 Poster: A snowHead
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The temptation is getting very strong, my restraint was severely tested in Sauze d'Oulx this last March when I saw a pair of Salomon skis complete with bindings, poles and bag for under 250 euros but I then realised that I would have to pay, god knows how much, to get them on the plane back to Manchester Airport, and then catch a train to Darlington fairly late at night.
As a single traveller I was not prepared to take a risk of them being stolen whilst I was not looking on the train.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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RichardB, go for it! If you choose the right airline then ski carriage will be free. If you position your skis right (on the train) - leaning them across the window seat while you sit in the aisle, then it would be difficult for someone to nick them, even if you slept.
Go on.....do it....you know you want to 
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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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If u travel by train to the alpes there's no surcharge for ski carriage. Further to that, since we don't like paying ski carriage on top of the price of a ski holiday package, we've got a deal with Ski France that they will carry snowHeads' skis FoC.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes indeedy....thanks for that admin, I saved £30 quid last time out.
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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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It's worth it. I dithered about this for ages but in the end there are huge advantages to having your own skis.
I think they are...
1. You know what you are going to ski on and what to expect from your skis.
2. No hanging around in hire-shops.
3. If you get in resort early you can get straight up the mountain or on the free lift (depending where you are.)
4. You know their level of maintenance.
One other point is that you can usually persuade travel agents to give you free ski carriage as a little discount on a package. Real airlines don't charge extra for skis. Not even BA.
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I reckon a lot depends how often you ski. One week a year, and you probably won't recoup your investment before changes in technology and fashion have you craving a new pair. Four weeks a year and you'd be mad not to go for it. Don't forget to factor in the time and money of maintaining your skis.
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It also depends on where you go. If you go to a low cost area, then renting may be an idea.
I'd actually put the break point at about 10 days skiing a year. (that means in 3 years you've re-couped the costs, but also had 3 years skiing on better skis than rentals, with no wasted time getting them or sorting them out in resort)
The drawback is that you have to buy a pair of skis, which some find is too much commitment.
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| The drawback is that you have to buy a pair of skis, which some find is too much commitment. |
What a perceptive statement. The key word is committment. I have not bought skis for years, my excuses being "too much choice", "makes travel such a fag", and "technology keeps moving on". This is obviously rubbish.
The real reason is I am a typical male. I am just not monoskimous. I am reluctant to commit to one ski. I want to play around, maybe try a bit of kinky (telemark), or even ....no, children might be listening.
What worries me now is, continuing with this metaphor, just what am I doing when I hire skis.....? 
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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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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
It also depends on where you go. If you go to a low cost area, then renting may be an idea.
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The other way round surely? The smaller cheaper areas often have pretty lousy kit for hire compared to the the "top end" stations, like Val etc.
I've been surprised by the comments here before about testing skis and trying different ones and being able to get good rental skis. This just isn't the case most of the places I ski.
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ise, what I mean is, in Aspen, for example, ski rental is $35 a day for "performance skis", so, if you're there for 2 weeks, it would probably be cheaper to buy, just for one trip, yet if you go somewhere with rentals at half that rate, you might consider (if you look at it purely financially) a better idea to rent. But you have to rule out the quality factor.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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RichardB, All good advice above, but it really also depends on your ski-ing level. ARe you good enough to feel the difference in skis? If yes, and you ski twice a year or more, then go for it. If you can't feel any difference in different pairs of skis, then I'd suggest you wait until you're more proficient. The life of a pair of skis (properly cared for) is about 120 - 180 weeks. Of course as a holiday skier, technical advances will guarantee your skis are obsolete before you can possibly use up that much snowtime, so to benefit in spite of the various hassles already discussed you need a pair of skis that are "just right" for you. Try lots of pairs, work out what sort of ski-ing you do most, what type of ski you feel most comfortable on (I prefer slalom skis for instance), then look for the deals. If you hire a pair to try and like them you can often buy them, especially at the end of the season.
Good luck
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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'm not sure that the quality of hire skis is worse than the quality of bought skis any more, I usually hire from Precision Ski in Val d'Isere, and they usually have good quality skis, and a good choice.
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Skis in the house are testimony of one having led an active life. Hired skis are just memory.
