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1st Skis to buy in resort or UK?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm after my first pair of skis. I have my own boots and was tempted by what I thought would be cracking in resort deals at New year. £100 for a pair of rental skis. I'm intermediate ish and only ski on piste, comfortable on reds and not after anything extreme. In your experience, would you buy from a UK store or just take your boots and try before you buy in resort?

many thanks Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
If you want value - get them from somewhere like Glisshop

If you want to try a range of skis on a mountain and are prepared to pay more, buy in resort.

If you have a good ski shop locally and want to give them your business - especially if they have offers - that also works.....there are opportunities to try different skis in a Fridge, if you live close to one.
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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?
@ralphster, £100 for ex-rentals that are probably rubbish to begin with, over-used, over-serviced and under-cared for.

You may find that renting continues to be a better option.

Otherwise spend your next holiday trying various different rentals (any decent shop will let you swap them around) and either negotiate a good deal on something you like or buy online.
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I would be inclined to rent until you have levelled off in ability and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your skis.

A week's rental of good skis is not far off the cost of carrying them on many airlines (obviously if you are going by road or rail the equation is different).

Nor do you have to maintain them and you also have an opportunity to try different skis and change them in a resort.

However, when you have a clear idea of your ability and what you want to do with them, buying your own means that you save time on messing about with hire shops, and know the skis that you have; I have recently bought skis for the first time in a while, the economic arguement is poor, but they are better for me than anything that I could find in the hire shops.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'm easily swayed....rental may be the better option then. I did see some Fischer progressor 17's on SportsDirect but I could see myself looking like the typical, all the gear and no idea skier Happy

Appreciate your input.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
ralphster wrote:
I'm easily swayed....rental may be the better option then. I did see some Fischer progressor 17's on SportsDirect but I could see myself looking like the typical, all the gear and no idea skier Happy

Appreciate your input.

There are good reasons to rent and there are good reasons to buy....but it doesn't come down to money.

Renting makes sense if you are figuring out what you like and gives you the opportunity to get the right tool for the snow conditions and try different options. You are getting the latest designs and it avoids the cost of servicing and carriage....and lugging them about.

Owning gives you control...ie. You have a pair that you know and like; You can get them serviced how you like (or do them yourself); You don't have to queue in hire shops, worrying about what you will get and whether to take out the shop's insurance.

You are either the sort of person who likes owning your own kit....or you are the sort of person who doesn't want the hassle.....but as you get more advanced and maybe want to spend more time in the "Back Country", then having what suits you, makes a lot of sense.


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 30-01-19 16:40; edited 1 time in total
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
At a rough estimate including initial outlay, cariage and servicing, I estimate the cost of ownership of a £200 pair of skis over 3 years to be around £600.

I could get a lot of rental skiing for that. More important to me is a good fitting boot whch I now have.

Thanks again...but you just know I'll be window shopping apres ski Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I'm also very tempted to buy because I'm doing quite a few trips and spending about £400 on renting every year (I choose good skis rather the crap economical option). That said, I would spend roughly the same in carriage costs anyway plus the servicing, plus the depreciation of the good... not saying that I wouldn't be able to change to a more appropriate ski for snow conditions...

its look like I'm not buying anymore at the moment
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Quote:

At a rough estimate including initial outlay, cariage and servicing, I estimate the cost of ownership of a £200 pair of skis over 3 years to be around £600.

Then again, £200 for the skis, £100 for the servicing kit (service them yourself), fly Swiss or drive (skis go free), total cost £300, spread that over as many years/weeks as you like equals bargain.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I'd say rent for now, but be more demanding. Rather than just "Can I have some skis?"/"Here you go."/"Thanks and bye" start asking for different types of skis and, unless you've gone for the cheapest package feel free to take them back mid week and ask for something different. That way you can try some short turn/slalom skis, some all mountain skis, some long turn skis, some longer ones, some shorter ones, the green ones you saw someone with when you had lunch the other day, etc.

That will give you an idea of what different types/brands of skis feel like and what you like your skis to feel like. With a bit of luck you'll hire a paid and just really click with them. When you find them make a note of make/model/length and buy a pair of those before your next trip.

