Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

Hi,

OK, so I just started skiing this season (actually, at the end of last
season) and I've been skiing on rentals all this time. I want to get my
own stuff, so I can feel like a real skiier. What kind of skiis should
I get? Should I be looking at end of season sales for bargains? All
those questions. I know people say, demo, but I wouldn't know what to
look for.

May

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

"May Oh" writes:

Hi,

OK, so I just started skiing this season (actually, at the end of last
season) and I've been skiing on rentals all this time. I want to get my
own stuff, so I can feel like a real skiier.

Think carefully about this. If you ski frequently, it's a good
investment. If you don't, it's more of an image thing: look, see,
I'm not on dorky rental skis!

What kind of skiis should
I get?

What kind of skis have you skied on? What do you like or dislike
about them? Where do you ski, what kind of trails, under what
conditions? How good are you, and how much time and effort do you
intend to spend on getting better?

Should I be looking at end of season sales for bargains?

Yes, IF you are sure that buying is the right thing for you, IF you
are sure that buying _now_ is the right thing for you, and WHEN you
know exactly what it is you want to buy. A "bargain" is no bargain
if it's the wrong thing.

All
those questions. I know people say, demo, but I wouldn't know what to
look for.

Well, what do you want to do? You wouldn't shop for a motor vehicle
that way, would you? You'd start off with some idea of what you
want to do with it. You'd choose a different vehicle to drive 20
miles every day to work on suburban highways than you would to haul
hay bales around a dairy farm. Same with skis. What do you want to
do with 'em?

Here's what I'd do. Find a _good_ ski shop that rents decent skis.
If they've only got one model of rentals, sorry, no sale. Find a
shop that's renting the same stuff they're selling. Tell the
salesperson that you're thinking about buying, but you want to rent
some prospective models and try them out first. Try at least three.
If you can't tell any difference between them, or between them and
what you've been renting, chances are it won't make much difference
for you. If you do notice a difference, talk to the salesperson so
they can make some suggestions. And put your major effort into the
boots, because the quality and fit of the boots will have a much
bigger effect on your skiing than the skis will. Good deals on skis
are available at the start of the season, as long as you define
"start" as being anytime after Labor Day, which is when shops start
gearing up and selling off whatever's left of last year's unsold
gear.

--
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Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

May Oh wrote:

Hi,

OK, so I just started skiing this season (actually, at the end of last
season) and I've been skiing on rentals all this time. I want to get my
own stuff, so I can feel like a real skiier. What kind of skiis should
I get? Should I be looking at end of season sales for bargains? All
those questions. I know people say, demo, but I wouldn't know what to
look for.

Get the best boots you can afford, from the best boot fitter you can
find. Let us know where you live/ski and maybe we'll have bootfitter
suggestions - a good bootfitter is more important than the boot brand,
by far.

Get some throw-away poles from a dumpster or garage sale.

Find a good rental shop that rents "performance" or "demo" skis and try
several different skis until you find a couple you like (then try them
in a couple of different lengths.) Then during the end-of-year sales
pick up a pair of those you like from the demo ski sell-off.

Note that as a rule of thumb you need to ski 10+ days a year for
purchase to beat rent, for skis. Boots are the key to learning, hence
the recommendation to buy as soon as you can.

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

"May Oh" wrote in message
news:a3JpbWluYWw=.69a59cd9b8d401fd97d278eb0070ce9e @1079049860.nulluser.com...
OK, so I just started skiing this season (actually, at the end of last
season) and I've been skiing on rentals all this time. I want to get my
own stuff, so I can feel like a real skiier. What kind of skiis should
I get? Should I be looking at end of season sales for bargains? All
those questions. I know people say, demo, but I wouldn't know what to
look for.

As noted above, the general consensus in the world is that getting your own,
special, fit-you-perfectly boots is a higher priority than the skis. People
often advise beginners to get their own boots and go on renting skis for a
while. Among the reasons for this is that the skis that will work the best
for you at this stage will likely not be the best skis for you pretty soon.

