Buying skis

Hi all,

Snow and Rock's catalogue landed on my mat yesterday and I'm going to
buy some skis this season - I've always hired for the last 7 years
since I was going two weeks a year at most, but this year I'm planning
on getting in about 15 weeks, so figure it's probably worth it. So,
this has prompted lots of questions:

What skis? I've done ten weeks and would call myself intermediate -
with much more time on my hands this year, I'm looking to get confident
on Blacks (currently nervous), standing on off-piste (currently flat on
my back, mostly) and maybe trying the odd trick. It looks like Rossi
B2s might suit me and I tried and liked some Bandits last year. Any
other recomendations?

Ski poles - would I notice the difference between =A320 and =A350?

Buy new or used? I'd rather not pay =A3450 for a new package, but don't
know enough about what to look for in buying second hand. Any reputable
places people here use?

Buy in London on in resort? Someone said there was a Decathalon in
Albertville which might be worth a look too. I'm tempted to buy in
France so I can do something about it if there's a problem.

Setting up and looking after? I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how
to set skis up, how bindings work, how often skis need servicing, and
what that would involve in any case. I've always trusted the rental
shop and haven't broken my legs yet. Any advice?


Thanks in advance for any help. Incidentally, the same questions apply
for my wife, but she boards and got some Ride bindings in the Easter
sales - any board related advice equally appreciated!

Cheers,

Matt

"Matt T" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

...snipsy...

Buy in London on in resort? Someone said there was a Decathalon in
Albertville which might be worth a look too. I'm tempted to buy in
France so I can do something about it if there's a problem.

There's a Decathlon in Nottingham if that's any help. You could also try
the upcoming ski shows for bargain 'last' year's stock.


--
Paul Schofield

Hi Matt

Buy in London on in resort?
Never in resort (exception: end of season you might get rental skis for
fine prices)
Someone said there was a Decathalon in
Albertville
"Albertville" is like "resort".

Setting up and looking after? I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how
to set skis up, how bindings work, how often skis need servicing, and
what that would involve in any case. I've always trusted the rental
shop and haven't broken my legs yet. Any advice?
I have around 30 to 50 days skiing a year. I buy new around every seven
years. I give them at the mid of the season to service station
including checking the bindings setting. Thats all. (ok thats not all,
because I changed 5 years ago to telemark and since then I have bought
four pairs of used skies, but thats another story).

Florian

On 21 Sep 2005 03:02:33 -0700, "Matt T"
wrote:

Hi all,

Snow and Rock's catalogue landed on my mat yesterday and I'm going to
buy some skis this season - I've always hired for the last 7 years
since I was going two weeks a year at most, but this year I'm planning
on getting in about 15 weeks, so figure it's probably worth it. So,
this has prompted lots of questions:

What skis? I've done ten weeks and would call myself intermediate -
with much more time on my hands this year, I'm looking to get confident
on Blacks (currently nervous), standing on off-piste (currently flat on
my back, mostly) and maybe trying the odd trick. It looks like Rossi
B2s might suit me and I tried and liked some Bandits last year. Any
other recomendations?

There's a lot of good skis out there, and each season brings a new
crop. I haven't tried this years models yet, but as you're mainly
looking at on-piste skiing I'd hesitate to recommend the B2, which
were particularly poor on hard-pack/icy piste. Instead, something tike
the Rossignol Scratch BC is still excellent on-piste as well as off.

Try the Ski Chooser at
http://www.finches-ski.co.uk/ski_cho...type=2&Level=8

Which throws up an interesting point - they still list the Bandit XX,
which was the precursor of the B2 and, in many people's opinion, the
better ski. Does anyone know if they've continued to produce this, or
is it just old stock?

Another ski finder at http://www.skimag.com/skimag/gear/app/skifinder,
but somewhat ambiguous in the type/level selection. Also
http://www.aspenskiandboard.com/productcomparison.jsp

Ski poles - would I notice the difference between £20 and £50?

Probably not. I've used pencil-thin carbon poles for years (just the
one set) and much prefer the lighter weight, but I could never see any
difference between mine, which cost 75 dollars canadian, and my
wife's, which were just 50. (We just went for the ones they had in
stock at the time.)

Buy new or used? I'd rather not pay £450 for a new package, but don't
know enough about what to look for in buying second hand. Any reputable
places people here use?

I'd avoid used in your position. You probably don't know enough about
them to spot how much life is left in them, plus if you're doing
practically a whole season you're pretty much going to wear a pair out
anyway.

Buy in London on in resort? Someone said there was a Decathalon in
Albertville which might be worth a look too. I'm tempted to buy in
France so I can do something about it if there's a problem.

If you're going to buy in France I'd suggest that you do so in, or
close to, the resort. I live over here, so can't really compare UK
prices, but perhaps surprisingly Switzerland (where I work) is often
cheaper than France due to lower VAT rates.

