Tell me about your demo experience

[ski chick]

I have never demoed skis before. I have no idea how the process goes. Can anyone tell me what it's like? Cost? Time (as in does the shop give you a set amount of time on the mountain with each ski). Anything else that is important to know? Thanks.

 

[ski diva]

Depends where you demo. Sometimes there are demo days at mountains that are absolutely free; a ski manufacturer may set up at the base area, you leave them your credit card, and they give you a pair of skis for a few runs. Sometimes a shop at a mountain will also demo skis. I know at Okemo you can demo one pair of skis for the day for $45.;you can pay more to demo up to three. Then if you decide to buy, they put the amount you paid toward the purchase price of the skis (most places will do that). If you get a demo from a shop off site, you generally just pay to take a pair for the day, since it's hard to switch on and off.

Obviously, I like the free demos best!!!

 

[mtnbikegirl]

Here's how I did it. Since I wanted to test as many skis as I could in a few days, I decided to demo at the mountain. If I had demoed from a shop in town, I could only take out one ski/day. I set aside a few days to do nothing but try new skis out. I went to the shop the night before and got a list of models and sizes that they had available and then enlisted the Diva's help narrowing down the list and finding a starting place. (I decided that an all-mountain mid-fat was the best place to start.) I took my list to the shop and(they thought it was cute) and they made further recommendations. From there, I tried two runs that I knew...one fairly easy and the other somewhat challenging. Went back to the shop and got another set until I ran out of time. All in all. I tried 5 different pair over 2 days with 1/2 day on the ones I ended up buying. The cost was about $35 and $30 for the demos and they applied the cost to the purchase of the skis (which were actually the demos I skiied on.) If there is something in particular you want to try, you might see if they will hold the skis for you until you come in to rent them out.

 

[volklgirl]

SD gave you great info.

Here they charge $45 on mountain, for unlimited skis for the entire day (9-4:30).

My tips:

• Take 2-3 runs on each ski, max and run each ski through the same routine.
• Try as many as you can.
• If you fall in love with one keep trying others, then go back to it later and try it in both longer and shorter sizes.
• Go in armed with your DIN setting and boot sole length (BSL) - it'll make everything go faster.
• Print and use the Ski Score Card and take lots and lots of notes. You WILL forget everything about the various skis during the process.
• Don't limit yourself to skis that you think you want to demo. Try a few you have no interest in - you may be incredibly surprised by what you find.
• Try skis longer than you think you want - again, you may be surprised.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Most of the major resorts in my region offer a free demo day. They are quite popular and require registration very early in the morning, as there is a quota. I have never quite been up to the mob scene, so I'd only done occasional single-rep demo's from time to time (where they would just set up a tent for the day). I haven't seen this happen at a major resort here in a couple of years, though.

A local ski shop here does a great traveling demo at 3 of the smaller ski areas in my region. This year, it included K2, Atomic, Blizzard, Fischer, Dynastar and Elan. That's the demo night I attended. It was also free. I just had to register, with my boot sole length and DIN. 5 minutes of binding adjustment per ski, and off we went. Was beyond fun. Highly recommend.

For anyone serious about purchase, the paid demo is an excellent investment, as most shops will deduct that cost from the price of the purchased ski (even if not purchased that day).