Skis

[TheIglu]

Looking for a pair of skis with bindings, boots and poles tonight at the Mt.Wachusett Swap.

Anything I should look for/stay away from?

Just looking to hit the mountain once a week this winter with friends. I've skied about 6 times previously all on rentals.

I am completely uneducated on skis and ski related mumbo-jumbo.

Was told I should be looking to spend about $500 on a full set of used stuff.

I'm 5'6, 150lbs.

[BostonSVkid]

Depends on how "used" the stuff really is. IMO I don't like buying rentals as most people abuse them and they are not cared for usually.

Buy brand new boots not used. Boots mold to your feet over time so if they are someone elses boot they may never fit right. As for skis and bindings just hit a ski shop for some leftovers. You can find new boots, bindings and skis for $500 that are all leftover from last year. Most beginner to intermediate skis will meet your needs if you have only skied 6 times.

All the shops around Loon are having huge sales. My Wife found a set up for skis, boots and bindings for like $400 BRAND NEW. Good luck.

[Puppet]

Buy brand new boots not used.

HUUUUUUGE

Boots are going to be the most important part of your equipment. Uncomfortable feet will kill a day as fast as anything and boots too small or too big (most common) will inhibit your learning curve, as well.

Spend the money on getting a good fit from a knowledgeable fitter. Think of boots as the "suspension" of ski world, in that you wouldn't trust just any shop monkey to redo your suspension, so don't trust just any kid in a ski shop to fit your boots properly.

[TheIglu]

Good to know that better deals are out there. I thought $500 for a used set seemed steep.

[Marc R]

...once a week this winter with friends.

Take the time to get proper fitting boots. If you're not convinced of a good fit at the swap, new ski boots are well worth the money when you're skiing once a week. Poor fiting boots is like riding a bike without foot pegs, you're inputs will be vague suggestions to the skiis. I spent 2 hours with the store manager for my last pair of boots.

Ski length = to your shoulder height, to chin height. Ski width between 65mm and 72mm is good for groomed trails.

You can have serious fun with good boots and crap skiis.

[kbroderick]

+1 on what they said.

If you're talking about something that's functional enough to slide around on once a week, I'd expect you can find skis and bindings for under $250. I'd recommend shopping boots first, though, to hopefully avoid needing a remount of the bindings (bindings need to be set pretty damn precisely for the correct boot sole length; most have a range between one and four shell sizes, where within that range a tech can adjust the bindings and beyond it he or she would need to redrill the skis. The latter is more time-consuming and thus likely to be more expensive). If you can find a shop manual online, you could probably adjust your own bindings (at your own risk, of course—misadjusted bindings can result in unexpected releases or failures-to-release and result in serious injury, etc)—the process is generally straightforward, but each type of bindings is a little different.

Boots = suspension is a pretty good way to think about it; boots that are set up well allow a good skier to do quite a bit even on crappy skis. I'd suggest finding out who the good bootfitter(s) in your area is (or are, if there is more than one of them) and planning to spend a big chunk of change on boots from them (i.e. buy the boots retail and cough up the cost for a good set of footbeds). The end product is likely to be something that you can use for years on end.

[TheIglu]

Tonight was surprising. A co-worker is also an employee at the mountain and she spent a solid hour with me trying to find the right boots. After everything was said and done, I walked away with a set of lightly used boots that fit me better than any of the new ones, a brand new set of Fisher XTR skis, new poles, new helmet and the boots setup on the bindings for under $400. Can't complain with that.

[brady]

All the shops around Loon are having huge sales. My Wife found a set up for skis, boots and bindings for like $400 BRAND NEW. Good luck.

Before I ditched the skis for a snowboard (OK, it was 11 years ago), Rogers Ski Shop in N. Woodstock always treated me well.

[nhbubba]

My buddy bought a full, decent, name brand outfit at Sports Authority a couple years ago for like $300. Made me look like a fool for dropping $400 on a leftover ski + binding setup. My stuff is better, but he has just about the same fun.

I've been rockin' the same boots since 1997 now. They're purple.

[jcrawford]

Looking for a pair of skis with bindings, boots and poles tonight at the Mt.Wachusett Swap.

Anything I should look for/stay away from?

Just looking to hit the mountain once a week this winter with friends. I've skied about 6 times previously all on rentals.

I am completely uneducated on skis and ski related mumbo-jumbo.

Was told I should be looking to spend about $500 on a full set of used stuff.