People don't buy skis have no necessity to understand the equipment or to look at different models to compare their characteristics, performance and utilisation.
Just like any sport the depth of interest in skiing can be reflected by the amount of investment in the equipment.
For regular flights I have never been charged any money for bringing a pair of skis along.
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You know it makes sense.
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I am actually doing the opposite, and going back to rented skis, mainly because I now do a lot of DIY booking and after stuggling with my Bandit XX,s on the train back to Zurich last month I decided to give them up and try to sell them just to reduce the hassle factor when travelling. Skis are so cumbersome (even short carvers) in addition to bags etc. However boots are a definite to buy.
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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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bedfordblue, I'm with you in returning to rentals after a long period of using my own. Unfortunately, I can probably only get one week per year skiing so I reckoned it was not worth paying for a new pair to replace my elderly, long, thin Kastles. I rent 'superior' and in Belle Plagne Sports I've been given Volkl Carver Motions a couple of times which I was very happy with. Quite good enough for my level of skiing. No hassle travelling. No maintenace costs. No ski carriage supplement which package operators do impose even if scheduled airlines don't. But I still have my own boots which go inside my hardshell suitcase. At my level, the boot comfort and fit is almost more important than hi-tec super dooper skis.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| easiski wrote: |
| The life of a pair of skis (properly cared for) is about 120 - 180 weeks. |
Or if not properly cared for like Mrs NBT's Dynastars, about 10 weeks, but that's another story!
We thought very hard about going back to renting but the familiarity you get with your own skis coupled with the expcellent price we were offered persuaded us to buy another pair.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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So far I have managed always drive to the slope in my or friends' car which was always equipped with ski clamps or top box. The wife also prefers her own boots while skiing. It is still a bit of fun to use small iron to wax the skis for me as it is done only once every year. We have two sets of skis each and they are fixed to hallway wall as decoration during peace time, same as those in the mountain restaurants.
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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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| Kramer wrote: |
| I'm not sure that the quality of hire skis is worse than the quality of bought skis any more, I usually hire from Precision Ski in Val d'Isere, and they usually have good quality skis, and a good choice. |
Voted the best ski store in the Alpes, in what's arguably the premier Alpine destination not really comparible with Pascal Ski Hire and Bread shop in some corner of the Portes du Soleil.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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I swing both ways
In the early to mid-90s I owned my own skis. Then I started going for long weekends and, like others have mentioned, couldn't be bothered with the hassle of transporting them. So I hired skis and loved it - tried X-screams, Bandits etc. I actually enjoyed trying different skis - some were better at different terrain and I found it interesting to experiment.
Then a few years back I saw a pair of skis on sale and couldn't resist. Financially I definitely benefit from owning my own (I usually ski 20 - 30 days per year) but other than that I'm not sure there's that big a difference.
Of course, this assumes that it's easy to get hold of good quality hire skis. I never really had a problem but maybe I was just lucky?
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| they are fixed to hallway wall as decoration |
I've always wanted to do that!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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kuwait_ian,
I didn't do any skiing in my first 50 years. It is a miracle to me that I could learn it at all. So I am not ashamed of putting the equipment in the bedroom ring hallway, away from the visitors. I am sure one day when I look back, possibly in a wheelchair, they would remind me of the fond memory with the nature. Whether the equipment has wood and cable doesn't bother me. My first carvers look distinctly out of date now, especially next to the Scream X Pilot 10, but I can recount all the resorts they serve me faithfully. I still use them for the odd trips, like the recent Castleford meet.
May be I should put all of them in a cabinet with locked a glass door and label it outside "In case of holiday in winter, break glass".
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ise,
They are not permanently fixed to the wall hence no damage to the bases. The skis are retained in position by coat hangers as guides and elastic bands. They can be removed and put back in seconds.
Skis are being sold in warm environment as in the shops. Damp environement may not be good for the metal parts. Even in skis rooms/stores provided by some Austrian, Swiss and Scandinavian hotels/Pensions heaters are used to dry the equipment to drive out the moisture. Thus I am not worry about the long term aspect of the skis inside a living area.
What I am not sure is whether it is a good idea or not to lubriacte the binding myself, possibly with WD40 (aerosol oil). So far the original grease is still there and the bindings work perfectly.
