First time buyer - these sound ok?

A snowHead

Hi, my boyfriend and I are going on our first mountain hol next March (Whistler) and want to buy our first skis. It'll be the first time we're on proper snow (we're learning on dry slopes).

He's 64kg, 175 to eye level and 170 to just below nose, and is interested in either the Salomon Scrambler 33 (£153.99 from Oggie at min) size 170 w/ C610 bindings or preferably Salomon Scrambler 77 (£181.99) size 175 w/ C710 Bindings. Would these sizes and bindings be suitable for his weight?

I'm 75kg, 155 to eye level and are wanting the Scrambler 77 as well, size 155 w/ C710 bindings.

I would very much appreciate it if anyone could let me know whether these skis are suitable for our sizes and whether the bindings are suitable as well. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

EmmaRen

A snowHead

This is the snow + rock catalogue's guide to sizing...

weight (kg) -49 50-56 57-62 63-68 69-75 76-81 +82

Weight (Lb) -107 110-123 125-136 138-149 151-164 167-178 +180

Ski length 140 145 150 155 160 165 170
(cm)
Ability recreational +0cm Advanced +5cm Expert +10cm
Level

*For freeride skis add between 5 and 10cm in length for better flotation and stability in powder

*For big mountain skis add between 5 and 20cm depending on how much off piste you ski and for improved flotation and stbility in the steep and deep

*For skis designed to be skiied in shorter lengths (slalom skis for example), you should reduce the measurement by 10 to 15cm, in accordance with the specific manufacturer's guidelines.

*For freestyle and skiercross skis, use the same length as for piste skis.

I've skied scramblers before and I think they're a good choice for any ability of skier snowHead

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

EmmaRen, Welcome to

snowHeads

. I'm sure you're going to have a fabulous time out in Whistler but I hope you know what you're letting yourself in for - an expensive lifelong addiction and slavery to fun and frolics in the snow. wink

I have no personal experience of the 33 but have briefly skied the 77. I think the ski choices are ok-ish but may I ask why you want to buy your own skis right now at all?

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Hi, thanks very much for the advice! Would you say it was a mistake to order these online (only place available) and not get any sizing help in any shops? (don't want to miss these prices u see!) Will the lengths I've said be suitable?
Thanks!
Emma

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

EmmaRen, Hi, and welcome to snowHeads. As it's your first trip and because you're going so far for it, I'd hire the gear in resort.

Towards the end of the trip you could try out a few other skis in all sorts of lengths and pick the ones you like best. If you buy in Whistler they will probably be cheaper than the UK too.

Do you have your own boots yet? They're much more important than your own skis.

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Hi slikedges, we thought that buying straight away would save money from renting which would build up every time we go? Would u say its worth renting at first then, to get an idea of dif ones before buying? I'm reluctant to buy online without having any help from a pro shop anyway...

Yep, def expensive addiction and not even gone yet! Smile

Emma

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

By the way, welcome to snowheads!

I agree with slikedges - once you get into skiing, there's no going back. You'll realise what you've been missing out on all your life NehNeh

After all it is free

hi marc, yeah i thought that too, there are plenty of stores out there and buying in C$ will hopefully be lots cheaper! We were looking at Salomon Performa 7 boots at min...if we buy our own boots we could then rent skis out there are possibly buy? Does that sound sensible? Smile

Thanks!
Emma

EmmaRen, very.

The idea of your own skis sounds good, but boots are a much better bet. Also, your skiing will come on in leaps and bounds as you take lessons, so you will find that your requirements for what you want your skis to do will alter too.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I would recommend renting until you've got a little more experience behind you aswel. However, if you are determined to buy, having your own pair of skis is great because you can get used to them and learn about ski maintenance. I bought my fischer's online in april at backcountry.com and they are fantastic! Postage and VAT cost a lot more than I bargained for though! When buying online bear that in mind Cool

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I'd recommend renting skis, at first at least. You'll want to try different ones and you'll progress quickly to better skis. Maintaining them and schlepping them around is a pain/cost, although so is queuing up to rent them.

