Hello.
Cheaper to buy skis in france (3v) or at home (UK)?
Thanks!

I guess it depends on a couple of factors:

1. The exchange rate.

2. The time of season. I’ve seen plenty of resort shops have mid or late season sales to clear stock - I once saved myself around Eur200 on a brand new pair in Ischgl in early Feb.

3. What’s available and whether you have a particular ski in mind.

4. The language barrier! When buying skis you need to be clear (and honest) about ability, style, height and weight etc and the type of skiing you want to do (also affects binding settings) - the sort of thing that can get lost in translation!

My advice would be to do your research before you go, pick your ski (or a range) and see if the resort shops have them. Even then, you won’t really know untill you try, so maybe get a pair on hire before comitting to a purchase.

Good luck!

Thanks for That!
Caveat emptor…I know the skis I need, know the mean UK/web price and will take it from there.

I am not really sure about buying skis in the UK - how do you test them before buying? At least in the resort they usually let you have a free day’s hire to test the ski before handing over your cash. They also usually throw in a free service. The end of the season is a good time to buy skis as they often have end of season sales with massive discounts.

The resorts usually have a smaller range than is available in the UK or, importantly, in the valley outlets. (For an eye watering range have a look in Espace Mountain in Grenoble) and sometimes not in the size you want. Have a look around. There is no harm in browsing.

Having said that I bought my Salomon 3Vs in the UK at a massive discount. They are great skis

The risk buying abroad is if a fault develops, how do you take them back if a fault develops after you have left resort?, if you visit same resort each year perhaps less of a problem.

John makes a very valid point, the only real way to test skis is on the mountain and skiing your normal terrain and technique, it is possible to try before you buy in some of the snowdomes, but you certainly wont be able to test them on your normal terrain conditions, unless perhaps you are a begginer.

Of course the other option would be to rent the ski you are considering whilst on holiday and then purchase in the UK in the end of season reductions, at least then it would be easier to return to the retailer if problems arose.

Don.