Decathlon own brand skis

A snowHead

Myself and my children have skied 3 weeks and due to COVID this year and last have now got two hols booked next year. Decathlon have a really good sale on skis and boots at the minute and am considering buying. I am completely clueless as to whether these are anywhere near good enough but the cost of buying would almost be offset by next years hols alone so am strongly considering! Has anyone bought Decathlon own brand skis or boots at the lower end of their price range?!

A snowHead

Skis will be fine. Boots look fine but any boot is only worth it if it fits you and chances are they won't very well.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

We've had some info in threads on here before, so maybe worth a search.

I was impressed by the ski quality for price they are. A friend bought some skis after asking me to give opinion as to suitability and they've certainly met expectations, may not have "big brand" names but also nothing to find issue with. Competent kit at decent price.

No experience to offer for boots, other than viewing them while in store for the skis. You'd really need to try them on in detail to see if they are right for your family, worth getting stuck in a trial fit to see if it brings up questions. Again, they look decent value.

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A friend, quite a strong skier, bought some Decathlon skis. They seem absolutely fine.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@NBrenn74, I was told it and didn't believe it but the best boot is one that fits. When you are more advanced you can look at specialist boots and flex ratings etc but buying boots just because they're on offer will likely be miserable when you actually ski in them.

On the other hand, a half-decent pair of piste skis in the right length on offer sounds like a pretty good idea.

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If your driving for your holiday great, if not look at cost of ski carriage
Also a lot of rental places are now pushing decathlon skis . So they must be ok
I got a pair of head boots out of decathlon years ago when beginning they lasted me 2 years until I out performed them, they were so comfy out the box. & for £50 they certainly removed sore feet from my initial experience of skiing, so try them on.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@NBrenn74: -- Welcome.

I too bought Decathlon skis, good price; I like them.
The Decathlon brand was their Wed'ze.
I believe they are the same as some Rossignol design or other, and were made at R's factory; just with different price and graphics.
I thought 'so what'; I'm not one for paying extra just for a brand.

Presumably you have already factored in the carriage/ski bag costs if flying, as @Jonny996 says ^.
And as @Skimum1 quite rightly says below, the setup/maintenance costs - unless you are technical enough, competent enough and confident enough as a DIY'er to learn and do those things yourself.

Also at some point, if this is like previous years ( I know), you could hang on and wait, 'cos they will probably do 'sale' prices for stuff that hasn't shifted.
If that happens, get in quick, else the sizes and models you want may just disappear in the twinkling of an eye.

After all it is free

I really don’t think it’s worth buying skis unless you really know what you’re doing and are driving or have a chalet to leave them in! The costs of maintaining, servicing plus the fact if you ski only one or two weeks a year technology moves fast (and kids grow fast!) means rental is far more likely to be a better option for your average holiday skier.
The good thing about being a fairly new skier (I have done several weeks and still consider myself that compared to the wealth of experience gathered here) is that you understand nothing about maintaining and ensuring safety of your skis (after all you will be travelling pretty fast on them) and yet the nice hire shop will do all that for you, included in hire price. Plus you don’t have to schlep them over.
Boots- I’m sure you will get plenty of advice how you need them properly fitted/advised or not worth bothering. Maybe more flexibility for the kids but given they grow so fast unless you are getting a lot of wear in a season I’ve again never thought it was worth the hassle for the sake of 1/2 weeks.

I am a big advocate for purchasing boots, subject to the pitfalls of a bad fit and making sure you avoid these.

I always had doubts about rental boots and, inevitably, caught a skin condition on a shin from a set of boots at a dry ski slope in the Derbyshire area, which took years to shake off.

I’ve never recommended friends to rent boots again after that - and personally I saw my skiing develop exponentially with a “fixed variable” of having my own boots.

The challenge of course, is the fit. If the fits bad you’re better off in rentals and just undertake your own hygiene routine with them..

As regards to the skis, I’m inclined to say rent unless you’re hitting up the indoors in the UK weekly/monthly or driving when going abroad. That is not a reflection on Decathlon skis, however, which I expect will be actually rather good - both after having seen them up close and seeing the general quality of stuff Decathlon have manufactured for them. If Decathlon skis aren’t manufactured by a top European ski manufacturer I’ll bare my back bottom in the Vatican....

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Boots - if you’re planning on skiing at least one/two/three more times, buy some. But research how they should fit and then get them professionally moulded/fitted. I went to Ellis Brigham to try some on and none of them were right. I happened to try a pair of Head boots on that fit perfectly, so bought them and took them back to EB for proper fitting. I’ve never looked back.

Skis - unless you’re planning to do several weeks per season I really wouldn’t bother. Technology changes so quickly with skis, and the cost of carriage/maintenance really isn’t worth the purchase price for occasional skiers.

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Unless you have really standard feet & find hired boots comfortable, having your own boots is a good thing. If my boots were lost on the way to a ski trip, hiring is not an option, I would have to buy a new pair of moulded boots in resort, not ski or go home!

