I only have warm skis, and I have successfully used them in races at 5F
after putting a decent amount of cold wax on them.

So the answer is no, no disadvantage at all for recreation, and even
not much disadvantage in races.

Unless it's realy cold where you live, a warm ski is your all-around
ski.

wrote:
How different should a person expect skis labelled as warm or cold to
be? Would a person skiing for recreation be at a great disadvantage if
they were using a warm ski on cold snow?
Pete