dec 23rd when they come out to play again.
I concluded the general answer to the original question was "no".
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BTW jedster, my wife loves R series Atomics too, but I think they've been replaced in the range.
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You know it makes sense.
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Chris Bish Do you think you might take significant instruction in then next year or so?
I ask because you might find that your gear preferences change. Drastically.
As this is turning into a recommendation thread, you haven't mentioned what sort of terrain you prefer.
If I'm not on my own skis, I generally change pairs at least once a day. Ongoing research, you see.
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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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comprex, any instruction I take will make little difference I'm afraid. I'm 54, overweight and past it and didn't start skiing until I was 47. It's a miracle I can ski at all. I scramble down most things and slide the rest.
I'm strictly a piste skier who defaults to reds, but did get a bit of a taste for blacks skiing Les Arcs with PG last Easter. I like to cover a lot of Km and use the day.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Chris Bish, that sounds -very- like my skate partner. He and his wife (a Brazilian lady who'd never seen snow) decided to learn to ski at 49. Well, she didn't take to the cold at all well. He was bemused to find that her Nordica W9s could outrun his ex-hire Heads even though he outweighed her by a factor of 3. So, there was a bit of competitive spirit there to start.
That summer, he found out that his cholesterol was rather killingly high. So, after a chat about statins and diet with the MD, he joined me in inline skating with our local club, lost 18 kg and a wife, and is now living with a local triathlete half his age.
He skis Atomic C8 (170cm) on Quebec ice, Scott Endorphins (165cm) in local bumps, and Volant Chubbs (180cm). Yes, I did make him buy those last ones for Utah, but they've come to live at my house.  
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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comprex, I'd love to lose 18 Kg but I'd like to keep my wife, thanks. After 30 years together I've got used to her! 
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FAQ
Currently looking into the staircase downhill;could pose a few problems 
This did all happen I think before WWII 
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