The argument about the cost of hired skis vs carriage, maintenance etc only applies to basic skis, the cost of carriage etc is the same for any ski & way less than the cost of hiring top end skis & some more focused use skis are often not available to hire, I doubt that Decathlon skis fall into this bracket.
I disagree that technology moves quickly with skis, more of a step every few years, there's been no massive change in piste skis for the past 15 years, just a few tweaks, offpiste skis have seen the biggest changes.

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I would always recommend buying boots.

As for skis, if you only ski once or twice a year then hire. If you want to go to a dome etc then better with your own skis. That way you have a reference that you can depend on. If you are not skiing well one day you can't blame the skis and it will encourage you to try a bit harder.

@tangowaggon, "The argument about the cost of hired skis vs carriage, maintenance etc only applies to basic skis, the cost of carriage etc is the same for any ski & way less than the cost of hiring top end skis & some more focused use skis are often not available to hire, I doubt that Decathlon skis fall into this bracket."

They seem intent on getting more and more engaged in ski market generally, their offer is certainly going on to include more advanced focus https://www.fall-line.co.uk/wedze-2021-ski-test-chamonix/ obviously, part promo, but significantly venturing into markets previously dominated by notable brands.
As mentioned in previous posts above, looked like they have been produced by Rossignol in the past.

You know it makes sense.

Having your own boots should be your first choice. Well fitting boots will help your skiing progress. However getting the right boots isn't as simple as buying trainers and you probably don't know what to look for. You need the experience of a good boot fitter to guide you through it and that's where Decathlon fall down. They won't have that. The chances of picking the right boots, that after a few uses, don't prove to be too big or the wrong shape and so hinder your skiing (or are just too painfull to ski in) are pretty slim; Probably slimmer than the hire shop doing so. Doing it for 3 of you is even less likely. Cheap boots aren't cheap if you have to abandon them and buy again. Having your own boots isn't an advantage if they don't fit.

It's probably worth wading through the buying ski boots thread in the equipment section. Look out for posts by CEM as he is a well regarded boot fitter.

Skis? Well for cheap skis yes they're probably good but consider the cost of transporting them. (easyJet charge £70+ per ski bag return). Is it worth it compared to hiring? Are they the right standard if ski to help you progress or are they to advanced and will hinder you? Also how long until you want something better? At least when hiring you can go back to the shop and ask to swap skis if they don't suit or you want to experiment with better skis.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Ski carriage? Not if you fly with Swiss... Very Happy

A snowHead

Ski carriage, if applicable, is per bag, up to the max weight ( I think currently 22Kg, with EJ, but it could reduce). If you buy a larger ski bag, you should be able to put 3 or 4 pairs in, depending on the sizes. Stuff clothing around them to take maximum advantage of the weight allowance, and reduce other luggage. I recommend getting a wheeled ski bag.

Kids get the same weight allowance as adults, so experiment with luggage combinations to keep costs down.

Not sure if still applicable, but with EJ, you used to be able to pay for sports equipment, and cancel the hold luggage portion of the price. If you travel light, you can get away with only 1 bag, and reduce costs.

A snowHead

@NBrenn74, I bought the head boots from decathlon on a previous sale for my daughters last year, we managed to get away for feb 2020. They had only had a few weeks of skiing experience, so I was more interested in their comfort. Decathlon had a free returns policy so I bought a couple of sizes of each boot, and sent back the ones that were not suitable.

I have firmly been in the camp of having your own boots for a long time, I started with fairly basic boots after a couple of trips, then have bought better fitting/more technical boots each time I have required them.

I cannot comment on the skis, as though I was tempted to buy some for them, they did not have any in stock to suit the girls sizes. In the end I bought them good quality 2nd hand skis, and got them serviced for about 20 euros each per pair overnight in resort.

we normally drive so carriage is not an issue, flying with EJ next season with £1 baggage deal so not really relevant.

IMHO having your own kit, negates the changeover day scramble in the hire shop.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@terrygasson, the hire shop queue on day 1 is a very valid point

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@Jonny996, Not sure if it's the same in all resorts, but one year, we arrived after the hire shop had shut. Went for 9am on the Sunday morning and it was like the Marie Celeste in there. Never been back on a Saturday afternoon since!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for all the excellent advice. I’m flying once and driving once next year so ski carriage will only be half the issue!
I will do some more research on here about boots and take my time deciding. I have never had a comfortable pair of hire boots and as our second trip is mid April next year, I can’t imagine how many feet will have been in the hire shop boots before we have to suffer them!
My main concern has been answered though ie are Decathlon’s own brand decent enough and it seems like they probably are should we decide to give it a go. Cheers!

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It's so hard to explain how good a properly fitted set of boots is that I almost feel bad for preaching.... but certainly for the older members in your party might I suggest a trip to Solutions 4 Feet!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I used a pair of decathlon ski boots for two seasons, and didn't particularly enjoy them, as the cuff stabbed into my shins, and the toe box was incredibly small. I then got some new boots properly fitted at Finches and was astonished by the difference in comfort. I know that boots are an incredibly personal thing, and that everyone has a different opinion, but I would strongly recommend getting a pair of boots from a dedicated ski shop and having them properly fitted. There really is a big difference in comfort.