Boots are a better buy, although I'd rent for the first year or two so you can learn what the issues are with fit vs comfort (and you may progress to a harder boot). If you do buy, buy in resort at the beginning of your hol so that you enough time to get a good fit sorted out before you leave.

snow reports

***It's definately your boots that will benefit you most at first. I'd take the advice of marc gledhill.

Hmm...lot to think about...I think buying boots from UK now then renting while we have few lessons in Whistler sounds good - then we can look at buying our own there. The prices should be lower which takes off the pressure of wanting to buy the ones I've seen in sale at mo!

You know it makes sense.

****and richmond obv Little Angel

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

That'd be ok with the plane as well, wouldn't it? We've booked and said we're taking our own equipment, so we could just take boots/poles on way out then have skis as well on way back if we do buy.
Has anyone flown with BA before? Just wondering how to actually carry all equip, cos it says all ski equipment (skis, boots, poles) must be carried as one item - does this mean it all needs to go in the same bag?? (sorry if thats stupid Q!) and where do u get these size bags?
Thanks!
Emma

A snowHead

EmmaRen, welcome and having your own, correctly fitted boots is the single most important factor for comfort and ease of skiing. Unless you're both 'naturals', the skis you use for your 1st week are really not going to make much difference as long as they are not too long, have reasonable edges and have been waxed and (most important) the bindings are set correctly by the rental shop. Tell them you are beginners if they don't ask. In fact, you could rent shorter than normal for the first couple of days then take 'em back and move up. DIY Ski Evolutif. If I were you I'd get booted up asap then you can use them on the dry slope and go back to the supplier if any adjustments are needed. Enjoy the holiday when you do go.

Anyone ever had any hassles with UK Customs bringing 'new' gear back from Canada / USA ? Worth buying a ski bag in advance and 'distressing' it a bit - or will the airline baggage handlers manage that on the 1st flight ? wink

A snowHead

U can buy ski bags from any ski shop. Double ski bags can hold 2 pairs of skis and poles and whatever else u can fit in it but are a pain in the back bottom to carry. Its definately a good idea to get ur boots first Cool

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

I've not had a problem in the past bringing skis back in (allegedly, just in case HM C&S are reading this)

Don't bother about buying poles here either - you'll get them out there with the skis!

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EmmaRen, hi and welcome to snowHeads. In other discussions on this theme, there was some talk on the economics of buying against hiring. To get a fair comparison, you would have to take into account the life of the ski, the cost of getting them to the resort (some airlines charge) and the cost of routine maintenance and repair. I think (he said very tentatively) that the suggestion by others was that it is actually works out cheaper to hire unless you ski for more than 2 weeks a season - though I may be wrong on this. Certainly, the cost comparisons did not seem to be that clearly in favour of one or the other. I have held off buying so far, (but mainly because I have too much else to carry at the moment). You should also be aware that there are different skis that suit different abilities and you may be best off waiting for a couple of years.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

HAHAHA i didnt realise I would get censored NehNeh

I didnt say back bottom

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Hi, so can the boots be carried in a dif bag to the skis and this still count as 1 piece of luggage with BA?

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

EmmaRen, I think (but I'm not 100% sure) that BA for flights over the pond don't bother to weigh the suitcase as long as it's within the size limit. I'd be inclined to use the biggest suitcases you are allowed and put the boots in them. One less item to carry. Goggles etc inside boots to stop them being cracked. Coming back with the skis shouldn't be a problem. I think you will be allowed them in addition to one piece each checked baggage.
death*on*the*roof, you've fallen foul of the site's auto nanny. Preview lets you see which words it swops.

After all it is free

EmmaRen, It's true that you will save if you are going to use the skis a lot and don't pay to get them serviced wink

. However if for example you pay 180 for your skis, and rental would cost you 70 per week and you pay for ski carriage 20, ski servicing 30 each trip, you can see that it'll take several trips to pay for the skis. If there isn't any carriage and you don't get them serviced then you'll save quite quickly if you bought the skis cheaply. If you do lots of skiing and service them yourself it's obviously a benefit but for the average holiday skier it's a pretty close thing. Of course there is also the advantage of a pair of skis you are used to and like (but these don't yet apply to you).

