 Poster: A snowHead
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First ever post. Here goes....
Back into skiing (July last year @ Chill Factore in Manchester) after a 23 year break (I'm 38 y/o) and I am bloody loving it. Why did I ever give it up?? All those wasted years (sob, sob).
Got boots. Nordica Fire Arrow F4. No brainer really cos I hate sharing ill-fitting footwear with hundreds of other people. Happy with those.
Been to Andorra (Grandvalira) twice this year. Totally back into it... will never give it up again (bar illness or injury).
MAIN QUESTION IS.... Do I buy my own skis or continue to rent? I still think that rental has many pros and I have been mostly satisfied up to now. No lugging skis on holiday with you, no initial outlay of several hundred pounds, no maintenance costs... etc. etc.
On the other hand I really like the idea of owning my own, not least because of the fact that I would always be skiing on the same thing and I wouldn't have to get used to new skis every time I hired some. They'd be properly maintained, sharp edges etc. thus contributing to increased enjoyment.
So what does everyone think?? Anyone have any regrets about buying? Now seems like a good time with many 12/13 models on sale.
ALSO I'M A BIT CLUELESS ABOUT WHAT TO BUY AND HOW TO GO ABOUT IT.
Been looking at K2 AMP BOLT + K2 MX 14.0 179cm (reduced to £365.99 at Snow and Rock). Also Salomon Enduro XT 800 + Salomon Z12 175cm (reduced to £405 at Ellis Brigham). I'm 93kg, 6' 2" and like to ski fast.
Can I just buy skis w/bindings mail order and adjust the bindings myself or should I go to the shop with my boots?
ANY ADVICE GREATLY APPRECIATED 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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OutAndAboutDave, Hi and welcome.
If you are unlikely to use your own skis more than twice a year I would be tempted to carry on renting. If your given skis you don't like the look of (crap tune or whatever) don't accept them, ask for another pair.
I did regret buying, just 3 holidays on mine and I needed to upgrade as I'd outgrown them. If your having lessons and improving all the time you might want to consider this. Or be prepared to ebay after just a season or 2.
If you do buy I would deffo visit the shop to get them mounted unless you really know what your doing. You don't want extra holes if your top sheets don't line up etc and if you don't get the bindings set right you risk injury if they don't release or release to easily. And yes take your boots when you get them done.
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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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lilywhite, thanks for the first reply to my first post... and the welcome.
I would indeed be unlikely to use them more than twice a year. In fact I'd like to think I'll get to over to mainland Europe twice a season but it'd likely only be once. A few visits to Chill Factore over the summer maybe? On the basis of cost I think rental would be the sensible way to go.
I am still improving but all the old skills have come back and I feel I'm already at a fairly advanced level so I'd purchase an 'advanced' ski (if I did buy) and hopefully I'd get a good many years out of them.
Re the binding setup I'd be buying a ski/binding package so what exactly would I have to adjust other than DIN setting and sliding the rear clip to fit the length of my boot? That's all I've ever seen the technician do when I've hired skis. 
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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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OutAndAboutDave, hire ski bindings are a bit different, I think - easier to adjust. By the time you have added ski carriage and servicing costs you might be better renting - then if you have a big dump of snow, for example, you could swap them for powder skis.
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hopefully I'd get a good many years out of them
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I bet you wouldn't. I bet you'd want to buy the latest thing after a year or so. 
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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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OutAndAboutDave, you're a 4-5 hour drive away from any of the Scottish ski centres for weekend trips or even out and back days if you're mad enough. Give it a whirl. If you get hooked and as soon as you realise how much time you're wasting, queuing to get your kit in the morning, you'll invest in your own. If you then abandon Scotland because (insert whatever) then voila, you already have your own skis. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I bet you wouldn't. I bet you'd want to buy the latest thing after a year or so.
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Damn. You're right.
And you're right about being able to swap skis at the hire shop if conditions change.
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OutAndAboutDave, you're a 4-5 hour drive away from any of the Scottish ski centres for weekend trips or even out and back days if you're mad enough. Give it a whirl. If you get hooked and as soon as you realise how much time you're wasting, queuing to get your kit in the morning, you'll invest in your own. If you then abandon Scotland because (insert whatever) then voila, you already have your own skis.
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Ah yes I'd thought about that as well. I've recently been up to Nevis Range in the Summer and was quite impressed. Sorting ski hire certainly would be a pain in those circumstances when time was short.
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OutAndAboutDave, I have a similar dilemma. I decided against buying my own for the reasons cited above, but I've become a bit hooked and by the season's end would've been on 2 Scottish trips and 2 Alps trips. The money I've spent on rentals would've almost covered the cost of my own skis! Despite this I'm going to continue renting unless I decide to do a season somewhere. I'm a real gear whore and skis are just one more thing I'd end up buying and selling every year.
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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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I don't regret buying mine, I've really got to know them and had many happy weeks skiing on them. If you don't fly with certain low cost carriers who charge a lot for ski carriage, it has certainly worked out cheaper having my own skis (bought secondhand). I'll probably look at upgrading in a couple of years's time. I'm just back from a short break in Austria where I rented (ski carriage is silly money with Ryanair) and it was fun to sample a different pair of skis to my own and has certainly helped me form an opinion about what I might want to buy next.
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I bought my first skis in the 80s just because I liked the idea of having my own. Cost wise it didn't make sense but being able to say I had my own skis and carrying them on trains and planes made me feel a bit more of a skier (not that many people had their own skis then). In reality, apart from the inconvenience of going to the hire shop, own skis aren't a great investment for the one or two or three week a year skier.
That said I did buy a new pair of skis a few years ago and although they're probably in need of a technology upgrade I actually really like skiing on 'my skis'. I left them at home one year and rented. The rental skis, although newer in age, were nowhere near as nice as my 'only skied on be me' skis.
In summary, ski carriage (and maintenance) means the rental cost isn't a compelling argument if you fly. If you drive then that's not so much of a problem. If you have to have the latest gear, again renting may be more sensible but as I say there is a nice feeling of the familiar ski vs the rental ski. If I lived near a snow dome I would definitely own my own as that would justify them in terms of use.
I still spend time in the rental shop as the rest of the family don't have their own kit - so no advantage there, although again, it's nice not to have to get anything for myself and to be an extra pair of hands for everyone else.
If you have the spare cash then I don't see why you wouldn't . . . I have a surf board but rarely surf these days, but I am used to the weight and feel of it so like the skis there are some small performance improvements you experience from the predictability of the same kit.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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johnnyh, think you probably nailed it there. I really do WANT my own skis despite the arguments against in terms of cost but I think the most compelling practical argument FOR ownership is the familiarity and hence 'small performance improvements' that come from always skiing on the same skis. I have wondered how much my progress is hindered by constantly changing what I'm skiing on and, given how precious each and every hour is on the slopes, you really want everything (equipmentwise) to be in favour of extracting maximum pleasure. Obviously this means buying the right skis!!!
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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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OutAndAboutDave, Suggest you do your homework, find out the sort of skis you would want, go to your local ski shop, then see if Ebay can come up with a better deal.
There's ski bundles going for serious discounts especially at the end of a season or during summer. Several Austrian ski shops off-load previous seasons kit (used and brand new) on Ebay at 40-50% off.
Do the research on a ski site like global ski pass (google it), and don't rush to spend your money.
You'll find that careful buying of skis is a no brainer, renting skis is such a rip-off.
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OutAndAboutDave, you can usually sell on skis you buy, so I reckon if you buy out of season, sell before half term it's cost neutral vs hiring
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