Demo days?

[meff]

Any demo days coming up that folks know about or are they a thing of the past now?

 

[PAabe]

I think plattekill typically does a demo day like late february. Might just be tele. But I think they are still around.

 

[drjeff]

There are still some around, although not nearly as many as in the past given that many mountains now have their own demo centers as well as so many ski shops having their own demo's, and in both cases (ski area owned or ski shops) while they will often charge a daily fee, that fee, typically up to 2 to 4 days maximum of fees, gets credited towards any gear you may purchase from them after you demo.

I suppose you could say that that model (pay to demo and then credit the demo cost towards purchase) keeps people on the demo skis who are actually interested potential customers, rather than having a bunch of one's demo fleet out on the hill with folks who may no intention of purchase.

I can see both sides of this

 

[abc]

I suppose you could say that that model (pay to demo and then credit the demo cost towards purchase) keeps people on the demo skis who are actually interested potential customers, rather than having a bunch of one's demo fleet out on the hill with folks who may no intention of purchase.

But with online prices significantly lower than on mountain shops, the demo fee may or may not matter.

I think the shop based modal's main advantage is actually being able to reserve a particular ski(s). With demo days, it's a crap shoot to get what you want to demo. Fun if you're into trying random skis you never thought of. Not so much if you're on the market for something specific.

My perspective is of course a little biased. At barely over 100lb, demo fleets rarely have skis short enough (or soft enough) for my weight...

 

[Dickc]

Any demo days coming up that folks know about or are they a thing of the past now?

Sunday River has demo days this weekend. Check their website for details.

 

[jimmywilson69]

I had never skied Elans before I demoed the RipStick now I might only ever ski Elans. Demo days are great when you can try many different skis from different manufacturers at the same time.

 

[mister moose]

My perspective is of course a little biased. At barely over 100lb, demo fleets rarely have skis short enough (or soft enough) for my weight...

That does make it tougher. Perhaps you need to go to mountains that have an on mtn demo shop that you can swap out during the day and compare a few pairs. (Weekdays are better) And sometimes you get lucky. One of my favorite skis I found when the rep said "So how did you like em?" and I said, "Meh, plain Jane ski". The rep reached in his van and said, "Try these."

Like everything, volume helps. The more places you go, the more variety you find.

 

[abc]

Perhaps you need to go to mountains that have an on mtn demo shop that you can swap out during the day and compare a few pairs. (Weekdays are better) And sometimes you get lucky

I don't need to be lucky. That's the advantage of on mountain shop demo. I can reserve skis ahead of time. Change them quickly... Just like on a demo day, only better, I can get them at my size.

OK, it's not free. But sometime, time is more valuable than the saving of demo fee. That's kind of my point.

I found my latest skis that way. I was at Jackson. They had an on mountain demo center. So over the course of 2-3 days, I would ski the runs on my own skis in the morning. Then, I would take one or two (or three) demos to those same place and see which I like (or WHAT I like about them). When I decided on the ski I was to purchase, I checked online and found them to cost less than what the shop would charge, even with the demo fees applied. (I asked, was told they anticipate they can sell the ski at full price so not motivated to negotiate) So I bought it online.

 

[meff]

I'm a big fan of supporting the local shops..so we still have them in the future. Ken Jones is doing a demo day next Friday at Waterville, have to pre-buy the pass at their store but planning on hitting that. I dropped a significant amount of weight since last skiing in 2020 combine that with the Grizzlies getting a big long in the tooth its time to find something decent.

I may swing by the shop at Mount Snow tomorrow see if they do demos as a secondary option to next Friday.