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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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| saikee wrote: |
ise,
They are not permanently fixed to the wall hence no damage to the bases. The skis are retained in position by coat hangers as guides and elastic bands. They can be removed and put back in seconds.
Skis are being sold in warm environment as in the shops. Damp environement may not be good for the metal parts. Even in skis rooms/stores provided by some Austrian, Swiss and Scandinavian hotels/Pensions heaters are used to dry the equipment to drive out the moisture. Thus I am not worry about the long term aspect of the skis inside a living area.
What I am not sure is whether it is a good idea or not to lubriacte the binding myself, possibly with WD40 (aerosol oil). So far the original grease is still there and the bindings work perfectly. |
I refer only to the possiblity of damage from the environment, not your mounting system.
Using a drying room for a few days when on holiday is hardly the same as leaving your skis somewhere warm and dry for 10 months of the year though is it? You hit the nail on the head with the observation about drying out to drive out moisture, that's exactly what's happening inside the base and I'm suggesting it's a bad thing.
As for the storage of skis at point of sale, you're 100% correct of course, it sucks. That's why you really ought to be waxing them several times after purchase.
Here, in Switzerland, half my village store their skis in the winter outside the house but we have pretty low crime rates 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Snowball, easiski teaches in Les Deux Alpes so I would image she's (apologies if I'm wrong Easiski but I seem to recollect you're of the fairer persuasion) quite experienced in getting the servicing done properly
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OK, so a lot of people prefer renting. One major problem I have with it is powder days in Utah. For the last couple of years I've looked at renting a pair of powder skis to try them in Alta/Bird. On good powder days, you need to be first in line at the shop to get a choice, or else you get 165 PRs.
This year the pow was just too much. I couldn't cope with disappointment, so had to enlarge my ski collection.
On a recent weekend ski trip in Austria, while many who were renting skis were queued up trying to get sorted, those of us who were fully equiped went to the bar at the ski shop. Now, there's another reason why having your own skis is great!
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You know it makes sense.
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I have not investigated into the skis' base materials but they seem to be the type of polyester or epoxy resin. From my professional knowledge with fibreglass, carbon fibre and resins the last one doesn't absorb moisture at all. May be I am wrong I always thought modern skis, manufactured from mostly synthetic materials, is impermeable and should be reasonably immune from moisture movement. It is the mechanical parts that I worry most.
On the thermal stress the skis are subjected to the temperature difference in a living environment is definitely smaller than leaving them outside. If the skis are warmed up and cooled down slowly the chance of any spliting and debonding of materials should less likely too. I am not trying to win an argument here but if skis are designed possibly to be transported on a roof top of a car travelling thousand of miles in hot sun, rain and severe wind they should have the decency to thank me for being allowed into the house. May be they would be grateful enough not to self-destruct at room temperature. From now on this thicko is keeping an eye on the skis like a hawk. Any ingratitude will not be tolerated and skis will be severely punished.
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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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| nbt wrote: |
| Snowball, easiski teaches in Les Deux Alpes so I would image she's (apologies if I'm wrong Easiski but I seem to recollect you're of the fairer persuasion) quite experienced in getting the servicing done properly |
I'm reading that as a typo' 12 to 18 weeks or even 120 to 180 days sounds not unreasonable if you can avoid the trauma of hitting rocks. Even that's way more use than the average punter gets from a pair of skis for various reasons
Personally I'm trying to ensure my own purchases of skis and boots are timed to occur at the end of seasons to take advantage of sales and then I plan to be in places like Val D'Isere for the range or up on the glaciers in Austria.
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Poster: A snowHead
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snowball,
My carvers are nearly 6 years and passed the sell-by date according to the 120-180 days criterion.
Everywhere I go I can still see good skiers on thin and non-shaped skis of donkeys years old. I rekon I would end up with a black eye if I ever say to them "Why don't you go off piste sometime?"
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowball wrote: |
By the way, Ryanair do charge for skis. |
Yes, but easyJet don't.....and they fly to Geneva!
