Have you demoed every ski you've eventually owned?

[Greg]

Got the idea for this thread in another. Most people highly recommend demoing. It would be interesting to see how many people actually follow that advice themselves. It occurred to me that I've never actually demoed any of the skis I've eventually owned. How about you?

 

[deadheadskier]

I have only demoed a handful of skis in my life and never ended up purchasing that model. I'd like to change that trend, but my budget calls for 'new' skis that are a couple of years old model wise. If I demoed a set this year, they wouldn't be in my budget range until 2010-2011

 

[deadheadskier]

I should add....if I could find them then in my size

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I've never been into demo-ing..it cuts into mad steezy vert...I just buy skis and ski them and then buy new skis..lol

 

[wa-loaf]

I like to gamble.

Ideally I would, but time and opportunity usually don't work out.

 

[RootDKJ]

I got a free coupon for the demo shack at Windham a few years ago. Normally they charge 30-40 bucks for this I enjoyed the whole experience a lot. Pick out a ski you want to demo, hit a few runs with it, head back to the shack and try something else or a different size.

The whole day was a lot of fun and I wound up buying one of the skis I demo'd (but not from Windham)

 

[gmcunni]

i only demo'd a few times. it was right after i got back into skiiing after several years off. during that layoff shaped skis were introduced. i demo'd skis 4-5 times that first season back to get a feel for what the new skis were like. ended up buying a brand that i had not demo'd.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I am only counting from when I started getting "good" skis.

Every spring I demo every model that the shop carries, plus a bunch of others that the manufacturers bring. Since starting demoing I have demoed every ski I have bought with the exception of powder skis.

 

[Edd]

Never, although it's clearly smart to do so, it's a bit of a pain.

I think of it as each ski has it's gifts. It just takes time to find what they are.

 

[madskier6]

I have demoed most of the skis that I've eventually bought although there have been some exceptions. I love hitting those demo days that don't cost anything but allows you to demo all the skis available between 9:00 and 2:00. I just like trying the various models to see what they feel like, even if I don't end up buying those particular models. It's not like I'm obsessive about it & have to demo before I buy the model but it has just worked out that way.

For example, I'm planning on hitting the demo day at Gore the first Sunday of Dec. if there's decent snow for 3 reasons:

1) I've never been to Gore & I really want to check it out. I realize early Dec. is probably not the best time to check it out but I'm going to try anyway if there's half-way decent snow.

2) Lift tickets are $29 that day. It's hard for me to pass up a deal like that.

3) I love to demo skis & it won't cost me anything extra.

 

[Philpug]

I've demoed most of the skis I have sold, if that counts.

 

[WJenness]

I've never demoed skis... But A: I've only ever owned 1 pair of skis and B: I plan on demoing skis at Sunday River's Demo Days over thanksgiving weekend.

-w

 

[severine]

Never demo'd. I don't think I would have known what to look for until recently anyway... and at that point, the demo days I planned on hitting had to be missed due to my knee injury. I've had bad luck (buying a pair of random skis at the ski swap) and excellent luck (Marie Martinods from eBay). If you do your research, I think you can choose pretty well without demoing. And if it doesn't work out, you're not married to them; you can always resell.

 

[Glenn]

Never...I've always just pulled the trigger and went with it. And I've never regretted it either. Maybe I'm lucky...or maybe ignorance is bliss?

 

[o3jeff]

I demoed the AC3 and bought a pair of AC30 and ended up not liking them. All my other skies I have bought without trying out first and up liking most of them.

 

[andyzee]

The only skis I didn't demo is my first pair. After that I demoed every ski I own.

 

[andyzee]

For example, I'm planning on hitting the demo day at Gore the first Sunday of Dec.

I liked your idea and had to check it out. Unfortunetly it appears to be Friday, 12/5 http://goremountain.com/mountain/moreinfo.cfm?id=90

 

[Warp Daddy]

I currently own 3 prs and demoed them all -- but prior to this never did

 

[bvibert]

I've only demoed skis a couple of times and I don't own any of them. I'm in the same boat as Deadhead, any of the new stuff I'd try is not likely to be in my budget for a couple of years...

 

[Trekchick]

I tend to demo every chance I get, but I've only bought a few pair I demo.

I tend to demo all types of ski and write reviews. I like to get a good idea of the feel of the range of equipment so I can answer forum questions with some real scope of experience.

When I demo, I use this ski score card (which has lines and boxes in excel) so I can keep track: