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Possible alternative to locking skis?
- Thread starter TNtoTaos
- Start date
Only on the metal edge ;)
mustski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don’t know long you were in SoCal, but next time just look around. Nobody locks their skis or boards so that should tell you something. If it was a problem, there would be plenty of locks. Same with personal items - locals are not paying for lockers or basket check. A number of years ago, Snow Summit offered ski check, but no one used it. It disappeared the next season.
You know … I thought I had corrected it!
I’m not sure this is the best gauge… the last couple of years we’ve had a bunch of issues with skis/boards being stolen or “mistaken identity” where people supposedly take the wrong skis accidentally. It’s been all over social media, yet you still see very few people lock their gear up. People who ski at my mountain all the time know about it if they are on the local Facebook ski pages, who knows about those just coming for the day or for a vacation. I do lock my stuff, so I notice when there are other locks around or not. I see very few. It’s just habit to me at this point though, anywhere I go my lock fits easily into my pocket and I lock my skis. To each their own. I mostly just don’t want to be inconvenienced with the hassle of having to replace things during the season or during a vacation if something were to accidentally walk away.
Electricwoman
Diva in Training
I don't understand why people don't split skis more often, each on a separate rack.
Personally I can get distracted when putting skis on a rack when skiing with friends. Have enough problem looking for my skis after a lunch break in one location. Wouldn't want to need to remember two.
Most of the places I ski there is little reason to lock skis when going inside for an hour or so.
I have developed the habit of looping my poles over my skis. More than once someone has taken my poles by mistake. Happened at Taos once. The poles were relatively unusual adjustable poles. After looking over all the racks twice, I was trying to decide whether to get poles from a ski shop or just ski without poles when I saw my poles stuck in the snow a few feet from the racks. Obviously the person who picked them up couldn't remember where they came from.
I have enough trouble remembering where I put my pair of skis in a sea of crowded racks… not a chance I’m trying to deal with two separate places. How is that easier and quicker than just locking them up?
mustski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Respectfully disagree. There is a culture of non concern which means theft is pretty rare. I’m not saying nonexistent- just not much of a problem.
ETA- I can’t speak to the culture at Mountain High. I avoid it like the plague. I’d honestly rather quit skiing than go there. But everywhere else - 2 thumbs up for vibes
Based on my experience as someone who skis in a region that is not in ski country, as well as other regions, the sense for potential theft is not regional but specific to a given ski area/resort. Within a given region, there are places where people are more likely to use a lock regularly or use the SkiKey system. In the southeast, snowboards are much more likely to be stolen than skis. Few people bring skis that cost over $1000 to a southeast ski resort, even the ones with relatively expensive slopeside lodging.
Ski Key is a system that requires a resort to provide the base rack. The list for USA includes large and small resorts in multiple regions. Tahoe and the PacNW are not included. There is quite a long list for Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia.
usa.skikey.com
Ski Key is a system that requires a resort to provide the base rack. The list for USA includes large and small resorts in multiple regions. Tahoe and the PacNW are not included. There is quite a long list for Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia.
Ski Key Resort Locations by State
Use your Ski Key lock at any of these resort locations, listed by state
usa.skikey.com
I really like LoqSki https://www.loqski.com/ b/c I have pricey Leki poles that I'd also like to protect. I haven't looked lately to see how tariffs may impact pricing and supply chain/delivery. I'm using a simple cable lock now, but have used Ski Key at Whitetail and Liberty. I don't worry too much about locking at Massanutten since I can just toss my skis in the car if I break for lunch.Based on my experience as someone who skis in a region that is not in ski country, as well as other regions, the sense for potential theft is not regional but specific to a given ski area/resort. Within a given region, there are places where people are more likely to use a lock regularly or use the SkiKey system. In the southeast, snowboards are much more likely to be stolen than skis. Few people bring skis that cost over $1000 to a southeast ski resort, even the ones with relatively expensive slopeside lodging.
Ski Key is a system that requires a resort to provide the base rack. The list for USA includes large and small resorts in multiple regions. Tahoe and the PacNW are not included.
Ski Key Resort Locations by State
Use your Ski Key lock at any of these resort locations, listed by state
Turns out I've seen Ski Key racks but didn't know what they were.
March 2011
The founder of SKI KEY is Canadian whose home mountain is Whistler-Blackcomb. SKI KEY USA is based in New York and was created in 2009.
usa.skikey.com
March 2011
The founder of SKI KEY is Canadian whose home mountain is Whistler-Blackcomb. SKI KEY USA is based in New York and was created in 2009.
About Us
SKI KEY SYSTEMS LTD was established in 1989 by founder Jacques Beaudoin who also invented the locking system used today. Living near Whistler-Blackcomb Resorts in British Columbia, Jacques idea spread quickly in the local market, within a few years it became the locking system of choice...
usa.skikey.com
LoqSki turned up when I was searching for SKI KEY. It's a UK company. I didn't see many ski racks around Grand Montets in Chamonix last April. The demo video for Loqski shows skis standing in snow, not on a rack.
