Ski boots - buy or rent?

bauble

In two minds whether to buy a pair of ski boots or continue to rent. Go skiing once every year but is that enough to make it worthwhile?

tywy

Boots are the best thing you'll ever buy, they're yours, they fit the shape of your feet, they don't smell, they're fantastic! I bought them 3 or 4 years ago and I couldn't imagine renting them. Buy in resort though, Great Outdoors is a rip off for boots

Static M.e.

+ 1

If you go at least once every year, dont plan on changing to snowboarding then go for it.

robinph

Boots are the most important thing for your skiing and if your at all likely to be going each year then definitely worth investing in a pair, do buy in resort though.

Alun

Echo what everybody else has said .. buy at the resort. Most shops will let you try out several different pairs of boots for a few runs on the slopes. Far better than just trying them out in a shop. The same goes for skis if you're thinking of buying those too.

Imposter

For one week per year I wouldn't buy skis! They are cheaper to rent and you always get the latest (or nearly latest) models. Plus you have no waxing costs and the like.

As everyone has said I'd get the boots though! If you can wait until late febuary, early march a lot of the stuff will be reduced too - at least it is in the towns here in Austria. In the ski resorts it may not be - I don't really know.

bauble

Any recommendations on which boots are a good buy? Would anyone advise staying clear of the basic/cheapest ranges or are they fine? Thanks

jimdev

Hey bauble,

Yeah, I agree with most everything above, except that I have never heard of a shop that lets you try out boots (returning boots is hard because they start to shape to your foot immediately).

Which boot to buy is entirely determined by 1) the shape of your foot and 2) how good/aggressive/what type of a skier you are. For example, a beginner/less aggressive skier will want a softer boot than a more advanced/more aggressive skier.

Different lines of boots from different brands are all designed for particular shapes of foot. For example, I have a very narrow boot so I know most boots from Lange/Nordica/Atomic tend to be better for me where as most Salomons or the Atomic B boots would be better for someone with a wider foot.

The cost of a boot usually tends to be based on how stiff it is (more expensive materials and a more extensive design process). So getting a more expensive boot will not necessarily mean getting a better boot for you (if it is too stiff, you will not be able to flex the boot, thus not able to flex your ankle and it will mess your skiing up a bit. Too soft and you will not be able to force the ski to do what you want as smoothly as with the right stiffness of boot).

My first boot had a 60 flex which was fine for the level of skier I was back then (basic parallel). I would advise first time boot buyers who ski one or two weeks a year to buy boots in the 50-70 flex range, depending on stuff mentioned above.

Ski boots are definitely a much better purchase than skis - low maintenance, better mileage and makes a bigger difference to your skiing and comfort. Rental boots are shaped to roughly fit any foot (ie they never fit any foot well just all feet reasonably). Thus they are wide and have lots of volume. With buy your own boots, you can get something that fits your foot a bit better/more accurately / with less room for your foot to move without being uncomfortable.


Getting a good boot fitter is essential. What makes a good boot fitter is that he cares about you being happy with your purchase and knows what he is talking about (bad boot fitters fail on the first one a lot and rarely ever on the second one - they tend to know their stuff).

Other than just buying the boot off the shelf there are a couple of customisation options.

The first is adjusting the hard shell (by grinding or blowing out). Unless you have a very unusual foot, this will not be necessary unless you are buying an ultra stiff & tight boot.

Then there is the inner liner (soft shell). You can get a foam injected liner for a tonne of money. I have never tried this but I am sceptical about how good value for money you get compared to just getting a standard liner fitted properly and wouldn't be bothered with it myself. Standard liners tend to be heat sensitive, so they start a little too tight everywhere and then pack out to the shape of your foot as you ski on them. These can be heated up piping hot in the shop and have your foot shoved in and clamped in super-tight to accelerate the process if you don't want it to happen slowly and want it straight away (some or more designed for as you ski pack out, others more for in-shop).


The liner does eventually die of old age after 150-200 days skiing and completely packs out all over, at this stage the boots are super comfy but not so high performance. Most 1 week a year skiers will have replaced their boots before this though.

The last thing about boots is that you may well find a pair that fit right with no adjustment - grand. the one really important extra that does make a huge difference is a custom foot bed. This sets your legs up at the right angle for comfortable skiing and works in subtle ways to vastly improve your skiing. The milled variety are hard to get (very rare but very good), the hard moulded ones you can get from pediatrist (ie. a foot doctor, the very best foot bed you can get) and then 90% of all sold are heat moulded (usually from a company called "comformable"). These are less accurate and can break down from being re-heated but are still 100 times better than the standard almost flat footbeds that come with your boot and are the cheapest. Buy footbeds though, that's the best thing about owning your own boots is the footbeds. I have really flat feet, so they make a huge difference for me but will make at least a substantial difference for everyone.

bauble

Great, thanks for all that information.

