Where do you get your skis?

[Fatmanfilms]

@markust

Ah, maybe I should phrase that differently. Last year I tried shorter skis than the ones I had before, and I liked them a lot better. If I hadn’t rented them, I probably would’ve never tried different skis, since I wouldn’t be able to switch every year (every year, because I only go skiing once a year. If you go several times, you can of course rent different skis within a year.)

Different skis should be different lengths, my Slalom skis are 150cm but I usually ski 184cm off piste.

[Ace]

I’m pretty much down to 3 sets, SL, GS and fats. TBH these days the GS ones rarely get used, so it’s generally just a choice between short, narrow (171cmx65mm) stiff and grippy or long and wide (192cmx120mm) with plenty of float and a decent rocker. The latter still work well enough on piste, carving nicely, as long as you don’t push them too much on hardpack or boilerplate.

I mean, there’s also the old sets recycled into telemark and ‘touring’ skis, but neither of those has seen the light of day for five years or so. the other four or five pairs I had kicking around got taken to the 2me vie at our local déchetterie a while back.

[Izzy]

@BelgianMum

Complex tibial fractures in teens can require surgery too and recovery is by no means an easy process

easy. Switch to snowboarding. Then, you will (only) have complex multiple wrist fractures (and a sore ‘derriere’)…until you decide to wear some rollerblading safety equipment

[wonkywellies]

My son wore that special protective equipment and still managed to fracture his wrist on day 2 (whilst standing waiting for his turn )
He decided it wasn’t for him.

[BelgianMum]

He has not set foot on the slopes since the day of his accident 12 years ago and he has no intention of doing so ever again.

[Fatmanfilms]

That seems so sad for someone growing up living in Switzerland & becoming a Swiss citizen.

[ShirleyNot]

To be fair, it’s not that unusual. My son is the only one out of his Swiss friends that skis. The rest of them either can’t, or can but prefer other activities.

[BelgianMum]

To be fair none of his circle of friends who are mostly Swiss ski either. They all have other things they prefer to do, there’s far more to being Swiss than skiing.

[Fatmanfilms]

On reflection it’s not surprising that it was the British that invented skiing rather than the risk averse Swiss.

[Phil_MCR]

I know a lot of kids who simply don’t like the cold, or even being outside at all instead of on their phones. It’s also not a cheap hobby.

[RobBob]

@Phil_MCR

Well, this has to be adjusted anyway each season. It’s pretty simple so I just do it myself. But you can always get someone at ski service or other ski shops/places to adjust for you.

Only problem is that it has to be done officially. Otherwise any injuries occurring from an accident may not be covered by the insurance.

[Tom1234]

@RobBob

Only problem is that it has to be done officially. Otherwise any injuries occurring from an accident may not be covered by the insurance.

Isn’t that more of a US thing?

I should think that there are a few people on this forum who are more qualified to adjust ski bindings than the teenager on a Saturday at the local hire place.

[RobBob]

@Tom1234

Isn’t that more of a US thing?

Skivignette: Jetzt den Skibindungs-Check machen

[Ace]

It’s great that you can get these checks done, and IIRC they’re usually offered for free, but I’m not aware that the lack of a sticker would in any way invalidate your insurance.

Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine how it possibly could.

And the sticker is not dependent on any adjustments having been done by the shop anyway.

[Bowlie]

I once asked a shop employee to reduce my binding settings one notch, so my skis would come off a little easier. He refused saying he was required to set it to the correct setting! He then handed me the screwdriver and said, just turn that one click to the left.

[Ace]

Yeah, that’s no unusual in some ski rental shops, although I don’t think I’ve seen it in Switzerland.

In the US I recall some places requiring that you sign a waiver if you ask them to set it to your own known value.

But I’m surprised you wanted it set lower, the calculations always err on the side of caution and it’s common for them to set them lower than the customer wants, I’d be very worried about unwanted release if you went lower than the recommendations.

[Bowlie]

At the time I would have preferred an unwanted release than an unwanted buggered knee.

[Phil_MCR]

An unwanted release can also result in severe injuries from the ensuing accident. Esp. if you are going at speed and not expecting it unlike an accident where you maybe slowing down in anticipation of something happening.

[Axa]

It happened to me. As beginner, the ski fixations where set to easy release because I was falling every minute. I improved a bit, and started to put a stronger load while turning. A ski went out…but I was still a beginner and it was just another fall at low speed. I went to the shop, they increased the resistance, but and I’m still a bit below my weight because I’m far from willingly imposing a load that would make the ski go out.

[Bowlie]

At the time I was an experienced skier with good equipment. The bindings didn’t release at any time during my vacation.