I'm 5'6, 150lbs.

I am not sure if there is one of these shops within driving distance to you but about 5 years ago I got a brand new board boots and bindings for around $400 (retail for all gear was over 1k) during the off-season. The best time to shop for any skiing/boarding gear is in the summer time, kinda the opposite of bikes

http://www.peterglenn.com/

I've always thought they had decent prices but again off season not too sure about their in-season prices.

[SRTie4k]

I miss the days of working at the ski area and getting free leftovers at the end of the season. Best pair of skis I ever got for free was a set of brand-new $800 Rosi's.

[Paul_E_D]

Shoulda got a snowboard Iglu!

[brady]

Shoulda got a snowboard Iglu!

I always thought I'd keep doing both, but once I tried it I never went back. Actually I went back once, didn't have as much fun, broke one of my ski boots (they were old) and took it as a sign.

[Paul_E_D]

Me too, never looked back. Ski boots? <shudder> Poles? <hassle> Moguls? <annoying>

The only thing I miss is the ease of doing massive air. It's much harder (to me) to keep oriented while doing really big airs on a snowboard. Maybe I started too old...

[TheIglu]

I've skied before, never boarded, but a buddy of mine who is going to be hitting the mountain with me every week is boarder and he has a spare setup he's going to let me try. I wasn't willing to throw down the coin for a season pass on something I'v never tried before, so this season is ski time.

[SRTie4k]

I tried boarding for 2 years and hated it. Unlike skiing, if you catch an edge there is only one place you end up.

[brady]

I tried boarding for 2 years and hated it. Unlike skiing, if you catch an edge there is only one place you end up.

Unlike skiing, there are only 2 edges to catch, no poles to catch, and you can surf right over all the heavy, lumpy stuff that will try to grab your ski edges!
But I do know skiers (including my wife) that tried it and didn't see the point. It's not an old dog/new trick thing though, I skied for over 30 years .

And I still love the moguls .

[Paul_E_D]

I tried boarding for 2 years and hated it. Unlike skiing, if you catch an edge there is only one place you end up.

Haha! There is a steep learning curve for skiers to be sure. The amount of falling while leaning is much greater. Knee/elbow, and tailbone padding goes a loooong way.

The single edge means that you are more committed to every move you make. Reading and following fall lines is key. On skis, you don't have to flow with the mountain. That's really the reason I love the snowboard so much. Flowetry.

[brady]

The single edge means that you are more committed to every move you make. Reading and following fall lines is key. On skis, you don't have to flow with the mountain. That's really the reason I love the snowboard so much. Flowetry.

It's starting to sound a lot like driving a car vs. riding a bike .

[AimlessMoto]

Looking for a pair of skis with bindings, boots and poles tonight at the Mt.Wachusett Swap.

Anything I should look for/stay away from?

Just looking to hit the mountain once a week this winter with friends. I've skied about 6 times previously all on rentals.

I am completely uneducated on skis and ski related mumbo-jumbo.

Was told I should be looking to spend about $500 on a full set of used stuff.

I'm 5'6, 150lbs.

I went last night, and bought 2 pair of skis.... Volkl Vertigo ($55), and Atomic Beta V ($70)... they're in AWESOME condition... 180mm on the Atomics, 184mm Volkls, I'm 230, 5'11".

My fiance bought a set of 08' Volkl Auroras (Retail $700) for $175... like new, and a BRAND NEW left over pair of Dalbello boots for $174 ($400 new).

You can find some AMAZING stuff there if you know what you're looking for.

Go with $300 in your pocket if you're not picky... Go with $450 if you want top of the line ding/dent stuff.

AS LONG as the base of the skis are un-gouged, and as long as the bindings are tight, go for it. Also look at the edge and see that there's over 1/8th of an inch of metal around the ski... less than 1/8th of an inch the skis are considered "dead" as they are no longer tunable.

Also, try to buy skis with a good base that are un-waxed, and get them hot-waxed and sharpened, they'll run like new.

[TheIglu]

I was there and bought already. What did you/your GF look like?

[BostonSVkid]

Good. Yeah lightly used boots are usually okay because they arent broken in yet. Its just rare to find them that lightly used. Glad you found a setup in your budget.

Oh and I skied from 9-11 and have been boarding for 18 years since. I would NEVER consider going back. My wife skis and HATES snowboarders too!

[SVRACER01]

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Putnams in Portsmouth is having a huge sale this weekend for anyone looking for stuff. Up to 50% off