On
the bunny hill? Here's how to choose ski equipment for
beginners
By Zane
Buxton
February 20, 2009 | Its time
to change the way you typically go about picking out
ski equipment. Now days you have so many different options
of gear you need to spend the time doing the research.
The best part about this is the fact you don't even
have to get off your couch.
Local
ski expert and self proclaimed "Gear Head" Cody Quinn
says, "When you are searching for the right gear you
really need to drill down and find out what you want
to do with it. They make different skis for all types
of skiing, just peel back the onion on what you want
it to do for you. You ride the ski, the ski doesn't
ride you."
So to begin my quest on finding the
perfect resource all searches kept leading me to a forum
site, Epic Ski Website.
They have tons of skiing groups and open discussion
boards for communication. I posted several questions
on here and had a response almost instantly.
This group brought up a good point,
you have to find what you need. This seems to be the
moral of everyone's story that I have talked to, always
find what is going to be important to you in the equipment.
Long time Salt Lake ski shop employee Katie Jensen talked
about how many people would wonder in to the shop looking
for one thing and after a little direction walk out
with something completely different.
"There are so many brands out
there, pretty cool stuff that keeps reinventing the
way skiing is done. Pretty soon the skis with turn for
you," said Jensen.
Jensen turned me on to a great site,
Backcountry Ski Gear, one of the coolest
features about this site is the option to chat with
an expert (look in the top right corner). When you choose
this option it brings on a live employee to chat with
and ask any question about gear. This will prove to
be very helpful in your selection because you can ask
questions tailored to your size, body type, and terrain
type to create a ski package around you.
Now I know where to find the answers
on what type of skis I want but where do I pick them
up? I got talking to local family man George Van Yperen,
long time skier and father of four who let me in on
a secret about gear. George has been getting his kids
into skiing over the past years but kept running into
a problem: "They keep growing, I needed an option that
isn't as permanent as a purchase but eliminated having
to rent every time we go up."
Van Yperen found that Beaver
Mountain Ski Resort has a program that allows you
to do a year long rental. This is awesome, it allows
the freedom of owning by not having to wait in rental
lines every ski trip. However, at the end of the year
Van Yperen can return the skis and do it all over with
a different size next year. This program saves hundreds
and hundreds of dollars for families over the years.
Van Yperen said, "If it wasn't for
the rental program my kids would be waiting a couple
years before strapping on the skis."
When all is said and done there are
so many options out there to get you on the hill. So
take advantage of them and start hitting up the mountains!
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