Latest posts for the topic "Cheapest country to buy equipment ?"

Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Thu, 12 Nov 2015 22:19:47 GMT

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?

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Thu, 12 Nov 2015 23:13:13 GMT

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

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 01:48:51 GMT

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 Worgl, (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 Wildschonau tennis club card, earning an additional 10%.
I didn't pay very much over Euro120 for a new pair of Atomics, including bindings,

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 04:56:47 GMT

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).

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 12:42:39 GMT

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.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 13:49:37 GMT

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:

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 18:23:12 GMT

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.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Sat, 14 Nov 2015 01:31:32 GMT

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 GBP49 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.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Sun, 15 Nov 2015 21:07:23 GMT

In resort ski boot fitting is very hit and miss. There are a few very good boot fitters who work in ski resorts, but most of the people selling boots in resort shops haven't got a clue. Make sure that the fitter measures your foot using a Brannock device and checks that the shells are the right size and shape for your feet by taking the inner boots out and getting you to put your bare feet in them. If they don't you're in the wrong shop.

Dave Mac, those Nordica Gran Tour S RTL rear entry boots you bought in Germany are very soft (flex index 50) for a bloke of your size. There is a real danger that your ankle joint will rotate beyond it's safe limit before the binding releases, in which case it will break. You initially said you wanted to buy a pair for your wife because she had difficulty closing the clips on other boots, if you had mentioned that you were also going to buy a pair I would have strongly recommended that you didn't.

There's a lot more to boot fitting than most people realise, fit is only one aspect.

Ski Heil! -)

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:24:01 GMT

Admin wrote:

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:

Not relevant when your son lives in USA and brings your purchases home ;-)

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:25:38 GMT

Dave Mac wrote: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 GBP49 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.

Wow, Dave. Amazing. Yet another post about anything other than a certain Austrian resort, and you manage to get said resort mentioned in your response. You must be on some kind of retainer?

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 17:30:29 GMT

Heres what I did with regards to buying ski boots ONLINE:

You know what size you are form previous boots and trying some on in this country, so once you have got your size, I did lots of research into reviews into how the boots fitted, how they skied, what level they were, etc and came down to a shortlist of 3 boots, in this instance 1x head, 1x Fischer and 1x Dalbello - all pretty much within the same perameters of what I wanted, a stiffer all mountain boot.

I ordered all 3 from an online company who had them all on special offers, and spent 3 days trying them on and wearing them around the house to work out which were the perfect fit. I dismissed the Dalbello straight away as they had a hot spot on the ankle, but it was a toss up between the Fischers and Heads, and I plumped for the Heads as they were getting rave reviews online, plus they felt absolutely wonderful on, had a higher spec, and were a stiffer flex rating which was what I was looking for. I then returned the other 2 pairs together to save on shipping costs, cost me about GBP10 to Spain, but I saved over GBP150 buying these boots that way.
I guess you need to know exactly what you're looking for, but its possibly the best way to save a good amount.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 18:40:09 GMT

Want to ensure you get the worst possible deal on snow equipment?, then purchase it on a ski vacation.

Unless the equipment is having a 2nd birthday on the shelves you will pay full retail and then some. End of season sales seem to be the best both online and in shops.

And don't cheap out on your boots. Good boots for you and properly fitted.
Happy feet, happy life !!

Some people think it's "happy wife, happy life", it's really happy feet.

Skiing in 2 weeks!!

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 22:20:50 GMT

It's impossible for someone to know their ski boot size, the sizing is very inconsistent, not only does it vary from make to make but also from model to model. There can be up to a 7mm difference (nearly a full size) in the internal length between the boots in a manufactures range.

It's essential to get the fit around the ankle right, if they don't fit well in this area there is very little that can be done.

The manufactures don't give any sizing info for this area, so it has to be checked visually. If the boots are a bit too narrow or short it's easy to make them a bit bigger, but if they are too big the only solution is a new pair.

Wearing them around the house is a waste of time, if they are comfy indoors they are probably too big. After a short time the liner will 'pack out' and the boots will feel sloppy.

Lots of skiers seem to confuse comfort with fit, an ill fitting boot might well be comfortable, but it won't perform anywhere near as well as a well fitting boot, which will also be comfortable.

As I said above there's a lot more to boot fitting than most people realise.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 03:41:19 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

Admin wrote:

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:

Not relevant when your son lives in USA and brings your purchases home ;-)

Perfectly relevant however, if ones son doesn't live in the US. Irrelevant if you buy your boots from cheap European warehouses.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 03:55:15 GMT

With the euro at 1.42, anywhere in Europe will see you getting great value for money.
If in Andorra, Espunyes in el tarter has a huge selection and you will get a great pair of top of the range boots for about 300e. GBP210 in real money!

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 20:21:53 GMT

I have always found the UK to be the cheapest place to buy ski gear, but I will always try to demo skis before buying them.

SwingBeep wrote:
As I said above there's a lot more to boot fitting than most people realise.

Nonsense, it's all voodoo. :)

The best boots I've ever had are the Salamon heat moulded shell ones I have now. They fit almost perfectly. The only area I think I have a problem with is on my right heel where there seems to be too much movement. I have tried some x-shaped neoprene inserts around the ankle whch helped, bu there is still a bit of movement in my right heel. Any tips to try and seat my heel more firmly?

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 22:20:46 GMT

There are a few other things you could try, but if you've already tried an X shaped pad then it must be pretty loose.

Stick a chevron shaped piece of EVA foam to the back of the liner above the calcaneus.

Add a shim to the top of the boot board to reduce the volume a bit.

Get some Nordica heel retainers.

Or some of Ezeefit ankle booties.

Have you tried taking them back to the shop?

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Wed, 18 Nov 2015 00:03:35 GMT

Have you tried taking them back to the shop?

Yes, I have a few times. They're excellent (Selkirk sports in Golden, BC) and I will get them to have a look at them again this season. These days my feet seem to change a lot more over the season, the right one in particular. The first season was fine without the x strip (my mistake, it's foam not neoprene), then the x strip was put in last season. The movement only became an issue at the end of last season and I think it's starting to compound the packing out of the liner which has seen over 100 ski days now. I had the same issue with previous boots bought in the UK.

I was considering getting a new cold temperature liner for this season anyway so I might give that a go and get them to do remould of the shell. But I didn't want to do that for at least a few weekends, so my feet get used to being in ski boots again. Thanks for the detailed help.

In the meantime your tips are interesting. I wasn't aware of the heel retainers or the ankle booties. I will probably give the booties a try and let you know how they worked out. That might prolong the life of the existing liners which are fine otherwise.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Wed, 18 Nov 2015 22:28:47 GMT

100 days is a fair bit of use, so the liners will be getting tired. If you have to walk a bit to get to the lifts then the soles might have worn beyond the safe limit (<18mm measured >32 mm back from the front of the toe lug), so I would check them before buying new liners.

It sounds to me that your feet are not the same size, which is not uncommon and that your previous fitters might have sold you boots that were sized to fit your larger foot. It's better to get a pair that are the right size for the smaller foot and have the other one stretched / ground out to fit.

If I lived in your neck of the woods I would go and see Lou Rosenfeld in Calgary.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 07:05:53 GMT

You can also try non-stock liners like Zipfits. But have them fitted in the shop where you buy them. They will last very long time without packing out (about 200 days) and when they start packing out you will be able to add more material to them to get a tight fit again.

Re:Cheapest country to buy equipment ?

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:28:44 GMT

Thanks for the tip, SwingBeep.