Hi Bob-
It's pretty common in XC ski racing to have a racing
set of skis, and a training set. And a klister set,
and a powder set, and a pair for classic and a pair
for skate. If you are in the sport long enough, you
will tend to save the pairs that work well for
something, and you will end up with what is sometimes
called a "quiver" of skis (which is what you and/or
your mate or chief financial partner will do when you
contemplate how many dollars you have spent buying,
stone-grinding and waxing all these skis!!)

Just as a general, ball-park estimate, a pair of
racing skis should last the average recreational racer
3-5 years. This is assuming a race every other week,
and maybe training on them 1-2 days/week (you will
generally want to train on your race skis occasionally
because repeated skiing and waxing tends to keep the
bases fast). I suspect that most people get new skis
more because they "want them" than because they "need
them."

In actuality, skis will tend to last for as long as
you can still find a use for them, and as long as you
are willing to put the time and money into maintaining
the bases. Skis may start out very stiff, but with a
lot of use, turn into a really nice soft ski. Or into
a not-so-nice soft ski, which is when they usually
fall off the boat in terms of race or training use.

Chris Cline
SLC, UT

--- Bob Creasote wrote:
Hi,

In many sports, many ahtletes have a racing set and
a training set of their
equipment. Is this the same for skis? Is it best to
have a racing set of
skis that I keep nice and shiny and only bring out
for race day and then
another set of training skis that get used each
training session. Generally
speaking, how long do skis last with regular use
(3-4 times a week during
the snow season)? I know that they would probably
last forever but how long
before they are no longer fit for the race track?

thanks

Bob








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