New skis (and boots)
9 March 2026 12:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
expedition_retirementWhen we left for Steamboat, my plan was to demo new skis and decide what new skis to purchase. My old skis were more than 20 years old, and while they still seemed to work fine for me, they were a little beat up, and they were not ideal for powder days, especially when the snow as deep or heavy. My old skis were essentially racing skis and excelled on smooth, groomed runs. And while they may well have been too much ski for me when they were new (and I was still a pretty novice skier), in many ways I had outgrown them. So, I had come to the conclusion that it was time for new skis.
My plan was to do two days of ski demos from a chain of ski stores that had locations at all of the mountains we were planning to visit. Their demo program credits the cost of up to two days of demos towards the purchase price of new skis, so the use of the demo skis would be almost free (I would still have to pay the tax on the demo rentals). I did my first demos with this company on our second day at Steamboat, trying three pairs of skis across the day. I liked two of those pairs I tried, but the pair in the middle I hated. But given the lack of fresh snow, I decided to wait to do my second day of demos until we got some fresh snow.
That didn't happen until after we arrived in Avon and began skiing at Beaver Creek and Vail. But before I actually did any additional demos, another skier we had met offered to let me try the two pairs of skis he had with him. It was his last day of skiing, so we only had the morning to play with, but I started on his older skis first, but we had trouble getting my boots to clip into his bindings because the heels were so worn. We eventually figured out a way to get them to clip in, but it was a warning sign that I dismissed at the time. After a few runs on his older skis, we swapped, and I had a chance to ski on his newer skis for a couple of runs before he had to pack his skis and catch a bus to the airport. While I enjoyed skiing on his skis in the powder we had that morning, I found his skis to be both a little too wide and a little too long for my tastes. But it was helpful to talk to him because he forced me to think critically about how the skis felt.
Finally, during our final week of the trip, we began to get some sustained snowfall, and I was finally ready to do my second set of demo rentals. Thankfully, we decided to try to have the skis set up in advance for the next morning, because when we did so, the issue with my boots came up again. Once again, the wear on my boots prevented them from clipping into the rental bindings, and we were unable to finish setting up the rental. After making some phone calls, we found another shop where the technicians said they might be able to repair my boots, but would need to see them to decide for sure. When we took my boots to them, the verdict was that they were beyond repair.
So, I now was in a position where, if I wanted new skis, I was also going to need to buy new boots. Luckily for me, the shop we were at had a demo program that included boots, as well as skis. And their demo rentals were half of what the chain shop charged, and they also applied the rental fee towards the purchase. So, I would be out the rental fee from the first demo day, but I would get two more demo days to try boots and skis. The first day was about the boots. I picked a ski I had already demoed, and tried several pairs of boots on that pair of skis. The first pair of boots was WAY too tight...by the time I got up the first lift, my feet were already getting numb, so I skied straight down to the base and swapped them out for a second pair. That pair was fine, and I skied in them for a couple of hours. They were at least as comfortable as my old pair, and I could have lived with them as my boots, but I decided to see what my other options were. After lunch I tried a third pair of boots, and almost immediately, I knew I had found my new boots. They were, by far, the most comfortable ski boots I'd ever worn. Over the course of the afternoon, I was unable to find any position where they were uncomfortable, and by the end of the day I had decided to buy them.
Having chosen a new pair of boots, the next day was about the skis. I had basically narrowed it down to two pairs of skis: the pair I was on when I demoed the boots and a model I had rented in Switzerland last winter. I also demoed a *much* more expensive brand, just to see if they performed enough better to justify the cost. While that expensive brand was nice, I didn't feel like I gained enough performance to justify the price, and I ended up coming back to the skis I used while trying the boots. While it is longer and wider than my old skis, it has an identical turning radius, so they felt familiar to me on the groomed runs. But the extra width gives them better performance in the powder, so they would be a net improvement over my old skis.
Having made those decisions, we made the purchases, and I skied the final two days on my new skis and boots. And I *LOVED* them. I hadn't realized just how much of a difference new equipment would make. I had become accustomed to my old gear and that familiarity meant that I didn't think much about what might be better. Now that I have new gear, I look forward to the opportunities to use it.
My plan was to do two days of ski demos from a chain of ski stores that had locations at all of the mountains we were planning to visit. Their demo program credits the cost of up to two days of demos towards the purchase price of new skis, so the use of the demo skis would be almost free (I would still have to pay the tax on the demo rentals). I did my first demos with this company on our second day at Steamboat, trying three pairs of skis across the day. I liked two of those pairs I tried, but the pair in the middle I hated. But given the lack of fresh snow, I decided to wait to do my second day of demos until we got some fresh snow.
That didn't happen until after we arrived in Avon and began skiing at Beaver Creek and Vail. But before I actually did any additional demos, another skier we had met offered to let me try the two pairs of skis he had with him. It was his last day of skiing, so we only had the morning to play with, but I started on his older skis first, but we had trouble getting my boots to clip into his bindings because the heels were so worn. We eventually figured out a way to get them to clip in, but it was a warning sign that I dismissed at the time. After a few runs on his older skis, we swapped, and I had a chance to ski on his newer skis for a couple of runs before he had to pack his skis and catch a bus to the airport. While I enjoyed skiing on his skis in the powder we had that morning, I found his skis to be both a little too wide and a little too long for my tastes. But it was helpful to talk to him because he forced me to think critically about how the skis felt.
Finally, during our final week of the trip, we began to get some sustained snowfall, and I was finally ready to do my second set of demo rentals. Thankfully, we decided to try to have the skis set up in advance for the next morning, because when we did so, the issue with my boots came up again. Once again, the wear on my boots prevented them from clipping into the rental bindings, and we were unable to finish setting up the rental. After making some phone calls, we found another shop where the technicians said they might be able to repair my boots, but would need to see them to decide for sure. When we took my boots to them, the verdict was that they were beyond repair.
So, I now was in a position where, if I wanted new skis, I was also going to need to buy new boots. Luckily for me, the shop we were at had a demo program that included boots, as well as skis. And their demo rentals were half of what the chain shop charged, and they also applied the rental fee towards the purchase. So, I would be out the rental fee from the first demo day, but I would get two more demo days to try boots and skis. The first day was about the boots. I picked a ski I had already demoed, and tried several pairs of boots on that pair of skis. The first pair of boots was WAY too tight...by the time I got up the first lift, my feet were already getting numb, so I skied straight down to the base and swapped them out for a second pair. That pair was fine, and I skied in them for a couple of hours. They were at least as comfortable as my old pair, and I could have lived with them as my boots, but I decided to see what my other options were. After lunch I tried a third pair of boots, and almost immediately, I knew I had found my new boots. They were, by far, the most comfortable ski boots I'd ever worn. Over the course of the afternoon, I was unable to find any position where they were uncomfortable, and by the end of the day I had decided to buy them.
Having chosen a new pair of boots, the next day was about the skis. I had basically narrowed it down to two pairs of skis: the pair I was on when I demoed the boots and a model I had rented in Switzerland last winter. I also demoed a *much* more expensive brand, just to see if they performed enough better to justify the cost. While that expensive brand was nice, I didn't feel like I gained enough performance to justify the price, and I ended up coming back to the skis I used while trying the boots. While it is longer and wider than my old skis, it has an identical turning radius, so they felt familiar to me on the groomed runs. But the extra width gives them better performance in the powder, so they would be a net improvement over my old skis.
Having made those decisions, we made the purchases, and I skied the final two days on my new skis and boots. And I *LOVED* them. I hadn't realized just how much of a difference new equipment would make. I had become accustomed to my old gear and that familiarity meant that I didn't think much about what might be better. Now that I have new gear, I look forward to the opportunities to use it.