Recommend a ski hire company pls?

Alpe d'Huez, 9th Feb 2013. Need ski's and boots for 2. 1 intermediate, me advanced. Also theft and damage insurance?

Looked at Snowbrainer but saw a "dodgy" forum report (they'd disappeared and then reappeared?), Alpinresorts website looks identical, Skisets - couldn't get on from the link.

Anyone know a "solid" outfit so that when I turn up at the ski shop, they don't look at me blank and send me packing?

Thanks........

GreenLantern wrote:Anyone know a "solid" outfit

:?:

We've worked with SkiSet for the past five or six seasons and, as ski businesses go, they don't come much more solid.

http://www.skiset.co.uk/partner/j2ski/

What problems did you have with the link?

The link took me nowhere. It wasn't from here, by the way, I just Googled "Ski hire" and when I clicked the Skiset website....nothing.

Edit: Your link works, by the way :D Will have a look, ta...

GreenLantern wrote:It wasn't from here,

Ah, that'd be why... the best links are always from here... 8)

Can't make any sense of this.

I've booked ski/boot hire with Crystal when I booked the holiday(but I can cancel). Snowbrainer, Alpinresorts etc are ridiculously cheap (but do they exist?). Skiset are cheaper but not that much to make it a no brainer........ :cry:

GreenLantern wrote: Snowbrainer, Alpinresorts etc are ridiculously cheap.

There are a number of standards relating to the rental of skiing equipment that are intended to improve safety:

ISO 13993:2001, Rental ski shop practice: Sampling and inspection of complete and incomplete alpine ski-binding-boot systems in rental applications
ISO 8061:2004, Alpine ski-bindings: Selection of release torque values
ISO 11088:2006, Assembly, adjustment and inspection of an alpine ski/binding/boot (S-B-B) system.

In France the following standard also applies:

AFNOR NF X50-007, Service de location du matériel de sports d'hiver.

Unfortunately many shops don't adhere to these standards, which saves them a lot of time and money. If you want to hire from a "solid outfit" look for one that displays the NF X50-007 label.

Snowbrainer and other online agents, are not ski shops. They will use the same village ski shop as everyone else. I agree that lots of ski shops don't keep up with good practice standards.
For example, I questioned my DIN in a ski shop after a binding mount, and it was seen as a challenge to their "professionalism" (how dare you). After getting the Boss to re enter the figures on their computer, my DIN setting came down from 7 to 5.

bandit wrote:Snowbrainer and other online agents, are not ski shops. They will use the same village ski shop as everyone else. I agree that lots of ski shops don't keep up with good practice standards.
For example, I questioned my DIN in a ski shop after a binding mount, and it was seen as a challenge to their "professionalism" (how dare you). After getting the Boss to re enter the figures on their computer, my DIN setting came down from 7 to 5.

Eeh lass, I'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall for that one! :twisted:

I have hired through j2ski/Skiset for several seasons. Never had a bad ski or service. It is a good point that Bandit makes, as a cross check, everyone should know their approximate DIN no, (it may vary with bindings, but only by a half)