Topic: Ski equipment recommendations? Where to go and what to look for

[xrayvsn]

After many years away from doing any skiing, we recently went on a family trip with the kids, and both my wife and I have rediscovered how much we enjoy the sport.  We all tried snowboarding last year, and we were both a bit turned off at the injury prospect, so this time we decided to try skiing again (not having done any skiing for nearly 15 years, or more).

We had a great time, and now want to do this a bit more frequently than once every 15 years.  We figure we don't want to continue renting, and have started talking about buying our own equipment.  Problem is, we have no clue where to even start.  A quick visit to Sport Check just overwhelmed us with the sheer number of choices, let alone the lingo.  I am fine researching the words and some of the new technology that goes into the skis, so that I am better informed, but eventually I will actually want to talk to someone who is knowledgeable and can steer us into the right type of equipment for our skill level.

Any recommendations in Calgary for a ski shop, or type of equipment to look into?

I guess some details about our skill level might help with the latter:

I am intermediate, not planning on tricks or going off the groomed sections.  I want to be able to ski with my young kids, though I recognize that they will eventually surpass me.  I am not what you would call an aggressive skier, more like a human pylon for those on the hill who are.

My wife is in-between beginner and intermediate.  Slow and steady down the hill, but looking to improve.

[Mase-19]

Look for a good all-mountain ski. Elan and Volkl make great ski's. Technica  makes a great boot. As far as stores, try to stay away from the sportchek type store. As for a good store in calgary, I would head to Techno sports, ski west or ski cellar. I am not a big fan of abominable. Everyone I have ever dealt with at those stores has been great. Very knowledgeable and helpful. They will make sure you get what you need. Good luck and have fun. Don't forget to pick up a helmet too

[93ScoobyD]

PM Longlivetheride.

He works at Techno Sport in Avenida and I can really say he knows his stuff and I'm sure he'll be able to help you out. His name is Ryan

Hope that helps


-Chris

[canehdianJ]

Look for a good all-mountain ski. Elan and Volkl make great ski's. Technica  makes a great boot. As far as stores, try to stay away from the sportchek type store. As for a good store in calgary, I would head to Techno sports, ski west or ski cellar. I am not a big fan of abominable. Everyone I have ever dealt with at those stores has been great. Very knowledgeable and helpful. They will make sure you get what you need. Good luck and have fun. Don't forget to pick up a helmet too

Elan and Volkl make great skis, but they are more of a race stiffness.  My volkl powder skis are REALLY stiff compared to most other pow skis.

I came back to the sport about 3 years ago, and bought some used demo skis, Dynastar Contact 10's.  I adore them, they are the perfect length, the perfect amount of shovel on the tip.  They are a stiffer ski but that allows for a brilliant carving ski on groomers (which i suspect you will spend a lot of time on) and have a reliatively short turning radius.  Make sure you take your weight into acount when buying skis.  I am thin so I needed a shorter ski because i cant man-handle a larger ski and still have fun. 

I would highly recommend finding some used demo skis in your size, and i would also stay away from many all mountain skis unless your going to hit moguls, black diamonds and places where you have sluff and powder buildup.  A ski that has a thin waist will allow you to improve at a much faster rate because they are much quicker edge to edge and are more telepathic then their powder sisters.  I have two sets for variable conditions.  One set is a 2009 Volkl Gotama (105mm under foot, no rocker, no camber, fairly stiff "all mountain, pow" ski, and the others are Dynastar contact 10's and are 75mm under foot with a fairly large shovel at the tip) 

If you are ever in edmonton, Sundance has one of the best boot fitters I have ever met.  If you are going to buy any gear, MAKE SURE you are prepared to spend the most on boots.  Skis are skis, and of course they all ski differently but boots MUST fit correctly.  I tried on ALL of the boots in the store, all the womens and all the mens and ended up in Nordica supercharger enforcers. (annoyingly the most expensive boot on the shelf)
I still had to have them punched out and form fitted, but now I have a boot that will last for YEARS!

If you get the chance to try on some Full Tilts, do it, they are a 1980s boot design thats been updated for 2010/2011.  Its a raliche flexon comp

[Flelford]

I recently got back into the sport as well. I had a friend tell me of a website he used called levelninesports.com. They tend to have some great deals. Price was the biggest obstacle for my to get back into it. But I ended up getting a set of skis, boots, poles, and ski bag shipped to my house for like $530 CDN. I just picked out a set of boots on the site and then found the same pair in Edmonton to make sure I was ordering the right size. And the price of those boots in the shop in Edmonton alone was nearly $500 to themsleves.

[DubyaRX]

I picked up my Nordica Hotrod 95s from Pacesetter. I sacrificed stiffness for all day comfort. My feet were warmer than anyone else in my group. They're a lower volume boot for control. If you want comfort, keep your flex rating down. Free floating tongue designs typically will be more comfortable, such as the Full Tilts mentioned previously. I tried the Konflict. The tongue it comes with is very stiiff, but you can change them out. Great for jumps/parks. I ski Dynastar Legends; they're pretty light and handle the crud pretty decently. As long as your ski has good sidecut and lightweight it should handle what you throw at it. Definately spend your dough on boots though. Also, upgrade your footbed to an aftermarket insert.

[Jitenshakun]

Xray, are you buying for the kids as well?  If so, you may want to purchase from a shop that has a buy back/trade up program with their kids equipment.

The shops being reccomended are good ones (I'd throw Fresh in the mix) but like any sporting goods store you'll largely get enthusiates that are at level 42 compared to your level 1.  I can also appreciate how tough it would be to try and learn all the stuff while balancing kids in the store and the wife's questions and concerns.

My suggestion is to go to a shop with a friend that knows the gear so you can learn the gear in a calm environment.  With one person it isn't too much to absorb and you'll get it pretty quick.  From there I'd tackle the more difficult challenge of sorting out purchases.

At this point it won't matter if you get the "Subaru" or "Mitsubishi" of skis. What'll matter is if you get a sedan, 4x4 truck or sports car

[katalyst]

...late to the party

but for the kids, you could also considering purchasing used equipment either from a rental shop or at a ski swap since they'll probably grow out of it in a few years.  otherwise going with a shop that has a trade-in program as mentioned previously would be a good way to go. 

possibly for the wife as well if she's still beginner-intermediate, she could look at getting some new, great fitting boots and then just picking up a set of used skis for now while she hones her skill.  i still use poles that i purchased from a rental shop like 10 yrs ago haha, makes me less apprehensive about losing them or breaking them. 

as for ski shops, i also recommend techno sport, those guys are incredibly knowledgeable and will definitely get you into the right gear you need.  but their price point is relatively high and you might experience some sticker shock when you first arrive.  but coming from experience, you pretty much get what you pay for.  if you're willing to make the initial investment into some good gear it should last you for some time and allow you to really enjoy your skiing experience so much more.

[Jitenshakun]

I was in Ski Cellar on 17th today and they we're blowing out the "used" kids stuff.  I think I heard the number $160 for a full set up.

[xrayvsn]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.  If I can find some free time to go out and shop for this stuff, I will definitely heed syour suggestions, and I will likely take up Jiten on his kind offer. 

We are hoping to go out skiing at least one more time this year, and we may have to rent again since I am not sure we can get around to really looking around for the equipment.

[Jitenshakun]

Just let me know.  Looking at gear is always fun 

[RIP]

Ebay is a good place to get gear once you know what you want.