Alun

jimdev wrote: »

Yeah, I agree with most everything above, except that I have never heard of a shop that lets you try out boots (returning boots is hard because they start to shape to your foot immediately).

All I can say is that I got mine in the US (Breckenridge IIRC) and that was a service they offered. I tried probably 4 different boots in the course of one day.

Imposter wrote:

For one week per year I wouldn't buy skis! They are cheaper to rent and you always get the latest (or nearly latest) models. Plus you have no waxing costs and the like.

Which is exactly why I prefer to have my own skis, and not be subjected to the latest 'trend' every season, whatever that may be. I like to just get on my skis and go, and not have to get used to a new pair of skis every time. Each to their own. I suppose.

Imposter

Alun wrote: »

Which is exactly why I prefer to have my own skis, and not be subjected to the latest 'trend' every season, whatever that may be. I like to just get on my skis and go, and not have to get used to a new pair of skis every time. Each to their own. I suppose.

Yep but let's say your skis and bindings cost 400 (and that's for nothing special). Waxing once a year is about 20-25.
Hiring is around 70 a week.

That doesn't even take into account what it costs to fly them to your destination.

So if you plan to keep your skis more than 7 years then ok buy them. But if you think you might want to update them before then renting has to be the way to go.

robinph

I've always found that the rental ski's that I've ended up with have been pretty rubbish though, even with paying for their super-duper "advanced" rental ski's. It could be due to the fact that flying from Ireland we generally end up in resorts that just cater for huge numbers of people renting and just have some standard set of useless ski's to hand out. But you being a bit closer to the snow can go to the resorts that are not on our set of easy options and don't deal with the same huge numbers of renters so the shops have a smaller number but better range of ski's available for rent.

Imposter

robinph wrote: »

I've always found that the rental ski's that I've ended up with have been pretty rubbish though, even with paying for their super-duper "advanced" rental ski's. It could be due to the fact that flying from Ireland we generally end up in resorts that just cater for huge numbers of people renting and just have some standard set of useless ski's to hand out. But you being a bit closer to the snow can go to the resorts that are not on our set of easy options and don't deal with the same huge numbers of renters so the shops have a smaller number but better range of ski's available for rent.

What you say is true as it would be no matter where you rent I guess. I guess it comes down to whether or not the extra cost is worth it then.

I ski about 15 days a year so it makes sense for me to own skis. They get 1 service a year and I have no extra transport costs for them.

RectalWareZ

I got a pair last season in the resort. Tried on bout 10 pairs, before i picked the right ones. Got a pair of heat soles thingies as my feet teld to freeze up causing crampsin the souls! of my feet. Going to try them out on thursday night hopefully.

Jack E

Thanks for the info guys. I'm heading off in a couple of weeks and I'm seriously thinking of buying a pair of boots this year.

I've been skiing for 3 years (1 week/year) and intend to keep it up.
How much should I expect to shell out for a pair of good beginner style boots as described above?
The Salomon brand have suited me before (when renting) so I might go for them.
Oh we're going to Austria , so that's where I'll be purchasing.
Thanks

tywy

don't get beginner boots if you've been skiing 3 years i.e. 3 weeks. Get a step up from that, a novice boot maybe. Depending on where you're going I'd expect maybe €200, could be wrong though!

Jack E

tywy wrote: »

don't get beginner boots if you've been skiing 3 years i.e. 3 weeks. Get a step up from that, a novice boot maybe. Depending on where you're going I'd expect maybe €200, could be wrong though!

Thanks for that. Yea you’re probably right about getting boots for intermediate level, as I plan to get a few years out of them.

Should I get them in Ireland? (I’m thinking the great outdoors) that way I’ll have time to wear them and let them mould into my feet for the couple of weeks before I leave.

Or should I buy them in Austria? (going to the St Anton resort) . I don’t know how much of a difference there would be in price / fitting quality

tywy

Better fitting service in Austria I think from what I've been told.

I went into the great outdoors the other week, they fitted me for a 27.0, my current boots are 26.5 and I've no problem with the length just the width. The 26.0 and 26.5 are the same length but different widths. You don't want the boot too big or it will be seriously painful. I think the bootfitters in ski resorts are generally better.

I asked the same question of whether to buy here or in France and the point was made that you can ski a day and then if they're sore, you go back to the shop and they adjust them. You can do that everyday for the whole week skiing and then by the end your boots will be like gloves. Can't do that if you buy in the Great Outdoors...