Setting up and looking after? I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how
to set skis up, how bindings work, how often skis need servicing, and
what that would involve in any case. I've always trusted the rental
shop and haven't broken my legs yet. Any advice?

I have a load of servicing kit which I use for base repairs on
occasion and usually a start-of-season tune-up, but other than that
I'd just bung them at a shop a coupld of times during the season. Then
again, I don't usually have to pay, which may make a difference.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

On 21 Sep 2005 03:02:33 -0700, "Matt T"
wrote:

Hi all,

Snow and Rock's catalogue landed on my mat yesterday and I'm going to
buy some skis this season - I've always hired for the last 7 years
since I was going two weeks a year at most, but this year I'm planning
on getting in about 15 weeks, so figure it's probably worth it. So,
this has prompted lots of questions:

What skis? I've done ten weeks and would call myself intermediate -
with much more time on my hands this year, I'm looking to get confident
on Blacks (currently nervous), standing on off-piste (currently flat on
my back, mostly) and maybe trying the odd trick. It looks like Rossi
B2s might suit me and I tried and liked some Bandits last year. Any
other recomendations?

I can not answer this one. I am a different height, shape, weight and
a have different aims for my choice of ski than you. So are most
people who fro eample claim "Fischer RX8 is best". They may love it
but you could hate it.


Ski poles - would I notice the difference between £20 and £50?

No. Just get the right length. Your not doing specialised skiing so
why do you need a specialised pole?


Buy new or used? I'd rather not pay £450 for a new package, but don't
know enough about what to look for in buying second hand. Any reputable
places people here use?

I think new. I certainly would not want second hand bindings. I
want to absolutely certain that my bindings are in perfect condition.
As for skis as they age they can lose some of their elasticity which
is why I stopped using my pervious ski which still had good edges and
plenty of depth on the base.

If you do buy second hand make sure the ski has good height on the
edges (a heavly serviced ski would have lower bases). Make sure there
are not too many repairs of scratchs and holes in the base. This is
not always easy to see on a good repair job. Lots of cosmetic
scratches also show a ski that has not been loved but these may make
no difference to the ski (Maybe just spent some time in a three
valleys lift queue)


Buy in London on in resort? Someone said there was a Decathalon in
Albertville which might be worth a look too. I'm tempted to buy in
France so I can do something about it if there's a problem.

If you are going to be out there that long it certainly makes sense to
buy locally. Decathlon is not your only option. Many supermarkets in
the French Alps have sports shops attached to them. Prices in these
are much better than up on the mountain. There are ski shops in most
of the alpine towns. The most expenstive shops will be in expensive
resort. The shops in Val d'Isere and Courcheval are pricy but less
prestigous resorts may be cheaper. I have certainly seen more
bargains in Valmorel or La Plagne than in Tignes.

The advantage of the resort shop is that you should be able to try
before you buy. A good resort shop will let you hire and change the
ski if he knows you are going to buy one of them at the end of the
week.

You get a better choice of skis in France than you do in the UK. The
most common brands in the French alps are Salomon, Rossignol, followed
by Atomic and Dynastar (made in Chamoix). Volkl Head and K2 as well
as small manufacturers like Stockli or Scott. Despite the enormous
number of skis Fischer make you will be lucky to find them in the
French Alps. Goto the Tyrol or the Dolomites for Fischer.

Despite my argument for try before you buy I bought my current skis in
the UK. A very good discount in an end of year sale. I wanted the
ski I bought and I was lucky enough to find it in a end of year Sale.
The Dynastar Speed Carve 63 was not a popular ski. It is much harder
to get popular skis like the Bandits because these sell out.



Setting up and looking after? I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how
to set skis up, how bindings work, how often skis need servicing, and
what that would involve in any case. I've always trusted the rental
shop and haven't broken my legs yet. Any advice?


Let the shop set up the bindings with your boots. The din setting
depends on your weight, ski ability, agressivness etc. Most shop will
have a table calculate your setting according to this. However as
you ski you will be able to judge it youself. If you are prematurely
releasing then you want to increase your din setting. On the other
hand it you are falling and the ski is trying to rip your leg off
reduce your din setting. You may want to temporarily increase your
din setting in heavy snow. Basically as a recreational skier keep
the setting as weak as you can get away with. Let the binding
tolerate small errors but make sure it releases in a fall.

You will also want to keep your skis waxed (at least once a week) and
the edges sharp. The shops will do this for you but it is cheaper
and possibly better if you buy the tools and learn to do this
yourself.


Thanks in advance for any help. Incidentally, the same questions apply
for my wife, but she boards and got some Ride bindings in the Easter
sales - any board related advice equally appreciated!


Total Ignorance on this.

Cheers,

Matt

Ace wrote:

Which throws up an interesting point - they still list the Bandit XX,
which was the precursor of the B2 and, in many people's opinion, the
better ski. Does anyone know if they've continued to produce this, or
is it just old stock?

