Hello!
I have been skiing for a while now, and I am looking to buy skis, boots, bindings, poles.
I don't have much money to spend, and had some questions about price. Mainly, I'm wondering how to know that a ski I am buying (or boots) is worth the money. Is there a minimum price past which any worthwhile ski will be priced? If I buy a cheaper ski, what problems can I expect? Is pretty much anything probably better than the rental skis they give you at the resort? These all also apply to boots and bindings.
Thanks for any help!
*EDIT sorry for posting in what I just realized is probably the incorrect section
Some great advice here. I like the exoskeleton description.
I think it needs to be said that most early beginners aren't willing (yet) to spend the time and money for a great fit in their first boots. They aren't sure they will stay in the sport. They ski a few days a year. They also don't know what a good fit is.
You don't mention what "for a while now" consists of. You don't say anything specific in skiing ability, trails skied, or what you've been on so far.
You would probably be well served with a good intermediate boot fitted by a professional. A lot of what you are paying for there is labor, so looking to scrimp on price at a big box store isn't the best path. Custom footbeds are also very worthwhile, but you could hold off on that and still add it later, and you would also notice the improvement if your skill level has increased in the meantime. If you have a skilled friend, you might get lucky at a ski swap or classified ads finding used boots that fit well and are not packed out. That's asking a lot though. So you're back to new in most cases.
Not so with skis and poles. You can get by with $10 sale poles (ask around to get the right length) until you turn faster than you swing the heavy pole. And I think you can get by on just about any intermediate ski until you are wide track parallel and discover the limit on your ski's edges. There's a lot of hype out there on ski marketing, craftily done by folks who's job it is to sell skis. Find a used intermediate ski in the proper length for you a few years old, but not so old the binding is about to go out of serviceability.
Since it's January, you could do a years lease on a ski, (about $150) and then shop for a deal in the spring sales, or wait until fall ski-swaps. That's a lot of money for a year though, you could buy used skis for $300 ish.Again, find a knowledgeable friend and shop Ebay and local ads. Some leases let you change skis once or twice throughout the year, that alone could be worth the lease price.
In many cases, the first boot and ski choices are not ideal ones. They are practice dates. Sure, you want to marry your boots, but not everyone finds their true love on the first try. It's a journey. But you're doing the right thing by researching before you buy.