I'd agree with what everyone else has already said - sort out the boots first! The skis aren't likely to make much difference to you yet but the boots could make/ruin your experience. I had rather bad hire boots my first time out and they did affect my enjoyment but I just thought that they were meant to be that uncomfortable Embarassed

. I bought some for my second week out! I suspect if you can get good hire boots, as richmond said that's probably the best thing for a first weeker, as you can work out how they should feel, but I know you just feel like you've got to buy something at least wink

! So go ahead. Buy the boots Very Happy

.

If you buy boots here, taking them on the 'plane is not a problem; just stick them in a boot bag and off you go. Don't worry about poles; they're thrown in with skis when you rent.

I think that you are being too eager to buy, if you ask me. Boot hire is not especially pricey, you can change them if they're not comfy (and uncomfortable ski boots are among the most intense sources of pain on the planet) and you can see what type of boot suits you. If you do buy, find the name of a good boot guy in Whistler and go there at the beginning of your hol; fitting boots is a slow business, unless you're v. lucky with your feet, and can only be done properly (IMHO) if you can go out on the slopes and test them out after each change. If this is your first hol, I'd concentrate on the skiing and the apres ski, and worry about buying gear later. You don't want to try to listen to your instructor while thinking about whether the boots are a better or worse fit than yesterday, and they'll almost certainly be pretty uncomfortable the first time you go out in them, which you don't need, nor do you want to spend your evenings in the boot shop instead of the bar.

I would advise against buying in UK. You'll be lucky if you find someone who knows what they're doing, and if you end up with the wrong size boots (perfectly possible) you'll be cross. No doubt others will disagree, but that's my view.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

EmmaRen, welcome to snowHeads

I've never flown with BA with ski equipment, but I would be surprised if they expected you to fit skis and boots in the one bag. What may be useful though (for when you do buy skis) is to get a bag big enough to fit two pairs of skis. That way your boyfriend can carry them both and check them in as his luggage, and you can take a boot bag as yours!!

I'd second (or third or fourth!) the advice about buying your own boots, but maybe waiting a while before buying your own skis.

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ah thanx kuwait ian Laughing

love the words it replaces them with

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I'm with richmond on this, there are very few good bootfitters in the UK, much better for your first ski holiday would be not to buy skis or boots but hire instead, you may for instance decide to try snowboarding and prefer that instead Shocked

, wait till after your second or even third trip before buying boots and skis, you will actually benefit as you will progress in ability so that skis and boots bought need to suit beginner level skiers wheras those bought after say 3 trips may need to suit intermediate skiers.

Wait till you reach an intermediate level of skiing before buying skis and boots or board and boots

EmmaRen,
BA are fine with skis, they count as one peice (with boots). The BA flight to Vancouver works on peices not weight so I got a huge snowboard bag and stuffed it full (almost to the 32Kg peice limit!). A friend had a seperate boot bag and they grumbled a bit but that was all, loads of people did the same and I don't think they had a problem - even less likely at Vancouver on the way back as they are very helpful there.
For skis in Whistler go to Whistler Village Sports (near the lifts) - they are excellent - sorted out my Atomic warranty problem (swapped my SX9's for a shiny new pair of SX10's - no cost!!) and I didn't even buy them in Canada! Dave the manager there is outstandingly helpful, even in a place where most people are very helpful!
Snowcovers in the market place at the other end of town is also very good.

PS. as others have said, for now I'd only bother with the boots. See if you actually want/need skis - personally I didn't for the first few weeks, the more you ski the more you know what you want

You know it makes sense.

EmmaRen, Just to confuse you....I'd suggest you don't buy any hardware (boots, skis), yet.

To get the best fit from boots, you'll need to know how they should feel, and you won't know that until you had some time on snow - so unless you plan to spend a lot of time at the artificial slope first, you'll be better off (IMHO) not spending you hard-earned just yet. You'll also find that boots suitable for you now, will not be suitable after 2-3 weeks use.

