What skis to buy and where from?
Discussion
OK, so having planned the next few year's skiing holidays I've decided to take the plunge and buy myself some skis. Unfortunately having never done this before, all the jargon and technology is lost on me.
I'm a strong on-piste skier, comfortable on blacks, never really done much off piste and it (off-piste, freestyle etc) doesn't currently have that much interest for me. As skiing time is limited to a couple of weeks a year and I mostly ski with the children, skiing on groomed pistes (sometimes in mixed conditions = slushy if late season) is pretty much where I'll stay for the foreseeable.
So, from some basic research I think I need some all-conditions skis and I can select a shortlist based on their descriptions and length etc. However, how do I go about whittling down the shortlist? They all go on about the construction, technology, rockers, rebound, wood, composite, honeycomb, blah blah. Is any of this important or, having identified the correct piegonhole for myself, is it just down to colour & design preference (& price)?
Finally, can anyone recommend a good place to buy skis in the Surrey area? There's a large Snow & Rock nearby but their prices seem...pricey.
I'm a strong on-piste skier, comfortable on blacks, never really done much off piste and it (off-piste, freestyle etc) doesn't currently have that much interest for me. As skiing time is limited to a couple of weeks a year and I mostly ski with the children, skiing on groomed pistes (sometimes in mixed conditions = slushy if late season) is pretty much where I'll stay for the foreseeable.
So, from some basic research I think I need some all-conditions skis and I can select a shortlist based on their descriptions and length etc. However, how do I go about whittling down the shortlist? They all go on about the construction, technology, rockers, rebound, wood, composite, honeycomb, blah blah. Is any of this important or, having identified the correct piegonhole for myself, is it just down to colour & design preference (& price)?
Finally, can anyone recommend a good place to buy skis in the Surrey area? There's a large Snow & Rock nearby but their prices seem...pricey.
GT03ROB said:
Seriously do you need to buy? For a couple of weeks a year hardly seems worthwhile. Boots I can understand.
Edge & Wax are currently selling ski & binding packages for £250-£300 for branded skis that are suitable for my skiing ability. I've just been quoted £100 to hire similar stuff for a week from the first holiday I've just booked.Payback of my capital investment after the 3rd week seems like a better deal to me, and I'll know what gear I've got rather than being given some 3rd-season unwaxed planks by your typical French hire shop.
I bought my own boots when I resumed skiing 5 years ago, best decision ever. The holiday I've just booked for a family of 5 next Feb half-term will cost me around £9000 by the time I'm done, buying a pair of skis that will last me many years for the same price as a Trois Vallees lift pass for a week doesn't seem that bad.
PhilboSE said:
OK, so having planned the next few year's skiing holidays I've decided to take the plunge and buy myself some skis. Unfortunately having never done this before, all the jargon and technology is lost on me.
I'm a strong on-piste skier, comfortable on blacks, never really done much off piste and it (off-piste, freestyle etc) doesn't currently have that much interest for me. As skiing time is limited to a couple of weeks a year and I mostly ski with the children, skiing on groomed pistes (sometimes in mixed conditions = slushy if late season) is pretty much where I'll stay for the foreseeable.
So, from some basic research I think I need some all-conditions skis and I can select a shortlist based on their descriptions and length etc. However, how do I go about whittling down the shortlist? They all go on about the construction, technology, rockers, rebound, wood, composite, honeycomb, blah blah. Is any of this important or, having identified the correct piegonhole for myself, is it just down to colour & design preference (& price)?
Finally, can anyone recommend a good place to buy skis in the Surrey area? There's a large Snow & Rock nearby but their prices seem...pricey.
I would (and do) buy in the resort, after having demo'd the skis. In the past I have bought at the end of a good snow season, choosing ex-demo top of the rangers. Good snow generally means they've not had much, if any, rock hopping, and ex-demo means they've usually had less use than rentals. And they are likely to be good skis. I'm a strong on-piste skier, comfortable on blacks, never really done much off piste and it (off-piste, freestyle etc) doesn't currently have that much interest for me. As skiing time is limited to a couple of weeks a year and I mostly ski with the children, skiing on groomed pistes (sometimes in mixed conditions = slushy if late season) is pretty much where I'll stay for the foreseeable.
So, from some basic research I think I need some all-conditions skis and I can select a shortlist based on their descriptions and length etc. However, how do I go about whittling down the shortlist? They all go on about the construction, technology, rockers, rebound, wood, composite, honeycomb, blah blah. Is any of this important or, having identified the correct piegonhole for myself, is it just down to colour & design preference (& price)?
