Most individuals wait to purchase their first pair of skis for many years.  There are many reasons for this, and it primarily boils down to cost and experience.  It’s most common for individuals to rent their skis from the mountain they are skiing at or at their local ski shop.  Let’s take a look at both of these places and examine the pros and cons respectively.  After, we will look at why buying skis outright is also a good decision.

Those who do not own skis typically opt to rent their skis from a mountain.  This method of acquiring skis is very easy and efficient.  There is no hassle of bringing skis to the mountain which frees up car space and make it so that a big car is not needed.  But there are many drawbacks of buying skis at the mountain.  Some of these drawbacks include cost and quality of ski.  Ski resorts have a monopoly on the price of the skis that they rent out.  Once people are at the mountain, people’s options are very limited so that they are forced to turn towards the resort for their ski needs.  Ski resorts often carry stock skis and boots.  This means that they are low quality ski gear, but this gear does get the job done.  The cost of these packages varies depending on how much gear is needed.  If you have no gear, no helmet, no skis, no poles, no boots packages can cost upwards of fifty dollars a day.

Now, it’s time to examine the alternative to renting at the mountain which is renting at a local shop.  There are a ton of pros and some downsides to renting at a local ski shop.  Ski shops often have much better-quality skis for rent.  But there is a reason for the difference in quality, the nicer the skis that are rented, the more expensive the price becomes.  Even so, the greater variation in type and quality is really beneficial as those who are more advanced at skiing can chose specific types of skis rather than being forced to just accept low quality skis.  Lastly, most local shops charge between one hundred dollars and two hundred dollars a season for skis.  If you ski more than a few times a year, renting skis for a year from a local ski shop definitely makes sense financially.

Now, it is finally time to discuss buying ski.  The majority of individuals wait many years before they buy their first pair because of how much money skis cost and to ensure that it is not a waste of an investment.  New skis can cost anywhere between four hundred dollars and a thousand dollars.  At first, these costs might seem daunting but over time and with multiple ski trips, what one finds out is that investing in skis can quickly become the most cost efficient.  You are no longer are forced to shell out fifty dollars each time you go skiing.  After skiing for about 30 times or more, you have already begun saving on expenditures.  Finding the right type of ski is also really important.  You need to know the type of mountains you are skiing on and how advanced of a skier you are.  You shouldn’t be buying powder skies if you are skiing on East Coast mountains.

Everyone has their own reasons for the method in which they acquire skies.  Each makes sense in their own way but if someone is looking to ski a lot and for many years, buying you own skies is the way to go.