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How can you tell if your skis are worn out?

Happy Feet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
They are about 8 years old, but I love them. Should I just bite the bullet for new skis? Or can I keep them for one more season?
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Following as I have no idea myself. I assume someone at a shop could comment on edge and base materials etc., but unsure how to determine if say the material is no longer rebounding like it should etc when actually skiing. I would probably assume it was me or the conditions versus the ski haha.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
There a lot of things that happen as a ski gets used up.

1. Flex/Stiffness. Are the skis skiing the same way as they did 8 years ago? Are they getting soft in the flex?
2. Bases and ski construction. What shape are the bases in? Edges still intact? Can they tune/base grind the skis again. Bases are only good for so long with you're getting a base grind every tune up. Any delamination between the parts. This quite often happens at the tip of the skis and sometimes under the binding.
3. Cosmetics - how does the top sheet look....are you tried of it? Are they totally scratched and look crappy. This is more a vain reason, but a valid one for a Ski Diva.
 

RachelV

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah... when skis are done they definitely start to feel "floppy" to me, for lack of a better term.

I've also heard that skis have something like 100-150 days if life in them. Not sure how accurate that is, or if a 10-yo pair of skis is going to feel done even if they have fewer days on them than that, but it has been roughly accurate for when my own skis start to feel used up.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
To add to @Jilly ‘s point about the top sheet, if it has started to delaminate (the top has areas that have separated from the rest of the ski), they are on their way out. Water gets in and plays havoc on the ski.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
Yeah... when skis are done they definitely start to feel "floppy" to me, for lack of a better term.

I've also heard that skis have something like 100-150 days if life in them. Not sure how accurate that is, or if a 10-yo pair of skis is going to feel done even if they have fewer days on them than that, but it has been roughly accurate for when my own skis start to feel used up.
There’s also a huge swing in materials/technolgy over 10 years, right? 8 year old skis, I assume 8 year old bindings that are reaching a wear point?

8 years at 12-15 days a year would suggest worn out. If you LOVE them, then you probably hit at least 12-15 a year, right? :smile:
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
They are about 8 years old, but I love them. Should I just bite the bullet for new skis? Or can I keep them for one more season?
If you love them...who cares if they're worn out?

Skis die reeeal slowly. I always find it's tough to tell when a ski is out of it's prime until you ski something new with lots of life. Maybe demo a few new skis this year. That will tell you pretty quickly if your skis are due for a replacement and you're holding onto the nostalgia, or if they've still got life in them.
 

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