Pros/cons of owning or renting skis?

A snowHead

I don't think I am good enough yet to consider buying my own skis, but am keen to increase my knowledge of the subject because that will help me know when it is appropriate to consider buying.

My dear hubby, when he took me to CFe, had a wander round S & R and saw a pair of skis for £120 and remarked that it seemed like a good deal, considering I have paid more than half that for a single week's rental. He thought skis were far dearer than that and wondered if it was the price per ski Laughing

. He said even if they were a "cheap" ski model, he thought there'd be advantages in owning, on top of it being cheaper than resort hire he suspected they'd be equally as good as made-for-rental ones & you'd always know what you had and when they had been properly serviced etc. I wasn't so sure, knowing hire shops do offer a wide range of kit. However last Fri at CFe, for the first time ever I was consciously aware of the skis I was given feeling quite different from those I hired in LDA. The CFe ones skidded much more readily when turning and I was aware of having to work harder to hold the edge. I don't however know if that's anything to do me having improved so I am noticing more 'feel', with what ski it was or if it's just how sharp the edges were - I do know I cut my finger on the LDA ones though!!

The skis hubby saw in S&R were the same (Head Xenon 11, 3.5 RFB07) that S&R offer in a "package" in their catalogue, comprising those skis, Head Multipoles, Head Edge +8 boots plus ski bag, for £279, so it is obviously a cheap model or one they're after shifting for some reason. Tough luck on the package buyer if those boots don't suit your foot shape though!

I know there are also ongoing costs associated with owning skis, but have no idea how much. Then there are air-carriage fees of perhaps £30 a trip.

So I thought I'd ask for some info/opinions wink

.

At what skiing level (not no of weeks experience, as everyone learns at different rate!) did you first buy?
Why did you decide to buy?
What sort of ski (not make/model - a general sort of description & price level, as that means more to me!)
How long did they last you before either they were worn out or you needed (not just felt like!) something more?
What are the ongoing costs?
What would you advise someone like me?

A snowHead

I like owning skis but the economics are getting worse given easyjet and ryanair ski carriage charges are nearly £50. I decided to buy because I thought it would be cheaper (bought an old model new off ebay) . Reality is I bought because I like toys. I have 2 pairs piste prientated RX8 and Nomic atomic Crimson. I've skied 14/15 weeks over a similar number of years and have had skis for last 4 trips. The reality is despite price paid its not that ecomic but a least for next 2/3trips the £100 cost of hire is not something I need to factor in.

Ongoing costs of £20 for ski servicing/wax/edging assuming you don't go rock hopping. I think skis should last 20 weeks plus. If you can get a bargain on ski you like and treied it may be worth as you may feel more confident.

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Butterfly, Pros -

You'll get to know the skis you use a little better.
It may be cheaper - travelling by car or train you don't pay for carriage.

Cons..
You have to like the skis you've bought.
Heavy to carry.
You have to get them serviced (or do it yourself)

At what skiing level (not no of weeks experience, as everyone learns at different rate!) did you first buy? 10 weeks or so + lot's of dryslope
Why did you decide to buy? Save money on hire - get better kit (this was in the 80's)
What sort of ski (not make/model - a general sort of description & price level, as that means more to me!) Dynastar Starflo + Solly 647 bindings (allround ski - very soft, very silly fairing on the tip). Horrible - like skiing on a kipper. Cheap tho rolling eyes

How long did they last you before either they were worn out or you needed (not just felt like!) something more? 3-4 trips. Then bought some secondhand slalom skis (Course Sls) - much nicer. Skis do wear out, but unless they are seriously damaged (edge ripped out for instance), it's very hard to declare them dead !
What are the ongoing costs? Can't remember
What would you advise someone like me?

If you ski for more than a couple of weeks a year, then having your own skis will add to the enjoyment. Less than - it's probably too much hassle. It is worth, if you hire, hiring better quality (Silver, Gold, Premium) skis, rather than the basic ones. Any skis you use should have sharp edges and wax on the base - if the skis you hire don't - take them back !