What you SHOULD spend money on, however will be good quality googles and sunglasses, so you can see where you are going.

Hope that helps !

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

well I think i'm convinced to wait until i'm in canada to buy skis - like u say there'll be loads more expert ppl there, unlike in UK. I live v near Sheffield Ski village who have their shop, but renting while we have lessons on proper snow def makes more sense.

So for BA, could i take a ski bag and boot bag and have it count as just one piece? That's whats confusing me!

A snowHead

EmmaRen, if you're desperate to give the credit card a bit of a work out, why not buy clothing? Comfortable, waterproof, breathable jacket and trousers, wicking layers, fancy socks (thin as possible), hats, maybe a helmet (I'm a fan), gloves, glove liners and thermals if you suffer from the cold or are going in Jan or Feb, goggles, sunglasses, face protection, little thingies to attach your lift pass to almost any part of your anatomy, the list and potential cost is endless.

A snowHead

Can't wait for next march tho! Lol i've never flied before and starting with Vancouver! Always been one for activity hols in UK - Center Parcs every summer for yrs. Always wanted to take up skiing tho - finally got time and money to! We're going for 2 weeks - do you think we'd make much progress? Actually be able to tackle some decent runs on mountain?

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

EmmaRen, Two weeks? With lessons at Sheffield first? Girl, you'll be burnin' down those trails, leavin' a green path of grassy meadow behind you! Almost.

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slikedges, BA don't charge for ski carriage on long-haul (neither do United, North West, or American) - I guess that's another plus for a North American trip! Very Happy

And, while they say "one bag + one pair of skis", I've been told at check-in that you can normally have one bag, one boot bag and a ski bag/box, but for my last couple of trips, I've carried my boots on as hand luggage.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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stuarth, thanks for the advice - have u ever been to the Sheffield Ski village, I'll be learning there, and their shop is Snow and Rock. Hopefully can get some boots sorted there, as I think being able to break them in before we go to proper slopes will be better.

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

EmmaRen, note stuarth's last sentence. You could waste a lot of your first ski holiday with uncomfortable boots and in the boot shop. Wearing boots from 8.30 to 4.30 or later is a different proposition form wearing them for an hour or two at a dry slope. Hire them; don't worry, you'll find loads of other ways to spend too much money.

If you're determined to buy, do it out there. You'll find better bootfitters, probably better or no worse prices and you won't pay for the fitting (apart from hardware). I assume that Whistler has hire shops on the mountains, so if the boots are unwearable, you could always hire for the rest of the day. If you're going for 2 weeks, ski a couple of days on hire boots, find the size which seems to suit you, then buy. You may be able to hire boots and get a refund of the hire charge if you buy (if you're lucky).

After all it is free

richmond,
That's not quite what I meant. wink

The bootfitters in Whistler are very good (I'd recommend Snowcovers or Fanatyk - I don't think either do boot rentals), however I had 4 months to get my boots right so I wasn't too bothered about taking a day here and there to get them right.
My first boots I bought from a fitter in the UK, I did a few sessions at MK snowdome resulting in a few tweaks and they were all good. When I first went skiing I rented boots and I just couldn't get a pair to fit me.
I'm no bootfitting expert but I'd have thought that you could buy a pair here from a good fitter, walk about the house in them and try them out at Sheffield (or wherever) and get most of the problems if any sorted before you go, hence saving you time and effort in Whistler when what you really probably want to be doing is skiing/partying.
As far as the size goes - boots vary from manf to manf and sizing is really a job for the fitter.
In Whistler the beginner slopes are half way up the mountain (Blackcomb is at the bottom but further from the Whistler centre), so if you need to keep heading back to the rental shop it'll be a bit of a pain

PS did I mention I'm no expert on the subject - all the above is just my opinion snowHead

stuarth,

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EmmaRen, before you sell your soul to snow & rock, check out alpine house/big dick's board store on infirmary road (opposite Tesco). They're an independant shop and have always provided me with great service (including a cup of tea while they serviced my skis snowHead

)

Help!!

First time buyer - these sound ok?

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