Should I buy my own skis?

This isn’t a simple a decision as buying your own boots. The first question to ask is do you own your own ski boots yet? If not, then this is definitely the first thing you should be investing in.

If you do and you are still considering buying skis then this guide should help.

Probably the most important subject to cover is the cost. Owning a pair of skis you will need to be prepared to transport them from home to the resort. There will be additional charges for carry skis and boots on flights and you will probably need to hire a bigger car than normal if you need to at the other end. There may even be additional charges for skis on shuttle buses from the airport to the resort. Also you’ll need to have them waxed and serviced regularly, unless you are happy to do this yourself. If you only ski once a year it may take you a while to recoup the cost of buying a pair of skis.

What’s wrong with hiring a pair of skis when you get there?

There can be nothing wrong with this on the face of it, you get to ride a different pair of skis each year, they should be serviced and waxed regularly, you can take them back and change them if you don’t like them. You can choose skis to suit your ability.

The reality, in a lot of shops, is far from this idyl of having nice new, sharp and serviced skis and shop owners are reluctant to swap them or be able to offer anything better. Some shops will offer platinum or performance ski packages which can cost upwards of 150€ for a week, so you could be paying the cost of your skis within 2 or 3 times of hiring.

Finding a great shop that has a large selection of well looked after skis, that don’t cost the earth, and who don’t mind you chopping and changing during the week, unfortunately isn’t the norm.

So that leads to the benefits of buying your own skis

By far the leading benefit of owning your own skis is familiarity. You know when you put them on how they are going to handle whatever the conditions. There is no ‘getting to know’ at the beginning of each week as you find out how this next pair of skis handle. You know out of the bag that they are going to be ready to go as they will be exactly as you left them when you got off them last time.

If you are still learning then the familiarity and predictability of your own skis will be hugely beneficial, but you should be looking to upgrade as you improve, within about 3 years if you ski once or twice a year.

You get extra ski time, you can arrive in resort and go, no finding the local shop and going down to get sorted and no leaving the slope early on the last day to get the skis back before you leave. This also makes weekend trips entirely feasible.

Lastly ski technology evolves, each year is a colour change and a slight improvement. Its not a revolution, so owning a pair of skis and changing them every 3-5 years makes perfect sense. Look after them, stick them on eBay when you’re ready to upgrade and you’ll be surprised how little they have cost you.