After all it is free

Generally decathlon put a lot of r&d into their products with a solid outcome at a much lower price point than a similar branded product. So it wouldn't surprise me if they were decent.

In your position I wouldn't advise buying skis though. With 3 weeks on snow you likely have no idea what you like/want. Even if you did manage to pick the perfect ski for you, you are likely to going to outgrow that ski fairly quick as you go from beginner to more intermediate to maybe wanting something completely different (e.g. wider for off-piste). So for now I would stick with renting - ideally at a place you can try out numerous skis throughout the week to get an idea what you like/dislike.

Rentals may actually work out cheaper also as you've got to put quite a few days in to break even with cost of buying and ski carriage. If you do go down the buying route servicing them yourself is incredibly easy and quite cheap so I wouldn't worry about that.

On the other hand buying boots rather than renting is probably a good idea. There is definitely something to be said for going to a proper bootfitter and getting everything perfect and alterations. Some people manage just fine with regular boots though so you might get lucky.

@NBrenn74, if it's properly fitted boots OR skis, get boots.

If boots are already factored in (and bear in mind that one ought to expect reasonably rapid improvement in ability and thus kit requirements with 2 weeks on snow, presuming lessons included?) then Decathlon skis are cheap and probably decent, (I am led to understand at least some models are Dynastar/Rossignol "2nds") but unlike much Decathlon stuff maybe not as good a bargain as they look and you might well be better buying last (this) seasons discounted from a "big" name in resort. Don't get me wrong, I use Decathlon clothing pretty much daily and for a lot of things, they are brilliant and cheap, but I'm not convinced skis fall into that category.

Don't under estimate carriage and also - servicing - costs either.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Boots, definitely yes, they will pay for themselves after 4-6 trips roughly. Not to mention the upside of having a pair you know will fit, and not with whatever nasty remnants there are from the previous user. My first ever pair I must have used 20 weeks at least.

Skis - what with carriage and servicing it's £100 a trip on top of your purchase price. As it happens we have our own, but only because I have somewhere to leave them at our usual ski resort. I'm really not sure I would bother with my own skis if it wasn't for this.

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if you are going easyjet you may as well take a case & fill it with boots asthe hand luggage change is terrible news. Only the silly idiots who brought on massive hand luggage to blame

We used to always go easyJet but are going with BA this year and from now on because of the change.

Definitely not us to blame. The children have child size cabin bags (no bigger than a backpack) and we have standard cabin bags. I'm a packing ninja and conscious of travelling light.

You know it makes sense.

@Owlette, I've taken boots in carry on, does have to be a generous airline like BA. Takes up a fair bit of room and not light, but get your priorities right. Do you really need new underwear every day?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Ha! Funny you should say that. I didn't take lots of underwear for everyone last time and just hand washed using the stuff from Wilko's, but I did take spare tops for everyone in case we ate out. We never ate out so I declared that next time I would leave out the spare nice clothes and take extra underwear.

We already take our own helmets and stuff those with pants and socks, so now to make the base layers fit inside the boots. And boots and helmet to fit in the bags. Oh I do like a challenge.

A snowHead

I did used notice that folks packed there Hand luggage to the maximum, then just clipped there helmet on to it, taking it way over size but never challenged

A snowHead

Nope, not guilty. Ours go in the cases. I saw a lot of that too. It annoyed me from a space point of view but also I'd be worried about the helmet taking a nasty knock. Not what you want with a bit of equipment that's designed to protect you!

But like I saw mentioned in a different post, how will folks at the airport possibly know that you're going skiing unless you have your helmet on show?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Generally decathlon gear is good (allowing for price - i.e. their entry level is often too cheap, but mid range gear is comparible to competitors mid range but usually same price as others too cheap entry level)

I expect therefore there skis to be as good as everyone elses mid range

However per above I would tend not to buy skis if you haven't skied enough to already have your own boots as it takes either specific desires from skis or a lot of skiing to justify vs renting, both of which are unlikely if you haven't already gotten annoyed enough with rental boots... (yes, I have my own, but including covid hit last season I think I am averaging over 3 weeks a season for the last few years...)

While I would assume the boots are technically fine, fitting ski boots is an art/skill that requires a lot of practice. Yes, they currently have excellent deals, but for example 2020 Atomic Hawx magna 100 Flex are only £40 more from ski bartlett who will do a decent job fitting them...

Even if they are the right boots, the going rate is easily £30 getting a skilled fitter to do basic necessary alterations (n.b. very few don't need some stretching if the boots aren't too big in the first place) and it is £100-150 down the drain if after skiing you discover that you didn't get the fit right (highly likely), vs initial £50-£60 extra at a shop that will fit them correctly in the first place (assuming the cheaper models are even close to fitting you)...

Help!!

Decathlon own brand skis

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