Is there ANY advantage to hiring anything but economy skis?

I think the most important thing is that the skis don't clash with your boots or ski pants. Contrasting colours are OK, but no clashing. As long as you get that part right, then nothing else is likely to go wrong! :)

@Dave Mac: Loved your post about your family's choices - that just confirms my suspicion that if I love skiing on the cheap skis there really is no point in "upgrading".

You raised a good point about paying too much. If I were to regularly pay as much as Bedrock barney for ski hire I would definitely buy my own. I toyed with it many years ago but the charge for carriage on an airline is pretty much what I pay for ski hire anyway so it makes no sense.

@Ranchero_1979: I haven't skied on "straight/planks" since the early/mid 90s. The cheap skis I hire each year are curved with fat fronts and skinny middles. As I originally said, they look just like the majority of the other skis I see out on the slopes and in the hire shops although I obviously can't judge their stiffness as easily.

On balance, I'll probably stick to the cheap ones again this year but if I get a quiet time at the hire shop and their English is good then I might ask them about the difference in their skis with a view to a free trial.

Interesting points raised by all.

For me, convenience is the most important factor. I don't want to own a pair of skis and then be responsible for storing in the UK, yearly maintenance and carriage to and from the resort.

I much prefer renting a more or less brand new pair of skis each time I ski and having these stored centrally.

It might be possible to rent skis for £20 to £30 elsewhere but's an impossibility where we tend to ski. In terms of a rental cost I'm probably looking at a range of cost from maybe £50 to £60 at the cheapest to maybe £150 at the top end. I usually go 'upper middle'. Therefore, I am effectively debating between spending £60 and £120. In the context of the overall cost of the holiday, it's a relatively small consideration.

What far queue said!! :)

Can only comment from observation as I have my own skis, but from those in the group that do hire there does seem to be quite a bit of difference between the cheapest and the middle level hire skis. Less convinced that 'premium' skis are that much better than 'gold'.
I'd suggest you upgrade for a day and find out for yourself.

There's a big difference in the quality of the skis between the bargain basement and the better quality. If you book the cheapest online you will get a plank.

With more money you can pick and choose the type of ski (slalom, GS, powder, all-mountain), and change depending on the conditions.

Not all will suit you. It depends on your style, your height, weight, the terrain you want to ski. You may find that a nippier ski will allow you to maximise your time on the slopes with short swings and carving.

The tyre analogy is one, a car is another. You could just hire a rusty ol' Nissan Micra, but you might prefer a Mazda MX5 with the top down. You might find the Ferrari a bit scary.

If you've been skiing since 1988, I suggest you go 'Red' and get a good all-round pair of piste skis. You WILL notice the difference.

On another note, the constant price reductions in ski hire means that the shops are finding their margins slashed. This means they are finding it hard to hire decent ski techs. The skis are commoditised with the resulting loss in expertise and quality and safety.

If you can afford to rent better skis Im certain you would notice the difference. I bought my skis 10 years ago and about 3 years I started renting the latest models. The shapes of skis are constantly being improved, so too is the material they make them with.

The cost of ski carriage now charged by airlines makes renting skis a better option. Our cheapest ski pack in Val d'Isere is £65 or skis only at £45 but these are never more than 3 years old and should be well maintained.

A friend of mine, retired, likes to ski one resort per season, usually making two or three trips to the same place. He reckons he saves money by buying a season pass instead of separate ones for each visit, and by buying a second-hand set of skis in resort on his first day for, say, €150, and keeping them until the end of the season, when he aims to sell them back to a ski shop in the same resort for whatever he can get for them. If there are no takers then they go in the skip ! He will usually find a friendly ski locker-owner he can use for the duration, paying maybe a few euro, unless he gets pally with someone at a hotel or a travel rep etc who has some spare space for him to leave his skis. Seems to work for him, although he doesn't manage to achieve the same high level of colour coordination that FarQueue does :)