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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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Yes, 120 to 180 days is quite possible. I think ise is right and 180 weeks must have been a typo'
Well, of course; there is absolutely no need for anyone to go off-piste and rip out an edge if they don't want to. But I do tend to think, when I see people on skinny skis, that they maybe don't ski very much, or ski only on piste.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
OK, so a lot of people prefer renting. One major problem I have with it is powder days in Utah. For the last couple of years I've looked at renting a pair of powder skis to try them in Alta/Bird. On good powder days, you need to be first in line at the shop to get a choice, or else you get 165 PRs.
This year the pow was just too much. I couldn't cope with disappointment, so had to enlarge my ski collection.
On a recent weekend ski trip in Austria, while many who were renting skis were queued up trying to get sorted, those of us who were fully equiped went to the bar at the ski shop. Now, there's another reason why having your own skis is great! |
Good point, I was going to try some try some PR's back in Jan' and either the local shops in Morillon never had them or they'd gone, either way of no use to me. That's sort of what I was commenting above, this idea of renting great skis rather depends where you are and when.
You're also raising a counter argument of course, that skis are so specialised for conditions that having one pair's no good anyway.
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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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I had always owned my own skis, but in an effort to keep with technology, rented for the last three seasons (7 weeks).
I have now decided to buy again (Vokel six star supersport), as WTFH pointed out, I ski enough to justify the investment and there nothing quite like the feel of your own skis. The inconvenience of transporting your own is not comparable to the inconvenience of hanging around a hire shop during valuable skiing or drinking time.
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Good to know about EasyJet, Elizabeth B.
Well, I don't know, I seem to do really well on my Volante Chubbs in all conditions except ice.
They suit me, but wouldn't suit someone who wants to carve the pistes most of the time.
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| saikee wrote: |
I have not investigated into the skis' base materials but they seem to be the type of polyester or epoxy resin. From my professional knowledge with fibreglass, carbon fibre and resins the last one doesn't absorb moisture at all. May be I am wrong I always thought modern skis, manufactured from mostly synthetic materials, is impermeable and should be reasonably immune from moisture movement. It is the mechanical parts that I worry most.
On the thermal stress the skis are subjected to the temperature difference in a living environment is definitely smaller than leaving them outside. If the skis are warmed up and cooled down slowly the chance of any spliting and debonding of materials should less likely too. I am not trying to win an argument here but if skis are designed possibly to be transported on a roof top of a car travelling thousand of miles in hot sun, rain and severe wind they should have the decency to thank me for being allowed into the house. May be they would be grateful enough not to self-destruct at room temperature. From now on this thicko is keeping an eye on the skis like a hawk. Any ingratitude will not be tolerated and skis will be severely punished. |
Most skis are polyethylene (PE) bases I think; the difference between top end and bottom end skis is the density. Bottom end skis are high density PE, this is a low molecular density and easy to manufacture, basically you can extrude it. HDPE doesn’t hold wax well, at least not relative to UHD PE. But top end skis are ultra high density PE or sintered bases and require regular waxing. This is 5 or 10 times the molecular weight of HD PE I think. There’s some variation in carbon content on UHD PE skis, hence the stuff we see about graphite.
On a sintered base the wax is absorbed by the base, hence my reservations about storage. A warm, dry room will do the wax layers in a sintered base no good at all, i.e. to address your specific point the base is most surely permeable.
However, I could well be wrong, that’s just what I think I know about bases and how I interpret it
For what it's worth I do not assume that my skis are designed to travel thousand of miles in hot sun, rain and severe wind on the roof of my car but I'm not totally clear if you’re talking about roof boxes or roof bars. The latter are a bad idea and while I use them for local trips here I tend to chuck the skis in the back of the car of I'm going farther.
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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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I use to use my own skis (straight 195's - still in the loft somewhere) and got lots of use out of them in the late 80's at Glenshee ( most weekends in winter), but now I find it much more convenient to rent, especially taking two children and there luggage as well as mine and the wifes. Its just too much to lug around with you at airports etc.
Still miss having my own skis occassionaly though....
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Richard B,
The other great advantage of having your own skis and living in Darlington is that you have quite a lot of skiing on your own doorstep.
You can pop up to the North Pennines, drive an hour and half across to the Lake District or zip up to Scotland, whenever there is some local snow about. 
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FAQ
