 Poster: A snowHead
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So with a couple of trips on the horizon and a daughter that loves to put on her skis (strap on type) and clomp around the house, I am starting to look at her first proper skis and boots. I have always owned my own gear for performance and cost reasons. However the only dimension that has changed on me in 15 years is my waist line , whilst my daughter is in that phase where she can seemingly grow an inch a night! Hiring looks like 50€ a week and seems difficult to compete with considering the rapidly changing dimensions. (Additional context: plan to ski 2 weeks a year, no other children on the horizon, always self drive so carriage not an issue)
What do other people do? How big do you go on ski boots and skis to get more than week out of them? Or even better who has some kids boots and skis in the loft gathering dust!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What size are her feet, we have some 9/10's somewhere, I think? Barely used and girly colours
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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 you mean boots/skis then hire. If you mean clothes then eBay/decathlon
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We bought second hand skis/boots initially, bought new later sometimes. Stuff would last a couple of seasons, then we would hand down, then sell on.
Good fun more than anything else.
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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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hiring can cost more than buying. keep scouring ebay, you'll be able to sell for what you paid once grom has grown out of them.
I've never lost a penny on our kids ski equiptment other than p&p.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ski clubs usually have sales round about now, often they have instructors around for advice too.
At 2 it's worth getting a wedge clip and a good full body harness that doesn't affect their centre of balance. The handle is game changing. Not sure if you can get these in Europe, but worth every penny. https://mdxone.com/
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We buy. Tend to get 2 seasons out of the skis but its new boots every year. Helmets last alot longer. We buy in resort so they are properly fitted and I know any whining isn’t boot related.
100% vote post above recommending an edgy wedgy. For littles they're essential as they struggle to control at that age. I also recommend a harness but mainly for getting them on and off lifts, if you’re skiing with them get a bungee type one.
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Boots: strongly recommend Roces IDEA adjustable ski boots
Skis: I buy new from Decathlon or Glisshop, usually end of summer sale
Poles: adjustable from Decathlon
All the kit gets passed down through the kids and sold on eBay afterwards -- kids skis and boots seem very easy to sell.
One great thing about having your own (kids) skis is not having to rush to the hire shop on Saturday evening, especially after a long drive. Just make sure you weigh and measure them regularly as you'll need to adjust boots/bindings/poles as they grow, even during the season.
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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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Just make sure that in the effort to make skis "last" you don't get them too long. Very little beginners only need chest height skis. And no poles.
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@Skiyeah, €50 a week or €50 a year? As a parent of Irish Triplets it absolutely made sense to buy and pass them down (although the youngest (daughter) didn't get "Girls" gear until she was 9!). But if you only have one child then €50 versus the hassle of buying online and hoping it fits, plus ski carriage, storage, changing boots every year, making sure they are compatible with the skis and then servicing the skis, it is probably not worth it. Decathlon for clothing as others have said.
Dare I also mention liability? When you rent or buy from a manufacturer/retail outlet, they are guaranteeing that the items are sound, servicable and safe to use. The guarantee on new equipment is lifed and once that expires you cannot go back and sue/complain for breakages or accidents caused by equipment failure. Just something to consider.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We bough our son all the gear and he grew out of it all within months, especially the boots. What he didn't grow out of he lost....
Hiring at 50 euros a week seems a no brainer if you are going for a couple of weeks a year.
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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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| HilbertSpace wrote: |
Boots: strongly recommend Roces IDEA adjustable ski boots
One great thing about having your own (kids) skis is not having to rush to the hire shop on Saturday evening, especially after a long drive. Just make sure you weigh and measure them regularly as you'll need to adjust boots/bindings/poles as they grow, even during the season. |
This and this (though note other brands of multi-size boots are available)
Great to have other kids to pass gear down to but its not an argument to have more kids, as more kids mean more costly holidays and more years tied into school holiday times. 
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@HilbertSpace, @ster, +2 on the Roces, but for my kids they were too large below age 3.5, so we started with the smallest Head boots which I think were a Mondo 13 or 14. They had a clear plastic window on the inner boot, so you could see how far the kids toes are into the boot.
No poles. We had no need for an edgy wedgy, and our instructor insisted they gave them bad habits as well as making it impossible for them to walk/skate on flatter sections (of which there are a lot on green slopes suitable for 3yr olds).
A few ice skating sessions beforehand (similar technique, and teaches them to be able to walk in skis) are hugely valuable. My daughter started skating at 2, so by the time she put skis on they were just like big ice skates to her, and she was off.
We had some 67cm Fischer kids skis which at the time were the shortest possible.
Much more important than all that kit tho... a cheap plastic sledge, and a bucket and spade. That way they get to have plenty of other activities. Skiing is tiring, and concentrating on any one activity for more than 15-20mins is also tiring at that age.
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You know it makes sense.
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Much more important than all that kit tho... a cheap plastic sledge, and a bucket and spade.
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Good advice! I was never convinced by the "edgy wedgy" either. They need to learn an effective snowplough very early on - and generally do! If you don't have a parent competent to ski backwards in front of them, talking them through it, leave it to an instructor. I have paid for several grandchildren to have private or small group lessons when they were very little - especially important for one quite scared and timid little girl (who just started university!). It's not true that all kids are fearless! But some are both fearless and thoughtless. As they get older you need ABSOLUTE obedience and speed control. One grandchild, aged about 7, thinking she was pretty damn good, skied off too fast after having been read the riot act once by her (highly competent, and both school teacher) parents and was taken off the slope for the rest of the day. She never did it again.
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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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Sidebar item, but we found NipperGrip really useful when ours were really young. They're basically like a set of reigns for skiing in but the main way we found them useful was that it gave a solid grab point on the kids to pick them up when they fell, let them untangle and put them back down, plus a bit of extra security holding onto them on the lifts.
https://www.nippergrip.com/
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Poster: A snowHead
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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 have a harness/handle thing which is great for getting kids on and off chairlifts. But it's easy to be too scared of the "dangers and risks" of ski slopes - and insufficiently wary of the risks of driving for hours at 80mph down the autoroute without adequate stops.
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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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As an alternative to the NipperGrip (for the same price) you could get a proper full body kids climbing harness, which you can then use to take them to the indoor climbing wall on bad weather days!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@quinton, amazing video, very funny and really takes me back to when my son was little! @Skiyeah, I don't have anything to really add here other than to congratulate you on getting your daughter onto the snow. It's a lot of work at first - getting them booted up, stuffed into puffy jackets and gloves, getting all of that off quickly when they need a wee, getting it back on quickly before the lifts stop running... but man, it pays dividends.
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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.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
But it's easy to be too scared of the "dangers and risks" of ski slopes - and insufficiently wary of the risks of driving for hours at 80mph down the autoroute without adequate stops.
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Completely agree everything in life caries risk and it is the time things don't seem so risky you let your guard down that catch most out, similar analogy as to why avalanche risk days of "3/5" seem to catch more people than the "4/5" days
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