Renting vs Bringing skis on vacation

[focker]

So looks like we're heading do Summit Co in March. Trip is coming together well but I'm wondering about bringing skis vs renting. We're going to fly Delta so we get free checked bags which helps make the decision to bring them easier.

What about renting a car? I know you can rent a SUV with a ski rack on it. Is it less hassle to just spend a little more $$ and rent from the resorts we're going to ski at?

The only previous time I flew to ski I just rented but this time I'll have my wife and 2 kids with the cost of renting skis for everyone starts to climb quickly...

 

[pete]

I'd suggest if not picky on using your own skis, then price out options to decide if overall more convenient to rent or haul.

For me I started to just bring skis when free on flights. I just didn't care to rent as it meant waiting in line or going to pick up plus we were partial towards our own skis.

However some outfits give a good rate over the longer period of time and calling can result in getting a deal if renting for all. Some will deliver to the rental. I remember when kids were young, we'd rent theirs and they were "cheap". This was first few years of lessons where they would grow quickly between seasons.

Renting a vehicle can make a difference, when I rented I'd get a "bigger" vehicle and if a car, I tended to a larger GM Impala type as it's trunk would hold a 175cm. if a mini van then they might fit under the seats to one side. Some locations will assure a rack and maybe where you work has a good discount. Prior to driving, I lucked out in that my company had deal where no extra charges were added for Racks and they were assured.

 

[graham418]

For some airlines now , your second checked bag is $50. Times 2, and the differential between renting and taking your own is getting narrower . If you can get a weekly deal on rentals its becoming more feasible. More so if you are going to Europe or Japan, as baggage fees for those destinations are going up

 

[focker]

Yeah I see now that Delta is actually $30 for the first checked bag per person... My friend had said that they have no baggage fees incorrectly.

 

[Gary Stolt]

If you have skis and comfortable boots, I would take them with you. If the rental boots are painful, it's not fun. Southwest gives 2 bags free. The rest count a boot bag and a ski bag as one although they do have restrictions on weight and what can be in the boot bag. I don't like the idea of spending vacation time in a rental shop.
Which ever works for you, have fun and pray for good snow.

 

[QueueCT]

Skis are considered checked baggage on Delta. So, if you don't have medallion status to get free checked bags you'll pay $30 for first bag and $40 for second bag per passenger. You can combine skis into a single bag provided it doesn't exceed 50 lbs (I've gotten 2 pair of junior and 1 pair of adult skis in a bag with poles and it was right at 50 lbs). Assuming you need 2 ski bags, and don't have more than 2 other bags, then you're paying $60 to bring your skis on the plane. Well worth it from my perspective.

Regarding vehicles, I'd just rent a mini-van and slide the ski bags through the middle. It's what we'll be doing this T'giving.

 

[Rich McP]

As for the cost of renting, do you have ski bags that will hold everything and keep you inside your weight and bag count limit? That will add cost if you need to add those. Of course, you can amortize that cast over multiple trips. The rental car thing needs a decision too. Where are you staying? Where are you skiing? In other words, do you NEED a car or will shuttling from DIA work as well or better? With the whole family going that is more seats to pay for, so maybe offsetting rental costs.

I always felt that rent v carry was always more of a total cost of trip question, plus logistics.

 

[jmeb]

I wouldn't want to spend every day dealing with the logistics of renting in the morning, returning in the afternoon IMHO. Let alone learning new equipment every day.

If you're staying in Dillion/Silverthorne/Frisco, there are many shops in town that will rent to you for your entire stay and makes it easier than driving skis up from Denver.

Few other important considerations:

- Do you have your own boots?
- Do you have skis that are likely to be appropriate for the conditions?

 

[Tony S]

My perspective on this is colored by the fact that I'm fussy about skis, and particular about what kind of a tune is on my skis. IME "regular" rental skis are guaranteed to have a crappy tune, not to mention being crap to start with. Demos often but by no means always have a decent tune. So for me "renting" means "demoing from a known-good provider." Already the barrier is not insignificant. Now add in the fact that it's forty or fifty bucks a day for demos and the decision is made. Again, YMMV depending on your priorities.

 

[Seldomski]

Three or more days of skiing, I bring my skis. If the trip is shorter, I don't think it's worth the hassle. As you note, bringing your own skis has it's own associated costs in transport to/from airports, baggage fees, tuning, labor (not really the easiest thing to lug around). This is for trips in the US.

The two times I went to ski Europe, it made much more sense to rent. I don't know why rentals in US are so much higher cost than Europe. In Europe, the ski selection was also much better than US.

