Buying first set of skis

A snowHead

I’m considering buying my first set of skis. I know very little about skis except for the recent research I have done. I’ve done about 15 weeks skiing in the last eight years and with two children who love skiing we are aiming to go two to three weeks every year from now on.
I’ve had private lessons every ski holiday. In the last few years I usually have three two hour lessons at the beginning of the holiday. I usually hire the better skis available in resort and go for a fairly stiff, on piste carving ski with a small to medium turn radius. I’ve hired slightly shorter slalom skis in the past but prefer a faster, longer, carving ski.I think I’m skiing most slopes on piste with reasonable technique and control. I mostly ski the Dolomites and Cervinia so not sure how challenging these slopes are compared to elsewhere.
Firstly I’m not sure how much advantage to buying over renting. Will it make a big difference to my enjoyment or technique using the same skis each holiday?
I’ve thought about going to a ski shop in the U.K. but when I’ve researched skis they might just have one suitable (or suitable according to my limited knowledge) available.

I’m looking for a piste ski as I’ve never skied off piste. I’ve done a fair bit of research but don’t really know what is most suitable.
I’m 169cm tall.
I weigh 84kg.
I’m 53 and have fairly strong legs. I don’t have any trouble bending a stiff ski to edge when carving.
I’m not sure of ski length. According to my research the skis should be about 162cm but I’ve hired fast carving skis previously which were 168cm and were lovely and stable.
I think I want a waist between 70-76cm
Rocker for easier turning in soft snow?
Camber for easier turning?
Rigidity to match ability - out of 10 with 1 being beginner and 10 being expert I think I’m around 6. I can confidently ski red and black although I do slow down and do shorter turns on black.
Turning radius 10-15m
Sintered or hybrid sintered construction?
Track mounted bindings?
No idea what brand.
No idea what bindings. My research has only got as far as skis so far. Do they make a big difference?
Budget not an issue. Happy to spend £1000+ but want to get the best suitable.

If I go to a shop will I get sold what they have in stock? If I find what I think is best am I better buying online?

Any help appreciated.

A snowHead

Buying vs. renting
The advantage of buying, and assuming you buy well, is know exactly what your skis should do any feel like and you should have faith that they will do it. That's not always the case with hire kit, even paying top dollar, where you might get handed a brand new pair of skis or something with 5 or 6 seasons under its belt and not having seen the servicing machine for 3 weeks.
The disadvantages are the cost and hastle of getting them there and the cost of servicing.

As for what ski to buy I'd say treat them like a pair of shoes. You can go online and read loads of ski reviews online - but would you spend £500 on a pair of shoes (with no returns) because you'd read somsone say how comfortable they were on a website? I'd guess not so why do it with skis? Next time you're in a resort hire for a couple of days while the weekend rush clears and you check out the different shops in town then pop in to a few tell them you're looking to buy/what you're looking for. You'll usually find someone who'll let you trial different skis, usually charging you a daily hire fee that they'll knock off the price if you decide to buy a pair at the end of the week. Alternatively you'll find a hire shop with a good selection of current skis and can just hire by the day to try out different skis. In generally some you'll make 2 turns and head straight back to the shop because you hate them, some you'll think are "quite nice", but hopefully you'll put one pair on and never want to take them off.

As for bindings I'd recommend rail bindings, not because they are 'better' than fixed bindings but because as your children grow you'll be able to hand them down and buy a new pair at some point!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Go into a shop in the resort, preferably at the end of the season* and ask what they advise, then take a pair out for a test ski. Most shops allow you a day to try the skis, even a variety of skis free of charge if you subsequently buy from them.

You don't say where you are based but ordering internationally from the Internet can incure some very high import taxes.

* The skis are often discounted then and you can pick up some amazing bargins from their ex hire stock.

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@IainMcT, you need …

Boots

Where are you in England? Central? CEM
East?
Ski Exchange…

Then …

You need a ski test day.

Such as:

https://skifocus.co.uk/courses/ski-focus-ski-fest-2023/

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@IainMcT, I would say yes but them, it is not going to be any cheaper than renting but you will get to know them & skiing is a confidence past time.

in my experience ( we are same shape Happy

) I would push width out to 80 min & your length out to 173.

if you can get to try them in resort magic but if not then I don't think in the reputable UK suppliers they will just sell you what they have, they will give you honest advice.

And looking at a shinny new pair of skis in your garage always encourages you to book the next trip.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Two big online retailers to browse are ekosport and glisshop.

After all it is free

@IainMcT, different people like different things. As a result, it's quite difficult to purchase a pair of skis “blind” and be completely happy with the outcome, especially if you have no idea what you want. As others have suggested, try and test some skis yourself, either from a shop, or at one of the many test events (including SnowHeads OktoberTest events in the UK) that take place every season.

@IainMcT,
Try attending a Snowheads October ski test in the UK, and try a few different skis.

