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Beginner skis and info on diy ski tuning

Dixie Flatline

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I'm new to skiing and have 4 kids who are also new. We have been skiing 2 years and are just starting to take green and blue runs.

Because the kids are close in age, I should be able to hand down the skis from kid to kid. But that means I need to maintain them for probably 5 years, and I have NO idea what ski maintenance even is. I'm trying to determine how much I should learn to maintain skis myself or if I should just drop them off at the shop every year. I don't relish learning another hobby "job", but I work on my own bikes, etc. so I should probably learn to work on skis.

Are there any good YouTube videos that explain ski maintenance? For biking, Park Tool videos are really good for bike maintenance. I'm looking for the equivalent type of video for skiing. With emphasis on not just how to do things, but understanding why I need to do it or how often I need to do it, etc.

Finally, these are the skis that my local shop sold me. Do these seem reasonable for a 6-foot, 190lb beginner, and should I be looking for anything different? We mostly ski Bogus Basin and Brundage in whatever the conditions are at the time...
 

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Jilly

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Before anyone else asks.....boots!! Boots are the most important piece of equipment. Get fitted at a reputable fitter....not a box store.

As for the Salomon's, picture of the binding please.

Tuning - I'm sure that Toko has You tube video's for enjoyment.
 

KingGrump

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As Jilly said, boots, boots, boots.

Drop them off at the shop before start of the season to get them back to square one.

Start with waxing. Every 3 to 5 days of skiing depending on type of snow.

Toko video on waxing.

When you get decent with waxing, move onto side edge maintenance. Every 5 to 10 days.

Toko video on side edge maintenance.

Good luck & have fun.
 

dbostedo

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As Jilly said, boots, boots, boots.

Drop them off at the shop before start of the season to get them back to square one.

Start with waxing. Every 3 to 5 days of skiing depending on type of snow.

Toko video on waxing.

When you get decent with waxing, move onto side edge maintenance. Every 5 to 10 days.

Toko video on side edge maintenance.

Good luck & have fun.
I'll note that I'm the contrarian on this site, compared to most who wax often and maintain their edges all the time. I do neither. I drop my skis off at the beginning of the season for any tuning and base work needed, and for waxing. Then I get them waxed maybe after 10 days of usage. And I rarely need to do anything to edges

But I don't ski any particular ski nearly as much as the previous posters (I only get 20-25 ski days a season, across a few pairs of skis). And I don't ski terrain that's likely to ding up the metal edges as often as the previous posters. So I'm not saying edge maintenance and waxing don't matter - they do. But I don't think they're as critical to do frequently as a lot of people here do.

That said, maintaining 5 sets of skis can get expensive at the shops... and doing it yourself will require some initial investment, then is a lot cheaper. And some people really enjoy it.

As far as the skis go, I don't know that model, but looking at the specs they seem like a fine choice size-wise and fine for your height/weight. As you get better at skiing, and can try some other skis, and you'll probably learn what you like for different conditions.
 
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Dixie Flatline

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Boots was my noob thread from last season. Last year I bought some boots at the local shop based on their fitting and they seem fine. This year I bought skis. Thanks for the video recommendations I will check them out. I got the kid skis adjusted and tested, but the edges are a little rusty and they didn't wax them.

Here's a picture of the bindings. Are these decent? What difference do bindings really make?
 

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KingGrump

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I'll note that I'm the contrarian on this site, compared to most who wax often and maintain their edges all the time. I do neither. I drop my skis off at the beginning of the season for any tuning and base work needed, and for waxing. Then I get them waxed maybe after 10 days of usage. And I rarely need to do anything to edges

That kind of explains your skiing. :duck: :ogbiggrin:
 

dbostedo

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Oh, and one other thing. I looked closer at the ski pic, and I see they're 168 length. That's pretty darn short for someone your size. They'll be OK to start as a real beginner, but I suspect you'll want something longer relatively quickly.
 

silverback

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Four kids learning to ski. Big commitment. Hats off to you!

what comes to mind for me:

Kids gear is rarely maintained. Especially beginners kids. Learning to do some repairs might come in handy, kids are rough on gear.

Did the shop you bought your skis from tell you they are 10+ years old? They’ll likely be fine for you but I hope you didn’t pay much.