If

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When you hire, you can choose the level of the ski, the stiffness, you can change fron small turns to large turns etc, according to the snow quality and your level. Definite plus for rentals. On the other hand, you can get skis that are quite "tired" and the prices of rental in the larger resorts is getting really high. last year in Iscghl i paid 140 euros for a week, and there were shops offering skis at 170 euros per week. So, at season's end sales you could save a bit, especially if you can be bothered to tune them by yourself.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I bought skis after 3 weeks skiing, mainly because I ski in Scotland. It is £20/day to hire skis here and my skis cost £150 ( Elan Magfires) so with 3 weeks abroad every year and a few days up north they quickly pay for themselves. If I was only going abroad for 1 week a year I definitely would not buy skis and would make the most of hiring by changing my skis fairly often, something I don't see many people doing. I would definitely try out a few more skis before buying though as you might be surprised by what you like and will feel a big difference between them all. I went to one of the ski tests that Ellis Brigham do at Escape. Obviously this is nothing like being on a mountain but it is better than buying them off marketing mumbo jumbo. If you ask at Ellis Brigham they will let you try some skis out and will even come to the slope half way through your session so you can try 2 pairs in 1 session.

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So do people think it is worth someone like me considering buying cheap skis, but looking after them well in order to get consistency & save a few bob, or is it better for my skiing development to hire? Tbh when I hire, I just get what the shop chooses to give me as I don't know enough to decide for myself. In LDA it was different - Easiski took me to the hire shop and decided what I ought to have from the available stock, which was great.

I am looking forward to having a chance to go to a SH ski test session in a fridge this year (hoping there is one!) - never had the confidence to do so before. I am interested in finding out if I can tell the difference between skis or not! lynseyf, suppose I could just be cheeky and go ask to test some from EB's shop test stock without saying I don't intend to buy yet!!

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Butterfly, Depending on how quickly you develop if you buy cheap beginner skis they could be to soft for you next season or if you are a slow learner they could still be great for you in a few years!!

Skis last a long time if you look after them just look at the skis on some of the locals in resorts.

What would you advise someone like me? My advice would be to go get a good mid range ski and spend a little more so when you develop you are not stuck with entry level duds anything in the mid rang of the K2 love range should be good value or the Atomic Minx mid ranger Mrs O loves both Atomics are a little harder to work even at mid level so go with the K2

At what skiing level (not no of weeks experience, as everyone learns at different rate!) did you first buy? When I could Parallel first
Why did you decide to buy? The cost of renting for 2 weeks would be the same as buying a pair of ex vip rentals at the end of a season
What sort of ski (not make/model - a general sort of description & price level, as that means more to me!) Saloman Crossmax and a pair of 3v- 1 All Mountain and one race ski
How long did they last you before either they were worn out or you needed (not just felt like!) something more? Still have the 3v and they are still great after 7-8 weeks on snow
What are the ongoing costs? €20-€50 a year for service depending on how many weeks you use them but about €20 for every week used
What would you advise someone like me?

After all it is free

Cons:-

Ski carriage charges(you can save on this by getting a double ski bag and then only having to pay 1 ski carriage)

Servicing costs(not that expensive though-usually can get it done in resort overnight for 10-15 euros-frequency of every 2-4 one week ski hols)

Lugging them round over your shoulder to and from the airport whilst attempting to pull case and boot bag over my other shoulder-i feel like i've got dents in my shoulders afterwards(some ski bags have wheels on so could be easier-i'm just too tight to buy one)

Potentially outgrowing them in ability

Pros:-

Once paid for the cost of your actual holiday is less as not having to factor in 60 pounds + for ski rental.

Not having to endure the scrum at the rental shop is worth its weight in gold(it was one of the reasons my gf decided to buy after spending an hour in a conveyor belt type procession which included people pushing and shoving to get through a door to hire her boots and skis in a shop in Andorra a few years ago)

Owning your own skis means you get used to how they perform.

If you get into resort in early afternoon it means you can get onto the slopes for an extra half day(i've managed to do this several times now-its been a great feeling to be able to unpack my stuff and just snap on my skis outside the chalet and away i go-if i had to go and rent it would eat into that time and i probably wouldn't bother by the time i'd got rental sorted)

My skiing level when 1st bought:- blue/red run piste skier -i think i'd done about 5 or 6 weeks over 3 seasons

Why did i decide to buy:- I was going to spend 4 weeks skiing in France so the cost of hiring would of been as much as buying.