I rented Bandit XXs some years ago and loved them.
Rented B2s 2 season's back and didn't like them as much, but I think
they were too long. I demoed shorter length (164's I think) and loved
them again, so bought some at the start of last season and they were
great everywhere, even for my weight in the 1M freshies we had in the 3V!

Just read the new BM Ski mag. and they say they've changed the range
again and introduced a B4 too iirc.

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:59:09 +0100, BrritSki
wrote:

Ace wrote:

Which throws up an interesting point - they still list the Bandit XX,
which was the precursor of the B2 and, in many people's opinion, the
better ski. Does anyone know if they've continued to produce this, or
is it just old stock?

I rented Bandit XXs some years ago and loved them.
Rented B2s 2 season's back and didn't like them as much, but I think
they were too long. I demoed shorter length (164's I think) and loved
them again, so bought some at the start of last season and they were
great everywhere, even for my weight in the 1M freshies we had in the 3V!

Just read the new BM Ski mag. and they say they've changed the range
again and introduced a B4 too iirc.

Yeah, I saw that somewhere else as well. Also realised that the link I
was pointing to was for 2004/2005, and I knew that there were sill
some new XXs kicking around last season.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

Felly sgrifennodd Ian Blake NoNotMe@NotAnywhe
You will also want to keep your skis waxed (at least once a week) and
the edges sharp. The shops will do this for you but it is cheaper
and possibly better if you buy the tools and learn to do this
yourself.

OK, having never done this before (except with those rub-on tube things
which really don't do a lot of good), exactly what do I need, and how
practical is it to do it in an evening after a day's skiing? Or is this
something that can only be done at home?

Adrian
--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

On 21 Sep 2005 17:52:35 +0100, (Adrian D. Shaw) wrote:

OK, having never done this before (except with those rub-on tube things
which really don't do a lot of good), exactly what do I need, and how
practical is it to do it in an evening after a day's skiing? Or is this
something that can only be done at home?

Adrian

Waxing. It can easily be done in an apartment. I must admit I have never done
this but I have watched my brother do it. Place the ski across two chairs,
plug in the wax iron apply the wax and wipe off the excess with a scraper.

Edge Sharpening Run an edge file along the edge. I have only done this on my
old straight skis. I am not sure about the extra complications introduced by
the modern curved skis.

Simple base repair. Light a repair candle drip the melt into the hole then
file down. Alternately sprinkle base repair powder into a scratch. Use the wax
iron to melt the powder then file down.

Difficult repairs and tasks such as base grinding are best left to the shop who
have the special machines and experience.

Toko do an explanatory leaflet to help sell their stuff. Although you can use
other stuff. I have heard of people using domestic irons.

http://www.toko.ch/mammut/uploadedFiles/waxmanual_E(1).pdf

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:15:32 +0100, Ian Blake
wrote:

On 21 Sep 2005 17:52:35 +0100, (Adrian D. Shaw) wrote:

OK, having never done this before (except with those rub-on tube things
which really don't do a lot of good), exactly what do I need, and how
practical is it to do it in an evening after a day's skiing? Or is this
something that can only be done at home?

Adrian

Waxing. It can easily be done in an apartment. I must admit I have never done
this but I have watched my brother do it. Place the ski across two chairs,
plug in the wax iron apply the wax and wipe off the excess with a scraper.

Then clean up the wax shaving's you've got all over the floor ;-)

Edge Sharpening

To be done _before_ waxing, otherwise you'll end up with metal
shavings all over the base.

Run an edge file along the edge. I have only done this on my
old straight skis. I am not sure about the extra complications introduced by
the modern curved skis.

With a proper edge sharpener (i.e. one with flexible guides) it's not
at all difficult. But again, it takes more time cleaning up than in
the doing.

Simple base repair. Light a repair candle drip the melt into the hole then
file down.

Shudder. Use a flat, sharp edge, very carefully to level out the
repaired area with the surrounding base. A file is not something that
should normally touch the base.

Alternately sprinkle base repair powder into a scratch. Use the wax
iron to melt the powder then file down.

Never tried this - never needed to.

Difficult repairs and tasks such as base grinding are best left to the shop who
have the special machines and experience.

I tend to do the repairs myself, then let the shop do the base grind
and edge-sharpening. Takes them about twenty seconds to run it through
a machine, but they'll often not do a proper, manual repair to a big
gouge and the machines don't quite do it so well.

Toko do an explanatory leaflet to help sell their stuff. Although you can use
other stuff. I have heard of people using domestic irons.

Most people I know do this. And why not? In fact, I know I'm not the
only person who uses a little travel iron, such as can be found at any
airport shop.

http://www.toko.ch/mammut/uploadedFiles/waxmanual_E(1).pdf

But, re. the original question about doing it in an apartment - this
is a dirty process, so you'll need to spread newspaper all round, and
put up with the smell of burning p-tex and hot wax for the rest of the
evening. Better by far to do it in a ski room, or failing that on a
balcony.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.