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@IainMcT, ...that

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

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@Mjit, Useful information. Thank you. It does pay to be aware of the post brexit rules for importing goods from the EU where import duty and administration fees are added, then VAT added to it all. (But I think you can claim the VAT back on the original purchase).

Personaly, I am always in favour of supporting the local shops who offer the guidance and advice in the first place. When my wife bought her latest pair of skis she spent 30 minutes in the shop discussing what was the best skis for her (Blizzard Black Pearl) then took a pair out for the day before purchasing them. When she tore the edge out a few years later the same shop were very helpful in trying to chase up a warrenty claim with Blizzard. It failed, but they happily sold her a replacement pair at a significant discount and transfered the bindings free of charge. The origninal skis had done a fair bit of skiing - more than the 100 days I normally reccon on as the life of a pair of skis.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@johnE, I'd kind of like to do that but when we go skiing we don't want to spend much time buying stuff - ski, eat/drink, sleep is very much the order of the day!

That said if you go late season there is some good priced stuff around from the small amount of casual browsing we've done. Did buy our daughters Hestra gloves in resort.

A snowHead

@Layne, We bought our son's Black Diamond off piste skis from Christiana Sports in Les Arcs during the summer. They were ex hire, in excellent condition and cost less than 200€, which is close to a single day's hire in Neisko.

The shop was 100m from our apartment. It was no hasle to call in one eveneing.

A snowHead

@johnE, Personally I wouldn't buy ex-hire - I would just be suspicious of how much life would be left in them.

100m or a km doesn't really matter, generally speaking I don't leave the apartment of an evening without very good reason Toofy Grin

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Snowleader and Snowinn (Tradeinn group) have some great deals, plus they include UK customs and tax in their prices. It's like Brexit never happened!

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Just go to an independent shop and tell them what your looking for. If they're a professional shop someone will have tested the skis that they sell, yes they want to sell you something but not at the risk of selling you something completely unsuitable, it's just bad business as you won't go back.
If you have a local shop Google their reviews then go see them, they might not offer rock bottom prices but may throw in some extras...free servicing, bag etc

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@Jonny996, not sure what you are disagreeing with - I was just saying my opinion of them and why I personally don't buy. Wasn't suggesting others should have the same view/do the same.

But just to elaborate. Let's say a pair of 150 days use in them before they start to lose form/life/responsiveness. Hire skis by their nature will have a fair bit of use. 10 weeks of a season will be 60 days. But it's going to be hard to know and they could be well through their life. Buying privately owned skis where someone skis one or two weeks a year makes more sense to me. Of course, it depends on the price. If they hire skis are £50 it's throwaway money. Of course, it also depends on the skier. If, no disrespect, someone is pootling around and easy pistes all day the skis may not matter so much.

Also hire shops are more likely to machine service their skis which also reduces life.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Layne, Some hire shops know EXACTLY how many days a particular ski has been used. And have a discount for sale card based on that. A lot of Stockli skis are sold that way...

Also - a man of your experience should have no problem making a pretty accurate estimation of the amount of use an ex-hire ski has seen. I certainly do not.

I have bought new, private second hand and ex-hire. All worked out fine. But I did get the ex-hires from shops I know well.

After all it is free

@IainMcT,
An alternative/addition to the ski tests:- go on the Snowheads preseason bash. Shops in resort also do start of season sales to get rid of last seasons stock that didn't go in the previous end of season sale - they may even have the relevant demo skis, allowing you to 'try before you buy'.

Have a good look at the skis. Look for any scratches, check the edges, look for delamination etc and ask the hire shop how much use they have had. They will know from the bar codes they have on them. Yes, a pair of beginner skis will have seen a lot of life but off piste skis will have had only a few days a year.

@Layne, We wander out quite often: visit the shop for some food, the bar for a drink, or a restaurant for a meal. It's quite nice to have a walk and chat to some locals.

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@zikomo, @johnE, yeah, I've got a reasonable eye although I'd estimate I've only bought a dozen second hand pairs of skis and boards and sold a similar number. In recent years and going forward I'm only buying new. I'm fortunate to have the budget and know we will get plenty of use from the skis.

And yes with bar coding I am sure hire shops have a good idea of the use of the ski but do they really sell off 100+ day skis? And do they have skis in store they only hire out a few days a year. Maybe they do I don't know. I just think that whole game ex-rentals, even general second is fraught with danger and/or time consuming. Not ruling it out though.

Depends aswell what you are trying to achieve. If I lived in resort and wanted some rock skis or had young kids and wanted something to knock about with them in....

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Second hand for me has generally been rock-hoppers for me and kids. No way would I want to take high end new skis out in Scotland for example! An additional benefit of ex-hire are the rental bindings so the same skis can be swapped/passed down across the four kids and leant out to others.

I did buy a set of nearly new ex-hire Elan skis for my wife. She wanted to try some different skis and was looking for something more mellow for spring/ski to lunch days. She tried them and really liked them, so a quick discussion at the shop where they told us how many days they had been used and the resultant discount for sale. Unusually they did not have rental bindings which was a bonus in that case.

