Buyer Beware – Package Deals and Bargain Skis

I understand 100%. If you see a pair of skis and bindings on my website, and then see the same skis online at a much lower price, or packaged with free or very cheap bindings, it would be hard to ignore the savings based on what you are seeing on the screen.

BUT what you are seeing, and what is often being sold and delivered to UK customers can sometimes be two different things. With the rise of European discounters selling directly to UK customers – often with a “.co.uk” website which effectively implies they are here in the UK when they are not, we often get these skis into our workshop to mount bindings, correct binding issues, or for servicing. We get to see what is going on, and I am concerned about what we are seeing more often.

I am not going name brands, as that would be unfair, and there is always mud to throw back over the fence as we are only human, but there are patterns we see, and we use that information to inform our purchasing, as I don’t only want to be selling skis that are awesome to ski on, but also ones that will last many, many years.

Here are some sadly common issues we are having to fix or resolve for customers that have already paid hard earned money for their shiny new skis, leaving us to be the bogeyman with the bad news…

“SKI PACKS” – Sold as a package with bindings that are not correct for the skis, or the skier

Ski bindings are a tested and rated safety device. Much like fitting some partially worn budget tyres to a Ferrari can make for a terrible drive, fitting the incorrect bindings to a ski can affect the performance of your skis. Worse, having the wrong bindings for the skis AND the skier using them can result in safety issues, and injury.

When this is spotted, we will advise the customer, and often the customer will understand, and let us fit a correct binding for them. This obviously costs money to do, and results in more drilling of skis if the binding has a different mounting position on the ski. But it is so important to have the correct bindings for the skis. We have had customers arrived with ski packs brought from discounters with what we view as “youth” bindings on freeride all-mountain skis. They simply won’t offer the correct width and strength to match the power of the skis. Further, the skier may for example weigh 90KG(ish) like me, and be on a binding that is designed for youth skiers or less demanding piste ski use. We have had these bindings come into us with the screws pulled out, brakes snapped off, or worse an injury that ends a holiday.

When you buy skis from us, you will see our binding recommendations. We spend a LOT of time assessing which bindings we sell – and which we will not sell – and then determine for each set of flat skis we sell which bindings are most suitable:

We offer a discount when you buy skis plus ski bindings from us, and we do all the setting up for free, wax them fully with an iron – as skis are not fully waxed for the mountain when new – and offer a free first service so we can check the skis are all OK and our customers are happy. This is worth over £100 but the correct way to sell skis we feel.

My tips for buying bindings with skis are:

1. Make sure the binding you are buying is suitable for the type of ski, the terrain it will be used on and the width of the skis. Bindings are NOT all the same, and it is NOT only about the DIN settings!
2. Talking of the DIN setting – the resistance of the bindings to release – ideally you want your DIN number when calculated for you to be around the middle of the range the binding offers. There are exceptions, but most bindings benefit from this, and allow you adjustment as you develop as a skier and frankly get older!
3. Do NOT buy only on price. It will be a false economy. If you buy the cheapest binding as part of a package it will NOT been chosen for you based on point 1 and point 2 above!
4. If you are in any doubt, please contact us. I would rather someone has the right bindings on their skis, not purchased from us, than have something not suitable that can then cause issues or even injury.

B-Grade or rental skis sold as retail skis with a discount

This one does make my blood boil, as what we are seeing is customers buying skis that have the same images, same specification and details as ones sold in other ski shops including here, but they are in fact “B-Grade” versions or skis with Quality Control (QC) issues or rental versions of a ski.

So, what am I going on about and what does it mean?

B-Grade Skis – Or skis that have failed initial quality control
When some ski companies manufacture skis and they have blemishes or issues which can be repaired, they will often sell the skis to retailers like us as “b-grade” skis. A b-grade ski can simply be a blemish on the top sheet in the colour or graphic, or a scratch in the base material. However, some skis rejected by QC have much bigger issues, so “B” grade is not really applicable. The edges may be cut too short, leaving a gap at the tip and or tail end. The sidewalls may have been cut badly, and even the ski base may have been die-cut too short, meaning the tail of the ski needs another piece of base material or filling to make it good.

A good retailer may sell b-grade skis, but they will be clear about it. As these often are sold at a discount to the retailer, the retailer – and we have done this in the past – will state the skis are b-grade, and only sell ones with minor blemishes, and pass the discount onto the customer. However, a few retailers will sell these skis as if they are the standard “A-Grade” or QC passed version, and then use the discount to give the customer an amazing discount. This to me is dishonest. We will not do this, and do feel we need to point out when we see B-Grade skis, as some issues such as the edges being cut too short can leave gaps that allow snow/water into the core of the skis, which will ultimately damage your skis. Things can be repaired if this is the case, but if these have been sold as new skis without issues, then why should you be needing them to be repaired?

Rental Skis – Skis designed to be rented for a period and then recycled/disposed of
Although some brands only allow one version of their ski to be made whether it’s for retail sale or rental, most skis you will see in rental shops or that may have been under your feet are “rental versions” of ski models. They may look similar, even down the name being similar, but as these skis are going to be put through servicing machines week-in-week-out, many of them feature thicker edges for machine servicing, and thicker plus sometimes lower grade (extruded) bases. Some may have wood cores substituted for cheaper and lighter composite cores, and as the core is the “soul” of the skis, this changes the way it rides when skiing. If a resort shop offers to sell you ex-rental skis as an end of season bargain, be aware that there is a chance those very same skis, if not sold, may well have been sent to ski heaven for “retirement” to help clear the rental rooms for the following season! The good news is though that if you loved a rental version of a ski, the likelihood is if you buy the retail version, you will love them even more.

Summary
You do indeed get what you pay for as with all things in life. Although putting my thoughts down on this blog will lead to a couple of people being somewhat disgruntled at my shining a light on this, I do feel as a fellow skier, and someone who has had their fair share of injuries over the years, that it is worth letting our customers and potential customers know what is going on in some if not all cases, and at the end of the run, sorry day, it’s down to the buyer to be aware and decide what to spend their hard earnt money on.

Just please – spend wisely with your eyes wide open 🙂
Scott