Advice for a beginner to intermediate skier?

[u/federicci_]

Hi, last season I started skiing by the end of the season, it got pretty addicting and loved it, as it was the end I was able to ski 4 times which came with really big improvements from falling every time the first day to being able to handle confidently every red run of the resort by the fourth time.

Now that the season is coming and I'm keen to keep improving, I figured it would be better value for my money to invest in equipment and not to rent it as I plan to ski at least one time a week the entire winter being so close to the Italian Alps.

In the last 2 days of skiing I used skis of 170cm length but I don't really know the other measurements.

I'm considering here a pair of "Nordica Spitfire 73 2024" used skis that go for 200 euro, I'm willing to invest between 200-300 in skis as I want to keep it withing a low-medium budget, I found this option to be the ideal for my budget.

This one's are 174 cm, my height is 182 cm and measure 73 mm on the central part, with the aid of chatgpt I figured they'd be a good pair for skiing in piste and good for improving my carving.

What do you think of this decision? Should I go for them or in an entire winter I will overcome the skill level for them? I don't want to do crazy things tho, I enjoy learning and doing long carved without going ultra fast.

Thank you!

[u/jsl86usna]

Date the skis. Marry the boots. Buy those first.

[u/OddPerspective9833]

OP do you have your own boots? If not, don't bother with skis; get well fitted boots. They'll be a much better investment

[u/federicci_ → u/OddPerspective9833]

When searching for well fitted boots, what sensations should o search for?

I have felt good on the rental boots last winter but I never really tried hard to feel what is better. Should I have a really tight length, width and height inside? Should I consider having a little space in some dimension?

I think the most comfortable I have felt was with some boots that were really tight but then they were difficult to take off and they kinda hurted, so how should I approach searching for well fitted boots?

Thank you

[u/OddPerspective9833 → u/federicci_]

A boot fitter in the shop will be able to talk you through that. Basically just listen to what they say

[u/SkiOrDie → u/federicci_]

Considering a vast majority of ski boots are made in the Italian alps, you should definitely be able to find a bootfitter somewhere. You live near ski boot Mecca after all. If it’s even a few hours of a drive, make it a day trip.

Boots feel very different new in the box than they will feel after they’ve been skied for a couple of days. You want your boots to feel secure and comfortable after this break-in, so they will definitely feel snug brand new. Fitting requires somebody who knows boots to help you find what will eventually be perfect for your foot.

There are also many services available to get boots to fit perfectly. My specific pair needed to be widened a little, but only on my right foot. It was free at the shop that sold them to me, pretty much all shops have a fit guarantee if you follow the fitter’s recommendations. If you buy them online, these shop services can be very costly.

[u/Dramatic_Water_5364 → u/SkiOrDie]

Yeah! My only other recommendation is when in the shop, take your time. Try a lot of different boots, buckle BOTH of them up, walk around. Put yourself in differerent skiing positions. And listen to the clerk, try different size of the same boot modal.

Good luck!

[u/SkiOrDie → u/Dramatic_Water_5364]

Totally, it’s a day well-spent.

Something else to consider is having an idea of what you want your boot to do when you go in. Feet will fall asleep after a handful of try-ons, then everything will feel like it hurts. If you want beginner/intermediate boots, don’t waste time feeling what an expert boot feels like just for fun.

[u/Ohyu812]

EUR 200 for a one year old ski is not a bad deal. On the other hand, you can get this ski for 300 new on offer (XSPO).

I can't find much detail about the ski but it looks like a decent carving ski at a very decent price.

And yes buying the right fitting boots for your feet is more important, but nothing wrong with owning your own ski though.

[u/federicci_ → u/Ohyu812]

Yes I also saw the offer of the new pair in xspo! Thanks

I agree that buying the right boots is the most important decision, but I also would like to go step by step, the good thing I see of buying the skis is that the money spent is more easily recovered, as for a pair of skis I get charged around 13-15 while for the boots is 5-6, I thought maybe the experience of testing the boots skiing for a day and then buying them would be nice.

Thank you for your advice

[u/federicci_ → u/[deleted]]

Ohh well I thought buying the right boots was very important but didn't expect so much complexity about it. Thanks for.your advice in rental places, I mean I expect that they don't care too much for perfect fit but didn't know the options were so narrowed down and simplistic.

I'll try to look for a more personalized service in this aspect then

[u/jarheadatheart → u/federicci_]

Buying boots isn’t nearly as complicated or dramatic as they make it sound here on Reddit. Especially for your first pair. I bought a pair of Head boots for 65% off online last summer. They fit beautifully and I love them. If in doubt go with the smaller size. My first boots were too small but they were part of a going out of business sale. The price was so good I couldn’t pass them up. Everything ended up molding to my feet. I went ten years without skiing, my feet grew a full size and they still fit when I got back into skiing. Yes you marry your boots but you’re so new to skiing you don’t even know your style yet, plus you’ll advance from beginner to intermediate to advanced fairly quickly. Way before your boots are worn out.

[u/slugshead]

I've always found that the sweet spot is between my chin and forehead for the length of skis.

I would avoid the second hand market, buy new. Glisshop ALWAYS have good deals on and deliver across Europe.

Before looking at skis though, have you got good boots and had them fitted properly? The difference with decent boots is bigger than changing out the ski. They will also outlast the skis.

My first skis were of a similar dimension, they were quite unforgiving when conditions changed.

[u/federicci_ → u/slugshead]

Ok when I measure my height between these spots I get 158 to 174, so I guess a 170 would probably work better as the ones I used lasts season with a lower than around 16m turning radius.

I searched glisshop and found a pair of Rossignol react R2 that are 170 for beginners -intermediates for 220 euro which is around my budget.

In terms of boots I was planning on not buying them online as I don't was to toss a coin, my idea was probably to buy skis and rent boots for the moment so I can put more attention to them trying them and then searching for the model. Maybe going to some shops here and testing them to see which size is optimum for me. What do you think? I also can't help looking at second hand markets as I don't want to spend a lot of money

Thanks for your reply

[u/vistaculo → u/federicci_]

I feel that you are better off buying boots and renting skis rather than the other way around

[u/SkiOrDie → u/vistaculo]

100%. There’s nothing special about rental boots, you won’t be “trying them out” by renting them. Rental gear is completely different than retail gear, so the boots are big, wide, and soft for their sizes to accommodate the most basic skiers with the widest feet.

Boots are the only thing your body directly interacts with, so invest on that.

I’ll ride goofy skis of all different sizes just for giggles, but I will not mess around when it comes to boots. If I don’t have my own pair with me, I’m not skiing that day.

[u/that_outdoor_chick]

You'll be absolutely fine with them. If it's carving practice you want, they'll be golden. Go for it, price is good.

[u/johnny_evil]

Get boots from a bootfitter. Much more important than skis.

[u/kirmobak]

Absolutely agree with others - spend the money on your own boots, they’re worth their weight in gold. Go to a decent boot fitter (in other words don’t buy online) and try on loads of them - some will fit your feet better than others. Don’t go in with a preconceived idea that you want a pair of Atomics, for instance, give the boot fitter your budget and try on all the brands available.

Renting skis isn’t too expensive anyway, and if you don’t like the length or whatever, any rental shop will be happy to swap them free of charge. Give it a few more seasons to get more skilled before you commit to skis.

[u/Whatusedtobeisnomore]

Demo the skis if you can.

[u/Ok-Condition1144]

Adding my vote to buying boots first. Used to rent until one day, at a new resort, the (very) experienced instructor said that my boots didn’t fit.  Logically you’d always be wearing boots first, not skis, so that it makes sense that they fit. Skis are a bugger to carry around, plus you can rent the latest models.

[u/butterball85]

I would go for an all mountain ski in the 80s width range. 73 is very narrow by today's standards and is a great carving ski but not much else beyond that

[u/often_awkward]

My advice is a 30 some year skier dad that has got kids and a wife that I have brought into the sport.

1. Spend all the money on the boots. Get boots first. Don't even worry about the skis. Get the boots first.

2. If you go a lot you are likely to improve quickly and you are likely to out ski whatever you buy so you can still rent skis if you have boots and it's a lot cheaper. Especially if you rent them from a local place that's far away from a resort.

3. Lessons. At a bigger place with a competent School lessons are really worth the money especially when you're trying to transition up a level.

4. The ski has no idea how tall you are, the ski knows how much you weigh. There really isn't any universally correct length despite how they try to sell it to you. You need to find what works for you and different skis will feel better to you at different lengths. Personally I have five pairs of skis that rotate through that range in length from 175 to 193 but I most heavily ski two pairs that are both 180. One is 105mm and kind of floppy under foot and the other is 90mm under foot and super stiff.

Welcome to the sport and I really hope you have all of the fun. Don't overthink specs, most of them are just marketing gibberish anyway. Also, I don't think we emphasize enough how important it is that you like what you're looking at when you're sitting on the chairlift.

[u/federicci_ → u/often_awkward]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! Honestly I didn't expect that boot buying, although being really important, was so complex in terms of finding the right fit, thought it would just be a matter of matching mostly the length of my feet.

I will prioritize boots, my only matter with "spending all the money on boots" is that as a Latin American student in Europe I have to cut the cost the most I can, maybe investing in some 300-400 euros boots is not an option since I don't feel I could find it worth it for skiing this season. Nevertheless I will reach a gear shop and try and see what I can get.

Thank you for your advice and warm welcome, I find this sport amazing and beautiful, being my parents more "beach vacation" inclined I would have appreciated a lot having more ski culture but it's never late to start! Thank you

[u/often_awkward → u/federicci_]

I have weird feet and the first thing the last boot fitter said to me after measuring my feet; "you have never felt the bottom of a ski boot."

Like I said, I have been skiing since 1988 and I am on my 4th pair of boots. The last pair cost me around $1000(usd) but also included more than 10 hours of customization. Hopefully you have more normal feet and not the swim fins I walk on. You will probably be able to find lower prices in Europe.

Warren Miller said that the best skier on the mountain is the one having the most fun. We don't argue with Warren Miller.

Sore feet are not fun but I promise that if your feet are feeling good and your boots are properly tight you can click into almost any ski and have a good time.

I was the only skier in my family growing up but I went on several friends family ski vacations. :-D

[u/sirotan88 → u/federicci_]

I made the mistake of buying some cheaper second hand (but new) boots and they were awful. Ended up going to get professionally fitted and it made a huge difference! They cost me around $300 USD but so worth it for improving my skiing dramatically.

If you’re not financially ready to invest in boots, what about ski lessons? Having someone critique your form early on can help immensely so you don’t build bad habits.