 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey out there, just wondering if anyone is able to help me with buying my first pair of skis. I am 174cm tall, weigh 74kg and would probably say im at the low end of intermediate skiing (i can go down most blue runs confidently with some speed and my parrallel turns only need a bit of work). Ive been looking at a pair of Head peak 72 skis and they seem pretty good for me, any suggestions? cheers dudes...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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GlennDawg87, welcome to snowheads.  How many weeks a year do you get to ski? I'm no ski expert, but if it's only a week or two, then at the moment you might be better off hiring. Even when your skiing improves (when you'd probably want to upgrade the skis) it costs so much to transport skis - and have them serviced - that it's not always worth buying. Spend any spare dosh on lessons instead!
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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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pam w, spoilsport! He's a bloke! When a man wants to buy some shiny new skis, no-one will persuade him otherwise  .
GlennDawg87, sorry, I only look at women's skis so I can't help either. I'm sure someone else will be along soon. Odd time to be buying though, unless you're planning southern hemisphere skiing.
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GlennDawg87, Best time to be buying if you know what you want you'll get some good deals, you need to think about bindings as well.
Theres loads of variables, my suggestion would be to call into a Snow & Rock or Ellis Brigham and see what sort of deals they have going and pick their brains, and do a deal once you really know what you want. You'll probably end up swapping them in 2 years or so, so I'd not be going mad, I personally dont know much about piste skis so cant really contribute much but you'll get plenty of advice soon enough on here I'm sure.
Like pam w, says above skis are a costly thing to transport these days, so maybe look at hiring, but that aint cheap either, and quality can be a real variable. Personally I'd be buying some but only once I knew what I really want, ie Park/ Slalom/ GS/ Carving/ Freeride/ All Mountain etc, loads to go at. I really like Volkl skis, others have their own preferences and most people IME like a certain brand, all manufacturers have a ski that fits into a certain catagory and does something different, the choice is endless these days, hence why I'd be calling into 2-3 high street shops and doing a bit of info gathering first.
Not sure this helps but good luck anyway 
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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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Haha thanks for the replies fellow snow lovers. I am indeed in Australia so our season is just kicking off and looks to be a good one! Pam W, you do speak alot of sense and I suppose it would be the sensible option but I do plan on going to the snow as often as I can (maybe do a full week or two and some scattered day trips through-out) and hiring some demos runs about $40 a day, which will add up in no time. So I figure why not take the plunge and get a set of my own.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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GlennDawg87, I would agree withpam w, Rent until you are sure what sort of skiing you want to specialise in, if you buy all mountain then discover off-piste and want fats and then race a bit and want slalom you end up like the rest of the posters loads of skis and no money to buy lessons which at your stage are essential; these will save you cash by enabling the ability to discern which really ski suits you.
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There could be a few factors here which might make the case for buying more compelling to an Australian who usually skis in Australia.
I think ski hire is a fair bit more expensive in Australia. 'George's Ski Hire' in Mt Buller (VIC) want $165AUD (€133) for 7 days of 'bronze' level skis/boots/poles. The cheapest rental option at Skiset in Morzine cost me €80.10 for a week in the first week of March this year. 'The Shed Ski Hire' in Jindabyne (NSW) are a bit more reasonable at $99 for a week (€79) - but a 2 day rental for a weekend trip will still cost $66 (€53).
Carriage fees probably aren't an issue as I think people tend to drive (assuming GlennDawg is in NSW or Victoria). This also means that people probably do more weekend trips, which means that 2 day rental prices become a bit more important...
I have no advice to offer on actual ski choice, as my Morzine trip is so far my one and only!  - and obvious caveat of maybe these places are very expensive for Aus?
References:
http://theshedskihire.com.au/rates.html
http://www.georgesskihire.com.au/html/hire_rates.html
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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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Skiing in Australia seems to be ridiculously expensive. I have a snowboarding nephew who lives in Melbourne and reckons he can fly to New Zealand for less money.
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There's a perfectly acceptable answer which says do both - buy appropriate skis and take lessons. As everyone's said kit alone won't sort stuff out BUT having your own takes a big variable out of the equation which is the variation in set ups you get by hiring plus gives you more time not spent in the hire shop to practice and reduced the temptation to blame your tools.
