Question: Ski Swap or Lease for Kids?

[eSki]

I have a 7 year old and this will be our third season skiing. We live in the mid atlantic so on a good year we get out 10 to 14 days. We are trying to do more this year.

That said, many of the local shops are doing swaps this month. I was planning on leasing skis for both of us but now I'm thinking about maybe buying his at one of the swaps.

Any advice or guidance would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

I just asked this question a month or so ago. I will try and find the thread and bump it for you...

I missed the swap I was condsidering - so I can't tell you what I might have done if I'd made it. But we have three kids - and our oldest is 11 - so I ended up renting skis/boots for the younger two; renting boots for my oldest, and pulling the trigger on skis for the oldest (a basic jr. "race" ski I think as he is in a developmental program). I think if he can get two years out of them, and then the next kid can get two years, it will have turned out to be a solid decision!

 

[Jilly]

I would look at buying for you and leasing for the youngster. Your feet are not going to change any time soon (you hope), but your kids will. So buying boots for you is a good thing. Same with skis, your ability will grow, but not your height. So purchasing for you makes sense(cents) and leasing for the growing one!

 

[abc]

Swap being swaps, there's no guranty you'll find the right size at the right price.

But if you do find the right peice of equipment at the right price, I don't see why not. You can do the same when he grows out of it, sell it at the swap!

I don't know enough about ski equipments to buy them in swaps. Otherwise, quite a bit of my other sporting equipments tend to come used...

 

[marzNC]

I only have one daughter. We ski mainly in the southeast, 10-20 days a season. So perhaps my experience might be helpful.

I went with a full season lease from a local shop for two years, ages 6 and 7. (Could rent for free for age 5 and under when I rented before it was clear how much we would ski). Break even on the lease was 7 days. Since we ski the week before Christmas, I always came out ahead. Plus avoided the hassle of renting each ski trip and didn't have to worry if she had a growth spurt during the winter. By the time she was 8, we were skiing SE black runs and I knew she really liked to ski. Also, I'd learned enough to feel confident shopping at a ski swap. Got lucky that fall and came away with skis, poles, and boots by showing up very early. The swap was held by a store that had experience people helping out, especially when it came to sizing boots for the kids. She used the equipment for two seasons. As a strong intermediate, she could handle skis that were a bit on the long side the first season.

I've had my own boots for a long time, even when I was renting skis. Been upgrading as my skiing progressed. I got my then 10yo daughter her first pair of new boots last season. By then she'd been out to Alta a couple times and skiing blues and easy blacks in good conditions. Went to a local boot fitter who came up with a pair of boots that should last her through this season too.

Good luck shopping!

 

[eSki]

Thats why I love you ladies. It didn't even cross my mind that I might not know enough to actually be able to pick out a deal from a dud. I'm going to price the season rental/lease rates so at least I have an understanding of the $$$. DS has already since the beginning of the school year (August) grown a shoe and pants size so I'm a little nervous about committing to anything.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

I think the "growth" factor, as much as anything, keeps our family in the season rentals. If the boots are too tight mid-year, supposedly we can go back and swap for a better fitting pair. Same, I suppose, for skis although THAT much growth seems unlikely.

I only bought skis for oldest DS - his boots are rentals. And TBH, I have some trepidation about the skis we bought since they are 140 and if we had rented they would have recommended 130. But - I didn't want them to be too short next year - so this year he'll have to stretch a bit... We ski on a tiny mountain and he handled East Coast blues and a few blacks last year without too much problem, so I *think* he'll be fine.

Anyway, the thought of having equipment that fits a growing kid year after year is certainly one seductive feature of a seasonal rental. And, at $100 give or take (going rate in our area) for boots/skis, it's hard to imagine you could get much better at a swap...

 

[Sami]

We buy Roces boots that expand 4 sizes and buy skis from level nine sports for about $50 (the bindings get remounted when we have to get a new pair of skis for the oldest). It it's less expensive for us than leasing because the boots last about three years for each kid, the skis last two years and we remount the bindings, but with one child, I don't see any reason to buy equipment over leasing.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

If I had kids, I think some skis would be a fair swap.

Oh, that's not what you meant.

 

[Mom of Redheads]

DH keeps offering to swap our kids for "sunk cost" (ie what it's cost us to raise them thus far)... I keep telling him we'll have no takers at that level; that we'd have to give them away and throw in a venti latte to sweeten the deal! :ROTF::ROTF:

Funny, my kids never believe I'm serious when I threaten to sell them on eBay...

 

[newskimama]

Here's my two cents. I don't know if you have shops down there that give you a guarantee buy-back amount if you trade in within a year or two, but it seemed to make sense for us. We have two little ones and they will both be out a lot this year (probably 30+ days if this year is anything like last). We went to a shop where we picked up used boots for both and used skis for one that: 1) were a lot nicer than the lease skis we looked at; and 2) cost only slightly more than leasing. BUT, we can sell them either to the same place (they told me they will definitely buy back both) either next year or the year after, or sell them on our own or through a consignment shop. So, at the end of the day, in the long term, we will end up ahead of the game. The used equipment we bought were items that were traded in as part of the buy back program.

We ended up not finding any used skis in my son's size, so we bought new, knowing that we can trade them in within the next two years for half of what we paid. It will be a never-ending revolving cycle, so we are ok with that. Assuming we trade them in for half off, then we will have spent about $20 more for new skis than we would have for used (if they had any we could have bought). But, my seven year old, who is as big a gear junkie as I am, will have new sticks for this year and he is beyond psyched.

Based on the amount we ski, and the numbers, it made sense for us to buy used/new under the circumstances. An old friend who coached for years warned me to be careful about buying at ski swaps, as sometimes the equipment may be so old that you can't find a guy to do any work on it. Definitely not a desirable outcome, and I don't trust myself to know what I'm getting at this point. Maybe at some point in the future, but not now. So, I played it safe and did it this way.

As a side note, my 7 year old watched, enthralled, as he got a good demo/lesson from the Swix wax guy at our local ski expo this week, so I see what lies ahead in my future!

Good luck and hope you find the right gear at the right price whatever you decide!

 

[eSki]

I'm glad I decided on the lease! DS outgrew his boots in Jan so we were able to take them back and get a new size and reset the binding. Also he gained about 10 lbs and about 3 inches so they adjusted the bindings a second time for free.

I'm sure this isn't typical but it sure worked for us!