"NIALLBRUCE" wrote in message
...
Any chat on whether the "premium" skis offered by most hire-shops are
worth the
extra? I know that it's not the most urgent topic of discussion but it
affects
everyone. On average, the "premium" skis demand a 40 pound premium. I've
read
the sales pitch from the manufacturers and hire companies but would be
interested to hear about someone's own experience.

I wouldn't claim to be a great skier and I've never done a side by side
comparison but I went 3 times last season - once with some planks that I was
given for free, once with standard rental and once with premium rental.

Both rentals were better than the planks because they were at least carvers
but I couldn't honestly say I could tell the difference between the rentals.

P.S. I stuck with the planks when my friends hired carvers just to
stubbornly show that I could. I like to think that it improved my technique
:-)

Are the 'technological' advancements significant? If so, how do they
affect our
skiing? Is there a material difference?

The standard will be at most one year older.

Do they affect different people in different ways ie. depending on their
ability or style of skiing? I don't know what standard of skiier I am.
I'm just learning how to carve.
Should I opt for the "premium" option?? (nb, I am a student - poor!!)

Looking in the ellisbrigham catalogue at just the K2 range I see that the
skis rated as easiest to use are also the cheapest so why pay extra for
something you are not going to do as well on?

Has anyone tried the twin-tipped skis? I've seen a few kids use them at
the
local dry slope. Do they allow freestyle skiing without any sacrifices? In
particular, do they affect the traditional 'freeride' functionality?

Since twin tips are for skiing backwards and you haven't yet mastered a
forwards carve I don't see why you would want them.

Thanks for any replies!

Niall

P.S. Rental shops are happy to swap skis - you could always try switching
part way through the week and seeing if it makes any difference.