Buying Skis: Are Short-Skis a good idea?

Question

Hi guys. I am thinking about buying my own skis instead of renting each time I go to the mountain. I looked around and I saw beginner skis that are decent start at about $150, but after adding bindings and boots and helmets and goggles it adds up to about $450. Well, usually, I dont mind paying this much, but seeing that the next season (December 08-March 09) of skiing is my last, I dont want to spend that much on only one season. and if there was snow back in Saudi Arabia, then I would probably buy that set.

So I looked at Sportcheck and found the short skis at about 98cm and one at 89 cm. I heard alot about them being used mainly in the terrain parks and on the pipes, but can I also use them from the top of the mountain and having medium to high speeds or is it only limited to the terrain park and cannot handle anything else?

Thanks

Answer 1

They'll be fine - provided you're not more than 4 feet tall. They may be fine in the terrain park but I'm not sure about the top of the mountain. And if you ever use them in deep powder you'll discover how a submarine works.

Answer 2

Most ski shops have season rentals. This is your best bet.

Answer 3

go  for it but the $450 skis u can always sell them when your done with them

Answer 4

Buy the skis...you can always use them in Dubai.

Answer 5

They can handle anything and you can do a lot with them ie spinning and park tricks, they are not very fast but very agile,

They can also go in your suitcase but you still need boots

Personally for the short time you want this stuff, I would buy used on Ebay no matter what you decide and then sell it back on EBay when done

Answer 6

It's not the length of the ski that matters so much, it's the construction.  Each ski is designed for a certain weight rider and if you're not within it's range they won't ride right for you.

See if you can buy some used skis or some rentals at the end of the season and that might help your costs some.

Then again, if it's going to cost you less to rent for a season why not just do that? If you want to own your own equipment buy some boots and then rent demo skis for a season.

Answer 7

I do not recomend a ski of that size.  I feel you should go with a ski that is at least 158, which are very controlable.