 Poster: A snowHead
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Bear in mind, any cable type lock will last less than 20 Secs against a decent set of wire cutters. If they want to take them they will, if they are the sort of professional thieves that make it their business.
My view on locks ( I use them for both cycling and skiing )
Either 1) a very cheap cable lock < £10 merely to deter the complete opportunist, or idiot who has mistaken your skis for his. Anything more than £10 on a cable lock is wasted IMO, they simply won't resist against someone who has any sort of tools.
Or 2) you go serious with a 10mm or greater chain lock, rated Sold Secure gold or higher, which will need serious boltcutters to get through. This will cost £70 - 100, but if correctly put on will require a significant amount of effort to get through
This site tells you all you need to know about locks
https://thebestbikelock.com/best-chain-lock/chain-lock-comparison/
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@eblunt, Excellent, thank you for the info.
Having just had a crash course on lock security, that is pretty much the conclusion I have reached....however, I think I am going to spend just a little more on the Safeman, as I like its versatile 2 loop design and that it is possibly thick enough to resist a Leatherman.
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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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If they want your skis and come prepared the lock won’t help. Hydraulic bolt croppers will go through anything in moments. A competent lock picker is faster.
So in my view stick with cheap and cheerful (cheerless?) to resist the sort of person who makes a mistake.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| James the Last wrote: |
If they want your skis and come prepared the lock won’t help. Hydraulic bolt croppers will go through anything in moments. A competent lock picker is faster.
So in my view stick with cheap and cheerful (cheerless?) to resist the sort of person who makes a mistake. |
Agreed. But a heavy ( 12mm+ ) chain will stop anyone who doesn't have serious equipment or good lock picking skills, which will still stop quite a lot of people. Hydraulic bolt cutters don't easily fit under a jacket. But yes, you'll never stop the seriously tooled up thief.
I use a £2 combi cable lock if skiing by myself ( and cant swap skis ) purely to deter the mistaken identity, and this has paid off on several occasions when someone has taken the skis and realised they weren't theirs only when the ( very flimsy ) lock stopped them.
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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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| eblunt wrote: |
| James the Last wrote: |
If they want your skis and come prepared the lock won’t help. Hydraulic bolt croppers will go through anything in moments. A competent lock picker is faster.
So in my view stick with cheap and cheerful (cheerless?) to resist the sort of person who makes a mistake. |
Agreed. But a heavy ( 12mm+ ) chain will stop anyone who doesn't have serious equipment or good lock picking skills, which will still stop quite a lot of people. Hydraulic bolt cutters don't easily fit under a jacket. But yes, you'll never stop the seriously tooled up thief.
I use a £2 combi cable lock if skiing by myself ( and cant swap skis ) purely to deter the mistaken identity, and this has paid off on several occasions when someone has taken the skis and realised they weren't theirs only when the ( very flimsy ) lock stopped them. |
Also, you don't need to outrun the bear, just the person running next to you...
I.e. even a cheap lock is better than the 90% of skis left unlocked. Generally the difference in value between skis isn't going to be high enough for them not to just take the next pair along. I use a 'reusable' steel core cable tie; While it has a specialist unlocking tool, I expect you could unlock it easily enough with anything thin enough to fit. But it does stop opportunists and mistakes half way up a mountain. Otherwise I expect good practice (avoid leaving them for extended periods unwatched outside a bar with road access...) is far more important
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Old Fartbag, If they have easily adjustable rail bindings, why not pull the toe piece off when you store them, rendering the skis useless (or at least expensive to make usable)?
Would also work well at mountain restaurants. Even doing it to one ski would make the pair pretty unattractive.
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@snowdave, good idea. That would made them unusable to even the most pissed wee wee-heads.
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| snowdave wrote: |
@Old Fartbag, If they have easily adjustable rail bindings, why not pull the toe piece off when you store them, rendering the skis useless (or at least expensive to make usable)?
Would also work well at mountain restaurants. Even doing it to one ski would make the pair pretty unattractive. |
Good idea.
As always - The Snowhead collective have some great ideas/suggestions.
Thank you everybody who has contributed to the thread.
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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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If there's any soft snow around I separate the pair, leave one in the rack and bury the other one in the soft snow. How could this possibly go wrong? 
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| eblunt wrote: |
I use a £2 combi cable lock if skiing by myself ( and cant swap skis ) purely to deter the mistaken identity, and this has paid off on several occasions when someone has taken the skis and realised they weren't theirs only when the ( very flimsy ) lock stopped them.
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several occasions? 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| DJL wrote: |
| If there's any soft snow around I separate the pair, leave one in the rack and bury the other one in the soft snow. How could this possibly go wrong? |
I can’t think, as you’ll always find them by the time the summer rolls around.
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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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No idea regarding the lock but I stayed in that hotel last season, it's very nice.
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| homers double wrote: |
| No idea regarding the lock but I stayed in that hotel last season, it's very nice. |
Well, that is very good to hear.
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You know it makes sense.
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| abc wrote: |
| eblunt wrote: |
I use a £2 combi cable lock if skiing by myself ( and cant swap skis ) purely to deter the mistaken identity, and this has paid off on several occasions when someone has taken the skis and realised they weren't theirs only when the ( very flimsy ) lock stopped them.
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several occasions? |
Once I actually caught the bloke shaking them in the rack, and he actually turned to me and said "Some idiots idea of a practical joke putting a lock on my skis". Feeling slightly mischievous I replied "Sorry to hear that Edgar, what a terrible thing to do", whereupon he asked why on earth I was calling him Edgar. "You name is on the skis" I replied. The 30 seconds as the slow cogs in his brain finally worked it out were a joy to watch.
Another time they had been moved significantly in the rack, and turned upside , I suspect when they realised they were still attached, possibly in an attempt to snap the cable. The poles were removed and dumped about 5m away maybe they were annoyed they couldn't just stroll off with the skis, though I'm amazed they didn't snap the cable.
That's just the two occasions I'm aware of someone trying to take my skis. I'm sure there must be other times when they realised straightaway and moved on.
They are some pretty commonly seen Rossi's , so mistaken identity is going to happen from time to time.
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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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I had a chandler make up a cable out of quite flexible stainless steel wire rope. Small padlock completes the setup. Easy to carry in my pocket.
I work on the theory that this type of lock keeps the honest people honest. Anybody who is serious and determined enough to steal skis will get past most locks that are practical to carry while skiing.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@ulmerhutte, Yes, exactly. Anything easy enough to carry while skiing will only deter people taking the skis by mistake, not anyone actually trying to steal them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Don't underestimate human factors. I was stopped leaving a tour operators bus with luggage that wasn't mine .... In 8 years of travelling it was the first time someone else had the same Loewe wheelie bag.... And even though they had tied a ribbon on the handle, which I saw, and thought "why has someone tied a ribbon to my bag' I still tied to leave with it ...
Fortunately the rightful owner was observant... .I was acutely embarrassed....
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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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If the most common reason for 'theft' is a mistake, wouldn't just a Velcro™ loop 'round the skis make it clear they were the wrong ones?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Dave of the Marmottes, …gulp….
…I once grabbed my (non hire) skis from the gondola rack…politely waiting for everyone else to get out….last skis in there…and they were the same make and model, but 10cms longer and with the bindings set for a larger boot….grrrrr…realised late enough for the person to be long gone…
But re OP - had this in hotels. Easy solution. Bin bag or big thick plastic bag on floor of bathroom…skis upright against wall with tails on bag to catch drip water….in there overnight. Done. Leave no trace…and all’s well….
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