Don’t obsess over the green/blue/black thing. Experts ski greens all the time. The goal isn’t getting to black. Over terraining is a ticket to slow skill progression.

Are the kids in some kind of program with other kids (getting instruction). Are you taking lessons?

Skiing as a family is wonderful. There will be challenges but it’s worth it.
 
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Dixie Flatline

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Did the shop you bought your skis from tell you they are 10+ years old? They’ll likely be fine for you but I hope you didn’t pay much.
Are they really? They look like new. The price is $200 but I only put $100 down and I can return them at the end of the season and not pay the other $100. Should I plan on exercising that option?

Are the kids in some kind of program with other kids (getting instruction). Are you taking lessons?
I took some last year and I know I should take more this year but haven't committed because we already spent so much ...

Skiing as a family is wonderful.
"As a family" would imply the wife skiing...keep praying...
 

Teumie

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I realise renting/buying is different in Europe than in the US.
Personally I would never buy gear for my kids (now 5 and 8) until they get to 12-14 years old.
More often than not renting their gear is free if one of the parents rents and else still stupidly cheap.
I have my own skis but the misses is renting and I think she will be renting for eternity (unless I gift her skis I guess ...)

Obviously they have their proper helmet, goggles, etc.
The beauty of renting is that you can swap and try different things all the time and no need to maintain anything (having said that I often doubt how they maintain their rental skis, but that is less of your problem).

As a beginner - I wouldn't worry much about skis yet make sure you have comfy boots.
It's the first thing I bought, I didnt even go to a proper fitter but mine are still comfy after 7 days of intense skiing (versus a friend who went through a fitter and his feet hurt every day ...)
Yes at some stage you will want to have them properly fitted for optimum performance/feedback but as a beginner my view is that comfort beats performance.
Same with ski's - make sure you are comfortable on them to maximize learning (same with staying away from blacks/dark reds) - better to feel comfortable and try different techniques/things than be mucking about with skis or terrain that is "too much to handle"

Skiing as a family is so great and one of the rare times I feel proud of my kids.
I have several sporty hobbies but skiing is the only one we can really do together, which I think is awesome.

Nothing better than having your small 7 year old blast through reds and getting high-fives from random strangers at the ski lift. Sometimes I can't stop laughing chasing him whilst he overtakes "slow grown-ups" and get emotional when I see I thought him well in overtaking slalommers on narrower blue/reds :)
Every time we take a lift together with the 4 of us I really like it (that most often changes when my youngest gets stubborn and doesnt want to turn anymore on reds and just goes straight ...)
 

Dwight

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@Dixie Flatline Those skis came out in 2014. You will be fine with them and the bindings.

One can start waxing for relatively cheap or really expensive. Depends on what one wants to do.

One can purchase starter kits for around $90 or a used iron at Goodwill, some wax, and a few scotch Brite pads, grey and maroon. If you need to get rust off, some 300 grit sandpaper will help too.

Something is better than nothing and you automatically are in the top 30% of taking care of your skis.
 

Andy Mink

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One way to lengthen the time between service to skis is teach the kids to treat them well. No clacking together on the lift, no stomping the binding with the other ski to release, no mindless poking with the poles.

Waxing is easy, video links are above. Edge work is tougher but not impossible; it just takes practice.
 

KingGrump

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Like Dwight said, start with waxing. That will improve your skiing experience 100% without much outlay.
For edge work, get a 200 grit diamond stone (any brand will do) and deburr the skis every other day. That will improve the feel of the edges.
 

Sibhusky

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It's the first thing I bought, I didnt even go to a proper fitter but mine are still comfy after 7 days of intense skiing (versus a friend who went through a fitter and his feet hurt every day ...)
The boots you have aren't even broken in yet. Their lining is still compressing. If they are "comfy" on day 7, you'll be swimming in them by day 40. I guess if you only ski 7 days a year, that is "six years". That wouldn't even be a season for me.
 

GB_Ski

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Most junior skis have extruded bases, in my experience with my kids skis, they don't hold wax well at all. And my kids see no difference in terms of waxing. I wax them once a month, abut 10 days on snow.

I polish the edges every weekend, sharpen them maybe once a month.
 

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