This year I've decided, with some influence from the lady, to delve into the world of downhill skiing. I'd tried it last year for the first time since childhood, and will be going much more frequently this season.
Since renting can be a pain, and is expensive if you do it frequently, I went out and bought ski gear yesterday. The lady pointed me in all the right directions. We started (and fortunately ended) at Action Sports in Branford, who had a "ski swap" yesterday. I had a price in mind: $500, maximum. Ideally, $400 or less.
The first thing is the most obvious: skis. We started out front where they had the tent with all the stuff people brought in to swap (pretty much they just gave you store credit). A very nice lady from the store helped us out, and told me I'd probably need to go with around a 174cm length for the skis. We found a very good pair of used K2 Omni Hawks for $150, and I was sold right away. We then went inside and saw some real fancy new skis, but they were $400, so I went with the used ones. Glad I did that. They look nice.
Next: boots. We started again out front in the tent, where another guy from the store was fitting people. He sized me up as about 29cm. We looked around and tried on a couple pairs. I ended up getting a pair of 29.5cm Lange boots, which fit pretty well. I think they were around $40, but the receipt I have isn't showing them (maybe I pay for them later?). Good boots. I was then told to leave them for tuning and whatnot and to pick them up November 1st. Good deal.
Then we went back in and had to find a helmet, goggles, and poles. An older guy named Mark, great guy, helped us out. I ended up with a cheap but decent pair of Axis Powder pols for $30. The helmet is a nice flat gray Giro Encore 2 model that I got for $50. Then there were the goggles. The first pair I tried on were decent, but I ended up going with a bigger pair of Smith Fuse Regulators for $90.
All told, I walked out with all the equipment I'll pretty much need (I'll probably need a new pair of pants) for under $400. Good stuff. Now I just need to learn to ski.
Since renting can be a pain, and is expensive if you do it frequently, I went out and bought ski gear yesterday. The lady pointed me in all the right directions. We started (and fortunately ended) at Action Sports in Branford, who had a "ski swap" yesterday. I had a price in mind: $500, maximum. Ideally, $400 or less.
The first thing is the most obvious: skis. We started out front where they had the tent with all the stuff people brought in to swap (pretty much they just gave you store credit). A very nice lady from the store helped us out, and told me I'd probably need to go with around a 174cm length for the skis. We found a very good pair of used K2 Omni Hawks for $150, and I was sold right away. We then went inside and saw some real fancy new skis, but they were $400, so I went with the used ones. Glad I did that. They look nice.
Next: boots. We started again out front in the tent, where another guy from the store was fitting people. He sized me up as about 29cm. We looked around and tried on a couple pairs. I ended up getting a pair of 29.5cm Lange boots, which fit pretty well. I think they were around $40, but the receipt I have isn't showing them (maybe I pay for them later?). Good boots. I was then told to leave them for tuning and whatnot and to pick them up November 1st. Good deal.
Then we went back in and had to find a helmet, goggles, and poles. An older guy named Mark, great guy, helped us out. I ended up with a cheap but decent pair of Axis Powder pols for $30. The helmet is a nice flat gray Giro Encore 2 model that I got for $50. Then there were the goggles. The first pair I tried on were decent, but I ended up going with a bigger pair of Smith Fuse Regulators for $90.
All told, I walked out with all the equipment I'll pretty much need (I'll probably need a new pair of pants) for under $400. Good stuff. Now I just need to learn to ski.