What type of ski was they:- They were Atomic C9's-an entry level early intermediate piste ski-280 quid i think-very forgiving,easy in the turn and not very stiff-good at low speeds.

How long did they last:- About 3-4 years i think and i got about 13-15 weeks skiing out of them-by the end i'd outgrown them in ability as they weren't very stable at speed and don't think it helped i'd put on weight too. I bought a pair of Atomic Metron 10's about 2 years ago and the difference was amazing(so that could be another negative for buying is that you might continue to ski on something no longer suitable and you haven't realised)-the Metrons are still predominately a piste ski but are a lot stiffer than my old ones which means they don't flap around at high speed like the old ones.

What i would advise for you:- Like mentioned above by a few others if your only going for 1 week skiing a year then probably just rent if more then i'd say buy. My advice now would be not to buy too low as you might find like i did that you outgrow them too quickly.

Hope some of this helps you anyway.

I bought skis after about 3 lessons at a dry slope and 3 weekends of skiing on snow (so I guess I was pretty good snowplough, starting to ski parallel on gentle blues where I wasn't too scared), because I lived in Austria at the time and had a season pass for the local hill, so in effect once I bought skis, skiing was free for me!

That pair were fine to learn on and lasted me a couple more years, but I was unfortunate in that it was about the time when people started switching to carvers, so of course I wanted some of those! Dont' know how long I would have lasted on the first pair if gear junki-ism hadn't taken over. I am now on my second pair of carvers. My first pair lasted me about 15 weeks and then had a knock that couldn't be repaired. However, bearing in mind I had bought them for 125 quid including bindings, I think I got good value out of them. I actually calculated it once that those skis including all carriage and servicing had costme about 600 quid, and if I had rented for those hols, I would have spent about twice that. They were actually probably an old version of the ones that S&R are offering in the Head package. Not sure if they are the same but I guess I would have called mine an entry level ski. I'm not a very agressive skier (although am slowly getting more so), but by then though, I did feel I had outskied them to some extent. My second pair of carvers were considerably more expensive, and those are the ones I am still skiing on (about up to about 8 weeks on them now), and as carriage has gone up, they have almost but not quite paid for themselves. This season they will do though, and again I intend to keep them for a while. The DH has however just strayed into 'quiver' territory with his new purchase so his are going to get much less economical from here on in!

Cost of lugging them on a plane can be high (although if you have boots anyway, it's easy to fall foul of excess baggage charges unless you pack very light, and carrying skis makes that a non-problem), as can the cost of hiring a bigger car or roof box to carry them when we land at Salzburg as well (something we hadn't though of!). Servicing about once a year (say every 3 weeks of skiing).

As we are now doing more shorter breaks, we appreciate being able to arrive in resort and ski straight away, without having to go to hire shops. Also cost of carriage is still less than hiring, although this gets less economical for shorter breaks, but as I just said that is when time on the snow becomes more important. I know it may be false economy, but we can plan when/how much to spend on buying skis, so that our holiday costs are cheaper. This means we have more holidays, which is good! In hindsight we should have got season passes last year as well, which would have again been a planned 'pre-expense' rather than an 'ouch check out the visa bill after the ski hol' expense.

We also do more of what I would call 'ski safari' holidays now, where we ski one place for a day or two, then up sticks and ski somewhere else (for example in Ski Amade where many resorts are on one lift pass, but might not be very close together for driving to drop off skis from the place you started at 6 days ago). Having your own kit again makes this much more convenient and saves a lot of time as rental as with many things gets less economical the shorter the rental period.

Finally, it's nice to be able to just chuck the skis in the car for a weekend in Scotland!

I would not go back to renting now I have owned, as I just 'like' having my own kit and having the flexibility/convenience of being able to do what we like when we like. I haven't seen you ski, but from what I have read I would say it very much depends on how often you plan on skiing over the next few years. I only bought my first pair as early as I did because of living over there at the time, I guess if I hadn't had those, I would probably have invested at about the time I got my first carvers (which I guess was pretty solid parallel on most blues & reds, stem turns when I was out of my comfort zone and no chance on blacks and moguls). My skiing changed quite quickly then as they were my first carvers so I made great strides quite quickly.

