This is for all you expert skiers out there! I bought a pair of cheap skis when I first started and now I'm at an intermediate level. How much of a difference do skis make? Is there anything people would recommend for a blue/red skier? I'm thinking of renting a pair for a day to see the difference.
Help appreciated!

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Live long, drop dead

Unless your skis are really really basic now, it probably isn't worth getting a new pair until you're at a more advanced level as the 'in between' stages are more about technique than how good your skis are. (but if your ski's are seriously basic then it might be a good idea) You'll probably want something with a relativity wide and flared front, and a thin and flat back. As you said though probably best renting a pair first. Plus if you don't have your own boots then they might be worth a look at rather than ski's?
Hope that helps

I hadn't thought about boots! I do own a pair but they're also at the cheap end. Ill have a look and see what people say online as well, thanks for your help!

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Live long, drop dead

i'd also recommend investing in a pare of boots first, then worry about skis. boots are more personal / specific to the user and its important for comfort. rather than renting boots each season which have been used may many others

as for skis; cheaper / older ones just tent to be heavier and user less durable materials, they'll be nothing really wrong with them. you'll notice as much difference getting your current skis serviced (waxed and sharpened) as you would a new pair.

but if you were to want a new pair, pay as much consideration as to the type of ski (i.e. freestyle, carving, downhill, touring etc) as this will make a big difference to your style / technique, rather than just looking at cost vs. weight vs. quality

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VP '08-'09

From a practical view point it's not really worth getting ski and boots unless you can get them really cheap, you're going to be doing a lot of skiing or you want to do something specialist like touring where finding a hire shop is tricky.

Last ski trip I went on ski and boot hire was £88 for the top package for a week (ie different styles of ski, they'll swap your kit mid week etc.) ski carriage was £35.

Assuming you're only doing a week at a time and do all your own servicing etc you save £50 per week of skiing. That means you have to do a lot of skiing before it becomes worthwhile to get even a moderately good set (which will probably be out of date before you make your money back).

Also I must admit to finding most skis pretty similar, (I probably don't do enough skiing) the only time I've really noticed the difference was in Scotland when they gave me really short skis and rubbish boots which felt like they were going to snap my shins off, (it was still fun!) and in deep snow where fat skis do make you float more (but that's also fun in any ski!)

On the other hand everyone likes new toys and if you have your own stuff you can ski when it snows here!

On a ski related side note:
When my grandparents learnt to ski my grandfather made skis to use, there were also no lifts so you either had to walk up or get dragged behind an early type of snow cat, and there were no pistes!

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Girls like three things: Danger, Boners and R1oss' guns.

A further ski related Anecdote:

A few years go I went on a ski touring course with plas y berin, and there was a couple also on the course who went on and on about all the different types of ski makes and models, and had all the latest kit, there was also an old chap who'd had new touring bindings put on his skis which were as old as him (and really cool, they had a leaping wolf on them) and as straight and skinny as you could imagine. When we eventually hit the slopes (off piste) where the new kit should have been showing its worth, it was funny because the old chap on his old school skis was by far the best of everyone and the couple by far the worst.

The moral of the story is that everyone had fun, but you should be careful who you sit next to at dinner.

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Girls like three things: Danger, Boners and R1oss' guns.

Cool stories haha. How did you rent skis so cheap? Where I'm at at the moment the typical ski rental is 25 euros a day for standard skis.

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Live long, drop dead

cost of renting skis / boots often does depend on the resort and the week you go. but as general tips
> book in advance
> book for 6 days, not per day
> look for independant shops, not just intersport
> look for deals along side the accomodation you say in

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VP '08-'09

Don't know how much help this is. But I bought my skis second hand but from the ski rental place. They were only the previous season's skis and in really good condition. This meant they were comparatively pretty cheap and I spent the week that I was there trying different pairs of skis till I found the ones that I liked best. And I definitively made my money back on them pretty quickly!
(though I also agree that unless your skis are seriously basic you probably don't need a new pair, just getting them serviced would make a big difference)

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x/cos^2

Ex Secretary Sec = (x)SecSec = (x)sec^2 = x/cos^2

Being the pro skier that I now am...(ha.) I agree with Tommy. Boots would definitely be the best initial investment. I bought an ex-rental setup since I knew I'd be doing a fair bit of skiing while I was ove here and it would save me money in the long run - It is a mid-range set-up and the boots are fine, but taking them off at the end of the day is ALMOST as good as sex. There is a crazy amount of 'stuff' they can do to ski boots to make the, fit your feet perfectly and I think that would make your skiing experience so much more enjoyable. Having your skis service (waxed/sharpened) can make a whole world of difference, as Tommy says and I would recommend doing that first to see if you find it sufficient before you spend a bunch more money on a new set of skis. Also, a lot of resorts sell off their rental skis at the end of the season (the big resorts anyway) and sometime you can get lucky (as I did) and find a pari which are in relatively good conditions considering and they're often selling them for peanuts, so this can be a good way to update skis without breaking the bank.

I am by no means an expert int he field and this is just advice which I was given before I bought anything!

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A new man. . . No longer 'Vaguely Paralytic'

I believe that skis are not relevant I've a fancy set-up and still ski like shit!

How'd your ski situation work out in the end Mauricio?

Those hire ones were just what was offered by the tour operator I went with, had a quick google and it seems fairly in line other big resorts. Booking in a group seems to get a good reduction.

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Girls like three things: Danger, Boners and R1oss' guns.