Quite a few hire places in Switzerland seem to have good stock of Stockli skis for hire and actively promote the option to buy with discount based on usage.

The last set of Stockli skis I bought for myself came this way. I told my wife I was just hiring for the day to try them out, so no need to worry about how expensive they were. Neglected to say that they had to take the wrappers off for the day I "hired" them. The shop was happy to give me a brand new pair for the day to try on the basis that they would put them in their hire range if I decided not to purchase. BUT I am good friends with that shop, they know me well enough to know I am a complete tackle tart and there was almost zero chance of me not buying! And as always happens Mrs Z saw right through the ruse anyway....

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What @valais2 said. Boots first. Then ski test.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well thank you for taking the time to give advice everyone. It’s very much appreciated. I started the week with a pair of short turn radius, fairly soft, too short slalom skis. Yesterday I went back to the rental shop and swapped them for some longer, much stiffer, wider waisted, larger turning radius, more of an all mountain ski. I started off in a blue run with my nine year old daughter and I really didn’t like the new skis. I was going really slowly behind my daughter who was struggling a bit today. They felt like unresponsive planks of wood. Then I abandoned the wife and children and have been skiing three chair lifts above Plan Maison in Cervinia in snow ranging from light powder covering sheet ice near the top to complete slushy crud at the bottom of the resort. I’ve had one of the best skiing days ever. Very cold, poor visibility, chossy pistes. The skis absorbed the bumps with ease where I would have had to slow right down with the other skis. When encountering ice I had to make an effort to push my knees uphill and bend the skis to carve through it. I think a stiffer ski I would have been skittering a bit without a great deal of effort. These felt about the right stiffness. I haven’t been going particularly fast due to visibility and the pistes at times have been a bit busy but comfortably carving at an average of about 35kph with higher speeds of 60kph when conditions allowed. At all times the skis were stable and I felt in full control. They are still not perfect. I think I want a ski that is slightly longer. The bindings on the other skis were far better. But I’m certainly far closer to knowing what I like and what suits my ability. I’m not sure three turns on an indoor slope is going to give me enough to know what suits but I may well come to Hemel in October. So thank you everyone. The search continues but I have a very good base now to make comparisons.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@IainMcT, well done - I think you are going about things in the right way.

It is certainly tricky (been there, done that) switching between pootling with young kids and then skiing normally.

In an ideal world I would have had two pairs but it's not an ideal world Laughing

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Sounds about right to me.

You daughters' skis will be much shorter and inherently tight turning, and if she was having a bad day probably going very slowly. Meanwhile you've swapped to wider radius skis that just don't want to ski that slowly/tightly and as a result you're having to force them to do it, so fighting the skis. As soon as you were free to ski them at the speed and radius the ski wanted to be at they came alive. I have the same issue following my friend's children's turns with my back country skis on if things get a bit steeper and the slow down/don't with my SL skis.

Also it's lighter/softer skis that skitter and heavier/stiffer ones that don't. In very simplistic terms heavy, race style skis are designed to try and just plow through and soft stuff on the surface and cut into the harder stuff below while a soft, powder style ski's trying to do the opposite and bend up and over the soft stuff - which on harder pistes can mean they get into cycles of being bent up by a little bump, springing back down, hitting the piste and bouncing back up, and repeat.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@IainMcT, Sounds like trying out hire pairs is working for you. My view is that it's only worth buying skis when you are sure of what you want. While you are unsure keep renting and build up your knowledge. Eventually you'll narrow it down to something pretty specific and can get some really good advice on here to make a final decision.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

if you are flying, rather than driving, own skis have very little financial sense after paying for transport and maintenance. Plus when renting you get the ultimate flexibility in choice and much much less hassle with lugging the skis around... just my 2p

After all it is free

@IainMcT, my advice would be to not over think it. You sound like an advanced intermediate, and can probably drive an advanced intermediate ski. Around 80-85 underfoot, 14-16m radius (any less that that will be extremely twitchy in a straight line). They will come with bindings so no need to worry about that. Every manufacturer will have something that fits that bill, so then it's down to cost and if you like the colour (seriously, you have to live with them so you might as well like the way they look). Go to a ski shop and tell them that, they should have something they recommend, then you do your own googling to see if the general reviews are favourable. Personal advice - If budget not an option, look at the Stockli Stormrider 88 as an all-rounder, or Nordica Spitfire range as a more dedicated piste basher.

@Layne, what on earth are you doing to warrant one broken bindings and two edges in 3 pairs of skis? might just be exceptionally bad luck on your part, but I think it's worth stating that complete failures like that happen very rarely. Never in my several seasons and struggling to think of friends it's happened to either. Even rentals shops see very few if these issues in a season. Modern skis are generally very well built (the big names that is, boutique/shed made trendy brands not so much).

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