New Skier that doesn't want to rent

[aggiemary04]

So I am a new skier and am sooo happy to have found this website full of ladies!! I just got back from my first skiing vacation in New Hampshire. I was able to ski for 2 days on man made snow and then 3 days on Fresh Powder. Renting was fine for this time since I wasn't sure if I was going to like skiing or not, but I absolutely LOVED it. I took a few lessons here in Texas on a moving carpet that was on a slope. It was helpful enough that I didn't have to ski in the wedge at all on the green slopes. By the end of my vacation I was very confident parallel skiing on the green slopes (so I would assume I'm not quite a beginner but not quite intermediate?). I am very interested in owning my own equipment since I know I will be more comfortable. I was looking at the Volkl skis at a local shop and the I believe the women's specific 163s (they come to my nose) are the correct size for me. I am 5'9 and weigh 150 pounds. Are there any particular skis/models y'all could recommend to me? Any particular boots? I was looking at the Salomon boots...

any help would be greatly appreciated..

Mary

 

[num]

Hey Mary, welcome to skiing! If you're nuts about skiing, you're in the right place to talk about it

I went skiing for my first time at the end of last season, fell in love with it my first time, and went gear hunting. I got myself gear but I didn't get to use it til this season (which took forever to start, arg!) so I can relate to the whole skipping rentals thing.

First and foremost, your most important purchase is going to be boots! They're the vital link between you and your skis; anything you want to tell your skis to do is told through your boots. Find a good bootfitter in your area, and (s)he will take a look at your feet, talk to you about your skiing, and figure out which brands and models will suit you. You gotta find a good boot fitter and trust them to find what's right for you. They should bring out several pairs for you to try, so you can find the boots that suit your foot. You should be shell fit (they remove the liner from the boot and have you put your foot in the bare shell of the boot and measure the empty space in the back of the boot). There're alot of problems people have that are corrected with(in) their boots; most people don't do well with boots straight out of the box, and there are plenty of things that can be tweaked to make your boots just right for you. Instead of rambling on at you, I'll find a link to a thread on here about bootfitting.

About the skis, a piece of advice that you'll hear a lot (with good reason) is to demo, demo, demo. Demoing skis allows you to try different skis out and see what works well for you. Different people look for different things in a ski, and demoing gives you the opportunity to comparison shop and find what suits you the best. Some shops allow you to demo for a fee that they apply to your purchase if you buy a ski from them.

 

[num]

Here's the boot fitting thread:

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466&page=2

The first post by volklgirl on page 2 has a nice description of how a trip to the bootfitter should go, and the rest of the thread is full of goodies about custom footbeds, alignment, etc.

 

[aggiemary04]

thanks!

Awesome advise! Thanks so much! I think what I am going to do is get boots here BUT visit a boot fitter once I get to a Ski Resort area. I believe we do not have one here in Houston. I also think it might be a better idea to do it where I am skiing so adjustments can be made if necessary.

 

[rapetzel]

Rossignol reccomendation

I was in the exact same boat last year. Anxious to improve quickly, I purchased a ski that was WAY to stiff--a volkl supersport. As a result, I wound up with a pretty serious injury.
This year I decided to go with the Rossignol B2 womens version--figured it was softer but would still allow improvement--and I couldn't be happier. I've been shocked at how quickly I've picked up skiing compared to when I was on the stiffer skis. This December I was making wedge turns on the greens, and yesterday I did a double black diamond run at Jackson Hole on the same B2's I started with. The bandits have boosted my confidence tremendously and kept up as I advanced off the groomers into trees and powder runs. I truly feel the Rossignol bandit series is one of the best designed skis ever made--and the womens version is tried and true. They are incredibly versatile with great turn initiation-- I strongly reccomend them for the beginner-intermediate skier on any mountain.
I think the advantage to the bandits as opposed to the volkl's you mentioned is they are designed to handle a little bit of crud and powder for when you take a trip to a western mountain--yet will still rock the ice and hard groomers for the eastern vacation.
Hope this helps---and good luck! It's so exciting picking up something new!

 

[persee]

same here...

I bought boots before my first lesson - long story involving having been a dancer and having really screwed up ankles so I needed a good fit to try. I got through my 3 lessons and was able to get down the mountain efficiently on greens on the rental skis but really hated them, so I determined to go get my own skis - I bought a set of just more than beginner skis (t9 mystery luvs) these got my skiing advanced for a year, then I outgrew them and bought t9 true luvs which were perfectly suited for my ability at that time. So I'd say once you have a good set of boots if ya want skis go for it. It may be hard to find ones to demo that are appropriate for you - a lot of demos are only the advanced/expert skis which may still be too much (ie too stiff,unforgiving,etc) for you but if you buy something nice and forgiving and just a little above your level I think it will really help.