Steve wrote:
G wrote:

I am skiing in Banff over the Christmas and New year and was wondering
how
prices are compared to here in the UK as I want to buy
a) some new ski's
b) new ski jacket (Spyder)
Anyone help??????

For jackets and gear, check out the Mountain Equipment Co-op; I've
enjoyed shopping the http://www.mec.ca. Calgary has a location, but
they are not a resort type of place that is present on the slopes so
make a stop before you head to Banff. Compared to $US they are a pretty
good deal on most items. I don't think they have much Alpine skiing
stuff, more into backcountry & alpine-touring and the like. Over the
past 10 years or so, I've gotten all my jackets, shells, hats, gloves,
etc from there. One of their MEC-branded shells is still going strong,
and they replaced its zipper for free after 8 years of use - no need to
do that, I would have paid, but great customer service experience with
that in the Vancouver store - they just sent me down the street to their
tailor who did their warranty work.

My wife and I have both bought boots from Abominable Sports in downtown
Banff. The prices on the boot we bought were pretty good, especially
comparing to the US$; we got our GST tax back, and their fitters took a
LOT of time with both of us. Thus far, I've been happy with their
service. We spent some time in two of the other ski shops in town and
their fitters were not taking as much time.

I've not found the prices in Canada to be particularly cheaper than the
UK in recent years. The sticker price might be less, but then you get
stung by the sales tax when you get to paying for the stuff... at least
in the UK the tax is included in the price you see. You should bear this
in mind if you do any comparison shopping.

Keep in mind that you can file to get the GST back (about half the tax,
I guess) on any purchase over $100 Canadian. Instant refund at the
major airports now, I think - just leave some time before boarding to
get in line.

Snow+Rock (in the UK) used to offer a price match guarantee against any
ski resort shop, I think they still do it so you could buy from them
before you go and if it's cheaper in Banff they'll refund the difference.

Have fun in Banff...

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