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Help Needed: gear for the ready-to-become-skiers family

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@jumperlass - I’m going to make a suggestion to go down a different path...of course this will very much depend on what you have available in your area. There are a lot of ski shops that do yearly lease programs for kids. These programs will outfit your kids with skis, boots and poles for the season, if they outgrow them mid-season most programs will let you swap them out for something that fits. This is the only way to guarantee your kid won’t outgrow what you buy, and to make sure you don’t buy something that will fit them for 2 years, but will hinder their progression because it’s too big.

You could always go down a similar route for yourself and find a seasonal rental for gear. This can give you an opportunity to try different things and swap them out if they’re not working for you. Spend the money on getting your boots properly fitted, and then go with a seasonal rental for a year.


EXACTLY what I was going to suggest especially with growing boys! For you and hubby get good fitting comfy boots and do season rental on skis to try different ones. Technology has comeso far skis are amazing but what one person loves another hates.
 

jumperlass

Certified Ski Diva
You don't need hothouse orchids, just something that fits better than rental boots, and with a good footbed (and "good" doesn't have to mean custom. These things are great: fifty bucks; just get the right length and arch size and trim as needed.)

Read up a bit on what a good shell fit and flex should look like for you, and get your foot measured at a shop, then try on some boots. When you find a pair that fits snugly, particularly in the heel/ankle area and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, go for it. If the shell fit and flex are ok for you, you can make other adjustments as needed.
Thank you so much for the helpful concrete suggestions!
 

jumperlass

Certified Ski Diva
EXACTLY what I was going to suggest especially with growing boys! For you and hubby get good fitting comfy boots and do season rental on skis to try different ones. Technology has comeso far skis are amazing but what one person loves another hates.

I’m definitely looking for ski leases as an option. So far (other than the ~$275 season pass add-on for junior rentals at Greek Peak, to be used there) I’ve found 3 options. All are 2-3.5 hours from our house (a little longer from our regular ski spot), which makes trying a variety of skis less likely. Maybe that’s what it takes? But four to seven hours of driving each time we need a different boot or ski seems like a day the kid and I would rather have been skiing.

If anyone knows of Syracuse or Binghamton options, a ski lease could work. I need to do more googling and calling around. Failing that, I’m leaning toward the L9 packages for the kids and the boot inserts and well-fitting boots for me. And my husband just wants a lesson that starts with learning to stop and turn rather than taking the lift up the bunny slope. He’s not interested in owning any gear yet!

I really appreciate the wealth of advice so many have offered. Thank you! And feel free to keep it coming.
 

jumperlass

Certified Ski Diva
I looked around more and decided that, at least for the kids, the Level9 packages were about as good as anything I could do locally. (I included Craigslist and the fall swaps, from what I could gather from other people.)

I can't wait. These are going to be fantastic birthday presents in 2019. That's the great way to look at this. Thanks for all your encouragements, ladies! I really appreciate it.
 

AusinCanada

Diva in Training
I was exactly in your situation 4 years ago. I would absolutely do used CL skis and boots for the kids. At that level they just need to fit ok and aren’t high performance. Going rate for used skis is $100 and $50 for boots here. I would buy their skis at forehead height and I could get 2-3 seasons. When buying used, try and find out the year model (compare with pics on on google) and ensure they are less than 5 years old so the ski store can adjust the binding within warranty. I then sold the kids skis for what I paid. So, free skis for kids...or a rolling investment. Now my son snowboards and both kids are quite advanced so I buy them better equipment but even this season my daughter skied on 3rd season used basic junior skis (atomic vantage). She rocked trees, bumps, and blacks at Big White at Christmas in them so it’s not an issue to buy used.