Finally, can anyone recommend a good place to buy skis in the Surrey area? There's a large Snow & Rock nearby but their prices seem...pricey.
There really isn't such a thing as 'bad gear' these days. All the main manufacturers make good stuff it's just finding what suits you.
There's allot to be said for renting for someone who skis a week or two a year, no carting a big cumbersome bag around-imagine it's difficult shepherding kids too. There's also the per trip cost of ski carriage to factor in. Plus you get your pick of skis to suit the conditions.
You also get what you pay for £300-£400 (for skis and bindings) will buy you something mid range unless you pick up an end of season bargain. Otherwise I'd say you're looking £600+ for something good quality sourced from a 'walk in' UK vendor.
Eko sports-French based and Ski Conrad-Austrian based are reputable and will undercut the like of Ellis Brigham/Snow and Rock etc by a significant margin. It's a long time since I've bought new skis, I always go ex-demo or second hand from someone I know, I'd cry once someone went over my pristine topsheets in a lift queue!!
It sounds to me like you want a more piste orientated All Mountain ski. It's funny how times have changed and skis have got fatter how the categories have changed, something 70mm in the waist was once firmly in the All mountain cat but now most would say they're piste skis, plus those who say they're 100mm plus handle like a piste ski on piste are lying.....
You say you ski blacks and are confident etc, how aggressively do you like to ski? do you seek out/enjoy moguls? Skis don't know how tall you are just how heavy you are so if you're heavy/light this should play a big part in selection. You don't want something particularly stiff if you're light, or too soft if you're on the heavier side.
Have a look at Head Supershape Magnums, quite stiff and more piste orientated @ about 72mm then the Titans which are a bit fatter in the waist but will offer a bit more versatility. I'd go no higher than 80 ish, Atomic make some very good gear-Nomads are a very good ski.
If you had any aspirations to venture off piste and like to ski aggressively on piste I'd have recommended Volkl Mantra's, they're allot of ski though and not very forgiving if you don't work them. Get into off piste too, I wouldn't knock anyone who's happy enough on piste, it's not all about gnarly stuff just getting away from the crowds and feeling like 'you're really' in the mountains.......
There's allot to be said for renting for someone who skis a week or two a year, no carting a big cumbersome bag around-imagine it's difficult shepherding kids too. There's also the per trip cost of ski carriage to factor in. Plus you get your pick of skis to suit the conditions.
You also get what you pay for £300-£400 (for skis and bindings) will buy you something mid range unless you pick up an end of season bargain. Otherwise I'd say you're looking £600+ for something good quality sourced from a 'walk in' UK vendor.
Eko sports-French based and Ski Conrad-Austrian based are reputable and will undercut the like of Ellis Brigham/Snow and Rock etc by a significant margin. It's a long time since I've bought new skis, I always go ex-demo or second hand from someone I know, I'd cry once someone went over my pristine topsheets in a lift queue!!
It sounds to me like you want a more piste orientated All Mountain ski. It's funny how times have changed and skis have got fatter how the categories have changed, something 70mm in the waist was once firmly in the All mountain cat but now most would say they're piste skis, plus those who say they're 100mm plus handle like a piste ski on piste are lying.....
You say you ski blacks and are confident etc, how aggressively do you like to ski? do you seek out/enjoy moguls? Skis don't know how tall you are just how heavy you are so if you're heavy/light this should play a big part in selection. You don't want something particularly stiff if you're light, or too soft if you're on the heavier side.
Have a look at Head Supershape Magnums, quite stiff and more piste orientated @ about 72mm then the Titans which are a bit fatter in the waist but will offer a bit more versatility. I'd go no higher than 80 ish, Atomic make some very good gear-Nomads are a very good ski.
If you had any aspirations to venture off piste and like to ski aggressively on piste I'd have recommended Volkl Mantra's, they're allot of ski though and not very forgiving if you don't work them. Get into off piste too, I wouldn't knock anyone who's happy enough on piste, it's not all about gnarly stuff just getting away from the crowds and feeling like 'you're really' in the mountains.......
a311 said:
There really isn't such a thing as 'bad gear' these days. All the main manufacturers make good stuff it's just finding what suits you.
There's allot to be said for renting for someone who skis a week or two a year, no carting a big cumbersome bag around-imagine it's difficult shepherding kids too. There's also the per trip cost of ski carriage to factor in. Plus you get your pick of skis to suit the conditions.