As to whether you should think about it, I really don't know. I would say for flexibility, if you're going to ski more than a couple of weeks a year then yes think about it. My first carvers were actually perfectly adequate for me at the time, although I know there are people who would say it's better to wait and get something good when you are at a level to appreciate them. I suppose it also depends on how fast you want to improve. May seem like a stupid thing to say as of course everybody wants to improve, but actually there are lots of people who are happy cruising around blues and easy reds and enjoying a relaxing holiday, and for those people, they are unlikely to feel their skis are holding them back. For someone who is actually interested in skiing as a sport, does lots of courses/lessons and is very keen to keep 'agressively' improving and learning new stuff, then it makes more sense to wait as they will outski entry level equipment sooner.

Wow I have really waffled on there, sorry, just typing as I think!

D

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Ski carriage costs are rocketing. But especially as you are needing to build your confidence buying skis could be worthwhile if you are going to ski several times a year, in order to feel at home on them right away. Best advice would be from easiski - she would know exactly what you should buy. However, for a once a year holiday, you can't really tell yourself you're going to save money, once you've added £60, sometimes more, for carriage and servicing! Skis do change a bit, too; in 5 years the latest models now might be looking a bit dated.

But, if you have the dosh, go ahead; buying some super shiny new skis could well give you a lot more pleasure than spending the same sum on new frocks (however both skis and frocks can cost a lot more than £120!).

I wouldn't worry too much about "outgrowing" skis if you were to buy skis now on the basis of advice from an instructor who knows you. Any decent ski bought on good advice today could take you fast down mountains steeper and nastier than you're ever likely to attempt. I am a reasonably competent skier but being elderly I ski fairly conservatively as, I am sure, will you. I frequently feel limited by my technique, or the conditions, but have rarely felt limited by my skis! I will make a bold assertion, for which I have no scientific evidence, that more people are limited by having bought skis (and boots) which are too "high end" than are being held back by a pair of modern on-piste carving skis of the right length.

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At what skiing level (not no of weeks experience, as everyone learns at different rate!) did you first buy? most reds, easy blacks but tbh I left it too late, should have bought much earlier
Why did you decide to buy? I could afford it, I started going more than 1 week a year, I realised that I lacked confidence in rentals and it was pot-luck what you got, I did testing last summer and had a lightbulb moment.
What sort of ski (not make/model - a general sort of description & price level, as that means more to me!) K2 burnin' luv, supposed to be for advanced and aggresive skier but suit me fine (I'm neither) so dont be fooled by marketing - they want you to think you can handle the performance ski. i bought 2 seasons old as only the graphics were different and paid £225 inc bindings and carriage. if the Elan Wave Magics that megamum bought had been available in a shorter size I woudl have had those as an alternative.
How long did they last you before either they were worn out or you needed (not just felt like!) something more? 1st pair, but I do feel teh need for a powder ski, but I won't buy any I woudl rent if needed.
What are the ongoing costs? £25 every couple of weeks ski for servicing. carriage on flights (but fee with BA and Swiss and maybe others)
What would you advise someone like me? Buy, buy, buy.

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I would agree with pam w, that 'more people are limited by having bought skis (and boots) which are too "high end" than are being held back by a pair of modern on-piste carving skis of the right length' (also on the basis of zero scientific evidence!).

D

You know it makes sense.

lynseyf, I am going to either Cas or Tam on Weds this week, taking CSJ with me ...... wonder if I dare try it! I do take the point about if the experience makes you want to buy, they have no need of hard sell. Maybe I could be fairly honest and tell them I am not sure I am yet ready and want to be convinced it's the right time!

We certainly can't afford them at the moment, but I just have this feeling dear hubby is sort of putting out very early Santa feelers and if later on he asks outright if I'd like skis, I want to be in a position to know whether to say yes or not and if so what to go for.

