 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm taking the family to Sëlva di Val Gardena for Christmas travelling with Crystal. I want to buy my daughter skis as part of her 21st birthday and am looking for advice for a good ski shop that would let her try skis before buying, somewhere in the vicinity of the Hotel Flora. Our flight gets in late afternoon so we'll probably need to go on the Sunday morning and hopefully not "waste" too much skiing time shopping.
Any suggestions on skis would be welcome as well: she's168cm tall and about 68kg. She's had a pair of second-hand Rossis (can't remember the model) for a few years that are 167cm and probably a bit long for her.
She's a confident (and quick) intermediate: a lot of lessons at Glasgow ski centre and about 5 weeks on snow, 2 of which were lessons. She probably wants something mostly pistey but which she can take off-piste in the future (this is not looking like the right year for that!)
TIA
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ski Olga comes highly recommended on here :: not sure about the try and buy
PM @Mollerski - he is the forum expert on the Hotel Flora (think he is there now !)
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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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Every shop in Selva would be close enough to any hotel in Selva for purposes of something like buying skis. I rented at Ski Olga and they were great. In two regards they were hugely courteous to us, so I would assume that they would allow a person to demo skis before buying (demo would be the US term for what you are suggesting - don't know if that word would mean anything to them or you). The skis that they would have her demo may not be the exact skis you would buy, which would be fine. She demos brand X, model Y, size Z, and if she likes them, then you buy a brand new version of that ski. There are a ton of shops right in that neighborhood though.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks @albob and @wjrlaw. Demo skis was what I had in mind and an exact match wouldn't be crucial... just getting in the right ball park (a US term. I believe:-)) in terms of length, shape and stiffness and importantly, a shop who will listen and not just sell the stock they have a lot of.
I will definitely look into Ski Olga.
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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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Just as an indication of the Ski Olga service :: posted by @turboblackbeard here -- https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=5365301&highlight=olga#5365301
"..I know you have picked Ski Olga already but I just wanted to add another +1
One of the best shops I have rented from in years. Super nice. Good gear.
One of our group had an accident. We didn't get round to returning his skis until a few days later. Klaus just asked us what day he had the accident and refunded us for the days not skied by forcing money into my hand! Super nice bloke. What was funny was that you pay at the end of your hire, so he actually gave us money before receiving any!...."
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@Mollerski has good things to say about the Intersport shop just up the road from the Hotel Flora
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks for the help everyone. Ski Olga is in fact rental only so we went to the Intersport shop at the Ciampinoi gondola rather than turn round and go to the one near the Flora. They gave her a pair of brand new Atomic Cloud 12s on a 2-day hire which she was very happy with so I bought them after just one day's skiing. €600 seemed pretty reasonable in resort.
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When are you at The Flora? 
Try before you buy is not really a thing in Selva. As others have said, maybe hire before you buy, with a swap option on the hire. Also, again as previously mentioned, buying in resort is rarely good value.
I'd try to narrow your choices to as few as you can prior to travelling. Otherwise you're going to be shooting in the dark. Olga are very good, as are Intersport whom are now located in a bigger shop opposite the Ciampinoi lift station.
Another good shout is https://www.sportbruno.com/en/. The shop is literally next door to The Flora. It's an old school ski/sports shop whom stock quality kit. They're very knowledgeable and helpful. The newish service centre behind the shop is also very good.
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Thanks @mollerski. We left at lunchtime today. The C12s seem to be a good deal. They'd have been better with the VAT off but my youngest managed to rupture his ACL on Tuesday and all of the resulting faff at the airport meant that I completely forgot to get the form stamped by Customs.
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