December 2021
Review: - Loqski, Protecting your Skis and Poles from Theft
How to protect your skis and poels from theft.
www.skitalk.com
Found a review of ski locks wandering around the Internet. The two Snow Chasers are ski/snowboard bums and techs who have traveled the world chasing snow, not people spending money on slopeside lodging. Doing something to avoid losing skis while on an international ski vacation is worth some thought.
thesnowchasers.com
6 Best Ski Locks 2026 (Top Picks for Secure Skis)
Ski theft is sadly more common than you think. These are the best ski locks worth carrying in 2026 if you want to trust your skis outside.
thesnowchasers.com
There is an optional cable for securing the mechanism to a fixed unit like a rack.LoqSki turned up when I was searching for SKI KEY. It's a UK company. I didn't see many ski racks around Grand Montets in Chamonix last April. The demo video for Loqski shows skis standing in snow, not on a rack.
December 2021
Review: - Loqski, Protecting your Skis and Poles from Theft
How to protect your skis and poels from theft.
I just ordered SkiLoq -- almost as much for my poles as my skis!
I have the ski key as this seem to be the norm in Ontario or Quebec, even WB has them.
I lock my skis to insure I get my skis. I ski on a Rossi ski that is quite popular and I've seen people take the wrong skis out of the rack as there are so many that look alike.
Adding a Ski Diva sticker does help in identifying your skis!! DM @RachelV if you want one!
I lock my skis to insure I get my skis. I ski on a Rossi ski that is quite popular and I've seen people take the wrong skis out of the rack as there are so many that look alike.
Adding a Ski Diva sticker does help in identifying your skis!! DM @RachelV if you want one!
Ski Sine Fine
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Growing up in NYC, I am acculturated to lock everything, cars (even in garage), doors (even between garage and house), bikes, etc. So from day one I got a ski key for Liberty and Whitetail. When I started traveling to other resorts I got a small cable lock, then a loqski when I got Leki trigger poles. I generally settled on just the cable lock, and place the poles between the skis and rack in such a way that it’s difficult to take them without removing the lock. I don’t always lock my skis though. But whenever I don’t, I always feel uneasy while inside the lodge, thinking this is the time it happens. So personally it’s more of a psychological comfort than perhaps any real danger of theft. I also see it as insurance against the hassle and inconvenience if theft or mistake actually happens.
I wished I knew and brought my ski key when I ski Sun Peaks and Lake Louise. I’m going back to both next season and will surely bring it. I even figured out a way to put the Leki poles in the rack with the skis.
I wished I knew and brought my ski key when I ski Sun Peaks and Lake Louise. I’m going back to both next season and will surely bring it. I even figured out a way to put the Leki poles in the rack with the skis.
I grew up in a much smaller city, but same deal.
A lot of people are just very trusting or don't think of the issue until they fall victim to something and become more aware of their every surrounding. Now I live in the suburbs bordering on more rural and people here don't lock their doors or leave stuff in their car in the driveway unlocked and are then surprised when someone is going around trying car doors and steals their stuff every once in a blue moon.
Another one, last season someone left their wallet and other stuff in an unlocked car at the ski mountain I ski at and was utterly shocked and outraged that their stuff got stolen. OBVIOUSLY this should NOT happen. But you'd never catch me leaving my car unlocked or a wallet inside either.. how hard is it to lock your doors, take your important items with you, lock the valuables you can't take in the glove compartment if necessary or better yet bring them to the bag check available to you in the lodge right there, etc etc. Thieves are often opportunists and don't want to draw attention to themselves during the day in a public space with people coming and going all the time. Make it a little harder for them and they'll usually move on to the rest of the masses who leave their stuff unlocked and much easier to walk away with unnoticed. When this happened and I was asking questions to understand what happened (the person didn't originally admit they'd left their car unlocked, but did later), I was called out as "victim blaming" on the social media post. No, I was trying to understand what happened so myself and others can more appropriately look out for the situation in the future. Once the details were there it was pretty easy to see all of the ways this could have been avoided altogether for others to learn from. No one wants to go through what obviously turned into an awful day for this person after a great time on the mountain and then coming out to find their stuff gone.
SkiBam
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I haven't been to a resort in Canada that did not have the ski key system. I always lock my skis - sure, theft doesn't happen often but it would just take that one time to ruin a ski day.
Only problem sometimes with ski key is the slots get iced up and the lock won't go in. Or, people do what they should not do and leave their lock in the slot (saving the space for themselves)).
All that said, I think I might be in the minority (at Tremblant anyway) as many many many people leave skis unlocked. Though at St. Sauveur I think most are locked.
Give that the founder of Ski Key is Canadian and the system has been around for over 15 years, that doesn't seem too surprising.
What surprised me was how many smaller ski hills in the USA have Ski Key. The cost of the Ski Key racks doesn't seem that expensive. Certainly seems like good marketing to provide a few Ski Key racks since they can be used without a Ski Key.
Makes sense.
Also.... don't use the lock if you drop it in the snow! And if you do, and it freezes, go straight into the ski rental shop and they might just have a blow torch to defrost it. (Yep, true story. Thanks ski rental shop at Mt. St Louis Moonstone!)
