Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

I'm guessing Andorra would be high on the list of places to get good deals for buying new equipment? Which other countries would be good? Italy ? Bulgaria?

I reckon the States are the cheapest but there are places in Europe ..try ski Glissop who have good deals

Skis ~ last time I skied in Colorado, I left my old skis there, (I think they are in the museum), and bought a pair of K2s at a fraction of the price in Europe.

Also, bought a pair of skis in Wörgl, (nearest town to Niederau). They were already season discounted. I asked for a Schileurer discount (OK, it was many years after I had worked for the local ski school, but hey)

When I got to the check out, my local friend slid me his Wildschönau tennis club card, earning an additional 10%.
I didn't pay very much over €120 for a new pair of Atomics, including bindings,

US and Canada are always much cheaper than Europe (30-50%), especially Canada this year due to currency deflation associated with oil prices. All things being equal you should really just buy the best equipment you can afford. If you are only doing 2-3 weeks a year then good clothing, boots, backpack etc. should last 10+yrs. Just buy the best brand that fits you well. Outdoor equipment is really one of those few areas where the tiers of branding is directly correlated to quality and durability of equipment.

Skis; I still think there is a lot of innovation happening with ski shapes so really question value in buying given you can rent literally any ski these days. If you do buy then price should be of little consideration, just go for the best one you tested and no regrets. You can always get deals in resorts close to ski factories e.g. Bulgarian, Pamporovo, Atomic; but bit of a strange logic to plan your holiday around buying skis (nothing against Bulgaria which I still think offer good value skiing).

Its more about when you buy, not where you buy. March onwards will see good sales pretty much anywhere. I have seen ridiculously good deals all across Europe.
I also find USA tends to be cheapest, but you have shipping to worry about.

Personally, I tend to find the best deals online at either sportconrad or glisshop or snowinn - all of which send from europe at low shipping costs.

Tony_H wrote:USA tends to be cheapest, but you have shipping to worry about.

And tax/import duty - which can remove your saving over the Euro-zone. :evil:

Thank you everybody. There are a couple of us going on holiday in beginning of February and some of us are looking to buy some boots. We would like to buy them in resort rather than over the Internet (even with its great deals) as we would like to have them properly fitted and if needs be have them adjusted whilst using them. We haven't decided on a destination yet for our holiday so was thinking about the advantage of cheaper equipment costs when we look to book our ski trip. As much as I would like to revisit North America this season and get some great deals on boots I think it's going to have to be an European resort.

I think I have about 12 pairs of skis, six pairs in Austria, and another six pairs in the loft. And then about 10 years ago, I put 6 pairs in the local recycle skip, although I later heard that the recyclers relocated them into a shed, and they disappeared. (Good luck with that one, recyclers. If I chucked them away, they were done.)

I just don't get wrapped up in ski technology, I never have. I have all sorts of techy skis in my wee collections. I just ski them differently. In Austria, I guess I ski 60% of the time on longish Vokle straights. I paid £49 for them, new, in Scotland.

In Scotland, depending on conditions, I mostly ski an oldish pair of Heads, given to me by my deceased ski buddy,Mel, a great Niederau skier.

My ski lengths vary from 160 to 200. And from straights to carvers.

Boots, I bought 2 pairs from Frankfurt on the internet. They both fit well. But ~ you do have to know what you are doing. I would not advocate this approach for all.