 Poster: A snowHead
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Sorry, sure it's been asked before.
Following on from ski carriage issues and costs, I'm wondering at what point it breaks even.
What prices are people paying for decent piste/AM/OP skis, and for boards also? (Was around £100 for 6 days on Crystal; don't know how that compares, though I've hired a board for E12 a day in Mayrhofen in years gone by.) Does this allow swapping between different pairs/boards, and can you get mixed ski and board rental for a week?
Would for me be Austria, maybe Italy, maybe Lapland/Scandinavia.
Cheers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Depends on resort, what you're after, what airline you're comparing with etc. etc.
If you just want some all mountain in reasonable condition then I think there isn't a lot of difference in cost between the two (by the time you allow for having to have the tuning gear etc.). For example, I DIY, generally with EasyJet. My skis cost around £300 second hand on eBay, the bag was about £80. Each time I fly it costs me around £70 for carriage. I've paid around £250-300 for tuning kit.
I've used my own skis for 7 trips now, so say that's around £1150 all told, that's about £160 a throw. I could have rented some very nice kit in that time, but by the end of next season (doing 2 more trips this year, hopefully 3 next) I'll probably be just about ahead.
There are some mitigating factors, for example I can take another set if I want or chuck someone elses in and split the cost of carriage. I also like to ski on a certain type of ski, so it's nice to be always clicking into something I know that I enjoy.
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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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They wont
Decent boots, board, bag, bindings,etc.
Will cost you the best part of £700
£60-70 to take it all on a plane compared to renting for around £100 a week.
Kit will be old by the time they pay for themselves & youd prob rent newer in resorts
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@Mr.Egg, I assumed it was based on already owning boots. Also not sure how many decent deals are around for £100 for boots and skis that aren't shagged.
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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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@Grizzler, Never tried a mixed rental (skiers only) but having my own boots, ski hire is typically £80 - £100 for 6 days premium ski hire. Always book on-line in advance.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Grizzler, if you're flying and paying for ski carriage, it's unlikely to be economical to buy. If you can fly with one of the many carriers that lets you take skis for free, or are driving /taking the train, the numbers can add up if you do multiple trips a year. It helps if you do your own servicing (though that involves some cost up front, plus time). Of course, you also need to factor in the n+1 rule, which can rapidly use up any savings 
The Skistar resorts in Scandinavia do mixed board/ski hire as an option, you can check prices online (Skistar.com). It costs more than just one or the other though.
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I rented "Platinum" level via alpinresorts for 2 weeks Xmas/NY - paid ~£150 without boots and ended up with almost new Elan Amphibio Black Fusion.
If they were my own, I would be very reluctant skiing them in the conditions we saw this December in France.
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@Oleski, tools, not jewels. I try to avoid rocky stuff where possible but sometimes you have to accept that they're going to get hurt.
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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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@SnoodlesMcFlude, sure I would still ski them, but reluctantly 
The point is, how many seasons would they survive like that and isn't it easier to simply rent new top of the line material every time.
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OK, thanks. Question wasn't about buy vs rent, as I already have several pairs of good quality skis and 2 boards, plus my own boots. They will continue to have UK use (so far I have not done major damage in UK skiing, any more than when overseas, anyway) and the boots will always go with me.
My financial toss up is purely how much it costs to rent, and if you can do cost effective rent by the day, swapping skis if you wish and/or mixed board/ski rental. This is to be compared against the cost of ski carriage.
The only carriage cost which I know is Crystal, at £45 for 15kg weight, technically 1 set only (and as explained elsewhere they seem to be stopping you officially taking 2 sets now). I don't know what other airlines charge - can anyone enlighten me?
Now, if you guys are generally saying that it's around £80-100 for good rents, then even if I could and did pay for 2 sets of carriage (£90 with Crystal), it's still looking the same or cheaper to take my own now that I have them. Only extra I have to count in is the cost of servicing, which I really ought to get around to learning to do myself... 
Downside I don't get to try out new things, upside I use skis/boards which I know and don't have to mess around going to collect hire skis, pay deposits etc.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The only carriage cost which I know is Crystal, at £45 for 15kg weight, technically 1 set only (and as explained elsewhere they seem to be stopping you officially taking 2 sets now)
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Went with Crystal 2 years ago and got 2 pairs of skis into the 15kg limit, in a single ski bag. One set of skis had track bindings, so I slid the bindings off, and sandwiched that pair of skis in between the other pair. I managed to get the loose bindings in the bag as well, but my skis are short - you could put them in your normal luggage if they don't fit.
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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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we booked early this year with a big discount, but one of the options was to swapout gear (sport2000) for a 15 euro fee you could swap as much as you like.
Since you already have the gear, then taking your own is an option
I think you will find them all cheaper than hiring if your comparing baggage fees v hiring.
Easyjet are the most expensive ive come across at around £75 for 20kg & you can split into 2x bags.
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For me it comes down to how often you ski per year. If you have one week a year it’s not worth having tour own skis. I also want to add that I think the standard of hire kit has greatly improved over the years
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You know it makes sense.
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"Easyjet are the most expensive ive come across at around £75 for 20kg & you can split into 2x bags."
But still cheaper than Ryanair (@ £80!)
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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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@Grizzler, if you’re simply comparing baggage cost to hire cost then own skis is cheaper, as @Mr.Egg says. But if you’re considering ‘break even’ then IMO stuff like servicing and actual cost of skis should be taken into account.
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Poster: A snowHead
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£100 will get you basic skis, £125/135 for something stiff and decent, unless you are in Switzerland where you are looking at £200.
Depending on whether you are ski in ski out or not, factor in cost of a ski locker at base staition to save faff or carrying skis / on buses etc as that is usually in with hire price.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I look at like this ; Without a ski bag (containing skis and clothes), I need to pay for suitcase
Ryanair for example
20kg Bag costs €/£25
Ski equipment
€45 / £45
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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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Around £100 to hire for a week in Scandinavia, possibly more if you want advanced kit, and extra to swap. So more than ski carriage alone, and equivalent to carriage plus a service.
If the question is ski carriage vs hiring, I still think you need to consider total cost of flying with/without skis, rather than just carriage. Unless you are able to travel hand luggage only, then you're either paying for a hold bag already or using a scheduled airline with hold baggage included. If you have the option of either (perhaps by going to a different airport) you may find that the scheduled airline works out cheaper than the likes of Easy jet, once you add on bags and skis/board carriage.
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The equation is changed when you get more than one set of skis into one ski allowance. E.g. Last trip I paid on Easyjet for 2 hold bags plus one small sports. For the weight that gave me (66kg) we packed for a 9 day trip for 4 people and got 4 pairs of skis and poles into one ski bag with the weight pooling. I have never had an airline check how many skis have been inside, they were only concerned about the weight (famous last words?). So I paid £74 for 4 pairs of skis, poles (and boots) so the carriage costs becomes a much smaller fixed priced element of the whole buy vs rent equation. Plus all the upsides about having the skis you want/like vs whatever the rental place has.
On shorter trips I dont bother to take the skis as the fixed element then is a bigger proportion of the rental costs for a few days and I cant be bothered lugging them then.
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