I don't really agree that everyone needs to decide what type of skiing they want to specialise before buying anything. Most people either just ski pistes or do a bit of casual on/off piste dabbling. If you're exclusively hiking serious couloirs, tree skiing in deep podwer or zip lining bumps 20 laps on the trot your requirements might be more specific but it's not general skiing. In that context a moderate do anything ski makes sense and isn't exactly hard to punt on afterwards.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hi; I'm also an intermediate-ish skiier looking at (maybe) buying my first skis, so thought I might as well tag onto this with a more-or-less related question...
How useful would you say trying out a pair of skis at one of the indoor artificial snow places is? It seems like a good idea, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to accurately compare skis with a few runs down a short slope, or if I'm just wasting my time.
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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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finestgreen, Can you tell the difference between skis you've hired in the past? If no the answer may be no, but it still might be yes. At the very least if you've tried a few you'll know that there aren't any you really don't get on with and practice off season doesn't hurt.
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finestgreen, it's obviously not going to be nearly as good as skiing them in resort but could be better than nothing.
Plus, demoing skis is fun
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks everyone for the adivce! Markymark29, They look like pretty good skis cheers. Ive been told by a few instructors while at the snow that if I get a pair of all-mountain skis then I cant go wrong. Im only 2 hours from the snow here in NSW so weekend trips and day trips are no problem for me. pam w, your nephew is correct, the snow here in Aus is ridiculously over priced for what it is but is still fun to ski on
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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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finestgreen, I thought I wouldn't be able to tell the difference but a demo session at an indoor slope really opened my eyes. There's a definitely a big difference and it's not just width and length, something to do with stiffness too I believe (I'll never understand the sciency side of it). Plus as bobmcstuff says it's good fun and definitely adds interest to skiing the same indoor slope for two hours.
In Europe it currently costs £30 to take your skis on holiday on a package charter flight from the UK, but can cost more with scheduled airlines, especially the so-called 'low cost' carriers. Servicing in resort is around €20, so with the cost of weekly rental being around £50-£80 for basic skis and £90 upwards for anything half decent, for me it's definitely worth owning my own. You'll get to know them and they'll probably be in better condition.
However, boots would probably be an advisable first purchase if you can't afford both to start with. Happy shopping!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Cheers. One more little follow-on question... I've heard a lot about the skis intended for more advanced skiiers being stiffer and more difficult to turn etc.
How big a difference is that - how careful do I have to be selecting a ski to demo in the limited snowdome? If I pick something too ambitious to try, am I more likely to just look clumsy on the way down or end up in a flailing heap of skis and limbs at the bottom?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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FWIW I also think transport costs are much more of a problem if you are flying - for those of us who drive, in any location, the argument of transport costs vs. hiring is a more of a non-starter. Yes, you still have to get them serviced, but I am still quids in on ski ownership and even make it cost effective for growing kids. I should think the OP wants to avoid a basic beginners ski, from an early stage I skied an intermediate + ski and I personally think it helped my skiing, esp. once I was on constant equipment time after time, and progress seems to come quickly once you have got blues cracked. GlennDawg87, the standard advice that is often given is to make sure you get some boots first - I assume you already have these? N.B. I am not an expert - others that have posted have far more experience than I.
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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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Further to pam w's, remark about the extra cost of transporting skis. Last season we put the skis onto the roof of the car for the drive to Les Arcs and estimate that the increased fuel consumption added £24 to the cost of the holiday, £4 per pair of skis. However a full set of servicing equipment adds a couple hundred pound to the cost of skis, but of course that gets shared between the whole family and vices do appear to outlive skis.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Megamum, Yes I just bought a pair of HEAD edge 100s and have skied in them for 2 days and my legs felt fantastic! Definately the right boot for me, so now it's a matter of getting skis that are right for me. My salesman recommended a pair of K2s (apache raider from memory) any thoughts on these? I'm told they are a good intermediate, all mountain ski that will allow me to progress with my skiing.
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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 a thought but most shops in Europe will knock the rental cost of a ski off the purchase cost if you're testing skis out to buy. This means you can try a few different skis out "for free".
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| galpinos wrote: |
| Just a thought but most shops in Europe will knock the rental cost of a ski off the purchase cost if you're testing skis out to buy. This means you can try a few different skis out "for free". |
It ain't for free if you see the shops' miserly adherence to MSRP compared to what you can source elsewhere.
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