If you do keep renting, look into the "performance" or "demo" rentals. Some
of the same slopeside rental places that slap boards on the feet of ski
school students also have a "demo" rack. Also, most retail ski shops rent
demos for a weekend.

I haven't heard of this sort of program for adults (then again, I've never
asked ...), but there are shops that rent kid's skis by the season for a
pretty reasonable amount. Maybe someone does the same with adult skis.

If you really want to buy skis, try going to the two or three best shops in
the area and talk to the salesmen about what they recommend. Then you can
second guess them all you want, but the info may be useful. Of course, you
may live somewhere that lacks good ski shops. I don't know.

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

"sjjohnston" wrote in message ...

If you do keep renting, look into the "performance" or "demo" rentals

Makes a lot of sense. I'm far from being an expert, but my abilities
improved a lot this season, and some of it came from the sense of
perspective from using different skis. I'd been told many times that
using x skis would let me do more, so I tried them with a demo
rental. Hated them. Tried some others, they were ok. Tried more, "hmm,
better". Tried several more, and finally found some that I really
enjoy. Went back to x to make sure, and still hated them. The
trouble is that if you were to ask me about the differences, I'm not
sure I could tell you. And who knows what the manufacturers will come
out with next year.

Demo rentals certainly cost more, but in this case I'd have been doing
myself a disservice by buying. For somebody like me who only skis a
couple of weeks each year it seems the way to go. BTW: I live near
Washington DC, so if I were to try skiing locally it might not make
sense to use decent stuff anyway, given the likelihood of leaving
pieces of it on the rocks. If I ever find myself living near Real (tm)
Snow then it would be a different story.

Giles

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

sjjohnston wrote:

As noted above, the general consensus in the world is that getting
your own,
special, fit-you-perfectly boots is a higher priority than the skis.
People
often advise beginners to get their own boots and go on renting skis for a
while. Among the reasons for this is that the skis that will work the best
for you at this stage will likely not be the best skis for you pretty
soon.

Thanks everybody for all the helpful advice! Whoever said this group
wasn't friendly. I think I'll do what you suggest and get boots first,
and worry about skis later. I wanted to get boots this season, but I
think I'll wait until the beginning of next, just to make sure that they
have my size in stock. Happy sliding everybody!

May

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

May Oh wrote:

I wanted to get boots this season, but I
think I'll wait until the beginning of next, just to make sure that they
have my size in stock.

More importantly, you want to get boots while you are still skiing
regularly, so you can test them on the slope and return to the
bootfitter for adjustments; it's not uncommon for this to take several
visits, so when you do get your boots don't be shy about returning. Plan
on it.

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

lal_truckee wrote:



More importantly, you want to get boots while you are still skiing
regularly, so you can test them on the slope and return to the
bootfitter for adjustments; it's not uncommon for this to take several
visits, so when you do get your boots don't be shy about returning. Plan
on it.

This is very good advice. Don't short yourself the opportunity to get them just
right.

Fred

Newbie skiier looking for equipment advice
 

lal_truckee writes:

May Oh wrote:

I wanted to get boots this season, but I
think I'll wait until the beginning of next, just to make sure that they
have my size in stock.

More importantly, you want to get boots while you are still skiing
regularly, so you can test them on the slope and return to the
bootfitter for adjustments; it's not uncommon for this to take several
visits, so when you do get your boots don't be shy about returning. Plan
on it.

Yeah -- if you're still going to ski several times this year, I'd
buy now, if you have the money and time for it. Bootfitting is
time-consuming if you do it right; it's not a matter of just
giving them your size and getting a pair off the rack. I wouldn't
worry too much about them not having your size in stock, unless it's
very unusual -- the kind of shop that can do a good job of
bootfitting will still have a wide range of sizes, even late in the
season.

Speaking of "late in the season" -- WAMC in Albany says "up to 18
inches on the east slopes of the northern Berkshires and southern
Greens". WHEEEEE!!!!!

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.