Have you demoed every ski you've eventually owned?

[campgottagopee]

Oddly enough when I demo skis I demo ones that I have no intention of buying, ie: very short turny, fun skis. Guess I enjoy a couple runs of just crankin some turns for the heck of it. When I purchase, I know the kind of ski I want from reading as well as my local ski shop gives me excellent advise. I ski with the owner every Sunday so he knows what I like.

 

[Dr Skimeister]

I've demoed several times, but only purchased those I had demoed twice. Once, I demoed from a shop and them purchased the actual demo skis that day (Atomic Betacarv 9.16). It was the end of the season, the skis appeared to have minimal wear on them and the shop owner gave me a great price.

 

[2knees]

never demo'ed skis and dont have any real plans to. i just buy skis and ski them.

 

[Greg]

never demo'ed skis and dont have any real plans to. i just buy skis and ski them.

You're not core enough.

 

[madskier6]

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

Oops, my mistake. I must have been looking at the wrong month on the calendar. Oh well, if the snow is good, I'll still hit it on a Friday.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

I skied on almost every advanced to expert ski I ever bought for the ski wall when I was a hardgoods buyer. I'd get on at least 30 pair at the Stratton on snow and would have skied on many other skis at intros or a few hrs on the hill with the rep. I'd be on the lift at 9am and wouldn't stop until 4pm...some years it was bluebird with fresh snow (and hardly felt like work) other years it was pouring for two days or -20 with howling winds...but before I put the ski on the wall to sell to the general public I wanted to make sure I could talk about how it performed, who it was for, etc.
I've had a few pair of skis given to me that I didn't ski on first...most of the time they've been great but on a couple of occasions I didn't like the ski...so if you're coughing up hard earned $$ for skis try to get out on them first.

Deadhead and Brian, demo this year to find a few pair you like and would want to buy next year or later and then keep your eye out for them at a steal on tramdock or the local shop...then you know you're getting something you like....otherwise, caveat emptor.

 

[Greg]

Very interesting that over 70% of us have only demoed a few or none of the skis we own. Yet, that's usually the default response to people looking for specific ski information. Interesting.

 

[madskier6]

Part of the reason I demo as much as I can is that I just like to try different skis out. I don't have a hard & fast rule that I have to demo before I buy. I'm kind of a gear nut & I like to be informed about how different skis feel out on the snow. If you go to those demo days & ski on a couple of different models, then you can look for deals on them later in the year, next year or the year after. Plus, if you regularly read the gear threads here & over at Epic (like I do), you then have a good basis to compare the opinions of other posters when they compare a ski you haven't skied to a ski that you have demoed.

Bottom line: I do it for fun & to be well informed about ski gear. But I'm not obsessive about it. Hitting up those demo days can be a lot of fun.

 

[bvibert]

My problem with demoing is that I have a hard time pulling myself away from skiing so I can deal with the whole demo process. I can only get away so many days to ski, I don't want to spend them in a demo tent.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

My problem with demoing is that I have a hard time pulling myself away from skiing so I can deal with the whole demo process. I can only get away so many days to ski, I don't want to spend them in a demo tent.

times two..demo-ing means giving up mad steezy vert..

 

[MRGisevil]

All of the skis I've demoed I haven't liked. All of the skis I've purchased without demoing I've loved.

 

[ed-drum]

I demo boards if it's free. I wouldn't pay to try out a new car. I usually know what I want after reading and talking to people. The Dynastar Omeglass pair I just bought was through research. (Reading and talking) These things are gonna be little hot rods!

 

[riverc0il]

Very interesting that over 70% of us have only demoed a few or none of the skis we own. Yet, that's usually the default response to people looking for specific ski information. Interesting.

I think the poll could be misleading. As I suggested in the other thread, demoing is often about ruling out skis NOT to buy. By having a thread only dealing with skis that people have bought in regards to demoing, it rules out any one that might have demoed and decided not to buy something which, IMO, is just as if not more important than demoing a dozen skis to find the perfect one. Though, having demoed almost double digit skis on the only demo day I went to... I can say with a lot of confidence that I think there is no better ski for my desired performance than the every day ski I went with. I can't say that about my touring rigs or my powder boards which I bought straight out without demoing.

That said... I do think demoing would be a waste of time for many skiers. It is certainly why you never see beginner skis at demo days and not a lot of intermediate skis.

 

[riverc0il]

My problem with demoing is that I have a hard time pulling myself away from skiing so I can deal with the whole demo process. I can only get away so many days to ski, I don't want to spend them in a demo tent.

There really isn't much to the demo process if you do so early in the season. Its just a few runs any ways. You do a run, switch skis at the tent, and go take another run. You only loose skiing time if you ski open to close and at that you might only loose one or two runs tops. I get bored of skiing WROD in December before I get tired of trying out new skis.

 

[riverc0il]

All of the skis I've demoed I haven't liked. All of the skis I've purchased without demoing I've loved.

Here is a good example of my previous point regarding demos ensuring you don't purchase skis that will not suit your needs. However, the contradiction in not demoing skis that are purchased and loved adds an interesting gear factor into the equation... having spent hundreds of dollars on equipment, you are more likely to love it regardless compared to a zero investment demo. Not saying that is specifically the case here... but I think it could be a factor in a lot of gear buying decisions. I notice this a lot when I took up golf.... on the golf forums, everyone seems to always love new gear just because it is new gear... and then the honey moon is over soon there after :lol:

 

[mondeo]

I ski bumps. I buy bump skis. Bump skis don't get demoed.

 

[bvibert]

There really isn't much to the demo process if you do so early in the season. Its just a few runs any ways. You do a run, switch skis at the tent, and go take another run. You only loose skiing time if you ski open to close and at that you might only loose one or two runs tops. I get bored of skiing WROD in December before I get tired of trying out new skis.

This is true. I haven't come across any demo days when I was skiing WROD type conditions yet though...

Maybe I'm just too impatient, when I get to the mountain I just want to get on the lift as quickly as possible and ski. I prefer to stay on the mountain until lunch and then go right back out until I'm ready to collapse, or they shut off the lifts. The other problem is that I'm usually skiing with other people, which isn't necessarily conducive to stopping by the demo tent every couple of runs, unless they're demoing as well.

This probably sounds like I'm anti-demoing or something, but I'm totally not. I can definitely see the advantages, especially if it's free. I just haven't gotten my ass in gear enough to do much of it.

 

[skibum9995]

I've never demoed anything. I'd like to get to a demo day to ski some midfats because I've never skied anyting fatter than 67. I"d like to see what all the hype is about.

 

[riverc0il]

"Hype" lol. Steel edges on skis had a lot of hype when they first came out too

In all seriousness, not sure where your skiing ambitions lie, but if you want to expand your skiing boundaries beyond groomers, then you would definitely benefit from adding a 75-85 waist ski to your quiver. However, a waist bigger than 70 would definitely not help you out any on groomed conditions where you already have a rocket of a ski.

Personally, I think a lot of skiers would be better off finding a de-tuned lower level race ski based boards made for non-racers who want good groomer performance rather than mid-fats. A lot of people are buying some "hype" and getting fatter skis which really don't help if you just ski groomers which the majority of skiers do.

 

[riverc0il]

This probably sounds like I'm anti-demoing or something, but I'm totally not. I can definitely see the advantages, especially if it's free. I just haven't gotten my ass in gear enough to do much of it.

I hear ya, word.