London Ski show 2011

Now planning to drop in to the Birmingham show on the Sunday!

bandit wrote:Think I'll wear my 6" stiletto's with leopard skin tights

Oh no, not again! I thought you were going as "Pink Santa" this year?

I will be around on the Thursday Mr.Q.

Will assess the watering-hole layout today and drop you a PM later.

Admin wrote:

Will assess the watering-hole layout today and drop you a PM later.

:lol: Many thanks

Morning all.
I was at the show yesterday from 11 until 4, not quite sure how I managed to spend 5 hours there to be honest./
Managed to meet up with Admin for a coffee and a chat, top bloke he is, and caught up with things in the world of skiing generally. Warren Smith happened to wander past s Admin said hello and I was lucky enough to have a nice chat with Warren, albeit brief.
An hour later and I (literally) bumped in Chemmy who I have to say looked magnificent. Of course, I meant in terms of fitness )

To be perfectly honest, I only went because I managed to obtain a free ticket and I happened to be in London that morning. I don't think I'd rush to go, unless I was after something specific, and make a special trip for it. It was pretty much same old same old. Lots of exhibitors networking and rubbing shoulders with each other, and not a lot else.

EB and S&R had smaller stands than I remember, and this season's clobber seems to be massively inflated prices tbh. I came away with a pair of Falke socks in order to cash in the £15 voucher I had been given when I trialed some skis at Hemel recently.
Scott did have a stand, I don't remember them previously, and Warren Smith was bigging up their clothing range, hopefully not just because they sponsor him ) They seem to be saying that this seasons colours are plain, not patterned, and bold in terms of green with blue, blue with red, red with yellow, yellow with green, green with red, yellow with blue. You get the picture; one colour jacket, the other colour pants.

Lots of new skis on show, and many manufacturers pushing rocker skis. Not sure there are what the majority of UK leisure skiers would be looking for, as they are not particularly good on piste, but it seems to be the current trend and good for those seeking powder and off piste thrills.

In terms of tour ops, only Crystal, Inghams and Ski MIquel were evident. ClubMed also took a stand and were offering discounts for booking there and then. I was offered Les Arcs in Jan for the same price I paid for St Moritz last season - no thanks, especially for a lower grade hotel in a not so exclusive resort.
I did not see any representation from either Neilson or Skiworld, although I may have missed them of course. There were several other lesser known companies there, and a smattering of private chalet companies, but noticeably fewer than in previous years which I guess is par for the course with the current economy.

Some well put together fashion shows going on, good fun to watch. A reasonable choice of bars and eateries, but sadly inflated prices to take advantage of show goers. I avoided the ridiculous prices at the 3V bar, which seemed to be full of seasonnaires all comparing dreadlocks.

I spent more time wandering round the stands of the resort and regions picking up info on new areas, piste maps and accommodation guides, which this show IS useful for. I found some very interesting stuff on the Aosta Valley and Formigal.

I have heard that the number of UK skiers that went last season was down quite substantially last season, and IMO this will be more significant this season, so I am expecting operators to start heavily discounting holidays soon. There are already some very good pre Xmas offers available in snow sure resorts like St Anton, Vernier, Val D'Isere......

I'm waiting for Jan deals now, and I reckon in the next month I will be able to book a chalet for at least £200 off the current prices. Fingers crossed.

Those of you going, enjoy. Its nice just to chat to people about skiing, and gaze longingly at photographs and videos of the snow.......

:D I am just about to leave for the train now.

I am looking for a new pair of ski pants, ideally "cargo" style, as I want to get some of the junk I usually carry out of my jacket pockets. Although I may now start to consider a smallish rucksack and then I can carry even more :)

Shame Chemmy was only going to be there yesterday, it would have been nice to say hello and see how her leg is doing.

Looking forward to meeting a few people there.

FQ

:-)

Well, just had a good day out at the show. Enjoyed meeting Bandit and Admin, thanks for taking the time guys :lol:

It's been a while since I have been to the London show, and initially I thought it was a lot smaller than it used to be, but in hindsight, I think this was just because it was not particularly busy early in the day.

Getting there shortly after opening at 11 was definitely the correct thing to do, and I was able to get round the entire show and visit all the places I wanted to in good order. It was starting to get quite a bit busier when we left around 4pm.

I was happy to get the new ski pants I was looking for, and I have seen plenty of other stuff to research and look into getting for my next trip.

I was slightly disappointed in the attitude of some of the guys on the stands, heck in todays economic climate, you would have thought they would be begging you to spend some time with them looking at their products. I guess it is a sign of the times, but the best responses I had from anyone were the stands with senior (and I am talking age here) people working on them, especially the very nice lady working at the Frontier Ski (Canada) stand.

The exceptions to this were the young lady on the Ski Japan stand, but for some strange reason I would always expect that from the Japanese :D, the staff on the "The Handle" stand and the incredibly enthusiastic staff on the Piste and Peaks stand. So much so, both myself and my brother have commented that we will perhaps try to get a week out at their Chalet in the Dolomites if we can squeeze it in and they still have room.

If any of you are still intending on going, I would advise that you take something suitable to carry large amounts of literature in comfort. The bags they supply are all OK, but by the end of the day, if you have collected lots of stuff, they can start to get a bit uncomfortable lugging them around.

Biggest shock of the day, was when I turned the tag over on a rucksack to see a price of £679.00 :shock: Needless to say, that went straight back on the shelf.

Anyway, I enjoyed the day, and would probably go back again next year under the same early door conditions.

Great to meet up with Admin, Far Queue and his Bro :D I shook lots of hands yesterday, and met some interesting folks. Show layout seemed confusing to me, kept getting lost and losing my mates!

Far Queue, I expect that the Backpack was either an ABS or a Snowpulse, the price seems about right. I managed to buy no kit, which has my OH rattled :twisted:

Visited the ski show with the family yesterday I must add I was disappointed with the scale of the show which seemed not very well supported by the public or represented by the Industry.
I actually brought nothing which is unusual for me, I came across stands where they were happy to file nails,put make up on, some chatting between themselves ( For about an hour) fantastic customer service,I don't think.
Mrs W went looking for a stand representing Austria ,Yes, Austria ..... Nope nothing.
I brought a bobble hat at my local dry ski slope a couple of weeks for a tenner the very same hat at yesterdays show £15 what a rip off found nothing which I didn't see as overpriced shame really but I guess not surprised ...... bit of a shock the highlight of the day was afternoon tea at Selfridges shame really !!!!

I must say I do fear for the shows future :evil: