Snow Q’s Seasonal Ski Hire for Expats
Snow-Q’s Ski Hire
One of the most frequently asked questions that we get here at SnowPros is should I hire or buy my own skis? Whilst we are happy to recommend skis to our clients, in the first instance, most of our clients rent their equipment for the season.
Many of our clients are new to Switzerland and new to skiing. For a beginner, it makes little sense to buy skis and boots until you know what you are looking for or even if you like skiing or not! Hiring skis for the season makes a lot of sense for your children who grow between seasons (or indeed during the season!).
The next stage that clients get to if they like skiing is normally to get their own boots. A good quality, well fitting pair of boots customised for you will make an enormous difference to your personal skiing. You can ski very well with a combination of a decent ski boot and a poor quality ski but the inverse doesn’t work. You can have the best ski in the world but if your boot isn’t working for you, it’ll be very hard to ski.
We only recommend a few ski shops because they change their hire equipment every 2 or 3 years so their stock is always pretty up to date. In these shops you’ll find anglophone staff and the level of personal service that you’ll get from a smaller local shop. You could go to places like Oschner or Decathlon but the kit will be inferior and the service that you’ll get will be less knowledgeable and more rushed.
We recommend the following shops:
Snowline in Morgins - Ask for Rolf or Domi (INSERT LINK)
Vertical Horizons in Chatel - Ask for James or Andy
The key in a hire shop to getting good equipment is to take your time. The fit (or not) of a ski boot won’t show up until about 10 minutes of having them on and moving around. Do not allow yourself to be rushed in this regard. The boot is the key to good skiing and it should have a snug and reasonably tight fit. It shouldn’t feel like a slipper.
If you can, go outside of normal hours, during the week or aim to be there really early in a weekend to ensure that you get the time spent on you that you deserve.