I guess my thoughts echo those sentiments - or at least they used to. However just booking a couple of holidays now has caused me to re-assess; being charged £100 to rent for a week just doesn't seem great value, and I don't really get to "pick" my skis - I have always just been given a set by the hire shop (who usually have a massive queue and just want to process you asap) and I lack the knowledge to challenge them on what I've been given. Interestingly, one of the holidays I've booked has free ski carriage and the other is just charging £11 supplement.There's allot to be said for renting for someone who skis a week or two a year, no carting a big cumbersome bag around-imagine it's difficult shepherding kids too. There's also the per trip cost of ski carriage to factor in. Plus you get your pick of skis to suit the conditions.
a311 said:
You also get what you pay for £300-£400 (for skis and bindings) will buy you something mid range unless you pick up an end of season bargain. Otherwise I'd say you're looking £600+ for something good quality sourced from a 'walk in' UK vendor.
And this is what has triggered the thought - right now there are bargains out there; £600+ MRP sets available for substantially less than that. I'm thinking that even if I apply the same lack of knowledge to my ski purchase as my ski hire, financially I'll be in the green after just 3 holidays - which I'm committed to next season already.a311 said:
Eko sports-French based and Ski Conrad-Austrian based are reputable and will undercut the like of Ellis Brigham/Snow and Rock etc by a significant margin. It's a long time since I've bought new skis, I always go ex-demo or second hand from someone I know, I'd cry once someone went over my pristine topsheets in a lift queue!!
Thanks for those, I will investigate them as options. It's interesting that the recurring trend on this thread from those who have been there before is to go ex-demo, I shall check that out as well.a311 said:
It sounds to me like you want a more piste orientated All Mountain ski. It's funny how times have changed and skis have got fatter how the categories have changed, something 70mm in the waist was once firmly in the All mountain cat but now most would say they're piste skis, plus those who say they're 100mm plus handle like a piste ski on piste are lying.....
I've spent an evening educating myself on the different ski types and in particular the options around rocker, and I'd agree with you that a piste oriented all mountain/all conditions ski is what I'm after. I'm shying away from a dedicated piste ski because with the children one of our holidays tends to be late season when conditions can be pretty icy/slushy, and the info seems to suggest that an all-mountain ski will do slightly better than a dedicated piste variant that work best on groomed pistes and good snow. Bear in mind that when I first learned to ski, you got some dead straight & flat planks that were 20cm taller than you as a rule! Coming back to it a few years ago after a long break was a revelation with the new kit that is available now.a311 said:
You say you ski blacks and are confident etc, how aggressively do you like to ski? do you seek out/enjoy moguls? Skis don't know how tall you are just how heavy you are so if you're heavy/light this should play a big part in selection. You don't want something particularly stiff if you're light, or too soft if you're on the heavier side.
I can ski quite aggressively on-piste (more on reds, I tend to be a bit circumspect on blacks just to be safe), but TBH I mostly tone it down for the benefit of the rest of the family. I avoid moguls, my techique on those is crap. I'm both tall and heavy.a311 said:
Have a look at Head Supershape Magnums, quite stiff and more piste orientated @ about 72mm then the Titans which are a bit fatter in the waist but will offer a bit more versatility. I'd go no higher than 80 ish, Atomic make some very good gear-Nomads are a very good ski.
If you had any aspirations to venture off piste and like to ski aggressively on piste I'd have recommended Volkl Mantra's, they're allot of ski though and not very forgiving if you don't work them. Get into off piste too, I wouldn't knock anyone who's happy enough on piste, it's not all about gnarly stuff just getting away from the crowds and feeling like 'you're really' in the mountains.......
Many thanks for all that, I'll check them all out. Currently I'm pretty happy on piste, just enjoying skiing well within myself with the family while they progress. Off piste is something I'd like to venture a bit more into, but conditions when we get the chance to go with the family tend not to be particularly great for that. I'm in the zone of seeking to perfect my on-piste technique before I have to adapt completely to doing deep powder.If you had any aspirations to venture off piste and like to ski aggressively on piste I'd have recommended Volkl Mantra's, they're allot of ski though and not very forgiving if you don't work them. Get into off piste too, I wouldn't knock anyone who's happy enough on piste, it's not all about gnarly stuff just getting away from the crowds and feeling like 'you're really' in the mountains.......
With your comments and having done some background research, I feel much better positioned now to be selective about what skis to buy. I'm still minded that the economics are worth it when end of season deals are available.
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