Hiring skis

For the beginner or out-of-town skier, hiring skis for the slope is an important piece of the puzzle. The question of which skis to rent will vary from ski shop to ski shop based on their inventory but there are three main classes of ski to choose from. The individual names on the skis mean less since the brands that are carried are not predictable for any one shop.

The bottom tier in hiring skis is going to be the entry level skis also called the standard ski package. This is not going to be an attractive set that will be presented to you from behind the counter. There will be visible battle scars and a clunky design that was never sold at the retail level when they were brought out 4 or 5 years ago.

These are perfect for a first or second time skier--there is no worry about messing these beauties up. The main strategy to make your day out on the bunny slopes or blues is to order the skis as short as you can stand it. Get them so short that they look funny because this will translate into incredible ease for you out there on the slope.

Hiring skis at the next level up is from what the ski shop will call the sport package. This group of skis from which there are probably 2-3 choices in any size is designed for the intermediate skier or even advanced. The price will be about 1/3 more than the standard package but will feature skis that are older but were names you may have seen at a retail store. They may have some contour for better control and a raised binding plate for easier ski direction. This is the minimum ski for an intermediate slope lover.

The highest level for hiring skis is the demo package. Within this package, the skis should be of very good quality. Not only will they look new, this should be a collection of this year’s top ski models for you to test for possible purchase. This is not the case at every ski shop but this will still be the rental level that anyone thinking of powder or off-piste play will want to choose from. These will definitely be names you have heard of, they definitely should have the newest features and you should definitely consider buying insurance on these skis. The price for this package will probably be more than double that of the standard pack and is easily worth it.