 Poster: A snowHead
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Pack Blue - I'm skiing with easy-to-handle and adaptable equipment which makes me feel more confident on the green and blue pistes.
Pack Rouge - I'm skiing on the red pistes with easy-to-handle equipment which grips the ice and is easy to carry.
Pack Noir - I'm skiing all over the mountain on all pistes with high-performance equipment which grips the ice well and is stable at high speeds.
Pack Noir Freestyle - I'm skiing all over the mountain on all pistes with high-performance equipment which grips the ice well and is stable at high speeds.
Pack Gold Carve - I'm skiing on hard piste-bashed slopes with top-of-the-range equipment to achieve the best carving.
Pack Gold All Mountain - I'm skiing on all types of snow and piste with excellent equipment which benefits from the latest technologies.
Service Platinum - For our most demanding skiers, we offer this pack with the best of our equipment and exclusive services included!
Sticks included, helmet extra, free hickies and blow jobs with the Platinum.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I can rarely tell the difference between blue and red pistes, are the rental skis really that different?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Anyone who thinks a hire shop do anything different in waxing and servicing the most premium skis over any other category then they really are deluded. It's all about volume processing. Unless they mean they get some kind of service attention while the cheapest rentals get checked for chargeable damage and that's it until a punter complains.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This year in Tignes one of my fellow chalet bods said that getting the cheapest package didn't make sense because, having paid such a large amount of money to go on probably your only ski trip of the year, why would you then buy the cheapest ski/pole package - it did make me feel a bit stupid.
As for piste colours, I'm still a novice, and this year in Tignes my very first trip up the mountain was supposed to be the Paquis lift then ski down Henri so as to ease myself in, I mistakenly got on the toviere lift and ended up skiing down Trolles, it was actually a lot of fun. Later on in the week I went up Roche de Belvard and skied down Verte so as to have a relaxing experience - I very nearly shat myself! The 'easier' a run is the faster you tend to go, and the faster OTHERS are likely to go.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| No such thing as a blue ski or a red ski. I thought the accepted orthodoxy was that they are often the same kit - just ther blue stock likely to be older and had more wear and tear. The quality of the tune on the skis at that level matters more than the specific ski assuming modern reasonable skis. To be honest i'd go more expensive as at least you can make more of a fuss when they give you something with totally blunt edges. |
But probably not go for the very top of the range offering. Some shops will probably have some fairly stiff and unforgiving skis at the top end.
Whereas the bottom end skis are likely to be specially made tatt just for hiring out* and a couple of years old at that. Going one or two steps up will get better condition recreational skis that you would generally be able to buy new if you were looking to.*
*If hiring from one of the bigger franchises. If it’s a small independent shop it might be a bit different.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Anyone who thinks a hire shop do anything different in waxing and servicing the most premium skis over any other category then they really are deluded. It's all about volume processing. Unless they mean they get some kind of service attention while the cheapest rentals get checked for chargeable damage and that's it until a punter complains. |
depends on what shop you use.
Shop we use has a choice of waxes.
I dont rent, but the shop lets me store my board with them, due to the size of our group.
They service my board when I arrive ready for the 1st day of use & wax it again after the 3rd day & I can choose another wax if the conditions have changed.
Nothing worse than having the wrong wax in sticky poo-poo snow.
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| queenie pretty please wrote: |
| I can rarely tell the difference between blue and red pistes, are the rental skis really that different? |
I know nothing about skis - but there can be a big difference in snowboards.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Anyone who thinks a hire shop do anything different in waxing and servicing the most premium skis over any other category then they really are deluded. It's all about volume processing. Unless they mean they get some kind of service attention while the cheapest rentals get checked for chargeable damage and that's it until a punter complains. |
I no longer bother with renting skis (n+1 and all that), but when I did it was always the cheapest deal I could find. Invariably the top sheets were 'knocked to f**k' and the edges sometimes had seen better days, but generally the bases were okay. Only place I could compare to 'silver' etc. was the Livigno bash where those that spent the money generally had better kit (a brand new set in once case). I certainly doubt that the majority of low margin/high turnover stores do much than wallop skis through the machine with an all rounder wax on them. Perhaps some of the smaller shops do...but the worst skis I ever had were from the small Ski Republic in Les Coches.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The benefit of having your own kit that is not often talked about is that you can take a rock hit straight to the base and shrug and carry on without worrying about some rip off charge for damage. Obviously this doesn't quite help you when you pull an edge but hey skis have 2 edges for a reason don't they?
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The same happens with ski socks too ...
Helly Hansen make socks for down hill and slalom,
I have ones marked "nursery"
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| DrLawn wrote: |
I have ones marked "nursery" |
I have ones marked L and R 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@martinm, me too!
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@holidayloverxx, I don't, but the topsheets are different, so I swap them round each time I clip into them. OCD, moi? 
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You know it makes sense.
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| @holidayloverxx, I don't, but the topsheets are different, so I swap them round each time I clip into them. OCD, moi? |
Nah wrong - when you blow an edge your other edge will be 50% worn whereas stick to L and R and you'll have fresh edges to swap to when the time comes around.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@Dave of the Marmottes, hmmm....
PS what does 'blow an edge' mean?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Well it's just my theory. A blown edge is one flopping around or bulged or otherwise separated from straight n functional.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Probably not relevant for many intermediate skiers, but if you get the top end kit you can usually change skis multiple times to suit changing conditions. So, for example, you can take some fat waisted powder skis or even touring skis for an off-piste day and then swap to some skinnier, more stable piste-oriented kit for a day on the groomers. You can also get the edges sharpened mid-trip with no issues if, for example, things ice up toward the end of your holiday when your edges have blunted a little.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Well it's just my theory. A blown edge is one flopping around or bulged or otherwise separated from straight n functional. |
Not to be confused with a blown pole which might exhibit similar characteristics.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| admin wrote: |
| Not to be confused with a blown pole which might exhibit similar characteristics. |
and you know where you can stick your inyouendo..
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm just hoping that the 'Red' skis are actually of a better standard than 'Blue' skis and not just a marketing ploy
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The most important thing is the condition of the skis, not the colour of the package.
When they hand them over have a quick look at the bases. If they are a uniform shade of black, all good. If they have lighter or white patches they haven't seen any wax recently.
Next run your finger lightly down the 'point' of the edges in the section ahead of the bindings, the bit you (should) use to start your turns. If this feels more like a pair of adult scissors, all good. If they feel more like those child safety scissors that don't cut anything, not so much.
If you're not happy with either test hand them back, politely saying "These don't loom very well waxed/the edges don't seem very sharp, could I have a different pair?".
Worst case they will argue they are fine/what you get with blue/red/whatever skis. Chances are they'll just grab you a half decent pair off the rack as it gets you out the shop - and stops other customers questioning their skis and just accepting what they're given
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| admin wrote: |
| ... I once saw a shop serve up the exact same model of ski to 3 different people who had each booked different categories ... |
Have same experience. I booked "blue", mate booked "black" skis - both EXACTLY the same ski, apart from the length ('cos I'm a short bug).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