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A snowHead

Butterfly, Some good advice here.....we bought boots at week 2 and skis at week 6, mainly because we'd already been so hooked with the ski bug that we were already up to four/five weeks a year so it made financial sense. First skis lasted me two seasons (10 weeks), second set kept me going for many, many more weeks until I wanted to start adventuring off-piste and bought some suitable (if horribly pink) skis.

My advice would be to go do some testing at Cas or Tam (or wait for a snowHeads testing day which are fantastic), if you can tell the difference between skis when you try them to the extent that you can say "I like these" or "I don't like those" even if you can't decide why then you're ready to buy, if the cost/convenience thing makes it worthwhile for you. Be prepared that your first skis won't last you for long because you'll be wanting to move on to something else relatively soon but if you buy at a good price then sell them when you're done with them you won't be too much out of pocket.

A snowHead

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Butterfly, Most rental shops in resorts will sell last years stuff at a good price especially if you have a relationship with them

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Ordhan, I've actually been rather surprised at the comparatively high prices charged for ex rental gear in some cases; maybe my relationship wasn't good enough. wink

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Butterfly, There's a huge readymade market here on snowHeads!! Seriously, ebay seems to be as good a place as any but I've generally managed to sell on my old skis to friends who are just behind me in the learning stakes....lucky they wanted the same size type of ski that I had for sale though!!

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Butterfly, Do you really need a reply from me?? Laughing

You know the score with us pair!!

So, I bought earlier than I thought I would - more or less at your current level.

I bought because at £160 ski ownership was a no-brainer in terms of cost - a weeks hire in Switzerland was costing £80

It's so far cost me £12 in waxes, and I did splurge on a spyderjon 'show me how to do it' just because it was fun and informative to do so

Ski carriage costs nothing because we drive to the alps

Someone recommended ski billek on ebay for 2nd hand jobs I think

I worried that the skis I bought were too good for me. In actuality I found them quite handle-able. I didn't try before I bought - I was egged on by this group of reprobates that they would be OK - you could do a lot worse than take the advice off here as you know. An interesting snippet is that in VT I tried the top of the range version of what I'm on - supposedly for the top end skier. There was no dissernable difference at my level. I wonder if many 'top end' skis can be skied by us novices its just that the top end performance will also be there if you are good enough to find it. As it is having skied the next one up and still in the knowledge that what I'm on is a good intermediate ski I think it will last me for many weeks skiing and I wouldn't hesitate to suggest that if you also went with a good intermediate ski I'm sure you would find it OK too.

A really good thing about your own skis that hasn't been mentioned is that they can sit in your room at home reminding you of excellent times spent with friends snowHead

I don't regret buying in the least. It's a great feeling to have your own kit - I bet you get a pair by Christmas if not before if you see a bargain. Go for it!!

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

Don't knock the ex rental route - I once bought a top end snowboard from a demo fleet that records (supported by condition) showed had only been rented out 5 days in the season for the princely sum of $150.

After all it is free

Butterfly, out of interest, EB at the Snowdome do have demos of the new K2 range in early this year, plus some of last year's models as demos that people can still try. The main lot of this year's demos will come in early September.

From my POV it is better to buy skis because the range available for rental in my length is woeful in most resorts, and usually skis under 160cm are limited to beginner skis only. Even trying to get womens' race skis is difficult, as they often only have the longer men's lengths available. This is not the case in all resorts, but I can't really take the chance of being lumbered with a horrible pair of flexy beginner planks with no edge for a week. So for me, owning is a no brainer. I don't know if it is cheaper or not but the benefits are huge as I get to ski on something that is the right length, the right level, and has a good edge and well-maintained base and bindings.

If you are a more standard height, and have more standard demands of skis, then renting is a good option at least until you know what kind of ski you want/like. You can also swap skis through the week to find out what you like - see renting as an extended ski test. I still rent for a day or two if, for example, we've had powder and I've brought race skis, or if I just want to try something out of curiosity or for a change.

The only problem is that buying skis is addictive!

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Megamum,

You may be right!

docsquid, I wonder if Cas's EB also have some of last year's demos - and whether they then sell off the ex-demo ones at highly tempting prices when the new bulk stock arrives.....? hmm.......!! I am indeed what one might deem "average" in height, but rather heavier than I would like to be, however I don't ever see myself skiing aggressively so maybe those 2 factors cancel out in terms of ski suitability.