If you don’t want the hassle, many stores do a half back program where you return the package at the end of the season for a voucher for next season. You’re locked into that though, because you can usually only use the voucher for skis

For myself, at the beginning, I got new boots (I have tricky feet) and some random, used beginner skis. These were great for 1.5 seasons of almost daily skiing (we got the bug, hard). Eventually I noticed I was skiing fast and hard enough to get “chatter” which is the tip flapping against the snow as I over flexed the ski. I then upgraded to new, intermediate skis, knowing it was a reasonable investment with the amount we were using equipment.
 

jumperlass

Certified Ski Diva
Thank you! I really appreciate the advice so many folks have been willing to share. It's so helpful to a newbie eager to start the family out on a good footing.
 

jumperlass

Certified Ski Diva
Two years later, I want to thank everyone again for the thoughtful advice. My kids have been very happy with their Defiance ski packages from L9. I got the recommended insoles to make my boots better—I’m just going to have to find a place to get boots fit, though, now—and we even got my husband out and enjoying skiing rather than just agreeing to try it since the rest of us liked it.
He’s working his way through the greens, while the rest of us will have skied through our local blues by the end of the season. (The big kid hasn’t had ski club or many outings with friends, so he hasn’t tried skiing the blacks this year. Instead he’s trying to teach himself to ski backwards.) It’s been super fun to share this activity as a family. We don’t really go anywhere but our local hill, but having that regular outing has made a world of difference to our general well-being this winter.
Your helpful advice has really paid off for us. Thanks again!
 

ski skuhl

Angel Diva
@jumperlass, There is so much wisdom to be had on this forum. Bottom line though, you need to do what's in your comfort zone. Coming from someone who had a spreadsheet going for years to keep track of the family's shoestring ski budget for everything from gear to passes (before the consolidation wave of the past few years it was all about hunting down coupons and deals). It is not an inexpensive sport but imho, it is worth it! My son who is now 6'8" was always tall and grew at a ridiculous pace when her was a teen. More than one year I just gave up hunting down equipment for him and rented a set up from a local ski shop. The benefit was that they switched out his boots when necessary (happened both seasons) and skis too. If you can find a reputable shop that has above average rental equipment, this might be an option to explore. I did not get a return on investment but I knew what I was in for cost-wise. It also saved me a ton of time.
Boots are the most important always and for every skier, but especially for young growing feet. Equal to that is to have a good experience that leaves everyone wanting more. :-)
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I'm so thrilled that you got the help you needed! I think most of us here will agree that skiing is a saving grace this year. We've done our share of complaining about masks that fog our goggles and maskless shouters in the lift line, but truly it is amazing to get outside and have a ball this winter!

Come back any time you want to talk skis, gear, lessons, technique - it's all here!

:dance:
 
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MontanaMom

Certified Ski Diva
I have two kiddos, 5 and 7, and this is their third season Skiing. I'm a single mom and their dad doesn't help so I put the F in frugal.

Do you have a used sporting goods store in your area? Like Play It Again Sports? Our local play it again has season rentals for half off of buy price, so for my kiddos rented skis and boots for only 120 TOTAL (60 bucks a kid)

Also watch craigslist and Facebook and clearance sales. I buy stuff when I see a sweet deal. I picked up a pair of skies from facebook for only 50 bucks. They are nice/it was a sweet deal that I think kids can ski them for 2-3 years and still have resale value so cheaper than renting.

End of season sales online, in stores can be life savers. Just keeping your eye out and it might be like an 80% off price but something your kids can't wear for two or three years but it's worth it to me to go ahead and buy it now and then pull it out later as a birthday/Christmas gift. Then of course all these things, if you take care of them, retain some retail value and you can sell them on Facebook or Craigslist as well. When thinking resale, brand names tend to hold their value longer. I bought the Costco snowsuit sets and I think they're only like 35-45 bucks brand new anyway but I can say that they get torn faster and they don't hold up as well as name brand stuff.

The biggest investment at one time for us has been the season pass which for the three of us total is $465 but we are very blessed to be 35-45 minutes from a small local ski area that's very affordable and it gives us free days at other mountains. 5 days of which we actually use. So that's a savings of $375+ for just my tickets plus the kiddos. It pays to buy the pass.
 

MontanaMom

Certified Ski Diva
Also, I got a used REI ski coat for my daughter for only 10 bucks. It looks brand new. Is purple and white, will fit her next year etc. There are deals to be had that make this sport affordable. :smile:
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Good for you, @MontanaMom ! Nothing easy about raising kids alone, and certainly nothing easy about affording to go skiing with kids. Kudos for pulling it off!

I’ll bet you’re a genius with school (and other) clothes, too!
 

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