Any bargain skis available?

[Hard-Drive]

Yes, done it again, ignored all the great offers on skis during th summer and with two trips booked for 2013 it's really time to buy some skis. However all the bargains seem to have gone! Funny, that...

Am I missing some really obvious place that those in th know...know about? I would gave thought there must be loads of retailers really keen to shift their tail end 2012 stock?

FWIW I'm looking for something suitable for 95% piste use, for a fast intermediate, that's going to help me improve my carving, but won't be totally useless on a powder day. One trip is late too, so might be a slush-fest. About 165 should be about right.

Any ideas?

[yorky500]

we have just purchased a whole load of snowboard stuff from the USA (the-house.com) - they have had some very good deals on recently. Even with shipping and a 5% import duty, we have saved over 50% of what the same stuff would have cost us here.

[Doogs]

If you dont mind second hand gear i know of a pair of these going at the moment. Fitted with Marker bindings, a set of Atomic poles and a ski bag too.

http://www.ski-review.com/ski_reviews/review/volkl...

ETA If you want new gear then you wont go far wrong with the latest Volkl equivalent to the AC3's. Also, might be worth waiting until you get to the resort and buy then, The last few times i've been they've had some decent sales on all season.

Edited by Doogs on Tuesday 27th November 15:08

[User33678888]

Got a set of Salomon 3V's for sale. Might be a little stiff for your usage/

[Dominic H]

Hard-Drive said:

Yes, done it again, ignored all the great offers on skis during the summer and with two trips booked for 2013 it's really time to buy some skis. However all the bargains seem to have gone! Funny, that...

Am I missing some really obvious place that those in the know...know about? I would gave thought there must be loads of retailers really keen to shift their tail end 2012 stock?

FWIW I'm looking for something suitable for 95% piste use, for a fast intermediate, that's going to help me improve my carving, but won't be totally useless on a powder day. One trip is late too, so might be a slush-fest. About 165 should be about right.

Any ideas?

Short arse, eh?

You've probably left it a little late, as most stores will clear unsold stock at the end of the season. You might try Snow & Rock or Filarinski's, I've had great service from both firms.

S&R still have some sale stock...

http://outlet.snowandrock.com/skis/ski/fcp-categor...

Might be worth calling Filarinski, to see if they have any deals going..

http://www.filarinskis.com/mens-skis/cat_197.html

If you're going to ski twice a year, it's worth paying the extra to get a pair of skis that suit you rather than just going for the biggest saving...

Have fun choosing..

[DJRC]

The best way of picking something cheap up are the New Year sales in the States. Look online at the Stateside stuff and say what you can find.

How much do you want to spend?

[a311]

I'd be tempted to go 2nd hand. Ebay can be a bit of a minefeild, anything popular can sell for silly money but they're are good sellers selling at BIN prices, or if you pick something good but less know you can find bargains-or look on the Snowheads used section, they tend to be genuine lot over there.

Also buying 2nd hand you don't run the risk of being reduced to tears once some punter runs over your brand new pride and joys and scratches your top sheets!

[W00DY]

a311 said:

I'd be tempted to go 2nd hand. Ebay can be a bit of a minefeild, anything popular can sell for silly money but they're are good sellers selling at BIN prices, or if you pick something good but less know you can find bargains-or look on the Snowheads used section, they tend to be genuine lot over there.

Also buying 2nd hand you don't run the risk of being reduced to tears once some punter runs over your brand new pride and joys and scratches your top sheets!

Snowheads classifieds gets my vote. Bought some lovely unused K2 Seths this time last year for not much cash.

[Busa mav]

I would just hire them in the resort after pre booking.

No hassle carrying them or paying £25 to carry them on the plane

You get to try the latest skiis and also to suit the conditions you find , the guys we have used so far are more than happy to swap them out mid week if you want to try something else .

But you do need to pre book to get a sensible deal

[a311]

Busa mav said:

I would just hire them in the resort after pre booking.

No hassle carrying them or paying £25 to carry them on the plane

You get to try the latest skiis and also to suit the conditions you find , the guys we have used so far are more than happy to swap them out mid week if you want to try something else .

But you do need to pre book to get a sensible deal

Unless you ski allot or are loaded this isn't a bad shout really. It will take half a dozen trips + to break even over hiring.

For a specific pair look at the Head Supershape Magnums. Awesome ski. I've found it pretty funny over the years how skis have got fatter. 80's used to be classed as an off piste ski and now they're barely an all mountain. You now see people with skis on each foot that look like snowboards..... My do it all skis are 72's.