Must get down to see you at Tam again sometime. I'm going skiing with CSJ on Weds, but Tam is nearly twice the travel distance/time, so common sense suggests Cas may get the vote.

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I have not owned skis for a few years now.......................

but it is getting pretty expensive to hire and then you have to find what skis you want... this is pretty hard in all but the biggest resorts.

I'll probably buy this year...despite not wantng/hating to carry the dam things...

I'll probably make back the initial outlay in one season... things like carriage charges and any service cost will take a bit longer.

But once you have committed to the type of ski you want... I'll only pack one pr...then it should work out the best way for me given that I'll likely want skins and crampons etc etc...and the more speacialised you get, the less choice you have in (most) resorts

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Butterfly, I have my own skis and use then in Scotland - I have been on 6 european ski holidays in the last 2 years and only took my skis once - I will not be taking them again.
To much hassle! rent

First post but here goes, skied for quite a few years now on and off, always owned my own boots but decided to take the plunge after all these years and bought some K2 Recons at the end of this season.
Main reason for this was some dog skis in resort this year and the premier skis were 140 euros a week. I'm probably advanced intermediate so now looking for more off piste but with sound on piste performance. With the state of the pound as well it just seemed more sense to buy after all these years.
Managed to try the recons outside LA earlier this year after doing a bit of research on the net. One thing I did notice is everybody has their own prefrences, obviousely, so I would recommend trying in resort swap around and generally if you buy a pair the shop will nock the rental off the price.
Ok on the down side there is the servicing and carriage but no more queing in rentals shops.

You know it makes sense.

markgraf2004, welcome to snowHeads Smile

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

markgraf2004, welcome to snowHead

's

A snowHead

Over the past year I've come to realise that owning skis would be a far better option than renting for me, although that's mainly due to my circumstances. I've noticed form the past few trips that decent park skis can sometimes be quite hard to find to rent, and even when you do the type of ski and the quality of ski you get given can vary enormously. I'd much rather own my skis than hire simply because I know what I'm going to be skiing on, how it feels, and more importantly that it will always be there. I can however see that for a recreational skier with no intention of ever setting foot (ski?) in a park, that the decision is a lot less clear-cut.

A snowHead

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You can tell it's "summer" can't you, such a long discussion. The only real issue with owning your own skis is holding on to them for too long after technology changes. Sure, buy them if you fancy them, one pro people have missed is that you can sneak a peak at them ALL year.

Whether you have out skied them or skied them out, you should realise that they are only going to last a few years before you are holding back your skiing because you're not using the latest technology... This will be denied by people that are scared of technological development, but has already been proved, anecdoticaly, in this thread.

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Butterfly, I bought skis for my second week's skiing. It's easy to buy 'beginner' skis - do a bit of research and then just buy some. Don't try to find some that will 'last you forever'. They won't (imo). They need to be reasonably soft and reasonably short - this will help you learn quicker. And, you get used to your own skis. The resorts don't tend to keep many womens' skis for hire.

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Butterfly, One interesting thing from the 'boss of the mountain' in Switzerland when I went this year - at about your level was the way he raved about my new skis - I lost count of the number of times he said how ideal the ones I'd chosen were for me. So if I was you I'd plump firmly for an intermediate ski too, and you could do worse than try a wave magic as one of those you consider.

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fatbob, there is always progression in my quiver... snowHead

After all it is free

Now that I think of it, you can make almost the same arguments if you try to decide "girlfriend(s) or wife" Toofy Grin

parlor, so you call slapping a tele binding on an otherwise perfectly good ski "progression"? wink

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Butterfly, would you be interested in my Wave Magics which because I had to replace them after the originals were nicked, and because of a mistake at the elan despatch warehouse, are actually shorter than ideal for me. They're 152, and in fantastic order. Then I would have a good excuse to get some new longer ones; I loved the 160s I had originally. The shorter ones were less solid at high speeds.

Help!!

Pros/cons of owning or renting skis?

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