Would you buy or rent your wife's gear, if you were me?

[Andy Mink]

She hasn't complained about comfort, so comfort doesn't seem to be super urgent. Not yet at least.

I'm assuming she had the same pair of boots for the two days she's skied so far? The next roll of the dice at the rental shop may not turn out so well. A day in painful, loose boots is enough to quench the desire to continue skiing. Good boots, fit by an experienced fitter will be worth the money in the long run. If she bumps up to 10 days a year you'll have 10 years (theoretically) before you'll be shopping for another pair. And if she loves it and skis more that's even better.

 

[François Pugh]

What's a reasonable price expectation for beginner/intermediate boots? I'm seeing quite a few online for around $200, but my experience is that online sales prices don't really apply once you go the route of a legitimate expert fitter.

Data point:
I just bought a pair of boots for my intermediate son. He has been skiing many years, but not often enough per year. He can get down a small hill (e.g. any run at say Mt. St. Louis Moonstone) without falling and pretty much get his skis to take him where he wants to go, but prefers greens to blues on a decent sized mountain (Mt. Washington BC), as when it gets crowded he gets funneled into a narrow corridor that follows the fall line and ends up going faster than he really likes to go.

The two pair they brought out for him that had soles to fit real DIN bindings that all my skis have (pre all this gripwalk crap) were an 80 flex beginner boot and a pair of Formula 120 Head boots. The Head boots felt better to him. Bonus the fitter at the ski store put him in a size 27.5. He had been renting 28.5 boots. Now he and I can share the same skis without needing to move the bindings. (no bonus for me though - I left my fatties out west in case he decides to try off-piste skiing again).

Boots were bought at a real ski shop for full price - 650 CAD. However, he's a 160 lb man who has been skiing for years, not your wife; boots suitable for your wife will likely be, I'm guessing, about 30% cheaper.

 

[TonyPlush]

I'm assuming she had the same pair of boots for the two days she's skied so far? The next roll of the dice at the rental shop may not turn out so well. A day in painful, loose boots is enough to quench the desire to continue skiing. Good boots, fit by an experienced fitter will be worth the money in the long run. If she bumps up to 10 days a year you'll have 10 years (theoretically) before you'll be shopping for another pair. And if she loves it and skis more that's even better.

The two days were different boots. (Two different mountains months apart) Point taken though!

 

[RNZ]

What's a reasonable price expectation for beginner/intermediate boots? I'm seeing quite a few online for around $200, but my experience is that online sales prices don't really apply once you go the route of a legitimate expert fitter.

I think you're asking the wrong question here.

You need to do this in person with a bootfitter and get the boot that fits your wife's foot best that will work with her current and progressing ability - as guided by a good bootfitter.

If you can't access a good bootfitter locally you may want to get a recommendation and undertake this process in Park City.

If you go with online then @Tricia posted this useful crib sheet https://www.skitalk.com/threads/quick-and-dirty-101-level-boot-selection-guide.16132/

 

[TonyPlush]

I think you're asking the wrong question here.

You need to do this in person with a bootfitter and get the boot that fits your wife's foot best that will work with her current and progressing ability - as guided by a good bootfitter.

If you can't access a good bootfitter locally you may want to get a recommendation and undertake this process in Park City.

If you go with online then @Tricia posted this useful crib sheet https://www.skitalk.com/threads/quick-and-dirty-101-level-boot-selection-guide.16132/

Don’t worry. Ski talk pounded the importance of boots into my head early on in my ski career. I went to the most respected shop I could find within the nearest few states, and wrote the boot fitter there a blank check. I think it came out to $700+ if I remember right, but I don’t even remember because I consider it some of the best money I’ve ever spent. But at the time I did this, I was dabbling in double blacks and hell-bent on improving as fast as possible. So I was just curious if things would be different for a beginner skier who is about as casual as it gets. From the overwhelming response in this thread, message received that it does not.

 

[crgildart]

Buy the gear. That way you don't waste valuable vacation time filling out rental forms and waiting in rental lines.

I thought we were talking about a full season rental.. Renting at resort daily rental gear won't ever make anyone 100% satisfied with their gear..

 

[skiki]

Depends on the type of rental. Basic beginner rental package, no. But if she gets her own boots that opens the door to "performance" rentals or demos. At my home hill a full day basic rental is $39, full day demos $55. For the extra $16 I'd say it is worth the option to trade out during the day and likely a better tune. And maybe along the way she'll find a ski she would like to own. Don't know what the price difference would be at an actual resort though.

 

[BLiP]

So I was just curious if things would be different for a beginner skier who is about as casual as it gets. From the overwhelming response in this thread, message received that it does not.

You’ve got it. Generally a key is not to think about boots as beginner/intermediate/expert. There are boots that fit a person’s anatomy and flex requirement and there are boots that don’t. There are also boots with better materials, liners, etc. but that’s a different question you can get to once the fit is right.

Too many beginners get frustrated because their boot is too big or too soft and doesn’t properly transfer their movements to the ski. And that is completely understandable when you’re doing exactly what the instructor is telling you to do and the skis are not responding properly because your foot/ankle is flopping around inside the boot. In that sense, if she shows any interest in skiing, a good boot is a worthwhile investment, even for (or especially for) a beginner.