As for where to buy you can compare prices for most shops online on your phone, so can check prices for new skis online vs. ex hire in resort. The only thing with ex hire is to try and find a pair for sale new so you can compare the height of the edges against the used ones. It could be they had too many pairs of a ski few people wanted to rent and they are selling them nearly new/hardly serviced to free up rack space - or they could have been serviced to within an inch of their lives and it's sell them or bin them for the shop.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
If you fly with Swiss or Lufthansa ski carriage is free. British airways and klm and air France let you take a big ski bag, up to 23kg instead of a suitcase.
So ski carriage doesn't need to cost a lot Unless you go Ryanair or easyjet.
I have my own skis and take them on every trip, usually 3 per year.
I get them serviced in resort before i come home on last trip, about €30.
Its good to try out in resort and you will get hire cost off ski price if you decide to buy but remember you need to get them home so depending on which airline you use that can be expensive.
Perhaps try a few in resort then try and get same model in uk at end of season sales.
I also ski in Scotland so having my own skis is great for a last minute trip to hills.
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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.
Quote:

At a rough estimate including initial outlay, cariage and servicing, I estimate the cost of ownership of a £200 pair of skis over 3 years to be around £600.

Oddly I come to different figures. Over the last 3 years I've paid perhaps 75 euro for cariage and servicing and skied on them about 50 days. I usually service my own skis and drive to the resort.

But back to the original question. My wife took her skis into the shop for servicing earlier this week. She had bought the skis from that shop 3 years ago (after trialing them). The shop knew she had bought them from them from the serial number and also from the serial number knew that they had never had a shop service. They detected a slight delamination so phoned up Blizzard to ask for a replacement. Blizzard said that since they were over 3 years old they would not help. The shop then offered my wife a pair of hire skis as a free replacement. My wife declined the offer but they said they would put the hire skis to one side in case the delamination gets worse. To me that is a convincing case for buying in the resort.
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 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
I was led to believe that hire skis are built differently to the skis we buy in the shops new. That is hire skis are built to cope with many more services and base grinds, so although they will last longer, they will also be heavier. Add to that hire bindings are heavier too and you get a much lighter package if you buy customer skis.

I've been given some horrendous hire skis from hire shops, started buying my own years ago and have never looked back, don't care if it's cheaper or not, now I know the skis under me (or board now) are better than me rather than some old rubbish the hire shop has tried to fob off on someone!

Just my input!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Ski carriage with many airlines makes hiring more attractive.
I am also considering reducing my stock of redundant but still good skis on a one way journey.
It has become uneconomical to buy and transport skis for one week trips. Ski shipping services are looking more attractive but one must have the cooperation of your accommodation to receive them.


Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 1-04-19 21:33; edited 2 times in total
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Lechbob, As usual, the Swiss website is very vague. On the baggage page suggests that you have to pay for sports squipment but on the "skiers" page below, states it is included on European non basic fare flights like usual.

https://www.swiss.com/unitedkingdom/EN/swiss-the-skiers-airline-lon

Not sure about Lufthansa or Brussels Airlines as haven't used them for ski flights

Edit: Just found this with on the Lufthansa site:

In addition to your free baggage allowance, you may carry one set of skiing equipment free of charge on your Lufthansa flight with the exception of flights to/from the USA, Mexico and Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama). You will be charged the price stated above for any additional skiing equipment.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
The economy of rent or buy depends on the class of ski, yes you can hire for the cost of carriage but you will only get basic planks for that price.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Its so seductive to buy a pair of skis, you can fondle them, polish them,
sniff the ptex and dream about carving down empty pistes and jumping off cliffs.

If you lived in say ... Southern Germany and you went skiing every weekend of the season it makes perfect sense
as you'll save yourself at least an hour of phaff every weekend.

If you only go for a week once a year and fly from the UK, it doesn't really make so much sense.
You've got the price of carriage, the phaff of carrying them, then you will need to get them serviced.

Then you'll want a better pair next year.

Having said that I'm itching to buy another pair of skis, I'm using all sorts of excuses to justify buying them.
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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?
I was going to write a bit more but I see @Mjit has summed it up already
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@DrNo, I'm not sure now. I just looked using a computer rather than my phone, their ap may even be different again.
https://www.swiss.com/unitedkingdom/EN/swiss-the-skiers-airline-lon page is still on their site
but the page for special baggage has been updated with the "Rates for tickets issued on/after 19/03/2019" now not showing the free ski carriage and there is a subscript note 3 hanging without reference in the text.
Yes it seems Ski carriage is still free on Lufthansa and Brussels airlines now states it is free Very Happy
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