 

[Core2]

Ive done it both ways and even saying I would pay more $$ for better skis I still ended up with fairly crappy rentals. Maybe I just went to the wrong shops but this was in the front range so you'd expect they'd have decent equipment? Bring your own skis or at least bring your own boots is what I'd do. It is nice to be on familiar equipment when you are at a new area.

 

[Ken_R]

So looks like we're heading do Summit Co in March. Trip is coming together well but I'm wondering about bringing skis vs renting. We're going to fly Delta so we get free checked bags which helps make the decision to bring them easier.

What about renting a car? I know you can rent a SUV with a ski rack on it. Is it less hassle to just spend a little more $$ and rent from the resorts we're going to ski at?

The only previous time I flew to ski I just rented but this time I'll have my wife and 2 kids with the cost of renting skis for everyone starts to climb quickly...

Order according to Priorities:

1. Ski Boots. Rental boots SUCK. If you got good ski boots bring them.

2. Skis. If you have good skis, bring them. If not you can easily get good skis in Summit Co. for the conditions. Both will cost you but quality rentals can get expensive.

3. Car. Depends on where exactly are you staying vs where you will be skiing.

 

[coskigirl]

I posted a thread about Silvercar in Denver which rents Audi Q5s with ski racks. Personally, I think it would be less hassle to bring skis, rent the car with the rack, and not have to deal with rentals on a daily basis. Definitely bring your own boots.

 

[David]

I take my own. I know they are tuned, waxed and I know my skis vs getting something I really don't like. Skis are a pain to travel with but for me renting is even more of a hassle.

Also, I'd recommend using Epic for transportation unless you actually know how to drive in mt snow not just think you do like sooo many others.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

When my daughters fly from the midwest to ski in the mountains with us, they bring their boots. The resort towns all have good shops. In Breck, we rented skis for them at Alpine Sports, which has several outlets. We rented for the week, so there was no daily pickup/return hassle.

 

[martyg]

I posted a thread about Silvercar in Denver which rents Audi Q5s with ski racks. Personally, I think it would be less hassle to bring skis, rent the car with the rack, and not have to deal with rentals on a daily basis. Definitely bring your own boots.

Silvercar rocks! As an Audi owner it is my go to.

Be careful with skis and bags... I have a rolling double bag that can easily exceed poundage, costing an extra few hundred dollars.

 

[tch]

DO bring your own boots, unless you don't have any at all (and if not, why are you planning a ski vacation? ).
DO bring skis if it makes sense both fiscally and logistically, you like your current skis, are not planning to buy again in the near future, and they fit the anticipated conditions.
DO rent by the week from known, highly rated shops if you don't have the right skis and/or want to test-drive potential purchases.

DON'T rent by the day from the area rental shop; these "skis" will be crappy, untuned beginner/intermediate p.o.s.
DON'T overload a ski bag and DO weigh it carefully beforehand; as martyg says, extra poundage fees will completely wipe out any savings you may get vis-a-vis renting.

 

[LiquidFeet]

....
DON'T overload a ski bag and DO weigh it carefully beforehand; as martyg says, extra poundage fees will completely wipe out any savings you may get vis-a-vis renting.

^^This.

And on the return trip you need to keep the ski and boot bag total weight under 50 lbs too. Plan how you are going to make sure that is the case when you are checking out of your hotel/condo. You probably won't bring a scale with you. I use an inventory of what I packed in the boot bag and ski bag on the way out, written like a checklist, and leave it in the bags so I can put the same stuff back in.

 

[pete]

agree that you can rent for the whole period and not return daily, and get a much better price.

but as noted, to me it's a holistic approach to all the trade-offs and these have varied for me yr to yr when flying.

Depending where you stay .. one can consider shipping ahead if you love your skis. I'm cheap and drive now but some services arrange the delivery and pick up right to your unit, some units accept/hold and then ship out for you too. One condo I used to stay at in Steamboat had a discount deal with a shipper. They'd hold the skis till you arrived and shipped them out after you left .. packing and unpacking. this way one could ship ahead not to worry if one's flights got messed up.

Having never used one, can't state it's worth.

 

[rocdoc]

There is something very appealing about renting or demoing on a trip. But I have to say, every single time I've done it, I've been disappointed with the tune, if not the actual model of the ski. The shops didn't seem to put the same care or attention to detail into those skis that I do (I tune my own) or that a shop where one would take own skis for a tune would. It ranged from "meh, I wish these had better edges" to a rental ski inappropriately popping off during high speed turns and almost resulting in breaking my leg. So that colors my view, and I am currently always planning on bringing my own. But if you find a place where the rentals or demos are actually good stuff, it's a lot more convenient, particularly when traveling to areas with very different conditions than you are equipped for (eg from East Coast to Powderland, Wherever).